Upcoming Ghost Hunts in Bath, Maine

Hi everyone! Well, if it hasn't already tied you up in knots, the cabin fever season is getting ready to shift to SPRING FEVER season! I know, it's still really cold out, but the birds are getting wound up every morning, and I saw a flock of robins the other day -- and I trust the birds to know what's going on with the weather.

If your mind has been turning from hibernation to re-emerging into the world as the sun stays out longer each day, sometimes it helps to have something to plan ahead and look forward to.

With that in mind, the folks at Mysterious Destinations have been cooking up a schedule for 2014, and instead of waiting for the warm weather, they're going to kick it off later this month -- because there's no time like the present!

From March through October, they will be hosting one Midnight Explore a month at the Winter Street Center in Bath. The sessions will also be a fundraiser for maintenance and improvements at the Winter Street Center, which is part of Sagadahoc Preservation.

More information can be found here: http://www.mysteriousdestinations.com

Exploration dates include:
March 22, April 25, May 17, June 6, July 12, August 9, September 27, October 24 and 31 (Halloween!)

Join the Mysterious Destinations team for a Midnight Explore at the haunted Winter Street Center in Bath. From 9:00pm to 12:00 midnight, two floors of documented paranormal activity will offer plenty of chances for new evidence to be found by YOU, after a brief training session about paranormal detection equipment, how to use it, and the history of the building.

MysteriousDestinations will provide a variety of equipment for guests, though participants are also encouraged to bring their own gear, with cameras and flashlights recommended. The price for the Midnight Explore is only $35 per person with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Winter Street Center. Hot coffee, bottled water and light refreshments will be provided. For necessary pre-registration, please call (207)380-4677 or email mysteriousdestinations@gmail.com for information.

Ghosthunting classes in Auburn

Like many other cities, Auburn regularly offers inexpensive adult education classes. In a recent Lewiston Sun Journal article, a list of what Auburn Adult Education is offering this March included an interesting surprise among the usual classes for varied subjects like sewing, belly dancing, boating, and online business marketing. How about trying your hand at ghosthunting?

That's right! Ghosthunting 101 will be meeting from 6:00-9:00 p.m. on Thursdays beginning March 15, for eight weeks. Presented by Central Maine Paranormal Investigations, the course will cover the basics of ghosthunting and the paranormal. Field training is included.

For more information and to register, please visit: http://auburn.maineadulted.org/courses/course/ghosthunting_101 -- Registration is required. Call (207)333-6661 to register over the phone, mail in a payment, or register online at auburn.maineadulted.org

The course will be offered via Turner Adult Education as well, during April and May. Visit here to register, http://msad52.maineadulted.org/courses/course/ghosthunting_101, or call (207)225-3478.

Have fun!

EVENT: Mechanic Falls ghost hunt

The Congregational Church, New Home to the Historical Society

WHAT: Mechanic Falls Historical Society ghost hunt demo
WHEN: Saturday, March 19 5:00 p.m. - 12:00
WHERE: 64 Elm Street, Mechanic Falls, Maine 04256
FMI: (207)345-3134
COST: $25.00

An authentic, hands-on ghost hunting experience is coming to Mechanic Falls on a full moon. The Mechanic Falls Historical Society in association with Everything Paranormal of New England will show how a paranormal investigation is done on Saturday, March 19 from 5 PM until midnight at the Mechanic Falls Historical Society, 64 Elm Street, Mechanic Falls (the former First Congregational Church).

Renee Alling and her troupe of investigators will guide, teach and show a paranormal investigation.
Source: http://wcsh6.planetdiscover.com/localevents/event/200/26088-Mechanic-Falls-Ghost-Hunt

Mechanic Falls Historical Society website: http://mechanicfalls.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={8F1AABA3-E2F0-410C-83B3-5B8381EB9991}

Ghost Hunters here and gone

The Village Soup reports on the recent visit of members of TAPS and their visit to Fort Knox in Prospect, near Bucksport.

'Ghost Hunters' wraps Fort Knox investigation
Show to air late March or April
Feb 12, 2011

Prospect — The Friends of Fort Knox, working in partnership with the Maine Department of Conservation’s Bureau of Parks and Lands, has announced that the SyFy Channel’s "Ghost Hunters" TV program has concluded its paranormal investigation of the state historic site.

