Tag Archive: hindenburg

The Ghosts of Lakehurst Hangar No. 1: A real life ghost story

October 22, 2015 2 Comments

Halloween is almost here, so I figured I’d pull this out of the archives. The following is a real life ghost story plucked from my book, Lakehurst: Barrens, Blimps & Barons. It was initially written for Weird Tales magazine and was penned alongside an essay on sleep paralysis called “Whispers of the Old Hag,” which one reviewer said was about “a real life condition that can be as terrifying as any horror story.” (For some reason, “Whispers” is no longer online at Weird Tales, so I’ve posted it in full right here.) “Ghosts” didn’t make the cut, but that was okay. I repurposed it for my book on the history of Lakehurst, a small Pine Barrens town in New Jersey. It was fun to research and write,…
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Works by Eric, Writing

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TODAY IN HISTORY: Graf Zeppelin completes first Transatlantic flight, lands in Lakehurst

October 15, 2012 1 Comment

Yep, the little town that could made history in more ways than you realize. On this day in 1928, the legendary Graf Zeppelin completed its first ever Transatlantic flight, flying from Friedrichshafen, Germany to Lakehurst, New Jersey in about 111 hours. Capt. Ernst Lehmann was in command of this historic flight. Eight years later he’d be on an even more famous flight: the crash of Hindenburg. Sadly, he would not live to tell his story; Lehmann was one of the causalities of the disaster. The famed Graf Zeppelin landed in Lakehurst at around 5:28 p.m., making Lakehurst the destination for the world’s first ever Transatlantic flight by a passenger airship. The Germans had some company on the fight. U.S. Navy LCDR Charles E. Rosendahl was…
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Random Musings, Uncategorized

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75 years ago today

May 6, 2012 5 Comments

The following is excerpted from my book Lakehurst: Barrens, Blimps and Barons. Seventy-five years ago today, fire rained down from the sky when the great airship Hindenburg exploded into a ball of flame over Lakehurst on May 6, 1937, in the process leaving an unforgettable mark on history. To this day, it remains the largest vessel ever to take to the skies. It was over 800 feet long; as long as two football fields and the majority of a third. Despite its stunning bulk, it routinely made the flight from Germany to Lakehurst, NJ in a mere two days while carrying scores of passengers. The Hindenburg was a Nazi vessel, constructed by the Germans in 1935 as the crowning jewel of its vast fleet of zeppelins. From the very start…
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Works by Eric, Writing

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Come see me Sunday in Lakehurst

May 5, 2012 0 Comments

Drop by the community center in Lakehurst on Sunday between 1 and 4 p.m., where I’ll be signing copies of Lakehurst: Barrens, Blimps and Barons (find out more about the book here), as well as selling limited quantities of this and other books. I’ll have a table there as part of the Historical Society’s recognition of the 75th Anniversary of the Hindenburg disaster. The community center is located on Center Street, right there by the McDonald’s on Route 70, across from the Historical Society museum at 300 Center Street. It’s in the old firehouse. Whether you’re an old friend or just someone interested in the book, I’d love to see you. Sadly, book quantities will be limited, so if you’re interested in buying a copy…
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Uncategorized, Works by Eric

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Always thrilling when someone reads your work, but…

December 26, 2011 0 Comments

… nothing has been as personally gratifying as the response to my book on Lakehurst. I’ve written about legendary film directors, relationships, geek culture and more, but this is something special to me — and it’s made even more special by the fact that old friends, teachers, people I knew in my youth, their parents, and many others are getting it and are interested in it and are reading it. I’ve gotten random calls at home, emails from people I’ve never met, invitations to do presentations and interviews, requests to sign books for the holidays, and more. Considering I just sort of quietly slipped it out there at the last minute, no adverting or promotion outside this blog and Facebook, the positive response has been…
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Works by Eric, Writing

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