Category Archives: Maine Life

I grew up in a very old house down the street from the University of Southern Maine in Gorham.  The house housed the overflow from the woman’s dormitory in the 1870’s and I will say, out loud, that some very weird things would happen every now and then in our house.

Now I  live in a farm-house that was built-in 1864 just a half a mile west of where I grew up and sometimes our resident ghost Walter comes to visit and leaves a trail of Cigarette smoke behind him. Several of my neighbors have experienced it as well.

So I did some research of some of the most haunted Maine places, some I have been to, some I have not.  This is just a short list of places I’m familiar with…This list could go on for hundreds of pages so I shortened it to 5.  They are in no particular order of scariness.

1) Boon Island Light House: Talk of building a lighthouse on Boon Island dates back as early as 1710 when the ship Nottingham Galley ran aground on the barren outcrop that makes up the island. The crew of the  Nottingham Galley were forced to resort to cannibalism after having been stranded on the outcrop of rocks for 24 days with no food or fire before being rescued.

Boon island lighthouse is said to be the most haunted light house in Maine.  In the 19th century a lighthouse keeper was washed out to sea during a violent storm.  Stricken with grief the wife of the lighthouse keeper was stranded for days. She went mad and died 2 weeks later.   she is said to wander the shore of the light house wailing for her lost love.

Boon Island light house

2)  Newfield Maine-The Old Straw Farm:   Legend has it that Gideon Straw built his home and moved into it with his many children in the hill country of Newfield Maine.  In the winter of 1826 it is said that Gideon’s daughter Hanna died.  Being that it was in the middle of the cold winter months, they were unable to bury Hanna outdoors properly.  So what they did was pull up the floor boards and dig a grave in the warmer ground under kitchen area of the house.  This is where they placed Hanna’s body and marked it with a grave stone set in the floor.

Now there is a lot of speculation on whether it was Hannah or someone else was placed under the kitchen. Regardless, persons living in the private home for the last 30 years have indeed confirmed sightings, strange noises and other odd things happening regularly.  Newfield is in the middle of no where and a very small population over a very large area….Ones imagination could get out of control.

3) Bucksport Cemetery-Bucksport Maine:  Johnathan Buck was Born in Woburn, Mass., Feb. 20, 1719, Buck grew up in Haverhill, Mass. On Oct. 19, 1742,
Buck married Lydia Morse. They had nine children, six of whom survived childhood.
In July of 1762, Buck sailed the sloop Sally up the Penobscot River to survey six plantations sites which have since been designated Bucksport, Orland, Penobscot (Castine), Sedgwick, Blue Hill areas. Buck made another trip to the Plantations in 1763, and in 1764 and began construction of the first Plantation in the present town of Bucksport.
Buck joined the disastrous expedition to Castine and the siege of Fort George in July of 1779. The day after the Patriots humiliating defeat by the British, Buck took his wife and seriously ill daughter, Lydia,
to safety in Brewer.

Five years later he returned to the Plantation and rebuilt everything that had been destroyed by the British. Buck and his sons were leaders of the community, and in 1792 Plantation No. 1 was renamed Buckstown in Col. Jonathan’s honor. Now known as Bucksport.

Johnathan Buck would have probably been left to rest in piece had the appearance of a leg/foot on his grave stone had not appeared.  Over the years I have heard many versions of the story behind the foot, but the one that seems to be the most re-told version is that Buck’s mistress for many years was pregnant with their second child, Buck was tired of the woman and accused her of being a witch (an assured death sentence in the mid 1700’s) as she stood on the gallows with the noose around her neck, she pointed to him and said “I will come back and dance on thee grave for all eternity”

Fast forward 235 years.  The monument has been replaced several times by the Buck family and the same foot imprint keeps returning…Creepy!

Johnathan Buck

4) Robie-Andrews Hall, University of Southern Maine, Gorham campus:  It is said that Robie-Andrews Hall at the University of Southern Maine Gorham Campus is haunted. The dorm is the oldest building on campus and in the 1800s was an all girl teachers college. I have heard two stories about deaths in the building.

The first resident ghost is that of a girl who committed suicide by hanging after she became pregnant and her boyfriend broke up with her.

The second story is that a young girl either jumped or was pushed to her death while a number of people were congregating outside the same building.

Students report hearing strange noises in the attic and finding cold spots in the building. Some report seeing a woman standing in the tower, even though the tower has been sealed off and there is no way to get up there.

