Friday, October 15, 2010

Come With Me on a Haunted House Tour!

Welcome to the party!  Today is the day of Vanessa Valencia's Haunted Halloween Party.  This is my second year attending Madam Valencia's Magical Parties.  If you've never attended one, you should.  She always has magical posts full of surprises and inspiration.  Matter of fact, just click http://afancifultwist.typepad.com/ to visit all the sites that are partying with her today.  Last year I wrote of a haunted masquerade ball, but this year, I decided that I would share a few stories of some haunted places right here in my home state of Maine.  It's said that of all the cities and towns in this state only Portland and Kennebunkport have the most haunted houses.   I hope you find them interesting and perhaps a bit haunting as well!

Let's start the Haunted House Tour close to my hometown of Springvale, Maine, by driving about 30  minutes to the town of Kennebunkport.  This quaint town sits along the Atlantic coast and is home to President Bush (the Walker compound).  This town has quite the history and it's homes are gorgeous, but as you drive through and stop to visit the little gift shops and eat some tantalizing seafood along the shore, you would never know that a ghost (or perhaps two) could be looking over your shoulder, maybe even breathing down your neck!
kennebunkport-haunted-house
Our first stop is The Captain Lord Mansion.  Captain Nathaniel Lord, who had made his money through the fruits of his shipyards in Kennebunkport, built this fine mansion in 1812, but died before he could move into it. The Lord family lived in this lovely mansion until 1972, when it became a boarding house for older / elderly women. In 1978, the mansion was remodeled into a Bed and Breakfast Inn.

Manifestations:

The first reported appearances of the ghostly resident became public knowledge soon after the mansion opened for business as a Bed and Breakfast Inn.  Lincoln Suite

* An apparition of a woman who is dressed in a nightgown drifts and floats through the Lincoln Bedroom Suite in the mansion, often when it is occupied by the living. A young couple on their honeymoon got an unexpected thrill of seeing this night gown clad woman float through their bedroom, and then disappear into the wall.

* This entity has also been seen on the spiral staircase that leads up to the cupola. Who is this ghost, and why is it here? Many think that it is the ghost of the wife of Captain Lord. The traditional name given the haunted room now called the Lincoln Bedroom at the mansion, was the Wisteria Room, which means "remembrance of the dead," which may mean that she may have been haunting this room for a while. Or, perhaps this room was her room when she was living, and she could be upset that the living changed its name, and /or that they are now renting out HER room. Also in many cases, hauntings begin after a renovation of an old building happens.

Still Haunted?   Yes, this apparition still appears to the living.  *****
kennebunk-haunted-house
Our next stop is not too far away, only about 10 minutes really.  We'll be visiting The Kennebunk Inn which  is located at 45 Main Street, Kennebunk.  This 1799, three story, Federal Victorian 22 room Inn was originally built as a private home for a doctor,Phineas Cole and his family. This home was owned by several families until it was converted into an inn in the late 1920's, called "The Tavern." In 1940, Walter Day bought the place, and expanded the inn to 16 rooms and renamed it the Kennebunk Inn. In 1980, Arthur LeBlanc bought the Kennebunk Inn , and added 6 more rooms.


Manifestations:

After the Kennebunk Inn had added these 6 more rooms to the inn, the following ghostly occurrences began to take place.

* Wine glasses and Goblets - In one incident, a waiter was carrying a tray of wine glasses, when one of the wine glasses rose off the tray, and crashed to the floor, like someone had deliberately thrown it. Some customers witnessed the incident. The waiter took the rest of the day off.

* Goblets located behind the bar, have been known to move and actually fly across the room by themselves.

* Late one evening, a hand carved German mug flew off the shelf behind the bar, and hit the bartender on the side of his head, causing a lump!

* Carefully laid silverware has been known to mess itself up and chairs seem to move by themselves.

* Mr. Cahill, an author who collects Maine ghost stories and three of his friends came to collect information on the ghost(s) in this place, and try to figure out who they could be.

* While staying in their room, Mr. Cahill heard nothing as he slept. However, his friend, who was sleeping in the same room, was kept awake all night by a moaning, raspy voice.

* Another one of Cahill's friends wanted to get up in the early morning, to use the bathroom. However, when he sat up in his bed and put his feet on the floor. When suddenly a swirling cold spot engulfed his legs, and he quickly got back in to bed.

Who are the ghostly candidates?

1) Some believe that the ghost is of Silas Perkins, who owned the building in the 18th century. Something about the new add-on rooms or the renovation efforts of 1980 upset him in some way, so he strikes out in mischievous ways at the living in small ways.

2) Others believe that the rascally presence is Cyrus, who was the quiet, conscientious night clerk, who worked at the inn for many years.