The investigation and filming began late Feb. 6 when the 19-member production crew arrived at Fort Knox. Leon Seymour, Friends of Fort Knox executive director, provided the investigators a tour of the site and recounted visitor reports of paranormal experiences. After the initial tour and overview, SyFy "Ghost Hunters" stars Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson began their investigation of the fort. Their efforts extended to approximately 3:30 a.m.

The investigation continued the evening of Feb. 7 into the following morning amidst brief snow showers. On the afternoon of Feb. 8, the "Ghost Hunters" production company interviewed individuals who had reported as having a paranormal experience at the fort to the Friends. One of those interviewed by the crew was local radio personality Sky Taylor, who reported hearing various sounds and even seeing an apparition. On Feb. 9, Bureau of Parks and Lands Historic Site Specialist Tom Desjardin provided the production company with a brief history of Fort Knox. The "Ghost Hunters" film crew spent the rest of the day shooting exterior shots of the fort from various locations and some shots of the town of Prospect.

On Feb. 11, Hawes and Wilson, presented their paranormal investigation findings to Seymour. This portion of the investigative process, known as "the reveal," will be kept confidential until the TV program airs.

"Ghost Hunters" producer Patrick Powell, based in California, told Seymour that he expects the Fort Knox episode to air in late March or April. The Friends of Fort Knox are giving some thought to having a screening party the night the episode airs on the SyFy channel. The organization says that they will release details and how the public may obtain tickets in the near future.
[...]
Individuals interested in learning more about the Friends of Fort Knox, special events and the history of the historic site are encouraged to visit fortknox.maineguide.com.

Full article source: http://capital.villagesoup.com/ae/story/ghost-hunters-wraps-fort-knox-investigation/380561

Ghost Hunters at Fort Knox in Bucksport

Some of you may remember rumors from about a year ago that the television show Ghost Hunters was interested in paying a visit to Fort Knox, located across the Penobscot River from Bucksport, Maine. Now, seen on Fenceviewer and elsewhere, the confirmation of the soon-to-be visit of Ghost Hunters to Maine's own Fort Knox is official!

Some of you may remember the write-up I did a couple of years ago after my first visit to the Fort during their annual Paranormal and Psychic Faire: http://strangemaine.blogspot.com/2009/09/not-your-normal-fort.html The episode will definitely be worth watching!

“Ghost Hunters” to Visit Fort Knox
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 at 4:10 pm

PROSPECT — SyFy television network’s “Ghost Hunters” program will film an episode of the popular series this month at Fort Knox.

A video crew will spend six days at the fort looking for evidence of “ectoplasmic apparitions,” according to a press release from the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands.
[...]
“The fort has the feel of a big, medieval dungeon, so it’s really natural for people to wonder if it’s haunted,” Desjardin said.

The park historian said there are no official reports of hauntings at Fort Knox, and only one soldier on record died while at the fort.

The fort’s barracks were not located in the fort, but in an unspecified wooden structure located somewhere on the fort property, Desjardin said. In 1866, an artilleryman, a new recruit that spoke only German, died of disease while stationed there.

“He was buried at the fort, but we don’t know where,” Desjardin continued. “No one knows where the burial ground is. It was never fenced off — and he’s the only occupant.”

Desjardin said he will give the video crew a tour of the fort, help with setting up and do a historical interview. The crew is expected to do two nights of investigation, the park historian said.

“We hope the crew will be prepared for winter nights on the Maine coast,” Desjardin said.

Leon Seymour, executive director of the Friends of Fort Knox, will serve as “the client” who points out where visitors have had unusual experiences.

For more information about “Ghost Hunters,” visit http://www.syfy.com/gh/.

Source: http://fenceviewer.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58445:%E2%80%9CGhost%20Hunters%E2%80%9D%20to%20Visit%20Fort%20Knox&catid=1:latest-news

Photo by Michelle Souliere, (c)2009.

Wood Island lighthouse ghost tour!

This photo is the earliest known photo of Wood Island (c. 1858).
 Source: http://www.woodislandlighthouse.org

Join author and paranormal investigator Ron Kolek and members of the New England Ghost Project for an overnight investigation of Wood Island Lighthouse, Biddeford, on Saturday, Sept. 11th, 2010.