The room next door to the attic is no longer used by students due to the strange occurrences that have taken place over the years.  Cold spots and flickering lights just to name a few.  Some have even said they felt like someone was grabbing their arm..

I had a couple of friends that lived at Robie-Andrews Hall and they have told me that it wasn’t scary just strange.  Lights would turn off by themselves, things would be moved, doors that were shut would be open when they got back. One friend said she had misplaced a book for 2 weeks and it was found on the stairs leading to the attic….Sounds scary to me.

Robie-Andrews Hall is used by the art department now housing art and theatrical students, fitting I think.

Robie-Andrews Hall

5)  Anderson Cemetery-Windham Maine:  Off the River Road in Windham, Maine is the site of the Anderson Cemetery.  138 acres were originally settled by Abraham and Anna Anderson in 1738  the same Anderson family has owned the house 276 years.

It is an unassuming plot of land not really visible from the road, if you don’t pay attention you will miss the entrance.  The immediate area was site to Indian riots and massacres of several families in the late 1700’s.  Legend has it that one family on the farm across the street stayed held up in their farm-house for 3 days under Indian attack and on the 3rd day the Indians set the house on fire and killed 5 family members; 2 brothers escaped.

The second story around the area is of two small girls that disappeared.  It is believed that they drowned in one of the outside wells. Some have said you can hear them laughing and playing in the cemetery.

Lastly, many people have gone to the cemetery to see “ghosts”.  Many have said they have gotten back to their cars only to find them moved 6-7ft.  Doors are wide open when they were positive they had been locked and all the lights in the car were on.

I have been to Anderson Cemetery and there is something creepy about it, I’m not sure what it is.  That whole area of River Road is creepy and at night it becomes even scarier.  I am not usually bothered by scary things at night, but I don’t think I would ever go to Anderson Cemetery by myself at night, even on a bet.

Anderson Cemetery

I was only going to list five but I really had to put a sixth one because I have been here too.  And, well it’s down right scary.

So last but not least,

6)  Rt 2A Haynesville Maine– This rural section of road in northern Maine off  U.S. Route 2  is called “Route 2 A”. The stretch of road runs through what is known as the “Haynesville Woods”  located in the town of Haynesville in the southern portion of Aroostook County. Before the construction of I95, U.S. Route 2 was one of the most widely utilized thoroughfares by truck drivers hauling potatoes and lumber out of the State of Maine. This isolated (and I mean isolated)stretch of road is treacherous from November to April and has one particularly sharp curve of nearly 90 degrees.  Up until the late 60’s the road was dirt making driving precarious at best.  Potato trucks and logging trucks were sometimes 3 tailors long. Making travel very dangerous.

Logging truck

This stretch of road gained notoriety through a song written by  former truck driver Dick Curless. The song titled “A Tombstone Every Mile” is in reference to the many fatal accidents with trucks and cars over the years. You can listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aFzfDv2hz0

The one story told is that of a young lady that has been seen suddenly, appearing out of no where in front of a vehicle or walking along the road seeming to walk with a limp. Many have reported offering this young lady a ride which she accepts stating that her and her newly wed husband had been in a car accident and were in need of assistance. Upon entering the vehicle some of those who have picked her up said that they experienced the sensation of coldness surrounding this woman. Upon nearing the end of what the locals refer to as the Haynesville woods, the lady seemingly vanishes into thin air. According to legend, this apparition is thought to be that of a young lady who had  recently married and traveling with her husband down the road when the vehicle struck a pole. The man died instantly, the woman managed to free herself only to die some time later from exposure to the freezing cold.

Another experience involves that of a young girl. As is very similar to the reports of the newly wed lady, she is seen walking along the roadside and is offered a ride by some only to seemingly disappear after a short time. Some of the locals say it is the ghost of a young girl who was fatally killed by tractor trailer while walking along Route 2. While this exact story has not been confirmed, town records do reveal that two females who were ten years of age both died in Haynesville on August 22, 1967. Whether or not these incident could be related to the sightings of the young apparition is not clear. One thing that is for certain is that this rural stretch of road located in northern Maine has gained the reputation as being one of the most haunted places in Maine.

Having  been on the stretch of road at night in the winter, there is no place on earth so remote and so desolate as the Haynesville woods.

Happy Halloween

~The real housewives of Maine~

Posted by Real housewives of Maine in Maine Life Tags: folk lore in Maine, Ghost stories, haunted cemetery's in Maine, haunted Maine, haunted Maine lighthouses, Haynesville woods maine, Maine attractions