* An older gentleman came in and asked the front desk, if Cyrus was still there. This gentleman had lived at the Inn around the time period of WWII., and had known Cyrus when he was the desk clerk then. He then said that Cyrus had his desk in the room that was directly above the unfinished staircase that went from the cellar to the ceiling.

* A waitress, with some psychic tendencies, was bringing up supplies for the day from a cellar foot locker, when the name, Cyrus, suddenly popped into her head, as she passed the unfinished cellar steps. She had felt his presence hanging out underneath these cellar steps.   *****
innaugbig.jpg (79863 bytes)
Our next stop is the Eastwind Inn in Tenant's Harbor, about 2 hours northeast of Portland. 

In rooms on the top floor, especially rooms 12 & 14, guests have felt moving cold spots, and have been awakened at night, feeling extremely cold. When they try to get up, they are physically held down on the bed by an unseen entity. Then they feel an uncomfortable pressure on their chest, and a lot of constriction around their throats, and are unable to scream. Though as of 1996, guests have typically just been held down by the unseen hands.

Psychic- prone people say that there is a feeling of sadness there. When psychic Annika Hurwitt visited the rooms, for the first time, she found it hard to breathe, and was overcome with really sad feelings. 
Windows in rooms on the top floor have shattered without any logical explanation.  On the third floor, guests have heard a faint wailing at 3 o'clock in the morning. There was no wind, and it was coming from somewhere on the third floor.

A guest on the second floor was in a room, located right under rooms 12 & 14. About 4 o'clock in the morning, something rudely pushed her out of bed. She heard what was described as "a long stroke noise, and then a short one," coming from her room's ceiling.

The roof on either room 12 or 14 just blew off in the 1980's, while the roofing on the rest of the third floor was not touched. No natural explanation was evident. At the same time, the mattress in the roofless room was cut in half. 

Psychic Research Concerning Rooms 12 & 14: After meditating in the haunted rooms, Annika Hurwitt sensed that this very angry and very hurt presence was murdered by either her much beloved boyfriend or husband, who was cheating on her. She haunts the living "to feel empowered and to get revenge," by making them feel what she felt in her violent death; being held down against her will, being stabbed in the chest and being not able to breathe because she was strangled as well
 
Various dogs have sensed unseen presences, and reacted by growling, showing their teeth, while staring around the room at something not seen by the living, causing the dogs' body hair to stand up straight.  ****
Wallingford Hall, Kennebunk, Maine
Still in the town of Kennebunk, we arrive at Wallingford Farm.  This historic home and barn is a garden center and farm market and also serves as a place for wedding receptions, business parties, graduation parties, etc.  There are reports of doors slamming and people running up and down the old staircase, and apparitions of soldiers walking along the rafters of the barn.  Cold spots in several areas have been reported as well.****
 
And how can we not acknowledge a famous writer who has written many horror stories to rival any Halloween tale. 
 
Stephen King, the King of Horror Stories lives in Bangor, Maine with his wife, Tabitha.  That is her real name.  This is their home. It is said that the livingroom of the King Mansion is haunted--but Mr. King won't verify that fact.  If you're ever in Bangor, stop by and take a picture of this grand home on West Broadway.
 

I know my tour wasn't especially scary, but I hope I've given you pause to wonder.  Take a look around your neighborhood and find out whay may lurk in the shadows between past and present.

31 comments:

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

Interesting! I don't like scary things but I do like history and folklore. Your trip to the local farm for hay looks like a great time. I miss things like that during Fall. We can't even get pumpkins around here and if we do, they cost about $30. Yikes! Have a great weekend. Happy creating. Best wishes, Tammy

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

Interesting! I don't like scary things but I do like history and folklore. Your trip to the local farm for hay looks like a great time. I miss things like that during Fall. We can't even get pumpkins around here and if we do, they cost about $30. Yikes! Have a great weekend. Happy creating. Best wishes, Tammy

Lenora said...

These are fascinating stories - beautiful houses too - makes me wonder what hauntings we have in our ol' town? - do feel free to visit our party / graveyard and maybe if you choose post a memory in our Memory Shrine (the comment box - you'll see what we mean!)
The Graveyard Blessings!

Anonymous said...

scarry or not, interesting sure it was. too bad the spider gate picture is broken.
have a magical party blog cruise! and fly on over to mine.

LYNDY WARD said...

Such pretty Victorian homes, too bad they have such sad hauntings...
Please fly by for my giveaways too...
Hauntingly Yours, Lyndy

My Haunted Halloween Party Link:
http://bit.ly/dho880
TODAYSGOLD
http://todaysgold.blogspot.com/

Melissa said...

Very spooky things happening at those locations. I love haunted houses but I don't want one!

Have a Spooky Halloween!

