Eliot farmhouse ghost generates book

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.
[...]
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.
[...]
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.
[...]
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

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.

Rob all night? Time to pay

The Portland Daily Sun (portlanddailysun.me) ran a story by Matt Dodge a week ago that had the entire early morning coffee gaggle agog. The funny part? The story starts out normally enough, detailing the multiple charges of robbery, etc., levied against Paul Schlosser, 25, of Standish. It's not until you read the last line on page 1 that you have a clue there might be more interesting details on page 3... "'He's well known to Portland police,' said Portland Police Chief James Craig, who also said that Schlosser's crime spree was likely fueled by drug use, based on behavior witnessed by the arresting officers." What behavior, pray tell?

Schlosser started out by robbing the Cumberland Farms store on Pine Street. Officers were able to identify him from the surveillance camera tapes from the store. Then over the next couple of hours, there was a bunch of muddling around involving previously stolen cars and attempts to steal other cars, possibly an ambulance, etc, at Maine Medical Center.

By 3:00am, Schlosser had found his way to the Circle K on Commercial Street, where he committed another robbery at knifepoint. A few hours later, at 6:00am, the McDonald's on St John Street put the police back on Schlosser's trail after he robbed them as well. This is where it gets interesting.

Police learned that the suspect, again identified as Schlosser, entered the restaurant with a knife and demanded money from the register. The employee refused, and Schlosser came behind the counter to pry open the drawer.

Police say that as Schlosser tried to force open the register, a McDonald's employee threw hot coffee on the suspect.

Craig said that while he commends the McDonald's employee for their part in deterring the suspect, “I don’t recommend anyone attack an armed suspect.”

Schlosser reportedly recovered from the hot coffee, and left the restaurant with the cash register. As Schlosser attempted to extract cash from the register, officers say, police saw him fleeing the location.

Schlosser then attempted to enter the passenger side of a stopped, occupied vehicle and was taken into custody by Portland police.

[Source]
Read full article here: http://www.portlanddailysun.me/cgi/story2.pl?storyid=20100826047021000198

I can only imagine what a news crew on the scene would have made of the last moments of the chase (oh, if only we had news crews that actually investigated real news!). Here's this guy who's been up all night, covered in hot coffee and hauling a heavy cash register, running down the street and then trying to get into someone's car as the police are closing in on him.

Again, here's to Portland's not-so-bright criminal population. Thank heavens you make it so easy to thwart you!

Another interesting tidbit from the article is mention of how Portland deals with crack cocaine: "I recently learned that possession of [personal amounts of] crack is a misdemeanor," Police Chief Craig is quoted as saying. "That is not acceptable. That’s a felony anywhere else in the country."

Another local news website, myfoxmaine.com, reported Craig as mentioning that Schlosser had been arrested 30 times over the past five years for an assortment of crimes.

Interview via the Sun Journal

I don't think I ever got a chance to post this on the blog last year, and thought some of you might have fun reading it, especially those of you who are recent additions to the blog subscribers. Definitely one of the lighter and more entertaining interviews I've done, thanks to the adept skills of Mark LaFlamme.

Face Time: Michelle Souliere, Chronicler of all things strange in Maine
By Mark LaFlamme
Published Jun 28, 2009 12:00 am

Freaks. Weirdos. Unmapped roads.... So begins the intro to the increasingly popular blog by the name Strange Maine. It was launched in 2005 by Michelle Souliere and for the past two years was named the very best by the Portland Phoenix. If it's strange and happening here, you can bet it will be covered at Strange Maine, not to be confused with Strange Maine the store or Strange Maine the book. Here, Michelle answers some questions about how she got to be the local authority on strange.

What is Strange Maine?
Strange Maine is a lot of things. It is made up of people, places and things that exist here in the state of Maine and perhaps nowhere else in the world. It is the feeling you get, which in some of us causes an almost giddy delight, when you stumble upon a pocket of this strangeness. It matters not whether the discovery is of a cache of weird items at someone's yard sale, a roadside museum that the world seems to have passed by but which has continued growing regardless, or a story that someone tells you about a weird house from their hometown that freaked them out as a kid. It's out there, and when you find it, it's darn good.

How did you come to create this site?
Honestly, I have a hard time remembering. I think I had spent a few months doing research on anomalous phenomenon, and perhaps stuff like whether downtown Portland is riddled with tunnel passageways, and other Maine- and New England-related weirdness. It baffled me that there was no single destination on the Web that collected this stuff to any real effect, especially as it related to Maine. So in a moment of insanity, I thought to myself, "I should do something about this!" and pressed that big orange button on Blogger.com that says "Create A Blog," thereby sealing my fate. It wasn't until later that I stumbled upon the New England Anomaly Web site, and realized I had neighbors as crazy as I am.

Why is Maine so freakin' strange?
I'm still trying to hash that one out. I can say "There's just something about it..." until the cows come home, but while it's a pleasingly ephemeral statement, it does nothing to clear up the puzzle. The real question is, do we actually want the riddle to be solved? My instinct says we don't. Part of the spell that Maine weaves is the fact that despite the best efforts of L.L. Beaners and tourist bureaus over the last century-plus to nail down and brand Maine to be sold like some rugged designer perfume to people from away, the best way to appreciate Maine is to find a spot here where you can just sit by yourself for a moment and absorb it.

I've tried to trace the element of strangeness to the wildness of Maine, its isolation, its sparse population and the tendency it has to attract and retain both the oddest and most wonderful of people (sometimes they are one and the same). It just doesn't add up. There has to be some weird synergistic effect, some alchemy at work, because the sum is greater than its tangible parts. Whatever it is, a crucial component in the recipe is the land itself, in all its Maine varieties — and, quite possibly, a lot of it has to do with being a borderland: a place on the border of wild and urban, on the border of the great Atlantic ocean, a place on the border of the U.S.-Canada line.

If you adopted the Turner Beast and gave him a name, what would it be?
For pure silliness, it would have to be Fred. If I wanted to freak people out, though, he'd be officially named "He Who Walks Behind the Trees" or "Fred the Terrible."

