Something bad happened here

A haunted hike to Sin and Flesh Brook

The name screamed out at me from the pages of a typically wholesome New England hiking guidebook that I found at the library. SIN AND FLESH BROOK. The titular brook and trail were located in the coastal hills of Tiverton, Rhode Island. Given that Rhode Island’s decadent foods, art festivals, and swingers clubs already spotlight the state as a destination for New Englanders who want to “live deliciously” (as Satan said in Robert Eggers’ The Witch) I had high expectations for the tale behind Sin and Flesh Brook. What might this consist of? Puritans and Quakers caught with their trousers down, on a July night, angling for the separation of church, state, and recreation?

In fact, the story of Sin and Flesh Brook is much darker than I would have guessed.