Ghost Hunt at Wood Island Lighthouse with the New England Ghost Project
http://neghostproject.com/
September 11th-12th

Have you ever wanted to go on a ghost hunt? Now is your chance! On the night of September 11th and the morning or the 12th, join author, radio personality and paranormal investigator Ron Kolek and members of the New England Ghost Project for an overnight investigation of Wood Island Lighthouse. This lighthouse was featured in their book Ghost Chronicles and has a history of unusual occurrences.

Former keepers, Coast Guard personnel and others have witnessed strange events associated with the island and lighthouse. In 1896, a tragic murder-suicide took place on the island. Do their spirits still inhabit the island? Or is it that of a former lighthouse keeper? Or is it something more sinister?

Join Ron and the rest of the NEGP crew for an unbelievable night as they attempt to unravel the mystery of Wood Island. The price of this overnight investigation is only $100. The Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse will be providing free transportation to the island. (All funds will be donated to the Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse for preservation of the facility).

Do you have what it takes to become a ghost hunter?
Sign up and find out! CALL 207-468-8057

In addition, the New England Ghost Project will be offering two tours of the lighthouse on Saturday, September 11th, at 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM. The cost will be $20/person. FOWIL will be providing free transportation. Reservations are required. Call our reservation line 207-286-3229

Readers may also be interested in "Maine Open Lighthouse Day," September 18th, 2010, when FOWIL will once again be participating in the 2nd annual Maine Open Lighthouse Day. Weather permitting, FOWIL will host tours of Wood Island Lighthouse. This event is sponsored by the State of Maine, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the American Lighthouse Foundation. Reservations are required and may be made after October 1st by calling the reservation line at 207-286-3229.

For information about the other Maine lighthouses participating in this event, go to http://www.visitmaine.com/attractions/sightseeing_tours/lighthouse/lighthouse-day/

---------
The New England Ghost Project (http://neghostproject.com/) is based out of Dracut, Massachusetts. This paranormal investigation group is led by Ron Kolek, their Executive Director/Lead Investigator. According to their website:

Ron Kolek is the founder and lead investigator of The New England Ghost Project. With a degree in Environmental Science, he was the ultimate skeptic. However, a near death experience changed all that. No longer blinded by his skepticism, he now uses scientific background to seek the truth about the paranormal. In addition to hosting Ghost Chronicles on Ghostvillage Radio and ITunes, he hosts a weekly internet radio show on Toginet.com, and writes monthly paranormal newspaper columns in The Stateline Review and Food and Spirits.

[Source: http://neghostproject.com/team.htm]

The group also releases two regular podcast series: Ghost Chronicles and Ghost Chronicles International.

UMaine ghost hunters

UMaine in Orono has its own on-campus paranormal investigation club, the UMPIC, (or possibly PRIUM: Paranormal Research and Investigation of the University of Maine, depending on where you look online). The Maine Campus online newspaper has been reporting on the recent rallying of the group, which was founded in 2005 (according to an earlier Maine Campus article, also included below).

Who you gonna call? UMaine Paranormal Investigation Club
By Rhiannon Sawtelle
Posted on Thursday, February 4th, 2010, 4:01 am

Tales of Ma Estabrooke wandering the halls of her dormitory, the spooky noises in Colvin Hall and the housemother watching over the Beta House remind the University of Maine community there is a rich history of supposed paranormal activities on campus.

The UMaine Paranormal Investigation Club is ready to confirm or disprove these legends. With a resurgent presence on campus, the group is working on building their base of members to expand their ghost-hunting endeavors.

“We’re still working on trying to get it up,” said Denise Bickford, a second-year English student and president of the group.

The group has been on campus for at least six years, but has declined in membership over the past few years. When Bickford joined in the fall of 2008, she began to pick up the slack of the dissipating group.

The club made strides last semester when it became an official student group, recognized by Student Government.

“That was really exciting,” said Amie Dick, a second-year social work student and vice-president of the club. “We just got back on our feet.”

The numbers are growing, with a solid base of 10 members and five or six more new recruits who grew interested after a presentation from Mike Marino, a member of the Bangor Ghost Hunters.

