In the summer of 1890, the murdered body of Matthias Berger, renowed as the Blue Mountain Hermit, was discovered after he was reported missing. In the ensuing months and years, Berger’s story was turned into a folk legend as accounts about his unusual life and death were widely circulated by journalists, folklorists, and locals. Why was the Blue Mountain Hermit murdered? Who was the real Matthias Berger and how did he become a larger-than-life fold legend?

Presented by Peter Glogovsky