Maine Zombies hit Fangoria!

Emptyhouse Film's zombie movie "2" has hit Fangoria for a second time, this time in the form of a very favorable review! Scooter McRae gives the film three skulls, and really takes the time to carefully talk about it in very specific terms, without giving it all away.

...The chilly winter landscape, with visible breath often streaming out of the performers’ mouths, helps set up a bleak environment not often seen in this type of movie, especially one with such a low budget.
...
What sets “2” apart from many other movies with the exact same plot description is its bold willingness to approach the familiar trappings with a creative enthusiasm that generates a genuine sense of audience goodwill. That may seem like a weird way to describe such a bleak-sounding scenario, but it’s a good feeling to trust a movie that seems hell-bent on not succumbing to audience expectations, while at the same time clearly eager to deliver the goods in its own way and at its own pace.

Read the whole review here: [Source]

It's nice to see someone so thoroughly recognize all the different elements of the film that Andy, Olin, and the rest of the production crew put so much work into.

Photo by Michelle Souliere.

EVENT: Cumberland County Gravestones Lecture

Spirits Alive is the group that has been doing a great job at restoring and revitalizing Portland's Eastern Cemetery.

Starting this Saturday, their lecture series kicks off with:

Death & Commemoration on the Frontier: An Analysis of Early Gravestones in Cumberland County, Maine, 1720-1820
Saturday, January 26
10:00 am - 11:15 am
One Longfellow Square, 181 State Street, Portland, ME

Joy M. Giguere, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History at the University of Maine, will give an illustrated lecture about 18th century burial practices and gravestones in Cumberland County. This talk will provide an examination of early gravestones in Cumberland County ranging in dates from 1720 to 1820 and what they indicate about early commemorative, social and ideological patterns of Maine residents during this period.

Ms. Giguere will discuss different types of gravestone iconography (winged death's head, cherub, urn and willow, etc.) and the distribution of these types over time and space. She will also provide a discussion of the works of two local carvers, Noah Pratt and Joseph Sikes, as well as an analysis of epitaph language and its usage over time.

Others have completed in depth research on this type of information in more southern regions of New England, but there has been little investigation into gravestones as cultural artifacts on the Maine landscape, which effectively functioned as the northern frontier of English settlement through the colonial period of American history. A question and answer session will follow.

Admission is free and open to the public (donations accepted) and beverages will be available for purchase.

Mysterious blob terrorizes Lewiston

A "mysterious, doughy blob" is clogging a sewer line in Lewiston.

A 50- to 60-foot doughy mass is clogging a sewer line under the city's main drag, and crews have been unable to budge it.

"We're not sure exactly what it is," Public Services Director David Jones said Wednesday. "We're just trying to get rid of it. We want it to stop clogging up our pipe."

Jones said crews opened a manhole at the Bates Street intersection and saw the clog - an oozing, white blob that looks like uncooked dough.

"We've tried punching through it, but each time we do, it just oozes back over the hole," he said. "It really looks like dough." [Source]

EVENT: Come see the Japanese Monster Makers of Maine!

SUPER MILK BABY JAPANESE MONSTER MASH-UP!

The title really says it all! This terrific group show at Sanctuary Tattoo pits eight of the Portland area's scariest artists against eachother in a battle of wits and skill over Tokyo! School girls will scream, bones will crack, the sushi will bite back, and buildings will crumble like old matzah balls... or something like that.

Featuring amazing new works of art by myself (Michelle Souliere), Carrie Vinette, Angus - Earl of Portland, Greg Souza, Mordecai Sulk, and more.

See my Flickr.com page for samples of works in progress! Tantalizing...

Strange scrapbook on eBay

Someone is selling on eBay a reproduction of an unusual scrapbook from 1879. One wonders what kind of person collected these clippings.

This is a fascinating copy of an old 1879 scrapbook loaded with news clippings about the states of Maine and Vermont. There are thousands of long lost and forgotten news items, covering all aspects of life including murders, freak accidents, all variations of crime, disease, etc.

