Wiscasset Ancient Burial Ground: History, Hauntings & Legends
The Ancient Burying Ground: Wiscasset’s Oldest Cemetery from 1735
In a quiet neighborhood, several blocks north of the bustling traffic of US Route 1, is the oldest cemetery in Wiscasset, Maine dating from 1735. Called the Ancient Burying Ground, it contains graves from the 18th and 19th Century. Early non-native settlers buried their dead on their own property. As the community grew, this became the common final resting place for the town. When contagious diseases broke out in Wiscasset, like the spotted fever epidemic in 1814, it was particularly important to separate the living from the infected corpses of the fallen.
The Drowning of Joshua Pool and the Scotch-Irish Burial Traditions in Wiscasset
The oldest legible marker is the tombstone of Joshua Pool, dated 1739. Earlier wooden markers have disintegrated, leaving only those of slate and granite. Both Pool, and his brother-in-law, Samuel Tarr, drowned in the nearby Sheepscot River when an attacking bear caused their canoe to capsize. Neither of the men could swim which was not unusual for the time, especially among the Scotch-Irish, many of whom settled in this part of Maine. It was a common folk belief at that time that you shouldn’t struggle if the waters attempt to take you. For if you do, and you survive, the angered depths will rise up to claim your loved ones instead.
When the Scotch-Irish arrived many brought their gravestones with them, just in case! On the way, these stones were used as ballast on the ships.
Scotch-Irish Funeral Customs: Warding Off Evil Spirits in Wiscasset
These immigrants also brought other death traditions. One practice was to keep 12 candles burning around the body during the wake to keep evil spirits at bay. Some also believed that the evil spirits to blame for death could come out through the mouth of the corpse to seek additional victims. In this culture, the face of a corpse is kept covered with a sheet or cloth to keep these spirits from getting out.
Ghostly Encounters at Wiscasset’s Ancient Burial Ground and Jodie’s Cafe
Another stone in Wiscasset’s Ancient Burial Ground belongs to Thomas Woodman “who died on passage here Sept. 14, 1769, age 52.” Not all immigrants made it to these shores safely. In the 1800s, the cellar of the local chandlery, a supply house for ships, held the bodies of these unfortunates until burial. This space is now occupied by the kitchen of Jodie’s Cafe. The restaurant’s history as a morgue might explain the paranormal activity experienced there today. Jodie’s employees have witnessed many mysterious things, especially in the early morning hours. These are just a few of the ghost stories you’ll hear on our Wiscasset haunted history walk.
As with many cemeteries, the Ancient Burial Ground has been the site of strange occurrences. On occasion passersby at night sometimes glimpse shadowy figures moving among the tombstones or strange lights. Others hear voices in the wind. Visitors to the Ancient Burial Ground have also captured strange apparitions in photos in the southwest quadrant.
Ethereal Mist and Orbs at Burial Grounds
The first of these photos seems to show an ethereal mist, perhaps a cloaked figure rising up from the ground with hollow eye sockets as some see. The other photo reveals circular objects hanging in the air, the spheres typically referred to as orbs by paranormal investigators.
Orbs can easily be caused by water droplets and even dust motes on digital cameras. The large field of focus causes small things near the camera lens to appear as huge. Whatever these photos really show, they’re definitely food for thought and a great excuse to launch your own investigation of the Ancient Burial Ground and an abundance of other historic and picturesque Wiscasset haunts.
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