Marino spoke to the group during their usual meeting time Monday from 5 to 6 p.m. in the Senior Skulls room. He spoke about his experiences in the group, how to investigate and the equipment used in the process.

“It was really informative. … It was interesting to hear from someone on the case,” Bickford said.

With growing interest in the group, the club is escalating their efforts to investigate the paranormal.

“We’re trying to expand to all paranormal stuff,” Bickford said.

This year, they plan to investigate hauntings around campus, take a tour of a cemetery in Lewiston and visit a cryptozoology museum. According to Bickford, this is a great improvement over last year when the group only went on one investigation in Estabrooke Hall.

The members’ interests lie in all things paranormal, and they takes different steps depending on what they are investigating. When they investigate supposed hauntings, they bring camcorders and still-frame cameras, hoping to capture ghost sightings.

During the cemetery visit, they will use their own observations and electrical readings that denote the presence of spirits. There has been a lot of reported activity around a mausoleum in the cemetery.

“A lot of people have felt a presence there. … It’s intuitive,” Dick said.

“It depends on what you’re looking for in a haunting,” Bickford said. “It’s not a science; you can’t really prove anything.”

Bickford and Dick note that a real ghost-hunting experience isn’t like those portrayed on popular television shows like “Ghost Hunters” and “Paranormal State.”

“You’re not going to find something most of the time,” Bickford said. “You have to go over what you think is real and what isn’t.”

“I think it’s good to go into an investigation with an open mind,” Dick said.

Both women believe there is paranormal activity alive and well in the world but admit that skeptics are good to have around to balance an investigation.

“I don’t consider myself a skeptic … but there are things that can be written off,” Bickford said.

They explained the importance of critically examining evidence and understanding there won’t be activity every investigation.

An interest in the unknown is what drew Bickford and Dick to the club; they joined through word of mouth. While Dick is still waiting for a paranormal experience, Bickford recently experienced a sighting this summer. The incident confirmed her suspicion there were things we can’t explain in the world.

Bickford’s family lives in an old house in Winterport, and her mother has always heard unidentifiable voices and music. Bickford had never before experienced a haunting but woke up one night this summer to see a figure of a man in her room.

“It’s nothing I should be scared of. … it freaks you out if you don’t know what’s going on, though,” Bickford said.

As for Dick, she is still waiting for an experience to confirm her beliefs.

“I wish,” she said.

[Source]

an earlier article, also from The Maine Campus online newspaper, mentions a Ma Balentine spirit instead of a Ma Estabrooke spirit, but you get the idea.

Paranormal Club tackles supernatural on campus
By Michael Hartwell
Posted on Monday, April 4th, 2005, 12:00 am

Toby Paradis has been intimately familiar with cemeteries for over two years. He’s not a grave robber or in mourning. No, the third-year theater major goes to graveyards because he has a passion for the supernatural. A little while ago, he figured out a way to find other students with similar interests: He started a club.

Last semester, Student Council gave the University of Maine Paranormal Investigation Club the greenlight. Right now there are 10 dedicated members and a host of drifters and frequenters. Since only a few months have passed since its formation, UMPIC is still a trial club. This means it will take a few months before Student Council starts giving them any funding.

UMPIC covers a lot of ground in the world of the unexplained. “We focus on ghosts and spirits,” Paradis said, but is quick to point out that nothing mysterious is off-limits. Secretary Michelle Shandorf said “We don’t do aliens and stuff, but we’ve been asked about it a lot, so maybe we will someday.”

A typical one-hour meeting can have discussions that cover topics as diverse as poltergeists, telekinesis, Chupacabra, rains of frogs and Pamola, the storm god who watches over Mount Katahdin.

UMPIC members don’t just talk about the supernatural, they go out and look for it. In late January, they investigated Balentine hall in hopes of finding Ma Balentine, the long-dead house mother who allegedly still makes her curfew rounds. Unfortunatly, their search didn’t yield any evidence of hauntings. Vice President Caiti Joly wasn’t discouraged. “Just because we don’t find anything doesn’t mean there’s nothing there, we could have missed it,” she said.

Veterans of the Balentine expedition point out that the residential director wouldn’t let them into the locked fourth floor due to a series of potential hazards. UMPIC members think that recent construction may have driven Ma Balentine up to the restricted, untouched floor.