If you imagined Vermont and Maine quaint and pastoral in 1879, you might be shocked to see some of this stuff. There were really horrible axe murders, painful (and usually fatal accidents), all sorts of mayhem. It's all a surprising collection of information. Among the countless articles - a man jumps out his window to escape burglars and is impaled on a picket fence, a blind man trampled by horses, a bold robbery, a wandering girl dies in the forest,

A man attacks his wife in a potato field with an axe,

a girl falls down a pipe and is killed, a train smashes into a team of horses, a woman burned to death by dropped lantern, a freak chicken hatched with three bills and three pairs of eyes, loads of suicides by hanging, gunshots and slit throats, cries of murder as a husband and wife fight, countless destructive fires, lots of people drowning in ponds, lakes steams, etc.

Stephen King on Today Show

According to the StephenKing.com newsletter, King will be making an appearance on The Today Show on Tuesday, January 22nd, but they do not have the exact time for his segment yet. The Today Show has provided the following link for fans to send in questions for Steve. They will select questions from those submitted which will then be incorporated by the show's anchor during his interview.

This is a terrific chance if you have a question for King you've been dying to ask -- they are requesting viewers send in their questions for King here on their website: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/22687525/

Priscilla Presley: not horsing around!

A remarkable story out of Palermo, Maine, appeared in the Kennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel. Back in July 2007, a family of 6 horses was saved from a Quebec slaughterhouse by a small group of Mainers. Six months later, during a fundraising drive, the group found themselves in contact with the one and only Priscilla Presley!

Rescued horses go to Graceland
Priscilla Presley adopts animals saved from slaughterhouse by Palermo woman
By MEGHAN V. MALLOY,Staff Writer
01/18/2008

PALERMO -- Max will never be able to thank Carol-Terese Naser for saving his life. He will never be able to thank Priscilla Presley for adopting him and giving him a new home. Then again, Max is a 3-year-old bay horse.

Max and his brother, Merlin, a magnificent chocolate-colored creature, were scheduled to be slaughtered -- along with four other horses in their family in Quebec -- last summer. Naser, who has had horses of her own since she was a child, stepped into action and bought all six horses just days before they were to be taken to the slaughterhouse.
...
Naser and her friend Cathy Cleaveland found out soon enough that it wasn't easy -- or cheap -- to care for six horses. So they decided to start fundraising.

"We sent T-shirts to celebrities we knew were passionate about animals," Cleaveland said. "We requested they autograph the shirt, then send it back. We were going to auction them."
...
Nothing, however, prepared Naser or Cleaveland for the phone call that would change Max's and Merlin's lives.

"I answered the phone and Priscilla Presley was on the other end," Cleaveland recalled with a laugh. "I didn't believe it at first."
...
An animal lover, Presley told the women she wanted to adopt Max and Merlin to give them a permanent home at Graceland, the nearly 14-acre spread, 23-room mansion in Memphis that Elvis shared with Priscilla and their daughter until the couple's divorce in the early 1970s.

"I have always had a bond with horses," Presley said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "Elvis gave me my very first horse. It was the horses that made Graceland home to us." Presley, who called herself "the kid who had to rescue all the animals" growing up, said that when she received the T-shirt from Naser and Cleaveland, the story of the near-slaughter struck her.

"It haunted me," Presley said. "I couldn't sleep because I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to do that."
...
Max arrived at the estate Jan. 10 -- two days after what would have been Elvis Presley's 73rd birthday, Naser said. Merlin will follow in the spring. Presley, who called Naser's saving act "an unbelievable labor of love," said it is her desire to educate people about horse slaughter, including spreading the word about a national call-in day Tuesday to permanently ban the practice.

"I know the bill (to ban the practice) is stalled right now and I have no idea why," Presley said. "I would urge everyone to call their senators and U.S. representatives about this." ...

Read full article here: [Source]

EVENT: Saturday, Spirits Alive meeting

Spirits Alive is the group that has been doing a great job at restoring and revitalizing Portland's Eastern Cemetery.