What do you have coming up?
The very tardy Spring '09 issue of the Strange Maine Gazette will be in print by July, which is pretty exciting for me, as I never thought I'd get it done after breaking my wrist in May. I'll be bringing copies of it to Zombie Kickball IV, here on Portland's Eastern Prom on Sunday June 28th, and then to the Paranormal and Psychic Faire at Fort Knox on the weekend of July 4th and 5th. I'm thrilled to be setting up at the Faire, after having heard about it for the last few years. I've never been to the historic Fort Knox site, which is supposed to be gorgeous, as well as very haunted, and it's an area of Maine I haven't explored yet, which is always a big bonus. I'm also working with a great group of local artists on a Strange Maine themed art show that I'll be curating at Sanctuary here in Portland, which will be on exhibit for the month of October. Never a dull moment!

[Source: http://www.sunjournal.com/node/20518]

Ghosts of islands past

I found an interesting short glimpse of the ruin of Little Chebeague island in a set of photos over at the Maine Island Kayak Company's blog (http://maineislandkayakco.blogspot.com/) in a post dating back to Halloween of 2008 titled "Island of Ghosts." The photos are well chosen and haunting, yet lovely.

For anyone who has the opportunity to boat out to the island, it looks like it is well worth the trip.

To quote the blog:

The Abenakis left shell middens here dating back thousands of years. More recently there was a large hotel and small community lasting from the mid 1800s until it was taken over by the Navy for use as an R&R facility and firefighting training. Once the Navy left in the 1940s, no one else came. Now the once proud "clamshell walk" is getting taken over by the bittersweet, the structures are uninhabitable and the only footfalls are made by the deer.

[Source]

According to Wikipedia,

The nearby island of "Little Chebeague" is accessible on foot, via a sandbar that appears at low tide. Being that there are many fresh-water underground springs and rivulets, low-tide exposed sandy areas such as the sandbar, or coves, often have "quicksand" zones that must be noted with caution. Little Chebeague, approximately 3/4 of a mile long, is uninhabited and mostly dense shrub and forest. Owned by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, it is an undeveloped park where picnicking, camping and swimming are allowed, but no facilities are provided.

[Source]

Ferry service to the larger Chebeague Island is available through the Casco Bay Lines ferry (cascobaylines.com).

Microhorror in Maine

We've all heard of horror novels, and horror short stories. But have you heard of horror microfiction? The website Microhorror.com defines microfiction thusly:

Microfiction is also referred to as flash fiction or short-short stories. The general goal of a microfiction author is to tell a story, set a mood or depict a scene in as few words as possible. There is no official limit on how long a story can be before it no longer qualifies, but on MicroHorror.com, you will find no stories longer than 666 words.

Much to my delight, I found a very brief homage to Stephen King's Maine on the site, in the form of an entry by author Jeff Ryan (http://www.microhorror.com/microhorror/author/jeff-ryan/), titled "Far From Yoknapatawpha."

Rod became interested in fictional places as a student of William Faulkner, whose Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi was a weird and wonderful place. But that love of the imagined made him unable to visit a place without also seeing what was imagined to be present there. That was why his trip to the New England coast was so dreadful...

Read the full story on the site. [Source]

Enjoy! Maybe a few among you have some microfiction of your own to submit...?

Illustration (c)2007 by Michelle Souliere.

TONIGHT: Ghost hunting tour in Bath

Investigators from the Maine Ghost Hunters Society will join “The Lady in the Red Cloak” for a special Haunted History Tour in Bath on Tues., Aug. 24.

The special Haunted History Tour with the Maine Ghost Hunters Society investigators will be on Tues, Aug. 24. The tour is by reservation only by calling (207)380-9912 or redcloaktours@gmail.com. Once a reservation is made, the starting time and location will be given out. “We do this so that we’re able to control the number of our guests so that everyone will have a fun and comfortable experience,” Lobkowicz said. The cost of the tour is $17.50 per person, a portion of which is donated to the Maine Ghost Hunters Society.

The ghost hunters will come equipped with specialized equipment used to test areas on the tour for the possible presence of paranormal activity.

“We’ve had plenty of unusual things show up in photographs taken by guests on our Haunted History Tours over the past 4 years that we’ve been in business,” said Sally Lobkowicz, Director of Haunted History Tours. “These include ‘orbs’, bolts of light, strange mists and more, but all that we’re really able to say about them is that we can’t explain why they appear in the photos. We’re researchers and story tellers – not paranormal experts.”

That’s where the investigators from the Maine Ghost Hunters Society come in. “This is a great group of people with a solid background in paranormal research dating back to 2007, and the ability to use equipment to enhance their investigation,” Lobkowicz said. “They have just completed an in-depth investigation of the former AMHI mental hospital, and their work has been widely published and televised. They have just started their own show, Maine Paranormal Radio on Maine Public Radio.”

The Bath special tour will be the first time that Haunted History Tours has conducted a collaborative effort with the Maine Ghost Hunters Society, which Lobkowicz feels is appropriate since 2010 is the first season for Haunted History Tours in Bath. “What better way to introduce something new than on our newest tour?” Lobkowicz asked. Haunted History Tours with “The Lady in the Red Cloak” already have venues in Camden, Damariscotta, Boothbay Harbor and Wiscasset. Special tours with the Maine Ghost Hunters Society will also be scheduled in those areas in the coming weeks, according to Lobkowicz.

Both the Maine Ghost Hunters Society and Haunted History Tours are hoping that the special tours will provide guests with an educational experience. “Watching the investigators use their equipment and explain how it all works will just be the first part of the experience,” Lobkowicz said. “Following the special tour, they will post the results of their investigation regarding that tour area on www.maineghosts.org.”

Julie Velez, co-founder of the Maine Ghost Hunters Society agrees. “Education is a primary part of our mission,” Velez said. “We look forward to introducing people to our investigation methods, and perhaps better understand what we do.

To help accomplish this, the Maine Ghost Hunters Society will provide a two-person team for the special tour comprised of a Lead Investigator and an Investigator equipped with devices that help see the unseen, whether by image, sound, or even electromagnetic activity.

First on the equipment list are two items that are sensitive to electromagnetic activity, which is associated with things both seen and unseen. In the everyday world, most living things generate an electromagnetic signature, as do (of course) electronic devices and wires that carry electricity.

