As the former longtime home of Stephen King and the inspiration for several elements in the author’s horror novels, Bangor is no stranger to spooky stories — and not all of them are purely fictional.
As Halloween approaches, the Bangor Historical Society offers tours that tell the stories of unsolved mysteries, murders and spirits that some believe still linger in some of the Queen City’s most well-known buildings and sites.
Here are a few of the many stories featured in the Ghostly Bangor Walking Tour, which the historical society offers throughout October.
Bangor House
Built in 1835, the Bangor House on the corner of Main and Union streets opened as a luxury hotel during the city’s time as the lumber capital of the world. It hosted notable guests ranging from U.S. presidents to famous athletes and musicians and was a setting for grand parties and dinners.
However, it was also home to several murders including one of Bangor’s most notable cold cases.
On March 18, 1965, a chambermaid named Effie MacDonald was found strangled with her own stockings in a vacant hotel room on the third floor.
This occurred just after the heyday of the Boston Strangler, a serial killer who murdered more than a dozen women, leading people to wonder whether the killer had traveled north to continue the spree. Investigators from Boston came to Bangor to investigate MacDonald’s murder, but ultimately deemed it to be the work of a copycat.
No one was ever charged with MacDonald’s murder, but she’s reportedly still seen roaming the halls of the second and third floors of the building closest to Union Street.
The building’s time as a hotel ceased in 1968 and the building was converted into apartments, which is still what it’s used for today.
Bangor Opera House
The predecessor to the Penobscot Theatre Company building on Main Street was built in 1882 and was one of several music houses throughout the city. The Bangor Opera House hosted many well-known entertainers, including John Wilkes Booth’s brother, Edwin Booth, who was a renowned Shakespearean actor.
The building escaped destruction in the Great Fire of 1911 only to ignite on Jan. 15 three years later.
Firefighters responded quickly and began pouring water on the building, but the opera house was quickly encased in ice due to the freezing temperatures. The weight of the ice caused the roof to collapse, killing two firefighters who were inside clearing the building.
The theater was rebuilt in the same location in 1920, but actors and employees have reported seeing shadowy figures in two locations that are believed to be the two firefighters who died in the fire. In several cases, a figure has been spotted on the balcony while photographers have captured another that appears to be sitting on the edge of the stage.
There have also been reports of the spirit of a young child being seen running through the lobby, though there’s no record of a child dying on the property.
On one occasion, a lighting technician said he was working in the building alone one night and brought a cookie wrapped in plastic to the light booth in the back of the theater. After stepping away to turn a few lights on, he returned to find the plastic had been ripped open and a small bite had been taken out of the cookie.
Thomas A. Hill House
Located on the corner of Union and High streets, real estate investor and businessman Thomas A. Hill commissioned a house to be built for him in 1835. However, he lost his fortune a few years later and sold the house in 1845 to Samuel Dale, another local businessman and politician, who lived in the house with his wife, Matilda, and their son, George
Samuel Dale served as Bangor’s mayor for two terms, including in 1871 when the Great Chicago Fire broke out. Bangor residents raised roughly $10,000 to support relief efforts for the victims and, as mayor, it was Samuel Dale’s job to bring the money to Chicago.
It was also customary at the time for the recipients to take ads out in the local newspapers thanking Bangor residents for their contributions. But, Bangor never received any receipt for the donations, leading residents to question whether Samuel Dale embezzled the funds.
That same year also marked the completion of the European and North American Railroad, and family President Ulysses S. Grant visited Bangor to celebrate. The Dale family hosted a lavish party at their home to welcome the President in October 1871 and made significant upgrades to the house in anticipation of the event.
Again, residents questioned where the money the mayor was using to fund the party came from, especially considering the party favors included watches and jewelry.
A few months later, Samuel Dale became ill and died in a bedroom in the home while his wife and son were at church. His stomach contents were sent to Boston to be tested for poison but his cause of death was ultimately ruled a stroke.
Matilda Dale continued living in the home until she died in the same room as her husband in 1894. The house remained a private residence until the Sons of Union Veterans bought it in 1942 before the house was gifted to the Bangor Historical Society in 1974.
To this day, Bangor Historical Society employees and volunteers report inexplicably smelling cigar smoke, even in sealed, climate controlled rooms. This, they believe, is the spirit of Samuel Dale, who was a habitual smoker.
Employees have also reported seeing a woman in a Victorian dress when changing exhibits, cleaning or decorating for the holidays. This, they believe, was Matilda Dale, as she would’ve overseen such work as the lady of the house.
Phenix Block
Located in West Market Square in downtown Bangor, the Phenix Block has been plagued by fires since its construction in 1873.
On one occasion, William Bracket was walking through downtown on his way to work when he noticed smoke pouring out of the top of the building. People were carrying items out of the ground floor, which held a dry goods shop at the time.
Bracket began making trips into the building to help salvage items, but masonry from one of the building’s upper floors fell and hit him while he was inside, killing him.
The building was later rebuilt and now serves as the Phenix Inn, continuing its long legacy of operating as a hotel or apartments of some kind. However, guests have reported strange electrical occurrences and feeling unexplained cold spots on the building’s third floor, which is where the masonry that killed Bracket is believed to have fallen from.
Thomas Hill Standpipe
Built in 1897, Bangor’s iconic standpipe that looms over the city consists of an iron tank that holds 1.5 million gallons of water surrounded by a wood frame jacket. A staircase to the observation deck runs between the two structures.
For years the standpipe was open to the public and unattended until 1940 when a group of children climbed up the standpipe, not using the stairs, but by climbing up the support beams that run between the water tank and wood exterior.
A 12-year-old boy slipped while jumping from beam to beam and fell roughly 20 feet down into the gap between the metal tank and wooden shell. He died from his injuries two days later.
Today, those climbing to the top of the standpipe on the rare occasions it’s open report hearing children’s voices, laughter and footsteps.