UMPIC prides themselves on their fair investigations. “We don’t make conclusions around opinions or beliefs. We’re scientific. We stay focused and we stay skeptical,” Shandorf said.

Investigations involve members exploring areas that are reported to have paranormal activities. They bring any equipment they have, cameras and tape recorders for now, and try to find evidence. The investigations are open to anyone, even scaredy-cats.

“We don’t go anywhere alone, we use the buddy system,” Paradis said. There are two reasons for this rule. One reason is to make sure no one gets protecting investigators from becoming uncomfortable or frightened. The other incentive is so they can rely on any evidence they collect.

“If you were recording and alone, you could cough into the tape recorder and forget about it, and then when we listen to the tape, we wouldn’t know where that sound came from,” said Joly.

The Maine’s Paranormal Research Association, the group responsible for the Halloween night investigations on campus in 2003, are making plans to visit UMPIC in the near future and give them some investigation pointers.

According to UMPIC, most of the buildings on campus have had reports of unexplained phenomena. One of the explanations the group suggests is that the Hilltop area is built over Indian burial grounds. Well-known spectors include the suicide ghost of Stodder, Ma Balentine and the various spirits of Estabrooke.

UMPIC member Dave Sawyer is looking forward to the upcoming investigation of Estabrooke hall on April 9. The Estabrooke resident director plans to accompany the group and grant them access to all of the locked rooms. “From what I’ve read, classic hauntings happen around places people don’t frequent,” Sawyer said.

Sawyer reports that he has already seen a few paranormal activities in Estabrooke.

“I was in the basement and I saw what appeared to be a ball of light dance around and melt into a door. What did I actually see? I can’t be sure. I still don’t believe my own eyes. That’s something I’m embarrassed about; I don’t tell my friends about it,” Sawyer said.

Other phenomena from Estabrooke include exploding light bulbs and a locked, unoccupied dorm room that placed a series of 911 calls.

UMPIC feels their investigations will really take off when they receive their funding. The club plans to spend it on an electromagnetic field meter, cameras, thermometers and transportation costs. Instead of sitting on their hands and waiting like good little children, UMPIC is making plans to earn money by selling pizza cards for $10. Each card is good for 20 buy-one-get-one-free pizza opportunities. The store to redeem them has not yet been selected yet.

UMPIC encourages potential new members and curious parties to stop by their meetings Thursday nights at 8 p.m. in the Senior Skulls room on the third floor of the Memorial Union. Unfortunately, there are no telepaths in UMPIC at this point. Until then, all questions can be directed to Toby Paradis or Michelle Shandorf via FirstClass.

[Source]

PRIUM has a Facebook page here:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2201466794

and a presumably defunct/non-functional website here:
http://umaine.edu/umpic/home.htm

A different type of chill

Photo of SMCC's Hillside dorm from PRI-ME.org website.

While the cold has settled into the state in earnest, I'd like to throw some spooky chills into the mix as well.

I was talking to a friend of mine who has worked in SMCC's resident inn, and finds it a pretty creepy place to work through late nights at. But online, I found references to SMCC Hillside dorm as a home for haunts, which was new to me. I can't vouch for any of this information, but would definitely be interested in hearing from anyone who has experienced any of the Hillside phenomena mentioned here:

Southern Maine Technical College, South Portland: A Funeral Home

The Hillside Dorm has a long and strange history. This specific branch is now housing for students but at certain points in its career it has been not only a funeral home, but a brothel, and a nursing home. All this history makes it difficult to predict exactly what is haunting the halls of this college. There is a man who wanders the floors of the attic. There is also repeats of a creature up there who moves to and fro. Many times maintenance has tried to catch it, but as of yet it has eluded all traps. Strange dusty footprints have been reported around the traps. There is also an older lady and a young boy who are said to torment some of the students by messing with their blankets and windows at night. There is also a young woman in a nightgown who walks up and down the staircase in the evening hours. The validity of this sighting is that not only has she been seen by individuals, but also groups.

[Source

In searching for a photo of the dorm online, I found that Paranormal Researchers and Investigators of Maine (PRI-ME) has done a training session for paranormal investigations at the site. You can read about their investigation here -- lots of photos too!