What’s unusual is when the devices pick-up electromagnetic activity where it shouldn’t be. To observe this, the investigators from Maine Ghost Hunters Society will carry a K2 Electromagnetic Field (EMF) device that registers the activity on an LED meter. According to Velez, this device is particularly noteworthy in that it can instantly record changes in the EMF, which sometimes appear to be responsive to spoken questions and other input.

A second EMF device, the Electromagnetic Field Detector, will provide investigators and tour guests with a much more sensitive device for recording EMF signals. However, this instrument has a read out with a needle, making the K2 EMF device a more immediate and visual instrument.

Use of both these devices at once literally provides the “best of both worlds” to record any potential paranormal activities, according to Velez. The two devices, working simultaneously, tend to corroborate each other’s EMF observations.

The Maine Ghost Hunters Society will also carry two pieces of equipment well known to most of the public – a digital camera and a digital sound recorder. The digital camera will be used to record scenes for later examination, as sometimes things will appear in the images that were unseen by the human eye at the time that the image was recorded. Likewise, the digital voice recorder has the ability to pick up on sounds that cannot be heard by the human ear.

For more information on Haunted History Tours (and photos taken by guests of unusual phenomenon) check www.RedCloakHauntedHistoryTours.com (there is also a page on the website discussing orbs under “Ghostly Sightings”). For more information on the Maine Ghost Hunters Society check www.maineghosts.org.

EVENT: First Friday Artwalk "Relics" opening

The Green Hand is very pleased to present "Relics," a series of digital and traditional photographs depicting industrial decay, anachronism, and forgotten places around Portland and Southern Maine, as captured by the intrepid Eric Pomorski.

WHAT: First Friday Artwalk opening of "Relics" by Eric Pomorski
WHEN: Friday, September 3rd, 2010 from 5:00-8:00pm
WHERE: The Green Hand Bookshop, 661 Congress Street, Portland, ME
FMI: (207)450-6695 or see the Facebook event page http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=101655499895193

Fans of urban exploration, abandoned mill buildings, and other remnants of Maine's past will be especially interested in this show. A wide range of Eric's work is posted on Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/epomorski/

We are very excited to have his work on display throughout the month of September!

TONIGHT: Adelle - Maine horror film showing

Come check out the latest version of Adelle, new ending and all, at Geno's tonight, August 16th, 2010. Doors open at 8pm, show starts at 9pm, admission by donation, must be 21+.

WHAT: Screening of Maine indy horror film Adelle, part of the Fun Box at the Movies series
WHEN: TONIGHT! Monday, August 16, 2010. Doors @ 8:00, showing at 9:00pm
WHERE: Geno's at 625 Congress Street, Portland, ME
FMI: The Facebook event page for RSVP is here:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=141561715877058&ref=mf, or call the Fun Box Monster Emporium at 329-5385

Adelle tells the tale of a young deaf girl who is left in the middle of nowhere by her parents in the 1930′s. Adelle is forced to try and survive based on her very limited life skills. Along the way, her voyage turns into a very dark, horrifying trip.

The film echoes the dark themes presented in stories like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, and presents a visual smorgasbord for viewers. “We set out to make a very trippy, scary film from the perspective of the child. We came out of production very happy with the work we accomplished.” said co-writer/director Andy Davis.

Adelle was written by children’s poetry author Sandy McKeon and horror filmmaker Andy Davis. Adelle marks the seventh film for Davis as director. Strange Maine readers may remember our extensive coverage of some of his prior films, including the zombie apocalypse movie 2 (see production photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/darkbrilliance/sets/72157594554822363/). The main body of Davis's work with Emptyhouse Film was collected in the DVD set "Twisted Tales from Maine" which we reviewed back in February 2009 (here). Adelle has the proud honor of being slated for release and distribution by Elite Entertainment very shortly.

Grafitti archive interview

Graffiti art behind the Asylum's main graffiti wall, Portland ME. April 2007.

Portland is well-known by locals as a haven for graffiti art, which generates both controversy and support in the community. Aubin Thomas has begun recording some of this transient and ephemeral art on her photoblog, http://freezetagging.wordpress.com/, where she posts photos of past and current work, and encourages others to submit their own photos via email. The Portland Daily Sun did a great article about the subject this past weekend:

Street SmART

In some ways, Aubin Thomas simply runs a simple art history blog. Just don’t expect oil paints and canvas — spray paint and cement walls are more the focus here.

Thomas documents street art around Portland, and combines her interest in art with her passion for preservation at freezetagging.wordpress.com.

But the site is also part of a local trend of providing a transition zone of sorts, a place somewhere between often-illegal street art and gallery openings. And while the debate over street art – especially illegal graffiti – continues, there’s little doubt that the work is steadily edging onto Portland’s cultural consciousness, with two movies screenings, several gallery shows and even an college art exhibit of a famous street artist happening just this month.

“I have a big issue with things being forgotten,” explained Thomas, a one-time Maine College of Art student and current tour guide at the Victoria Mansion. “And even though it’s not my art, I want there to be a record of it.”

Thomas said she had long noticed street art while traipsing across the city, but came up with the idea for the blog after helping to deconstruct the installation by New York graffiti artist Swoon at SPACE Gallery last winter.

“It made me really sad, because she made all these hand-drawn wheatpaste pieces, and we had to scrape them off with a paint scraper,” she said.

For Thomas, the blog is also a way to get people to think about graffiti in a new way by decontextualizing the work. “If it’s in a gallery, some people will accept anything, but if it’s on the street, they instantly hate it,” she explained.

The term “street art” encompasses a broad range of art forms, from spray-can-applied graffiti tags to stencil, stickers, wheatpastes, knits and some perfectly legal, often promotional, posters. Generally, “street art” is used to describe any work developed in a public space.

There are also a few less generous terms that can be applied to the practice.

Read the full article here: [Source]

http://www.portlanddailysun.me/cgi/story2.pl?storyid=20100813027201000172

Photo by Michelle Souliere.

