Come on boys and ghouls! It's time to hop on Route 666 for a spooktacular Paranormal Road Trip.
This week's stop is York, Maine and our special guide is J.E. Taylor author of The Ryan Chronicles series, including new release ANGEL FURY.
York's Top 5 Spooky Places
Most of my books have, at a minimum, cameo appearances in York, Maine.
For the past seventeen years, my family spends our summer weekends and
vacations in York. With such a rich history of ghosts, shipwrecks, even
cannibalism and death, my characters just seemed to migrate towards the
town we love so dearly.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at a few haunted places and some of the more... odd places in York, Maine.
1. Museums of Old York
If you take a tour of the Museums of Old York and you may run into the
friendly “White Witch”, who is said to be the spirit of a woman hung for
witchcraft. Along with sightings of the white lady, there has been
other supernatural activity reported around these museums, including
chilly breezes, things moving on their own and doors opening of their
own accord. It’s rumored that even the children at the daycare across
the street from the museum have said a nice lady in white has played
with them during recess. How creepy is that?
2. Old York Cemetery
Near the Museums of Old York stands Old York Cemetery which contains the
grave of Mary Nasson, another witch who was executed and buried there
in 1774. Her gravestone has an image of her carved onto the crown, and a
stone slab lies over the grave. If you’re thinking of tempting fate and
removing that stone slab, legend states it was put there to keep Mary
from rising from the grave.
3. Boon Island
There hasn’t been any reports of ghost sightings on Boon Island, but the
history surrounding this landmark make it noteworthy to add here. Boon
Island houses New England’s tallest light house six miles off the shore
of York, Maine. However, before the light house was built, ships
routinely crashed into the desolate outcrop of rock. The most notorious
of shipwrecks was the British merchant vessel, Nottingham Galley which
crashed on the island in December of 1710. Ten of the fourteen crew
members survived the crash and stayed alive for twenty-four days without
shelter or fire. The only food source was the dead crew members. After
the ten remaining crew members were rescued, their cannibalistic
survival story made the island infamous.
4. Wiggly Bridge
While the Wiggly Bridge isn’t haunted or particularly spooky, the
winding path through Steedman Woods can be, especially at twilight, and
this is where I envisioned the opening scene in Saving Face – the sixth
book in The Steve Williams Series. The Wiggly Bridge is advertized the
world’s smallest suspension bridge and its name is appropriate because
it does sway and wiggle as you walk across it.
5. Pleasure Ground
And just because it is such an oddity and actually makes me smile, I’m
including Pleasure Ground – Tiny Figures in Hartley Mason Park. This is
a four by eight foot rock with bronze figures on top of it. Yes, I
realize this isn’t spooky at all, however, it does spark some weird
story lines in the mind of a horror writer, like what if these figures
were once real people who had a spell cast on them and were now forever
encased in bronze?
There are a couple of other noteworthy places in nearby locations, like
Kittery and Ogunquit that boast ghost sightings. At the Ogunquit
Playhouse you might see ghosts of Revolutionary War soldiers, and in
Kittery, if you visit Golden Girl Point on Appledore Island, you might
see the ghost of Blackbeard’s mistress.
Thank you J.E. for giving us such a haunting tour of York!
Learn more about
J.E. Taylor and her books by visiting her website. You can
add The Ryan Chronicles here on Goodreads.
What did you think of J.E.'s picks for spooky places?
On our last Paranormal Road Trip we visited
Dark World with Toni Sweeney. Next time we will be visiting
Savannah with Elaine Calloway.
Join us for another spine-tingling Paranormal Road Trip...
if you dare!
E.J. Stevens is the bestselling, award-winning author of the IVY GRANGER, PSYCHIC DETECTIVE urban fantasy series, the SPIRIT GUIDE young adult series, the HUNTERS' GUILD urban fantasy series, and the WHITECHAPEL PARANORMAL SOCIETY Victorian Gothic horror series. She is known for filling pages with quirky characters, bloodsucking vampires, psychotic faeries, and snarky, kick-butt heroines. Her novels are available worldwide in multiple languages.
