Lore

Trick or Treat 2: Too Young

October 10, 2025

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  • The episode "Trick or Treat 2: Too Young" of the podcast Lore focuses on chilling tales stemming from tragic loss, specifically child and infant mortality, as a common source for historical legends and folklore. 
  • The episode debunks the San Antonio urban legend of ghostly children pushing a stalled car off train tracks, tracing its likely origin to the real, devastating 1938 school bus crash in Salt Lake City, Utah. 
  • Subsequent stories explore hauntings tied to locations where children died tragically, including the Utah 'Nunnery' (St. Anne's Retreat) and the Lake Shawnee Amusement Park in West Virginia, which was built over an ancient burial ground. 

Segments

Sponsor Message: Progressive Insurance
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(00:00:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Advertisement for Progressive Insurance offering potential savings on car insurance.
  • Summary: The episode opens with advertisements for Progressive Insurance, followed by an ad for WhatsApp.
Introduction to Trick or Treat
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(00:01:03)
  • Key Takeaway: This is a bonus episode series focusing on short, themed spooky stories for Halloween.
  • Summary: Aaron Mankey welcomes listeners to the ‘Trick or Treat’ bonus episodes and introduces the theme: child and infant mortality in folklore.
The Danger of Everyday Life
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(00:02:12)
  • Key Takeaway: Life has always been dangerous, and sometimes the innocent die due to random chance.
  • Summary: The host discusses how everyday activities carry risks, and sometimes death occurs randomly, setting the stage for the first legend.
San Antonio Train Crash Legend
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(00:03:04)
  • Key Takeaway: A local legend tells of ghostly children pushing a car off train tracks in San Antonio.
  • Summary: Details of the San Antonio urban legend involving a school bus crash, a guilt-ridden nun, and ghostly children pushing cars to safety.
Debunking the Train Legend
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(00:05:01)
  • Key Takeaway: The San Antonio story is likely based on a real, tragic school bus accident in Utah in 1938.
  • Summary: Mankey reveals there is no record of the Texas crash and connects the legend to the actual 1938 Salt Lake City disaster.
The Haunted Nunnery Legend
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(00:06:49)
  • Key Takeaway: A Utah campground, known as the Nunnery, is rumored to be haunted by a nun and drowned babies.
  • Summary: The story of the nunnery, where nuns allegedly hid pregnant women, focusing on the tale of a mother who found her baby drowned.
History of Hatch’s Camp
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(00:08:47)
  • Key Takeaway: The property was originally a family camp, later a luxury retreat, and then owned by the church, contradicting the legend’s timeline.
  • Summary: The actual history of the site, from Hatch’s Camp to St. Anne’s Retreat, showing the legend’s timeline is historically impossible.
Tragedy at the Nunnery Site
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(00:10:26)
  • Key Takeaway: The only real tragedy at the site involved teenagers being abused by security guards in 1998.
  • Summary: Mankey recounts the real-life trauma inflicted upon trespassing teens by security guards at the abandoned property.
Haunted Amusement Parks Intro
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(00:11:34)
  • Key Takeaway: Amusement parks, despite their fun facade, often sit on land with dark histories leading to hauntings.
  • Summary: The host transitions to discussing haunted amusement parks, specifically Lake Shawnee in West Virginia.
Massacre on Clay Farm
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(00:12:08)
  • Key Takeaway: The land for Lake Shawnee Park was the site of an 18th-century massacre of the Clay family children.
  • Summary: Details of the 1783 attack by the Shawnee tribe on Mitchell Clay’s family, resulting in two deaths and one kidnapping/murder.
Deaths at Lake Shawnee Park
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(00:14:42)
  • Key Takeaway: After the park opened, two children died tragically on the rides and in the pond.
  • Summary: The park’s history of accidents, including a girl killed by a swing set and a boy drowning in the pond, leading to its closure.
Burial Ground Discovery
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(00:16:05)
  • Key Takeaway: The park was built over an ancient burial ground containing thousands of skeletons, including many children.
  • Summary: The discovery of an ancient burial site when a new owner tried to develop the land in 1985, confirming the land’s tragic past.
Sylvia Gaines Murder Story
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(00:20:42)
  • Key Takeaway: A young woman named Sylvia Gaines was murdered in Seattle in 1926, and her father was executed for the crime.
  • Summary: The story of Sylvia Gaines moving to Seattle, her suspicious death, and the subsequent trial and hanging of her father, Bob Gaines.
The Ghost of Green Lake
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(00:23:48)
  • Key Takeaway: Sylvia Gaines’ ghost is said to haunt the spot where she died by the lake’s edge.
  • Summary: Description of the spectral sightings at Gaines Point, where visitors see a translucent, weeping woman.
Episode Wrap-up and Support
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(00:24:33)
  • Key Takeaway: The host thanks the production team and encourages listeners to support the show via membership for ad-free content.
  • Summary: Aaron Mankey credits the team, mentions the stories originated as bonus content, and directs listeners to support options.