EVENT: Irish settlers in Western Cemetery

Via Ed King of the West End News:

Early Irish Settlers to be Honored at Western Cemetery

The Ancient Order of Hibernians will honor more than one thousand early Portland settlers with a Mass and a ceremony at the Western Cemetery at 1:00pm on Sunday, August 15th, 2010. The event will also mark the 11th anniversary of the dedication of the Memorial Stone, which memorializes the early Portland Catholics, mostly Irish, who are buried in the cemetery's 'Catholic ground.'

The settlers, most of whom are buried in unmarked graves, came from Ireland during and after the 'Great Hunger' in Ireland in the 1840s, which resulted from the potato crop failure. The annual Mass will be followed by a reception at St. Patrick's Church on Congress Street. In case of rain, the Mass will be held at St. Patrick's.The Western Cemetery is located at the corner of Danforth and Vaughan Street in the West End.

For more information, contact James Avjian at 799-3606.

Maine's son of horror coming to town!

Joe Hill will be appearing in Portland on Saturday, August 14!

New York Times Best Selling Author Joe Hill will be in Portland on Saturday, August 14th, for a book release event and signing at Casablanca Comics (downtown at 151 Middle Street) from 4:00-6:00pm.

Joe Hill will be signing copies of his new graphic novel "Locke and Key: Crown of Shadows" and the first issue of his newest comic book series "Locke and Key: Keys to the Kingdom." Joe Hill's previous novels include the best-selling "Heart Shaped Box" and the recently released "Horns." His short story collections include "20th Century Ghosts" and "The New Dead."

FMI: http://www.casablancacomics.com

New cult film series launches!

Robert Deveau happily encounters friendly horror folk Garou and Penny Dreadful here in Portland!

There's a great article by Chad Pennell over on the fledgling local "Maine Observer" which sets the stage for a new ongoing film series that started in Portland the other week. Yow! Watch out!

‘Lost Skeleton’ ushers in cult films at Geno’s

An actor, a witch, and a werewolf walk into a bar. That’s not the beginning of a joke, it’s the first sight I saw at “The Lost Skeleton Returns Again” at Geno’s last Monday.

Read the full article here: [Source]
http://thesignal.maineobserver.net/2010/08/02/

Future showings of note include a late September showing of Texas Chainsaw Massacre featuring an appearance by the one and only Gunnar Hansen, a.k.a. Leatherface!

Shilling Shockers "Trio of Terror" portrait by Peter Pereira

If you missed the July 26th Maine premiere showing of "The Lost Skeleton Returns Again," and simultaneous appearances by star Robert Deveau, plus Penny Dreadful and Garou (our New England horror host favorites, hosts of TV's "Shilling Shockers"), be sure to keep your fingers on the Fun Box Monster Emporium pulse, as rumors of new showings pop up periodically!

Watch out, Maine! Things are happening in Portland!

Robert's report on the event can be found here:
http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/robert+deveau

summer reading

Summer in Maine! The time goes faster than you can say, don't get me stahhted! 'Nuff said. The weather outside is delightful and with all this extra daylight, it's always useful to have some ideas for outdoor activities. Between commuting to the daily grind (albeit with a Vacationland license plate) and those occasional weekend festivals around Maine, we need only be reminded of those simple and timeless pleasures.
Not passing up a chance to learn from history, StrangeMaine presents a few ideas drawn from the Archives of the Portland Public Library. You may recognize some of the landmarks...

Summer treats and walking with friends: Old Orchard Beach, 1937. A great thing to do on a lingering evening.


Sightseeing. Mainers can do this, too! Our versions of "stay-cations" include some great places. This was taken on Portland's Eastern Promenade, near Fort Allen Park in 1953.


Go for a spin in your faithful old car! This image was taken in 1944, though the car (called the "Deering High School Staff Car") is much older than that. Your passenger might even wind up with a foot on the windshield!


A carefree bicycle ride. Extra credit if you decorate the spokes! This was taken in 1953.


Baseball! Maybe playing it, maybe going out to the ball game. Here are the Portland Pilots in 1947. Back then, the place where Hadlock Field stands was called Portland Stadium. The firehouse on the left on the picture is still there, and the street in the background is Washburn Street.


Do some writing. In this fine weather, you can bring those literary projects outdoors! If your car doesn't have a rumble seat (and a pillow) , there are always lawn chairs. This picture is from 1938.


Sketching by the sea. Get out the charcoal, the watercolors, or the oils- and maybe a few kindred artists. Recording their impressions, these captivated folks were photographed in 1951.

The Beach. Well, of course. And we all have our favorites. Here's Portland's East End Beach in 1953.


Don't forget to keep plenty of water handy in that wicked hot weather. Or Moxie. Here's an aqueous-minded dog at the SPCA Pullen Fountain on Portland's Federal Street, in 1948.

Have a fabulous summer- and take lots of pictures, too!

Photographs from: Portland Press Herald Still Film Negative Collection, Portland Public Library Archives.

Fort Knox Paranormal & Psychic Faire 2010!

While I am unable to make it to the Faire this year, that doesn't mean you should stay at home! Far from it. Please see my article about last year's faire here: http://strangemaine.blogspot.com/2009/09/not-your-normal-fort.html Needless to say, I highly recommend a visit to the Fort, faire or not.



The annual Psychic/Paranormal Faire returns to Fort Knox on Saturday and Sunday, July 31st and August 1st, 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM. This unusual event features presentations from ghost hunters, UFO enthusiasts, an exorcist, speakers on the legacy of Edgar Cayce and a practicing psychic. Psychics/card readers will be on hand for those wishing to purchase a reading and vendors will be present to sell unusual items.

Melissa Gaspar will be presenting a talk on one of America’s most famous psychics, Edgar Cayce. Cayce was alo known as the sleeping prophet, because many of his revelations about the future came about when he was in a trance-like state.

Christopher Gardner and Cindy Proulx, will lead discussions on the topic of Unidentified Flying Objects. They will be facilitating discussion on the topic with audience members.

The Bangor Ghost Trackers will be on hand to talk about their investigations at Fort Knox and other sites around Maine. The Ghost Trackers will exhibit the tools, techniques and results found in their paranormal investigations.

Former President of the American Dowsing Society, Gordon Barton, will speak on his decades of experience in the filed of dowsing. Barton will reveal that there is far more to the art of dowsing than simply looking for underground water.

