devil's den sort scary stories

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do this as a theclio too? 

At first glance you would have a hard time finding something scary about this scene. 

However, if you look closely at the jumbled pile of rocks at the bottom of the cliff and place them within their historical context as an early local tourist attraction, you will have discovered the Devil's Den. 

For more on Cathedral Ledge and the Devil's Den see this link here. 

much of the site still exists 

however, some of the large rocks have been quarried and carried away and the trees have grown in so you really have to explore to see this 

Cathedral Ledge, Asher B. Durand, 1855, Albany (NY) Institute of Art here. 

compare with photo mwm here. when known as Hart's Ledge. 

climbers from North Conway, 

see fuji m5 back up by collection 

for photos of the label, 

email this link to albany, nhhs, etc. 

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Thomas Hill here. 

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private collection, here. 

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Champney, auction, incorrectly labeled as Mass, 

mutual art here. 

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more info on cole sketch prow here. 

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climbing map 

Peg Immel's 1993 poster from our previous blog here.

geography

geology

glacial plucking here. 

talus slope 

roche moutonnée (or sheepback)  

detail from mwm psu here. 

email to meghan as featured item from your collection

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Now we can move from heaven to hell. During the 19th century another popular tourist attraction was to be found at the base of Cathedral Ledge. Here is a stereoview from the interior of Devil's Den by Conway's own N. W. Pease from the collection of the Conway Historical Society.

Below are a series of photos and paintings from various collections that may help determine the mysterious location of the Devil's Den. The photo below is from the collection of the Museum of the White Mountains. You can read more about it at this link.

Below is a cropped version edited for brightness and contrast to better view the features and details.

A detail of the bottom of this photo shows from left to right, a horse drawn mountain wagon, a set of stairs, a shed of some sort, the opening to the Devil's Den, a man in a pith helmet, a camera on a tripod, a ladder, and another man in a pitch helmet (click on images to enlarge them).

The person sitting on top of the large rock above the opening to the Devil's Den shows the sense of scale.

In 1887, Winfield S. Nevins explains that a "Hermit Hapgood" would lead you into the Devil's Den with a pitch-pine or smoky birch-bark torch. You can read about it here. In his 1942 recollections, George Russell relates a similar story about the hermit. You can read about it here.

The bottom section of a painting at the New Hampshire Historical Society by Thomas Hill matches up quite well with the photo above.

Here is the entire painting.

You can learn more about it here.

Asher B. Durand did two paintings of Cathedral Ledge. One can be found at the Albany Institute. 

While Durand's paintings are from slightly different angles than the images above many of the details are relatively easy to match up with 

Another Asher B. Durand, in a private collection, includes an artist sketching with a well dressed lady admiring the view. This image can be found on the White Mountain Art website here.

For more on the story contact us at the Conway Public Library's Henney History Room.

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Below we have another scenic view from a book published in 18x?

William Oakes, White Mountain Scenery

from the drawings of Isaac Sprague

the original drawings/sketches are at the Currier Museum of Art here. 

their copy of the uncolored print here. 

for more on this site including a link to a video tour, see theclio entry here. 

for story told on outside tv see this link here. 

Now for out next story 

compare with photo mwm here. 

so again, what is so scary about this scene? 

interpret 

ask ed and les ok to direct folks to them? 

to hear your version of the story

that cole also wrote about he changed his understanding of it

to visit

need to do a theclio for this

for more on nancy see outside tv storytelling see this link here. 

mwm here. 

and previous blog here. 

link to clc story of snake 

need to do a theclio for this

mwm here. 

good image here. 

and previous blog here. 

need to do a theclio for this

and previous blog here. 

need to do a theclio for this

again we ask what is so scary about this scene?

winslow homer, the apple bee

in numerous collections 

but not much interpretative context

link here. 

and previous blog here. 

see previous blog here. 

our final two pictures 

this scene does have sort of an ominous look to it with the stormy weather, dead trees in the foreground, ... 

it has been described as a "Landscape of Terror."

link to my vibe article 

for previous blog discussing the tale of these two paintings in more detail see this link here: 

see theclio for the actual site Thomas Cole's 1839 view of the notch, was and still is here. 

compare that to the the actual site of the Willey slide here. 

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