hermit

17 Stories

A Penniless Baroness Sits in a Hospital Bed in NYC
A Penniless Baroness Sits
in a Hospital Bed in NYC
longform
Oct 22, 2022 10:00 AM CDT

A Penniless Baroness Sits in a Hospital Bed in NYC

The 'NYT' pieces together what it can about Birgit Thyssen-Bornemisza

(Newser) - "She had spent decades working to be invisible, to avoid ties to institutions, public or private. Now it was catching up to her." So write George Rush and John Leland in a fascinating piece for the New York Times on Birgit Thyssen-Bornemisza, an 80-year-old German baroness whose stepfather...

Hermit Receives Outpouring of Help After Losing Cabin

'I feel about as good as I ever have in my life,' says David Lidstone, 81

(Newser) - An off-the-grid New Hampshire hermit known to locals as “River Dave,” whose cabin burned down on the wooded property where he was squatting for 27 years, says he's grateful and overwhelmed by fundraising efforts and offers for a place to live. “I feel about as good...

Longtime Cabin of 'Folk Hero' Hermit Destroyed by Fire

New Hampshire authorities investigating blaze that wiped out home of David Lidstone, 81

(Newser) - The New Hampshire State Fire Marshal's Office has opened an investigation into a fire that destroyed a small cabin where an off-the-grid hermit had lived for almost three decades, per the AP . David Lidstone, 81, lived in the woods along the Merrimack River and was known by locals as...

Island's Lone Inhabitant, 81, Fights to Stay Put
After 30 Years Alone on an
Island, He's Told to Clear Out
in case you missed it
Aug 1, 2020 7:00 AM CDT

After 30 Years Alone on an Island, He's Told to Clear Out

Italian authorities say Mauro Morandi has no claim to Budelli

(Newser) - It's a good time to be living alone on "one of the most beautiful islands in the entire Mediterranean." But the quiet paradise Mauro Morandi has enjoyed for 30 years on the Isle of Budelli off the coast of Sardinia will soon be taken from him, reports...

'Naked Hermit' Removed From Island After 30 Years Alone

Masafumi Nagasaki wanted to die in his island 'paradise,' but officials finally kicked him out

(Newser) - He used to be a city boy with zero experience with the great outdoors. But that didn't stop Masafumi Nagasaki from heading to the uninhabited Japanese island of Sotobanari for what he thought would be a two-year respite from the rest of the world. That was in 1989, as...

This Man Will Be One of Central Europe's Last Hermits

Congrats?

(Newser) - "When I read about the Saalfelden hermitage, I thought to myself: that's the place for me," says Stan Vanuytrecht. The mayor of the Austrian town, perched in the Alps, thought it was just the spot for Vanuytrecht, too. Vanuytrecht, a bearded, pipe-smoking Catholic deacon from Belgium, beat...

Clifftop Cloister Hiring Hermit, Part-Time

Candidate must be 'at peace with himself'

(Newser) - If you're looking for some time alone, this job opening in Austria may be for you. A clifftop cloister in the state of Salzberg is seeking a part-time hermit, the Local reports. It helps to be hearty since the 350-year-old hermitage has no running water, heat, or internet. And...

10 Best US Cities to Be an 'Urban Hermit'

You may never leave home in Chicago

(Newser) - You don't have to live in a forest camp to be a hermit. Thanks to modern conveniences like Netflix and food deliveries, just about anybody, anywhere, can live the solitary life. Some cities, however, are better for "urban hermits" than others. Here are Estately 's top 10...

Man Has Been Village's Lone Resident for a Decade

At least he has the sheep

(Newser) - Being the sole resident of a remote Chinese village does have its perks for Liu Shengjia. For instance, he can choose any house he wants, though those that remain may not be in the most habitable condition. He's been living alone in the village of Xuenshanshe—"China's...

Woman Isolated for Decades in Siberia Emerges
 Woman Isolated 
 for Decades in 
 Siberia Emerges 
in case you missed it
Jan 23, 2016 12:43 PM CST

Woman Isolated for Decades in Siberia Emerges

70-year-old Agafia Lykova used a satellite phone to get help from the 'mainland'

(Newser) - In 2013, Smithsonian told a fascinating story : the tale of a family of six who lived deep in the Siberian wilderness for 40 years with zero contact from other humans—and no awareness of WWII—until geologists found them in 1978. Now, the last surviving member of that family has...

After 20 Years, 'Dead' Doctor Found Living as Hermit

But the man, IDed as a Spaniard holed up in the woods of Tuscany, is gone again

(Newser) - For years, locals had reported seeing a "silent stranger" in the forests of Tuscany, Italy, per ITV News . His identity may finally have come to light after two mushroom pickers say they found the camp of a man with a "dirty face and large beard" in a heavily...

30-Year Hermit: Jail Was Worse Than My Solitude
30-Year Hermit: Jail Was Worse Than My Solitude
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Aug 24, 2014 7:00 PM CDT

30-Year Hermit: Jail Was Worse Than My Solitude

Christopher Knight of Maine talks to 'GQ' about life after his capture

(Newser) - The hermit speaks. Christopher Knight, better known as the North Pond Hermit, spent nearly 30 years living in isolation in the woods of central Maine before his arrest on burglary charges last year. He's out of jail now, though living in the community again as part of his court...

Rural NY Hermit Was Secret Millionaire
 Rural NY Hermit 
 Was Secret Millionaire 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jul 6, 2014 6:50 AM CDT

Rural NY Hermit Was Secret Millionaire

Recluse's only overhead was taxes

(Newser) - An elderly man found dead near his ramshackle rural home in New York state had millions of dollars in the bank but appears to have valued his solitude more than luxuries like plumbing or heating. George Konnight, 79, had lived in the same home with his sisters since childhood and...

'Forest Boy' Found After 16 Years in Siberia Wilderness

Parents raised him there from age of 4

(Newser) - A 20-year-old Russian man has emerged from a Siberian forest after spending 16 years living there. The man says he and his hermit parents moved there when he was 4. His folks finally left in May, and locals say they then decided to head to an island off Russia's...

Man, Son Spent 40 Years Alone in Jungle Treehouse
Man, Son Spent 40 Years Alone in Jungle Treehouse
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Aug 11, 2013 6:49 AM CDT

Man, Son Spent 40 Years Alone in Jungle Treehouse

Ho Van Thanh fled the Vietnam War and never came back

(Newser) - After a bomb killed Ho Van Thanh's wife and two of his sons during the Vietnam War, Ho took his 1-year-old son into the jungle—and never came back. That was 40 years ago. On Wednesday, officials carried the too-weak-to-move 82-year-old away from the treehouse he and his son...

Maine Hermit Gets Offers of Marriage, Bail

Knight is 'smiling, pleasant;' even has his own folk song tribute

(Newser) - For a guy who spent 27 years living in the woods with no human contact , Christopher Knight seems pretty popular. Authorities in Maine, where the "North Pond Hermit" is being held on burglary charges, say he has received a marriage proposal from a woman on the other side of...

How Maine Hermit Survived in Woods for 27 Years

Not by building fires or fishing, apparently

(Newser) - When news broke yesterday of Christopher Knight's arrest in Maine, two details jumped out as pretty wild: One, he's accused of committing more than one thousand burglaries —and upon his arrest he told police he has encountered just one human in a span of 27 years. The...

17 Stories