Local psychic, Sky Taylor, will speak on her life experiences as a psychic and how people might tap into their own psychic abilities. Cindy Proulx, a long-time UFO enthusiast will lead discussions on the possible existence of Unidentified flying Objects.

Here is the schedule for the two-day faire:
Saturday, July 31st

All-Day Events
10:00 – 4:00 Psychics and vendors in the Fort Officer’s Quarters
10:00 – 4:00 Lecturers will be available in the Visitor Center

Lectures
Lectures take place in the amphitheater at Visitor Center.
10:00am Paranormal Investigation Process, Equipment and Techniques (Bangor Maine Ghost Trackers)
11:00 The Legacy of psychic Edgar Cayce (Melissa Gaspar)
12:00 UFOs? What Do You Think? (Facilitated by local UFO enthusiast Cindy Proulx)
1:00 Exorcism (Ahura Z)
2:00 Paranormal Investigation Process, Equipment and Techniques (Bangor Maine Ghost Trackers)
3:00 Developing Your Sixth Sense (Sky Taylor)

Sunday, August 1

All-Day Events
10:00 – 4:00 Psychics and vendors in the Fort Officer’s Quarters
10:00 - 4:00 Lecturers will be available in the Visitor Center

Lectures
Lectures take place in the amphitheater at Visitor Center.
10:00am Paranormal Investigation Process, Equipment and Techniques (Bangor Maine Ghost Trackers)
11:00 The Legacy of psychic Edgar Cayce (Melissa Gaspar)
12:00 UFOs? What Do You Think? (Facilitated by local UFO enthusiast Cindy Proulx)
1:00 Exorcism (Ahura Z)
2:00 Paranormal Investigation Process, Equipment and Techniques (Bangor Maine Ghost Trackers)
3:00 Developing Your Sixth Sense (Sky Taylor)

Admission to the Psychic/Paranormal Faire is the standard Fort admission plus a requested $2 event donation to help defray costs and fund fort restoration projects. For further information on Friends’ of Fort Knox special events go to their web site at fortknox.maineguide.com. Fort Knox is owned and operated by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands for the people of Maine.

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This two-day event, sponsored by the Friends of Fort Knox, is one of many special events this summer at the State Historic Site. The following week, Friday/Saturday, August 6 and 7, at 6:00pm, Shakespeare Comes to Fort Knox featuring the presentation of Romeo and Juliet, performed by Ten Bucks Theatre Troupe (http://www.tenbuckstheatre.org). Ticket prices for the Shakespeare event are $10 for adults, $5 for children 12 and under. Advance tickets may be purchased at the Fort Knox gift shop, by telephoning 207-469-6553 or by emailing FOFK1@aol.com

A twisted crime in Portland

Here in Portland yesterday a small wave of panic went through the female population after a report surfaced of a woman being attacked and sexually assaulted by a group of men while out jogging around Back Cove on Monday night. Hours later, confusion and a different kind of rage emerged in the watching population as the second part of the story came to light, and cries of "Hoax!" rang out. As of this morning, the site at Channel 8 News had been updated and amended so that now the article reads thusly:

Police: Alleged Sex Assault Victim Recants Story
Woman Charged With Filing False Public Report
POSTED: 4:11 pm EDT July 20, 2010
UPDATED: 6:09 am EDT July 21, 2010

PORTLAND, Maine -- Portland police said the woman who claimed she was sexually assaulted on the Back Cove on Monday night has recanted her story.

Detectives said the woman claimed she was attacked by five men on a jogging path on Portland's Baxter Boulevard around 9:30 p.m.

Officers said Tuesday afternoon the sexual assault never happened.

Tuesday night police said Maryanne Morin, 22, of Portland was summonsed on a charge of filing a false public report.

[Source]

Figure THAT one out. Crying wolf is a terrible thing to do.

For those who would like to read on, there is more extensive coverage of the story on the Portland Press Herald site:
http://www.pressherald.com/news/back-cove-assault-a-hoax_2010-07-21.html

Missing Member at UNE gallery

The West End News reported on a striking attack of vandalism at a local art exhibit:

Penis Hacker Loose in Portland
An unknown person went into the sculpture garden of the Art Gallery at the University of New England on the night of June 17th and hacked off the penis of a
two-foot high clay sculpture that was on exhibit.

The sculptor, Munjoy Hill artist Nancy Nevergole, had been asked the previous day to remove the sculpture. Nevergole discovered the vandalism when she arrived to remove the sculpture. The statue was part of the annual Sculpture Garden Invitational held at the UNE gallery. The missing piece has not been found.

See photos on WEN site: [Source]

untold (and told) fortunes !

Today's photo emerges from the 24th of January 1951. Here is Miss Joyce Clark, fortuneteller at the Gorham State Teachers College (now USM Gorham) carnival. A carnival in January, you ask? Well, this was to help raise funds to furnish the student lounge. We can only image- or call forth the essence- of the circa 1950s furnishings!

EVENT: Hidden History of Maine, SATURDAY!

WHAT: Author appearance
WHEN: Saturday, June 19, 2010 at 12:00 noon
WHERE: The Green Hand Bookshop, 661 Congress Street, Portland, ME
FMI: call (207)450-6695 or email michelle.souliere[at]gmail.com

Come to the Green Hand Bookshop for a reading and signing of the Hidden History of Maine by Harry Gratwick!

The history of the Pine Tree State would be bare but for the contributions of hardy and impassioned individuals—generals, governors, settlers and activists whose lives of leadership make up the story of Maine’s “hidden history.”

Author Harry Gratwick creates intimate and detailed portraits of these Mainers, from the controversial missionary of Sebastien Rale to Woolwich native William Phips, whose seafaring attacks against French Canada earned him the first governorship of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Gratwick also profiles inventors who “challenged the assumptions of [their] time and place,” such as Robert Benjamin Lewis, an African American from Gardiner who patented a hair growth product in the 1830’s, and Margaret Knight, a York native who defied nineteenth-century sexism to earn the nickname “the female Edison.”

Discover over four hundred years of Maine’s history through the tales of its unique residents, from soprano Lillian Nordica, who left Farmington to become the most glamorous American opera singer of her day, to slugger George “Piano Legs” Gore, the only Mainer to have ever won a Major League batting championship.

