EVENT: Spirits Alive lecture series

Winter Lecture Series Continues
WHEN: Saturday, March 5, 2011, 10:00 am - 11:00 am
WHERE: Maine Historical Society, 489 Congress Street, Portland, ME
COST: Free, Donations Appreciated

TOPIC: Evergreen Cemetery Civil War Monument, 1895

Join us as Tom Desjardin, PhD, Chief Historian, Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands will speak on "Civil War Heroes and Heroines Buried in Evergreen Cemetery."

Evergreen Cemetery is 239 acres located on Stevens Avenue. In addition to being the fourth city cemetery, it is a place to birdwatch and see numerous examples of Victorian memorial sculpture, and a experience the beauty of rural cemetery landscape.

Many civil war veterans are part of the over 65,000 interred in this cemetery, and a monument has been erected in their memory.

The last lecture in this series, "Death and Survival in the Civil War," will take place on March 26.

Find out more about the lecture series here:
http://www.spiritsalive.org/events/lectures.htm

Evergreen Cemetery death needs ID

UPDATE (5/11/09):
For those who were touched by this story and wish to pay their respects, the obituary was published on the Portland Press Herald website on Sunday. Click here to read.

Ethereal Company in Portland

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.