Join them for their first annual meeting! On Saturday, January 19, 2008, they will be holding a meeting to review the events of 2007 and to look forward to 2008. Everyone is invited to come to One Longfellow Square (at State and Congress Streets) in Portland, Maine. The festivities start at 2:30 pm and run until 3:30 pm. Get there early and be challenged by their giant Eastern Cemetery crossword puzzle, view 2007 activities, and give them your ideas about the Eastern Cemetery on their re-imagination wall. Enter to win a fabulous Eastern Cemetery tee and tour tickets! They'll be announcing their Spirits Alive Membership Program, and you'll have the chance to join! Visit them online at http://www.spiritsalive.org/

Also of note is their upcoming lecture series, kicking off a week from Saturday with:

Death & Commemoration on the Frontier: An Analysis of Early Gravestones in Cumberland County, Maine, 1720-1820
Saturday, January 26
10:00 am - 11:15 am
One Longfellow Square, 181 State Street, Portland, ME

Joy M. Giguere, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History at the University of Maine, will give an illustrated lecture about 18th century burial practices and gravestones in Cumberland County. This talk will provide an examination of early gravestones in Cumberland County ranging in dates from 1720 to 1820 and what they indicate about early commemorative, social and ideological patterns of Maine residents during this period.

Ms. Giguere will discuss different types of gravestone iconography (winged death's head, cherub, urn and willow, etc.) and the distribution of these types over time and space. She will also provide a discussion of the works of two local carvers, Noah Pratt and Joseph Sikes, as well as an analysis of epitaph language and its usage over time.

Others have completed in depth research on this type of information in more southern regions of New England, but there has been little investigation into gravestones as cultural artifacts on the Maine landscape, which effectively functioned as the northern frontier of English settlement through the colonial period of American history. A question and answer session will follow.

Admission is free and open to the public (donations accepted) and beverages will be available for purchase.

Worst Logging Truck Nightmare

Many Mainers who have driven the roads near northern woods in our state know to stay well away from logging trucks on the back roads, though we unavoidably find ourselves driving near them on larger roads. There is always a certain amount of worry that something will go wrong with their load or the driver's field of vision (which we allow to ourselves is a paranoid fantasy), even in broad daylight on a good solid road when paired with them.

WMTW-TV8 reported this morning on a terrible hit-and-run which happened just after 5pm on Wednesday night (yesterday) which is the result of a Maine driver's worst nightmare:

NEW VINEYARD, Maine -- ...According to investigators, the truck was traveling along Route 27, about 3 miles north of Farmington, when it lost its load and crushed a car in the oncoming lane, touching off a multi-vehicle collision.

The driver of the car was killed, while two people in a second vehicle suffered minor injuries.

Police said the driver of the lumber truck did not stop and left the scene.

[Source]

From WCSH-6, more info, including a number to call if you have any information:

They say the falling lumber struck two cars in the opposite lane from the southbound truck. A man alone in one of the cars was killed. His identity has not been made public.

The driver of the second car, Katherine Jones, and her passenger were checked by ambulance personnel and released at the scene. Both vehicles were a total loss.

The truck driver did not stop at the scene, and is now being sought. Anyone who may have witnessed the accident is asked to call the Sheriff's Dept. at 1-800-773-2680.

[Source]

Getting Egged for Christmas

A friendly fan down in New Mexico who hails originally from Westbrook, Maine, sent this Portland Press Herald article along to me back in December. It's still worth a reprint -- talk about bureaucracy run amuck! Yes, our eggnog contains eggs. What did you expect...?? (Thanks Melissa!!)

Egg in nog? No joke, says Smiling Hill
By BILL NEMITZ
November 18, 2007

When your family owns and operates a place called Smiling Hill Farm, you tend to go through life with a grin. But last week, the best Warren Knight could manage was a grimace. It started with a spot inspection from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration -- it happens every year or two at the Westbrook dairy farm and has never been a big deal.

