Maine Ghosts and Legends: 30 Encounters with the Supernatural

by Thomas Verde

Overview

Maine has a rich supernatural history and ghost stories from the state are as varied as they are prolific. Freelance writer and reporter Tom Verde first became interested in such eerie occurrences while researching first-hand encounters with ghosts for a series of public radio programs. This book recounts some of the spine-tingling tales he uncovered in his research, including:
• The dagger-wielding shade who terrorized a Portland couple
• The murdered Indian who revisited Means’s Tavern
• Famed diva Lillian Nordica, whose voice still echoes through the Farmington auditorium named in her honor
• The hostile spirit who tried to frighten the tenants out of an Orrington house
• Even an entire phantom ship, bound eternally for Freeport

These are not fictitious creations of literary imagination. People from all walks of life—including many who were positive they would never believe in ghosts—attest to these encounters.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608932429
Publisher:	Down East Books
Publication date:	10/16/2013
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	999,191
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

In the line of duty, award-winning journalist Tom Verde has attended a witch’s Sabbath in Salem, Massachusetts, crawled into a hibernating bear’s den in northern Maine, chased moonshiners across the backwoods of Virginia, been chased himself by Cape water buffalo in the South African sveld, tried to bribe his way into the forbidden chapel of the Ark of the Covenant in northern Ethiopia and trekked, solo, across the desert of Maine. He has journeyed throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the U.S. on assignment for public radio's former weekly travel show, The Savvy Traveler, as well as the New York Times, The Boston Globe, Copley News service, Marketplace and NPR’s environmental show, Living on Earth. His work has also appeared in a host of national magazines, including Newsweek, Travel & Leisure, Reader's Digest, National Geographic Adventure, and Art News.

Table of Contents

Preface 7

1 America's First Ghost 9

2 The Flying Dutchman of Maine 19

3 The Curse of the Saco River 23

4 One Foot on the Grave 27

5 The Haunted Isles 33

6 Pirate Ghosts and Haunted Caves 39

7 The Lingering Soul of Father Moriarty 45

8 The Woman in the Shawl 51

9 The Protective Child 55

10 The Ghost in the Office 57

11 Get Out! 61

12 The Footless Ghost of Benton Falls 65

13 The Haunted Hair Salon 69

14 The Chinese Curse of Naples 75

15 The Haunted Castle 79

16 Abernathy 85

17 The Angry Grandsire 89

18 An Unusual Legacy 91

19 The Haunted Mill 95

20 A Friend of the Family 97

21 The Dagger and the Chair 99

22 The Ghost in the Aisles 105

23 The Ghostly Campus 109

24 The Haunted High School 115

25 A Tale of Murder 119

26 The Portrait of a Lady 123

27 The Ghostly Night Watchman 129

28 Haunted Cellar on Chebeague Island 133

29 Ghosts of Boothbay 141

30 The Vampires of Maine 145

Acknowledgments and Further Reading 153

Editorial Reviews

Tom Verde has updated his Maine Ghosts and Legends of 1989 with a new preface and four new reports from around the state and across time…Each chapter is well-researched and unbiased, citing references, interviews and the reporter’s flair for the facts. Though not every question can be answered, the possibilities are there for all to see and decide—or not—on their own. A fun and informative read, to be sure!

Emily A. Schroeder