Local filmmakers looking for ghosts

Thought some of you might be interested in hearing about this...

-------------------------------------------

HAVE YOU EVER HAD A GHOSTLY ENCOUNTER?

If the answer is yes and you live in Maine, The Soul Smack Team would like to talk to you.

Following the success of their debut documentary YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE, which investigated the phenomenon of sleep paralysis with a supernatural presence,
the Maine-based Soul Smack production team are now in production for their next DVD release, which will be an investigation on the subject of Ghosts and Spirits, i.e. non-material entities.

You may have witnessed first-hand an apparition or been the victim of a frightening haunting, you may even be clairvoyant or sensitive to unseen energy forms, what ever your experience or encounter may be, they would like to interview you and share your story with the world.

HAVE YOU EVER WANTED TO BE AN EXTRA IN A FILM?

They will also be producing reenactments to compliment some of the paranormal stories, and are looking for enthusiastic people to act out some of the scenes. If you have ever been interested in acting or being an extra this could be the opportunity you have been waiting for. They consider themselves to be "a fun team," and promise to ensure a calm and relaxed environment. If you are interested in any of the above please contact Paul Taitt at paultaitt [at] soulsmack.com

EVENT: Ghost hunter meetup SUN.!

Maine Ghost Hunters have announced the latest in their new series of meetups, which were started to generate a space for casual and lively conversation between those of us who are interested by paranormal investigation of all sorts.

What: Maine Ghost Hunters MeetUp
When: Sunday, March 1, 2009 10:00 AM
Where: Click the link here to find out the Brunswick location of this get together!
RSVP: Space is limited at this location so please RSVP, either thru the MGH Meetup site, or by emailing Kat at KatM[at]maineghosthunters.org

KatM says: Come join a few of the Maine Ghost Hunters team members for some casual paranormal conversation at a local bookstore. We'll chill out and relax in the coffee shop while we share stories, experiences, and perspectives. If you have photo evidence to share, or that you'd like to seek an outside opinion on, feel free to bring it along.

We've received confirmation from DavidH, our Maine Ghost Hunters team sensitive, that he'll be joining us, so if you're more interested in the spiritual/sensitive side of paranormal, you won't be left out.

We look forward to meeting up for a relaxing, low key, chill-session with paranormal enthusiasts such as yourselves, so keep your Sunday morning open and we hope to see you there!

This meeting will run from 10:00 am to 11:30 am.

Learn more here.

Pineland Cemetery exploration

Pineland has long been a staple buzzword for Maine students of the paranormal and weird. Known throughout its history under various names, including the Maine School for the Feeble-Minded, this site has fascinated people because of its often tragic and emotional history. Stories circulated between friends included accounts of strange noises, ghostly cries in the night, and odd lights seen floating in trees.

Today the site houses the progressive Pineland Farms, and much of the grounds are open for public use as walking trails, etc. (I went hiking there a couple of winters ago, and it was stark and beautiful -- a few pictures here). It exists now as a sunny and cheerful place, active and well-populated, a blazing contrast to the bulk of its century-long history as a mental institution and work farm.

The Maine Ghost Hunters paid a visit to the cemetery at Pineland as part of their ongoing research into the site before embarking on a full-blown investigation, and recorded their meditations on the site in a blog posting.

At the beginning of August, 2008 TonyL and I (KatM) took a drive out to New Gloucester to observe the gravesites of the numerous patients who died while in the care and/or under the guardianship of the Pinelands institution. We’re still researching the matter but the history of Pinelands, as a mental health institution, really preceded its very name up until the most recent of times. The accounts of patient maltreatment, abuse, neglect, and abhorrent human condition that plagued the earlier days of this facility have given rise to notions that those who passed-on while confined to Pinelands never really left this place; and some may still haunt the location of their final resting spot.

Read full post here, with photos: [Source]

Photo (c)2007 by Michelle Souliere.

Kennebunk store landing place for ghosts?

It seems like with the turn of the season, every ghost hunter in town is having a field day -- which is great for those of us who are interested in these things but have yet to do them ourselves!