But this time was different. Looking over a fresh batch of the Smiling Hill egg nog, the inspector did a double take: The bottle cap -- the only place on the otherwise all-glass container with any printing -- was out of federal compliance.

How so?

"Eggs were not listed as an ingredient," Knight recalled. Egg, you see, is an allergen. As such, the inspector told Knight, it must be explicitly listed as an ingredient somewhere on the one-and-three-eighths-inch-wide cap.

"But the cap says 'Egg Nog!' " protested Knight.

Didn't matter.

"But we're limited by cap space," Knight persisted. What's more, they can't start slapping warning labels onto their reusable bottles without gumming up the bottle washer.

Not the feds' problem.

Then things turned really sour. The FDA notified the Maine Department of Agriculture that all Smiling Hill egg nog on store shelves -- about 400 gallons at that point -- had to be recalled to protect people with egg allergies who don't know there's egg in egg nog.

Enter, not a moment too soon, Ashley Slattery, Maine's dairy inspector.

"We really didn't want to do a recall," Slattery said Friday. Still, she added, the FDA wanted something on that cap "so the people would know egg nog contains eggs."

Umm ... wouldn't people already know that by the name of the product?

"You'd think so," Slattery said.

So here's the deal. No recall, but Knight agreed to have his label redesigned to include the ingredients and, in the meantime, affix a warning label to every bottle of egg nog that leaves his farm. Knight headed for Staples Thursday and bought a bunch of red, one-inch-round labels. Then he fired up his computer and printed "WARNING Contains EGGS" twice on each one.

Then he and the rest of the family spent the day cutting each label in half and affixing the semi-circular warnings to the cap on each bottle -- being careful not to encroach on the bar code.
...
It's not that Knight has anything against enforcing food safety regulations.

"The health and safety of our customers is foremost," he said. "Since without them, we cease to exist."

But Knight checked with the National Institutes of Health and found that .05 percent of the U.S. population is allergic to eggs. And he has a strong hunch that every last one of those poor folks already knows that egg nog contains eggs.
...
Full article available online here: [Source]

One foot in the grave...

As you might have noticed, I'm catching up on some slightly-older news items that have been sitting in my inbox patiently awaiting my attention over the last few months. One of the more singular "weird news" items was pointed out to me by the folks at the New England Anomaly, as well as one of the editors over at our local Port City Life magazine. It originally appeared in the Kennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel back in October.

Grave mishap: Funeral director now recovering after fall in cemetery and hearse ride to hospital
By BETTY ADAMS, Staff Writer
10/10/2007

AUGUSTA -- There are falls from grace and falls into graves.
Take Leo Murphy's, for instance.

One misstep at the Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery during a Sept. 20 burial service, and the longtime funeral director from Augusta found himself in a grave, looking up through a cloud of dust.

"I fell in the grave backwards," Murphy said, two and a half weeks into his recovery. "I hit my left side on the corner of the grave. All of a sudden, I saw a cloud of dust, and that's where I was in the hole."

A gloved hand reached down and Murphy, who will be 80 in two weeks, reached up with his right hand and was raised from the grave.
...
Then his son, Pat, convinced him to get into the Plummer Funeral Home hearse to ride to the emergency room at MaineGeneral Medical Center.

"I was in the front seat when the security guard came around," Murphy said. "He said, 'Usually they don't come in this end.'"

Murphy was treated for two fractured ribs and a chest wall contusion, said another son, Michael.
...
He said it was his first mishap at a grave in his 61 years as a funeral director.
...
Full article available online here: [Source]

Maine scientist searches for truth

A confirmed skeptic, as well as a professor of biology and molecular forensics, Irv Kornfield has taken it upon himself to do what he can to clear up some questions about mystery beasts in Maine and elsewhere. There's a great article about Kornfield's work that was written by Kathryn Skelton for the Lewiston Sun Journal back in early November 2007.

Cryptomundo has posted the article as well, with accompanying photos by Amber Waterman of the Sun Journal. Photo shown also by Amber Waterman.

