New England sometimes feels as though it’s trapped in the 19th century. The old rustic feel of wooden houses and desolate towns brews the perfect spooky atmosphere. Not to mention the rich history that lies behind those ancient baseboards. It feels as if something in these towns awakens during the month of October as the temperature drops and the night grows longer. It’s no wonder that New England is a popular attraction during the spooky season.
As an out-of-state student, New England is incredibly spooky for me. It just screams Halloween, especially in the fall. A personal favorite thing of mine is to ask Mainers if they have any ghost stories or unexplained things that have happened to them. Afterall it is the land of Stephen King. The results are usually subpar. This got me wondering: are there any genuinely haunted places in Maine? Or even on the University of Maine campus. Upon further research, sweet lord, are there a lot of places.
As for some Halloween culture content, here are a few of the good spooky spots with some accompanying stories. They might not be interesting to locals, but my fellow out-of-staters might enjoy them or find themselves packing their bags. If you know of any stories or can add to the following few please feel free to add a comment below!
Bucksport Gravestone
This was the first story I heard about in relation to hauntings in Maine. Every Mainer probably knows about it but the story gives me a sense of nostalgia from my first semester here at UMaine. For those who are unaware of the story, it goes that a revolutionary soldier called Col. Jonathan Buck moved to the town and became pretty well known in the town as the judge during the witch trials. He committed one girl to death who unfortunately for Buck, had placed a curse on him. She said that when he died she would dance on his grave. When he died and they put his tombstone up, a stain in the shape of a boot appeared. His children destroyed the gravestone and built a new one, but the boot reappeared.
Route 2A
Route 2A is supposably Maine’s most haunted road due to a potato truck driver that crashed and a couple that died in a crash there as well. Truck drivers will not drive on this road at night. I’ve never been on it and most likely never will.
Brownville road
Another haunted road is located in Millinocket. According to reports, a couple were coming back from their wedding in winter. They got in an accident and the husband died. The wife got out of the car and waited on the side of the road in hopes that someone would help them. People have reported seeing a woman in a wedding dress on the side of the road asking for help but disappearing as they get closer.
Wood Island Lighthouse (Saco Bay)
The second oldest lighthouse in Maine has had numerous paranormal sightings. A squatter living on the west end of the island had a run in with the law on the mainland. A sherrif’s deputy came to visit him, which resulted in the squatter murdering the deputy. The squatter ran to tell the lighthouse keeper what he had done and he turned him away. He returned to his shack and committed suicide. The deputy is supposed to be haunting the lighthouse and the land.
Seguin Island
The Seguin Island lighthouse is supposedly more haunted than Wood Island. Tourists have reported hearing the sound of a piano playing. The story goes that a husband got fed up with his wife’s piano playing and killed her with an ax. Note to self: don’t be a lighthouse keeper.
Fort Knox
This old military base has been featured on paranormal TV shows and people have said that they’ve seen apparitions and heard things when they’re alone. This is even more suspicious, since no one died in the building in a battle. One apparition people see is supposedly the old caretaker of the fort who is just continuing on with his job. The Fort has also brought back “Fright at the Fort,” a haunted house that is put on for the month of October.
USM Gorham Robie Andrews dormitory
This one is wild. The fourth floor of this University of Southern Maine dormitory has had reported multiple cold spots and the sound of furniture moving. People have reported seeing two girls haunting the hallways, a teenage girl who committed suicide after she found out she was pregnant and a girl who fell to her death after getting homesick and crawling out on top of the fourth floor tower.
Coburn hall
UMaine’s very own Coburn Hall has had numerous accounts of students claiming that the building — particularly the upper floors and the attic — have had lights turned on and doors slammed at random hours of the night.
“We’d gone down to the basement to find that the power lines had quite literally been cut by sliders or something. And we went back upstairs with our flashlights to investigate one of the bathrooms and while we were in there, one of the stalls that opens into the inside slammed so loud that my hearing aids started ringing, and when we all ran scared out of the bathroom the light above the attic turned on and started strobing,” an anonymous student at UMaine said.
Ayers Island
Ayers Island near the town of Orono used to be an old mill town but was shut down after a number of gruesome accidents. People say that the island is haunted by former mill workers and the daughter of a mill owner who was killed by her father. It has an eerie atmosphere that many people claim to feel when they step on the island.
Rockport Homie
On a lighter note there is a story of an English revolutionary soldier that haunts a bar in Rockport that offers people pints.