Harry Gratwick is a lifelong summer resident of Vinalhaven Island in Penobscot Bay. He is an active member of the Vinalhaven Historical Society and has written extensively on maritime history for two Island Institute publications, the Working Waterfront and the Island Journal. Harry and his wife, Tita, spend the winter months in Philadelphia. Hidden History of Maine is his second book.

U.S.S. Portland Maine tattoo

Another nice addition to the collection of photos we've posted over the years here of Maine-related tattoos!

Matt Anderson obligingly lent his arm for a moment to allow me to capture a shot of this recent inkwork.

EVENT: Strange Maine book release party!

It's finally here! "Strange Maine: True Tales from the Pine Tree State" by Michelle Souliere is available and for sale at The Green Hand and other fine local bookshops. Join us on the evening of May 27th for a release party and book signing!

WHAT: Book release party
WHEN: Thursday, May 27 from 6:00-9:00
WHERE: The Green Hand Bookshop @ 661 Congress Street, Portland ME

I'll do a short reading at the start, and sign books following that. We'll have refreshments, and Curtis Clark will be playing some music live, so it should be fun!!!

On Facebook, you can view the event page here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=124774294204694&ref=mf

If you are interested in reading a review of the book, the folks over at the Talk Stephen King blog have posted a great one, the first one out so far, here:
http://talkstephenking.blogspot.com/2010/05/strange-maine.html

EVENT: Maine horror movie release

WHAT: Screening of "The Wrong House"
WHEN: Thursday, May 20, 2010, 7:00pm
WHERE: Nickelodeon Cinemas, 1 Temple St, Portland, ME
COST: $8 ticket, available at the door or prebuy online now at http://www.patriotcinemas.com/tickets_nickelodeon.htm
FMI: email thewronghouse@gmail.com

On May 21, Maine's Wisdumb Productions will release its first feature film, the HD horror flick THE WRONG HOUSE, on DVD. Filmed in Limerick, Maine, this hardcore tale of terror was inspired by a burglary at the home of husband/wife producers Shawn French and Sue Stevens, who financed this deeply personal project out of pocket and play the serial-killer residents of THE WRONG HOUSE.

The story: An isolated house in the woods looks like an easy mark to a group of friends camping in the Maine wilderness. The thieves haul away several ounces of pot and hallucinogenic mushrooms in the heist. But when the homeowners track them down, the thieves learn too late that there are some people you just shouldn't mess with... and that they picked The Wrong House.

"After the burglary, we desperately needed an outlet for our anger," said writer/director Shawn French. "By filming at our home and having the onscreen thieves break in through the same window the actual thieves used, we seriously blurred the lines of reality. The emotions were real and we went all out with the action, really beating the hell out of each other. I broke three ribs and we all walked away bruised."

Thursday May 20, the night before the DVD release, THE WRONG HOUSE will be screening at 7 p.m. at Nickelodeon Cinemas in Portland, Maine. Tickets are on sale for $8 each at the box office or online at www.patriotcinemas.com/nickelodeon. At the screening, fans can pick up signed posters and purchase their copy of THE WRONG HOUSE a day before it launches nationally. Nearly 300 fans attended the last screening of this film, so people are encouraged to get their tickets early.

"The reception at the premiere was amazing," French said. "The story really seems to resonate with Mainers, and we had such incredible performances from our cast. The finished cut is a much tighter, darker and grittier version of the film that the crowd ate up at the premiere. Our audience is in for a hell of a ride."

The film features music from Maine musicians Damien Zygote, The Motengata Band and Stream Reggae, and an original score by Washington composer Tim Butcher.

THE WRONG HOUSE DVD will be available on May 21 at www.thewronghousemovie.com and Amazon.com.

There is a high-quality version of the trailer online here ...
www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1203815657941
...or you can click below to watch it on YouTube.

EVENT: Help spring clean Eastern Cemetery

Hello from Spirits Alive!

If you have a hankerin' to get some cemetery dirt under your fingernails, we've got a proposition for you!

WHEN: Saturday, May 8, 9am - 12pm
WHERE: Eastern Cemetery, Congress & Mountfort Streets, Portland, ME
FMI: http://spiritsalive.org/events.htm#workdays

Come help us plant, prune, tidy, and trim on Saturday before lunch! Enjoy a sparkling soda courtesy of Shipyard Brewing while you're there.

We are happy to train new cemetery gardeners -- hope to see you there!

More Sword Swallowing in Maine!

The Amazing Ariel is keeping Maine's circus tradition alive! Here she is this morning on Fox's early show, performing a preview of the antics that will be unveiled as part of Sanctuary Tattoo's big 10th Anniversary Bash which is happening at Port City Music Hall tomorrow night, as a benefit to the Preble Street Resource Center.

We've posted about sword swallowing before, but previously it had been in a historic context. This is something else entirely, to be able to see it happen right in front of you!!

Click here to read our prior post on the subject:
http://strangemaine.blogspot.com/2009/09/sword-swallowing-in-maine.html

To find out more about the 10th Anniversary bash (which is tomorrow night!) you can visit Sanctuary's Facebook page here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Portland-ME/Sanctuary-Tattoo/225022229833?ref=nf

The book!

Well the wait is over -- I finally have the first batch of copies of my book in hand! Published by the History Press, Strange Maine: True Tales of the Pine Tree State is officially out and about.

Readers of the Strange Maine Gazette will recognize a few of the original research stories I did for the paper, but there is also a lot of new material, photos, illustrations, and interviews that are fresh reading even for my regulars. :)

I have copies of them at my bookshop, The Green Hand, 661 Congress Street here in Portland, Maine. The publisher set the retail at $17.99. Please do stop by if you are interested in picking one up! I'll also have copies at the Sanctuary Tattoo 10th Anniversary bash that is being held to benefit Preble Street Resource Center, which recently lost one of its major sources of funding.

Vacationland = Paranormaland?

My friend Rachel runs the great Smother of One blog, and just did a post which contains a couple of interesting things, not the least of which is the footage of strange curtain movements that occurred at the Empire club here in Portland and freaked a number of employees out, shown on their website as taken off their closed circuit taping system's monitor (see below).


