GITM #94 Cropsey

For generations, the legend of Cropsey has haunted the imaginations of children and teenagers, with terrifying campfire stories warning of a deranged killer lurking in the woods, abandoned buildings, and forgotten places. But on Staten Island, New York, the line between urban legend and reality became disturbingly blurred when a series of child disappearances and the crimes of convicted kidnapper Andre Rand brought the terrifying folklore into the real world.

In this episode of Ghosts in the Mountains, we explore the unsettling origins of the Cropsey legend, its connections to Staten Island's abandoned Willowbrook State School, and the real-life investigations that transformed a childhood nightmare into something far more disturbing. From whispered stories of a mysterious madman to the tragic cases that shocked a community, we ask where the legend ends, where the truth begins, and whether the two were ever truly connected.