Did You Know That Maine Is Home To One Of The Oldest Ghost Stories In The Country?

Ghost stories run deep here in Maine, and we think that's a good thing. Everything around us in our neck of the woods is so old that it's bound to be rich with some good spooky stories. With Halloween around the corner, there's no better time to be exploring this side of history - so when we found this, we just had to share. As found in a report by the Bangor Daily News, it turns out Maine is home to one of the best documented ghost stories ever, and one of the oldest in the US!

As reported by the BDN, the story dates back to 1799 in the town of Sullivan in Hancock County. Nelly Butler, who had passed away at age 21 in 1796, was seen roaming about town by not one, but many onlookers. This incident was recorded by a traveling preacher named Rev. Abraham Cummings, and was later put into a book he wrote called "Immortality Proved by the Testimony of Sense." In the book, he managed to take down 31 eyewitness accounts of those who saw the ghost. Amazing!

The BDN writes that this story causes a lot of controversy, even to this day. With so many eyewitness accounts all claiming the same thing, is there actually a shred of truth to this story? Who knows. Either way, it's a super cool piece of Maine history to get us in the halloween spirit.

Read the whole BDN article here. It's absolutely fascinating.

By the way, how did we as a society get from ghosts to candy? Still trying to figure that one out.