A personal approach to haunting

Joshua Fisher e-mailed me back in December to say hi and to let me know about his blog, which is focused on his own exploration of a spirit he believes contacted him in Evergreen Cemetery in Portland. Throughout his investigation, and more recently through his blog, Sarah Haskell's Ghost, Josh has done a ton of research, and been contacted by some of Sarah's relatives with further information.

For those interested in doing their own independent historical research, whether as part of a ghost-hunting investigation or simply for genealogical purposes, reading Josh's posts will give you an idea of what is involved, and namely, how tenacity in research is your best resource. When one lead dead-ends, find another to move onto. In most cases, it is this technique that will be fruitful. Be patient, realize it may take a while, and settle in to get to know your research subject!

While some of you may find Joshua's paranormal pursuits a little stranger than standard research, the blog is worth a read regardless.

Photo is from Josh's blog.

CFP: Maritime History Symposium

Call For Papers

Maritime History Symposium

at Maine Maritime Museum

"Life in the Shipyard and Life at Sea"

April 11-13, 2008

Save the dates and spread the word, whether you have any inclination to
speak, yourself!

We invite suggestions or self-nominations for speakers at our Maritime
History Symposium, sponsored by the Albert Reed & Thelma Walker Fund, which
Maine Maritime Museum is running this year for the 36th time. The dates of
the program this year are April 11-13, 2008. This will be the first time we
have ever abandoned our usual first-weekend-of-May time slot, which we are
doing because of evidence that a May conference was cutting into people's
gardening and lawn mowing time.

This year's theme will concentrate on the social history side of the
maritime world, especially on aspects of the lives of people working on
vessels or in shipyards (or boatyards). Wages, health, food, education and
training, clothing, religion and morality, leisure activities, folk art,
punishment and family life are all possibilities. If you have similar ideas
and are not sure they would be appropriate, just ask. This year we are
pretty open, but we are looking for presentations on people, not ships.

The length of the individual talks will depend on how many speakers we end
up with. Usually, speakers have 45 minutes each. Any form of AV enhancement
is encouraged, but not required.

Nathan R. Lipfert, Senior Curator

Maine Maritime Museum

243 Washington Street

Bath, Maine 04530

207-443-1316, ext 328, fax 207-443-1665

www.mainemaritimemuseum.org

lipfert[at]maritimeme.org

Eerie voice of the future

Quietly, persistently, the Old Time Radio culture of bygone years has worked its magic on a select audience of new listeners. With the dawning of the digital era, and easy online access to uncopyrighted material thought long-lost, interest in the old audio dramas has not only revived, but also increased. Now, worthy successors to such serial masterpieces as Arch Oboler’s Lights Out and other creepy utterances such as Inner Sanctum Mysteries and the Weird Circle are finally emerging from within our midst.

Witness the folks at Mind’s Eye Productions, home of the newly christened Horrorscopes, whose roots lie in the Rocky Coast Radio Theatre and the Nightmares on Congress Street series of full cast horror stories, available on Amazon.com, Audible.com, and elsewhere (try starting at http://www.mindseyeproductions.com/).

I sat down with Maine's own William Dufris, founder of the company, for an interview early this month, which I’ll be posting parts of on the blog as I transcribe it. He has teamed up with Maine horror author Rick Hautala to unleash their 2008 series. I suspect we will not be disappointed, if their past productions are any indication.

Dufris has some favorites in the company’s repertoire, including the War-of-the-Worlds-style original “The Horror of Walker Point” by Anthony Marino, which takes place as a live broadcast in downtown Portland with horrific results. Other delicious tidbits include classics like H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Statement of Randolph Carter” and previously unheard originals such as “The Cabin in the Woods” by Clay Graybeal, which will make you think twice about inheriting that seemingly idyllic cabin in the Maine woods from your well-meaning relative.