Find more videos like this on Empire Dine and Dance

Sunny side up in Portland

Well, the topless march we posted about earlier definitely went down today as planned, and attracted a lot of spectators (no surprise there), in spite of some who thought it was just an April Fool's Day joke.

You can read the original post here:
http://strangemaine.blogspot.com/2010/03/half-nude-in-portland.html

Overall, the crowd was happy and ebullient, and there was a lot of cheering as the small group of shirtless men and women marched from Longfellow Square down Congress Street, heading for Monument Square.  It also attracted a LOT of men with cameras.

The most obvious response?  The guys with cameras were not NEARLY as interested in the half-naked men.

But I think everyone had fun, and it definitely made folks really think about what the heck makes barebreasted females unacceptable.  Think it's illegal in Portland?  Guess again!  Here's an interesting article by the ever-well-spoken Bill Nemitz, over at the Portland Press Herald:
http://www.pressherald.com/news/full-exposure-of-their-___-principles_2010-03-28.html

To quote:

Calls last week to Portland City Hall and the Cumberland County District Attorney's office confirmed that while it is illegal for men and women to expose their genitals in public, local and state laws contain no such prohibition on uncovered breasts – male or female. (Although, considering some of the men who insist on parading around topless, one could argue that there should be.)

Maine, in fact, is one of a handful of "top-free" states that have no laws banning breast exposure, according to the national organization gotopless.org. The group lists the others as Hawaii, New York, Ohio, Texas and the "coast of California."
[Source]

Fount of mystery...

[Photo by Eric Pomorsky - Source]

Fans of urban exploration will recognize the wonder that comes in small discoveries such as the one in this photo. To quote: "This used to be a fancy marble-lined bathroom in a below-ground shopping concourse. The tower above is still active and occupied, but the old 1930's-era shops in the network of basements below it have been converted to storage or left to crumble away."

This is one of a continuing series of local photos by the prolific Portland photographer Eric Pomorski. I highly recommend looking through his photostream on Flickr.com -- it is well worth it! He has an excellent eye.

April Fools in the news!

Well, Portland's free newspapers are having a field day with April Fool's Day! Make sure to find a copy of the Portland Daily Sun, or of the Munjoy Hill Observer (a copy of which some kind person left tucked in my door this morning, thank you!).

From battles over censorship of Bigfoot sexuality, to the landing of the carrier JFK on top of the defunct Jordan's Meats plant in downtown Portland (as opposed to the harbor where one would normally expect large ships to park themselves), it's a bonanza that shouldn't be missed!!!  The April 1 issue of the Portland Daily Sun is available online in an e-edition here.

Half-nude in Portland?

Well, it's going to be an interesting weekend on Congress Street, according to an announcement that appeared in the latest issue of the West End News...

Topless March Planned for Congress Street
What is being billed as 'Portland's First Ever Female-Bodied and Allied Topless Adventure' is being planned for Congress Street on Saturday, April 3rd. The event will include both men and women marching topless from Longfellow Square to Tommy's Park.

The event is scheduled from 1:00pm - 3:00pm, and is meant to point out the inequality in the social acceptance of male toplessness as compared to female toplessness. Full topless nudity is strongly encouraged, but for the more modest, pretty electrical tape will be in supply.

[Source]

Personally, I can think of a number of more pressing issues that could use this kind of attention and effort, but maybe they just want to lighten things up a bit (not many things out there are lighter than skin after a Maine winter!!!). Or perhaps someone just wants an opportunity to see lots of happy skin out in the open? Who knows...

Illustration is from an edition of Lysistrata translated from the Greek of Aristophanes with illustrations by Norman Lindsay.

TONIGHT! Umbrella Cover Museum on TV

Nancy 3. Hoffman announced this good news about a show airing tonight on the Weather Channel at 9:00pm:

Dear Fans of the Umbrella Cover Museum -

BIG NEWS - The Umbrella Cover Museum will be on The Weather Channel this weekend! It will be on Cantore Stories at 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday and Sunday nights, March 27th and 28th. It's on a segment about places to go in Maine, so don't give up if it's not the first part of the show. THANKS for all your support and encouragement!

Don't forget to join the Umbrella Cover Museum Facebook Fan page if you are on Facebook. Also you can hear the theme song and see a tour video on YouTube.

It sounds like USA Today carried a travel section featuring the Umbrella Cover Museum on Friday, March 5th, earlier this month. It's been a great year so far for them!

For those of you unfamiliar with the Umbrella Cover Museum (which perches on the coast of Peaks Island at 62-B Island Avenue, a short ferry ride away from downtown Portland), it is dedicated to the appreciation of the mundane in everyday life. It is about finding wonder and beauty in the simplest of things, and about knowing that there is always a story behind the cover.

To see a short video that Nancy3 put together about the museum, you can click below or go to the page on YouTube. Watch out -- expect accordion music!! :)

Old view of Eastern Cemetery

This is an old postcard showing a view of Portland's oldest cemetery, the Eastern Cemetery, located at the corner of Congress and Mountfort Streets.  This view shows a considerably different appearance than the cemetery has today.  I'm planning on making a trip up to the East End to take photos there sometime this spring, so everyone will have a point of comparison to go from when looking at this old piece, which was printed by the Leighton & Valentine Company, in New York City.

Maine Extreme Paranormal podcast

PIR Radio (Para Investigators Radio) hosted the local group Maine Extreme Paranormal as their podcast guest in late March. They discuss how the group started and why it has developed on its own path with the founder, Debbie Perkins. They discuss past investigations, group philosophy, methods and the equipment used to capture evidence.

At the link below you can either listen to a streaming feed of the interview, or download the mp3 file for later use.
http://para-investigators.planetparanormal.com/?p=151

EVENT: Calling all zombies!

The First Annual West Fest block party is including a zombie kickball game!