Molly Lovell of the Kennebunk Post recently accompanied a new Maine paranormal group on a late night investigation of that classic of Kennbunk historic commerce, The Landing Store, at 157 Summer Street. Heading the investigation was the Coffin and Aiello Paranormal Society (CAPS). Hosting them was experienced Landing Store employee, Steven Burr.

While he never conducted his own investigation at the Landing Store, he told of circumstances that couldn’t be explained. While alone in the store one night he heard a man’s voice call his name.
“It was deep and staticky, like it was coming through a ham radio,” he said.
On another occasion, again while alone in the store, soda bottles would appear on the counter after Burr repeatedly put them back in the cooler.
Some employees report baking sheets will fly off the shelf and on one occasion money in the store’s safe seemed to have disappeared only to reappear with no explanation.
Despite this, Burr said he doesn’t feel frightened at the store.
[Source]

You can read a full account of the investigation here on the Kennebunk Post's website.

The Landing Store has a great website as well, with detailed historical information and imagery from the store's past, which dates back to its original incarnation in 1872 at a different location. You can view the site here: http://www.thelandingstore.com/

Anderson Cemetery, Windham

The Maine Ghost Hunters have been busy! They recently blogged about their trip to Anderson Cemetery in Windham, and it looks like it was a great expedition. Like any cemetery, it has some interesting history associated with it, but the cemetery also includes a number of highly unique gravesites. (Photos available on their blog.)

The reason we did a pre-investigation of the Anderson Cemetery is because we've been made aware of paranormal activity that has taken place here for quite a few years. We've heard about weird mists, plasma, strange sounds, apparitions, orb activity, and other supernatural occurrences. We did a dry run in an impromptu attempt at capturing EVP's, and took quite a few daytime pictures at the location, some of which yielded a few question-worthy results.
[Source]

The Maine Ghost Hunters' official site is located at http://www.maineghosthunters.org/

Illustration (c)Michelle Souliere.

Ethereal Company in Portland

Back in January, we posted about Josh Fisher's search for a spirit's history here in Portland's Evergreen Cemetery. We are pleased to note that the article led to an interview with the Portland Phoenix, which brought Josh right into their print issue with his story. Hooray!

Finding company in Evergreen Cemetery: Ghost buster
By DEIRDRE FULTON
January 23, 2008 3:01:12 PM

In October 2007, Portlander Joshua Fisher, 33, was walking through Evergreen Cemetery when he felt a “swirling energy sensation, like a bird flapping around my head.” Most of us would dismiss it as a weird hangover, or some otherwise-explained dizzy spell. But not Josh Fisher.

The following day, the amateur ghost-hunter — he’d been involved in paranormal investigations in his previous hometown of Philadelphia — went back to the cemetery to try to identify the source of the strange feeling. “I ended up at this one stone,” he recalls, “and I can’t explain why.”

That headstone marked the grave of Sarah Haskell, who was born in New Gloucester in 1822, and died in 1848 at the young age of 26.
...
And so began Fisher’s relationship with this spirit. He’s discovered a lot about her past through municipal records, old newspaper articles, and communication with Haskell’s distant relatives (her husband’s name was Alfred Woodard, and her descendents looked like regular 19th-century stiffs), but one fact remains elusive: how Haskell died. It could have been during childbirth, but there’s no mention of a baby. It could have been the result of one of the many diseases of the day, but that’s not noted either. Or it could be something juicier — “we may never know,” Fisher admits.

He employs several tools and techniques to help solve the mystery, including digital voice recordings that can capture faint, unidentifiable voices, and an infrared camera. (The best of these are posted on Fisher’s blog.) The untrained ear or eye may remain skeptical, but these electronic voice phenomena (EVPs) and images are just what trained ghost-hunters hope for when they start an investigation.

Fisher — a married graphic designer who otherwise comes off as totally ordinary — has been into the paranormal for years.

... “It’s the kind of thing I always thought I’d be scared of — but the fascination kind of overrides the fear.”
...
The Sarah Haskell case is Fisher’s first since moving back to Maine about a year ago; he hopes to continue his paranormal research in the Old Port, and wants to eventually launch a ghost-hunting team of his own. One of the most intriguing potential investigation sites? Bull Feeney’s. We knew there was something eerie about that place.
Read full article here: [Source]

Sarah Ware's Murder, Reinvestigated

The Lewiston Sun Journal continues to establish itself as Maine's source for premier investigative journalism about the strange side of Maine and its history with a fascinating article about an 1898 murder and the continuation of it investigation today.