Pick whichever tale you like, the care put into these productions is evident, creating a convincing and compelling audible world that will swallow you into its sweetly screaming oblivion. For a sample, visit http://www.radiodramarevival.com/ and pull up Episode 38, which is one of Dufris’ most recent recordings, an adaptation of horror legend William Hope Hodgson’s “The Derelict,” about a crew of sailors that finds a strange boat adrift in the endless ocean, and discovers all too gruesomely the reason for its abandonment! From the creak of the oars to other, less friendly sounds that the sailors encounter, listeners will find themselves walking with them every horribly fascinating step of the way.

Dufris confided his surprise that none of his neighbors came to investigate the noises being made in his garage during the recording of “The Cabin in the Woods.” I suspect they were scared away.

NOTE: More samples of chilling tales are available as part of Radio Drama Revival's 2007 Halloween Extravaganza. Enjoy!

Pet Cemetery haunting on A&E

First off, I apologize for not posting this info until after the airing of this show, but I only found out myself after the fact!

A&E is the latest station to pilot a ghost-hunting related series. Their series is called Paranormal State, and follows the investigations of the students who run the Penn State Paranormal Research Society.

This past week, on Monday, January 7th, they aired the "Pet Cemetery" episode, which takes place in Maine:

Ryan and his team investigate the bizarre haunting of a woman and her dog in isolated Waterboro, Maine. The Labrador was chewing at her own fur and standing on guard on the bed, growling at unseen figures. Her master, Sybil, began hearing strange noises. As PRS discovers, Lucy may not be the first canine to experience the phenomena--at least four other animals died violently on the property. PRS unravels the mystery culminating in a gruesome discovery deep in the woods.

For those who missed the show, the episode is available in three installments on YouTube (start here with Part 1).

Viewers may also be interested in reading the A&E message boards about the episode, where prior residents of the house and other locals are weighing in.

All Signs Point to Zombies, Monsters, and Music

Don't miss the big event tonight at Merrill Auditorium. It's billed as A Night of Maine Film and Music, featuring two movies by Empythouse Film - the world premiere of "Monster in the Woods" and a screening of zombie flick, "2" - plus music by local bands Live Studio Audience and Covered in Bees. Don't miss it!

For those of you who missed the Zombie March in Portland last night, shame on you! Here's some photos of the event, where fun was had by all! Luckily it stopped raining by the time the zombies hit the streets.






(all photos (c) Chris Wallace)

You can see more photos from the Zombie March here.

Zombie Bliss

In spite of the cold, and the rain that plagued Portland up until about an hour before the event, the Emptyhouse Film sponsored zombie march was remarkably well-attended, with about two dozen folks present, many in zombie makeup. Channels WMTW-8 and WGME-13, as well as the Press Herald were present. I heard that some other local papers sent reporters, but I'm not sure who else was represented.

Biker zombie and daughter enoy the pretty lights in the trees around the square (photo by Michelle Souliere). See a few more photos here on Flickr, mostly before and after the march (one must try to stay in character during these things!). No word on how the clientele at David's responded.

Fun was had by all, and as the event broke up, happy promises were made to meet again tomorrow night at the big Maine Film and Music extravaganza at the Merrill Auditorium! Ahhh, zombies.

Waterproof Zombies!!!

Andy Davis reminds all zombies that tonight's Zombie March in Portland's Monument Square is a rain or shine event!!!

Zombie March on Portland this Friday !

For our Strange Maine Readers - Just received this morning, via MySpace:

“JOIN THE ZOMBIE MARCH ON PORTLAND!”

Hey all you zombie brothers and sisters! We are now at the one year anniversary of the Zombie casting call that we held for “2”. We thought it would be an awesome time to have a Zombie March on Portland!

Friday night, January 11th meet us at Monument Square in Portland at 7:30 pm for a walk you’ll never forget! Dress up as your favorite zombie and join the crowd!We’ll be taping this for the special features on the “2” DVD and we are scheduled to be on WCYY at the same time, we also hope to get some TV cameras out there so you can get on the news!

Please email our good friend and “Zombie Wrangler” Shawn French at themoviehippy@gmail.com and let him know you’ll be coming to join us.The more the merrier, so bring all your undead friends, relatives and co-workers. Let’s make this an event to be talked about!