WHAT: West Fest block party
WHEN: Saturday, May 22nd, 2010, 2:00-4:00pm
WHERE: Game will be played outside on the Reiche School field (or inside in the gym)

Like Zombie Kickball events in the past, you know the drill-- come on down in your best zombie get-up, and have some fun!
----------------------
The annual Zombie Kickball is still TBA for this year, but should take place sometime during the summer on the East End. Zombie Kickball is looking for a new wrangler/captain/organizer/manager (loosely speaking), if you're up for the job let us know your contact info and we'll forward it appropriately. :)

Portland part of Worldwide Obscura Day

A guest post by Loren Coleman:

On Saturday, March 20th, at 80 different sites around the world, an international celebration of wondrous, curious, and esoteric places will be occurring. It is called "Obscura Day" (http://
atlasobscura.com/obscura-day), and is the brainchild of the people behind Atlas Obscura, a compendium of the world's wonders, curiosities, and esoterica.

A location right here in Maine has been chosen to be one of the special sites, the International Cryptozoology Museum at 661 Congress St., Portland, from 10 am to 7 pm. The event at the museum will occur for their usual small admission fee of $5.00 per person, but with a wide variety of extras too.

"Since the Obscura Day celebrations are fast approaching this coming Saturday, March 20th, we recommend visitors merely show up; no reservations necessary at this point," said Jeff Meuse, the museum's chief docent coordinator. "We will have staff available to assist in signing up people for the tours of the museum. We'll have special Bigfoot cookies and Loch Ness Monster treats for sale for people who
are waiting for the short time until the next tour begins. Also the unique Green Hand Bookshop is at this partner location for visitors to browse."

Here is Atlas Obscura's paragraph on the Maine event from their website:

PORTLAND, ME
TOUR OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRYPTOZOOLOGY MUSEUM WITH LOREN COLEMAN

Over the years, Loren Coleman has amassed an unrivaled collection of replicas and artifacts relating to world's famous and lesser-known cryptids, ranging from the fanciful (P.T. Barnum's Feejee Mermaid) to the factual (like the coelacanth, long thought to be extinct but discovered alive in 1938). For Obscura Day, Coleman has generously agreed to lead a band of curious souls on a tour of his newly opened
International Cryptozoology Museum.

"I think this happening on the same weekend as the 50th anniversary of my getting into the field of cryptozoology, which is the investigation of all kinds of little-known cryptids, in addition to
the better known Abominable Snowmen, Bigfoot and Nessies, seems more than a coincidence," noted Loren Coleman, director of the International Cryptozoology Museum. "It feels like a cosmic acknowledgment of the wonder of all those new species that remain to be discovered and the hard work it took to have this museum come to life. For Maine, my home for the last 30 years, to be picked this
way, is terrific."

For further information, please email Loren Coleman at lcoleman[at]maine.rr.com or for a phone interviews, contact the museum at 207-518-9496, Wed-Fri this week, from 11 am to 6 pm Eastern.

EVENT: New horror with Joe Hill TONIGHT!

7:00 PM at the Borders in South Portland, ME, and another reading tomorrow, again at 7:00, at the Borders in Bangor. It's Maine's own son of horror!

As the man himself says, "Come on out, it’ll be just like seeing your favorite band in concert (if they didn’t bring their instruments, and didn’t actually play anything, and hid off stage while I read from my book)."

(photo from Joe Hill's site)

[Source]

Eagle with bells on

Yet another peculiar article has emerged in my hunt for other material through the Victorian newspapers of Maine. Remarkable stuff!

Aerial Sleighbells

"Rings on his fingers
Bells on his toes
He shall make music
Wherever he goes."

Thus runs the old nursery rhyme, the latter part of which applies to the big eagle with sleighbells attached to his legs, which merrily jingle as he sweeps through the air. The "belled eagle" was seen last week flying over Woolwich by the Sasanoa Bluff cottages. He is a Kennebec bird but makes quite often "flying" visits to New Hampshire and Mass., having been reported as seen over portions of Boston. It is now many years ago when Charles Hunnewell, now a selectman of Woolwich, captured the eagle, then an eaglet, and wired the bells upon him. He has jingled them ever since.

[Source: Bath Independent, July 28, 1888, page 1]

Denture Rescue in 1908

The Daily Kennebec Journal reported on an interesting and almost unbelievable tale of denture rescue from the Victorian era.

The Washington County railroad has gone all the other railroads in the country one better in the matter of accommodating its patrons. A passenger one day last week lost a set of false teeth out of the window. The loss was reported to the obliging conductor, who stopped the train, backed to the scene of catastrophe, where the missing molars were found and returned to their owner.

[Source: Daily Kennebec Journal, April 10, 1908, page 6]

This is not the first denture-related Strange Maine story, as those of you who remember the denture-stealing mouse of 2007 will have noticed.

Old time crime

I ran across this entertainingly written article when I was researching some old Daily Kennebec Journal articles, and thought some of you might be intrigued by it:

Maine Gossip

The North Dexter correspondent of the Bangor News says numerous tramps have made their appearance on our main roads and are causing much uneasiness in the rural districts. Sunday night, D.C. Carlton, a youth of 19, while returning from a neighboring visit, about ten o'clock, was startled by the appearance of a large man standing in the road near what is locally known as Thomas' corner. Not liking his appearance he quickly transferred his pocket book to the inside of his trousers' leg, and, with the cold chills creeping up his spine, with the pocketbook crawling stockingward he approached the man who asked him the time.

Carlton responded by saying he had no watch, whereupon the man seized him and made a thorough search of his various pockets. Not finding anything of value he said, "Well you're all right," and told him he could pass along. It is needless to say that young Carlton took this advice literally and did not stop for a second invitation, breaking all former records for one-half mile dashes, arriving home in a breathless condition.

Source:
Daily Kennebec Journal, 4/11/1908, pg.6

Cabbie surprised by bop on the nose

The West End News reports on an unexpected incident that occurred in a Portland cab recently.

Cabbie Punched in the Nose After Doing Good Deed
by Marge Niblock

At 6 AM on January 25th, a cab driver thought a woman was being assaulted by some males on State Street. He pulled the cab over and Robin Ann Anderson, 25, jumped into the vehicle. She then allegedly punched the cabbie in the nose and left.

The cabbie called police, who were able to apprehend Ms. Anderson nearby. When they ran a check on her it was discovered that she had four active warrants for her arrest. She was arrested and charged with assault, for her attack of the cab driver.

[Source]