Weird, Wicked Weird: In search of Sarah
By Lindsay Tice , Staff Writer
Saturday, February 9, 2008

In the fall of 1898, Sarah Ware vanished from the quiet evening streets of Bucksport.

Searchers found her body two weeks later, beheaded and badly decomposed, a raincoat tucked like a pillow under her severed head.

Rumors about her death swirled as town gossips claimed the 52-year-old divorcee had been a drinker, a gambler and worse. Although a local store owner was eventually tried for her murder, neither he nor anyone else was convicted.

A century later: enter Emeric Spooner. A Bucksport librarian and amateur investigator with a penchant for the paranormal and the historical, he was piqued by the gruesome murder, by the fact that no one was ever punished for the horrific crime, by the fact that Ware was all but forgotten in the small town, known only through a bad ghost story and a faded headstone in a pauper's grave.

He's worked for two years to put a face - literally - on her murder.

"She was just a house cleaner heading home," he said. "She was an innocent."

Spooner started a Web site dedicated to Maine's greatest unsolved mysteries a few years ago. He looked into local ghost stories, paranormal events and area murders, posting the information and evidence he'd gathered for anyone to see. Two years ago, he turned to the 1898 Ware case.
...
Scouring old documents, court records, news articles and the coroner's inquest, Spooner painstakingly pieced together the life and death of Sarah Ware, spending up to two hours a night on the project. He found she was a mother of four, a divorcee who "caught the eye of the town gossips." She worked as a cleaning woman and lent money to townspeople, including a local store owner she worked for, William Treworgy.

On the evening of Sept. 17, Ware left a friend's house and began walking home. She stopped briefly at a town store. She was never seen alive again.

Two weeks passed before anyone officially reported her missing. Search parties found her badly decomposed body by smell, following the rancid odor to an alder swamp just off Miles Lane, not far from her home. Her skull was broken in several places and had a hammer-sized hole in the temple. She was beheaded.

A Lewiston detective was called to be lead investigator in the case, and a Bangor detective joined him. They soon found a bloody hammer (engraved with the initials W.T.T.) and a bloody tarp in Treworgy's wagon. A man told them Treworgy had paid him to move a body to the swamp.

"They had intent, they had motive and they had Treworgy," Spooner said. "He's the one they finally took to trial."

But the trial took place four years after the murder, and by that time the Bangor detective had lost both the bloody hammer and the tarp, Spooner said. And the man who claimed Treworgy paid him to move a body? He recanted, saying he was forced by a selectman and members of the citizens' committee to lie.

Treworgy was acquitted.
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More than 100 years later, Spooner continues the investigation. He has his own theories.

"There's just too many things involved with Treworgy. If he didn't do it he helped move the body," he said.

Although he hasn't come up with a concrete answer yet, he recently found something almost as good - the only known photograph of Sarah Ware.

He discovered the 1892 black-and-white photo in an old library scrapbook. He compared it to the only other image of Ware he had, a tintype drawing featured in an old newspaper. For the first time, he could put a real face on the victim.
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"I'm just trying to get the facts out there," he said. "She was an innocent."

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Photo from Emeric Spooner. The lady in white is believed by him to be Sarah Ware. You can read his explanation of the photo, see the uncropped version of it, and read about his theories here on his website.

Hunting Ghosts in Wilton, Maine

Join intrepid Lewiston Sun Journal reporter Kathryn Skelton as she tails two of Maine's paranormal investigation teams (CMPI and CMRIP) in a survey of the premises of the Wilton Farm and Home Museum.

View the full article for access to a photo slideshow and video clips from the event. Here's a tidbit to whet your appetite, and a Sun Journal photo to boot.

One soul-searching night
By Kathryn Skelton , Staff Writer
Saturday, March 3, 2007

It was cold, and dark, and I-swear-one-of-the-mannequins-in- the-room-is-going-to-move-any-second creepy.

Jim Wetherell asked if any spirits were with us, and at that moment something touched the tiny microphone clipped to his chest.

Three minutes into the ghost hunt.

Maybe it was nothing. But maybe ...

[Source]