Also, don’t forget that we will be showing MONSTER IN THE WOODS and “2” at the Merrill Auditorium on the 12th. Covered In Bees (see also: http://www.myspace.com/coveredinbees )and Live Studio Audience will each perform a set and there will be special guests like Tim Sample. Call Porttix at 207-842-0800 to score your tickets.

Special Thanks to Mordicai Sulk for the artwork on the attached flier! His work can be seen at http://www.needmorebrains.com/

http://www.wblm.com/

has updated their homepage with lots of movie goodness too; if you have a chance, check them out!We look forward to seeing you on the 11th and 12th! Please repost this as many places as you can, MYSPACE, boards, etc!

Thanks!

Andy Olin and John

Spotted in Portland: SASQUATCH!

I happened to be in a car driving down Spring Street just before 3:00pm today, which wound up stopped at the light at the corner of Temple Street and Spring Street. What did I see, but a furry bipedal humanoid sporting about in the freezing cold weather.

I can only hope his furry pelt was protecting him! He was surrounded by paparazzi, catching reaction shots of the citizenry, including myself and my roommate, who just about had a fit, startled as she was by the sight.

What were those crazy guys at Emptyhouse Film up to? Well, whatever it was, they were having fun. *grin* Thanks for making our afternoon so surreal!!!

Don't forget that they're running a premiere showing of their latest Maine-based film, Monster in the Woods at the Merrill Auditorium here in Portland on January 12th. Check out their ad for the event here on YouTube. And keep your eyes peeled for a sasquatch near you!

The shadow crows cast

Emeric Spooner, author of In Search of Maine Archaeology: An Amateur's Guide to Artifact Identification, dropped me a line the other day about the curious goings-on in his area of Maine. He had some power outages -- but not from the ice storm!

My fourth book is about the Red Paint People, and how Bucksport was built on a Red Paint Cemetery, and the Mill in Bucksport was built on a Red Paint Cemetery, the first dug in the state.

Last weekend, a flock of 300 or more crows descended on the library I work at, and surrounded the library in the trees. Dozens of people reported seeing them, and Monday morning when I went in to shovel, the entire railing, and walk way was covered in Crow mess, so much that you couldn't walk or touch the railing, going down the walkway, without getting covered in it.

This alone would be cause for great concern, but nothing strange beyond the normal Bucksport everyday, heck we expect to be descended on by crows. It's a given. This morning power was knocked out for 3 towns, Bucksport, Verona and Orland. Thousands of people were without power. I talked with a line guy, fixing the transformers, and he said the Substation at the mill was hit with a huge flock of crows, and they actually blew it up there was so many, and landing on the wires, and messing on everything. The substation is within feet of the Red Paint Cemetery, located at the Mill on Indian Point. Once the fire died down, they saw hundreds of dead and crispy crows littering the area.

What a mess! Were the crows drawn to the Red Paint site? We'll never know.

Crows are admired by many (including myself), but despised by many more as pests. Portland, Maine, is home to huge clouds of roosting crows, which people the bare trees in Deering Oaks come winter evenings. It's a remarkable sight.

In a Time Magazine article from Monday, Mar. 31, 1924, titled "Vermin," an account arose of a contest run by gunpowder makers E. I. duPont de Nemours & Co., Inc. The firm offered $2,500 in merchandise prizes "to the individual or club which, at the end of a three months' season, has killed the most crows or other birds or animals termed 'vermin' in the prospectus of their competition."

Maine's own governor is quoted in the article, as he reacted to a plan for wholesale slaughter of the ebon birds.

To his people of the State of Maine, Governor Percival Proctor Baxter made proclamation as follows: "It would seem that a great corporation like the one that controls the powder industry in America, with millions of assets, would find other ways of increasing its profits instead of by inciting the men and boys of this country to kill one of the farmers' friends, the crow."

"I am indignant that such a prize has been offered, and hope that the people of Maine will not participate in the contest."

[Source]

Historic Maine Governor Percival Baxter, folks, champion of crows everywhere!