The
Canton (MA) Citizen just featured an article about Maine resident Helen Goransson. Goransson has written a book that emerged from research she did into her old farmhouse's history when it became apparent it was haunted. (Be sure to click on the link to the Canton Citizen below to read the full article, which contains an excellent interview.)
Canton native Helen Goransson exorcises ghost with her recent book
By Jeffrey Pickette, Citizen Staff
September 2, 2010
She heard stomping footsteps when there was no one upstairs; she heard music playing and other “funny sounds” when it should have otherwise been silent; she would turn on a light, only to find it mysteriously turned off a short time later; she would find doors that should be locked suddenly swung wide open.
These were just some of the odd occurrences that took place from time to time at Helen (Gerzon) Goransson’s farmhouse in Eliot, Maine. The Canton native bought the house with her husband Paul, also a Canton native, 25 years ago.
“We always thought the place was a little bit creepy,” Goransson said. “And then we had some strange things happen that were sort of inexplicable, so we said it must be ghosts, half jokingly; we’re too smart to believe in ghosts. And over the years it just became more and more insistent that these are not all coincidences if you have hundreds of them.”
If you suspected that there was a ghost haunting your house, maybe you would consider hiring an exorcist or may even consider moving. Instead, Goransson got to know her ghost and wrote a book about him, Views from Rosemary Hill, published this August.
After moving into the house, Goransson found an old plaque that belonged to Sylvester Bartlett. She went to the local library to research this man and found out he used to own her farmhouse. However, over time she determined that her ghost was not that of Sylvester’s, but rather that of his son, Ralph Bartlett (1868-1960), a successful 20th century lawyer and socialite.
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Goransson describes the book as a “history, mystery, ghost story, and love story.” It’s autobiographical in a sense as well, since she and her husband are the young couple that buy the farm in the book (just like they actually did in 1985), but she changes their names, like she did with many of the modern day characters in the book. However, she did not alter any of the historical character’s names, and the events drawn out in the book are true, based on years of primary source research.
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She has been married to Paul since 1975, and since then the two have lived everywhere from Northern Africa to South America to Mexico, before settling in Maine. Together they have two children, ages 27 and 25.
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For those interested in purchasing the book, contact Helen Goransson at heleng@bondgarden.net or visit Amazon.com. Part of the proceeds will go to the Eliot, ME Historical Society (www.eliothistoricalsociety.org).
Read full article here:
[Source: http://www.cantoncitizenonline.com/090210/goransson.htm]
Readers may also recognize the Goransson name in connection with husband Paul's exposure during his climb of Vinson Massiff, a peak in Antarctica, back in 2005 in the company of his son. Article here:
http://cs.armstrong.edu/antarctica/fosters011405.php
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