Such a Wondrous Place this Faery Space said...

Goodness you put my house up! No just kidding! I love historic homes, thanks for the cool tour dear! Have a blast this weekend! Blessings.

Boom said...

Thank you for the tour. I think it would be fun to spend the night in any of these lovely old places to see if a ghost passed by.
http://mygardenrocks.blogspot.com/2010/10/it-begins.html

Linda said...

I had a wonderful time today looking at your Halloween Party. Thank you for inviting me. Please visit me:
momentsinaneye.blogspot.com

Theresa MacNaughton said...

Thank you for this haunted tour! It was really fun - and I loved learning about the legends behind each locale.

I hope that you might come and visit with me for a special Halloween faerie tale of sorts...

http://faeriemooncreations.blogspot.com/2010/10/halloween-faerie-tale.html

Enjoy the parties!
Theresa

Unknown said...

I loved the stories of the haunted homes in your area. You have so many!! This is the first time I participated in Vanessa's parties, I didn't know what to expect!

Your newest follower here from Vanessa's Halloween Party!~Lisa
Happy Halloween

Alexandra MacVean said...

I TOTALLY love hearing about haunted homes and the "visitations" that have occured. What a great post - so glad that you took the time to put this together.

:)

Check out Harrington Manor Ball today.

Lauren said...

Fabulous party! I love hearing about hauntings and ghost stories so I really enjoyed this, thank you! :) ~Lauren

Kelly Jeanette Swift said...

Thanks for the tour. I love ghost stories and haunted houses. Please do join me at my party-http://kellysalteredart.blogspot.com/2010/10/halloween-party-2010.html

Wendy said...

I love haunted houses! I got shivers of cold delight reading this post. Wonderful!

Susan said...

That was waay cool! But the King house picture is not there :(
great post!!

Peace,
Susan

Please visit me:
http://piecesoffatesusan.blogspot.com/

Michelle said...

Spooky! I lived in a haunted house when I was a child. We had all kinds of crazy things happen.
Maine is on my list of places to visit and when I go, I'll have to add these towns. Thanks for sharing!

Twyla and Lindsey said...

I love a good ghost story. Thanks for the tour and the history. Have a wonderful weekend! Twyla

Rodica said...

I really enjoyed your stories, I'm fascinated but haunted houses :)

Have a fun weekend!

Maria-Thérèse ~ www.afiori.com said...

Eeeek! REAL ghosts on your blog!

halloween party poetry

Annabelle said...

I adore ghost stories but of the nice kind....hehehe! A bit of a chicken s.....Anyway,it was a very interesting haunting tour.

Happy Halloween !
~^..^~ Annabelle

I'm giving three art prints away for this special occasion so do drop in for a chance to win something Halloweenie if you like.

http://thewoodbeyondtheworld.blogspot.com/

Róisín said...

Wonderful post, I really enjoyed the tour. I'm a sucker for ghost stories and haunted houses, so this has been one of my favourite posts today :) I plan on posting some spooky tales between now and the end of the month. I do hope you can stop by for a wee tale or two! Happy Halloween!
Roisin x

http://childofdanu.blogspot.com/

CWBD Parties said...

Spooky fun! Please stop by my sweetastic bash!

www.cupcakewishesandbirthdaydreams.com

Elizabeth said...

Great posting. My daughter will love it too.

Please come see me when time allows at http://wood-wings.blogspot.com/2010/10/midnight-ride.html

Unknown said...

Love the tour of Haunted Houses. I had a great time visiting you.
Have a fun weekend,
Hugs,
Janet
Janets Creative Pillows

Unknown said...

Loved the stories! Made my hairs stand on end but loved it none the less. Thank you for having me at your party :D

If you haven't already hop on over to my blog for a chance to win two Mini Witch Hats.

http://fantasywhispersblog-ooak.blogspot.com/2010/10/halloween-party-and-2-giveaways-2010.html

Vania

Shell said...

I enjoyed your local Haunted house tour. Makes me wonder about the haunted legends around where I am.

Romeo said...

This was great!!! I love reading about hauntings!!! So your post was certainly delightful!!! Thank you so much for sharing your haunting tales!!!

Purrs!

Romeo and "her"

Lisa Lectura Creations said...

Hi Lori! Great party post! I enjoy the rich history in all places I visit. The ones you shared were spooktacular. Happy Halloween! :)

Jill Marcott-McCall ~Feathers & Flight~ said...

This Is So Interesting! Thank You for Sharing! I Love History and your Photos are Wonderful!
Hope You stop By!
Hugs
Jill

http://feathersandflight.blogspot.com/2010/10/under-halloween-moon-tea-party.html#comments

Unknown said...

Ooooo how wonderful!! Thank you.
Hugs, Seshat Moon Willow