Fall in Maine, 2021

It’s lovely October already! The leaves here in Maine are starting to turn and the weather is cooling. I have always loved October – my favorite month for so many reasons. It’s my birthday month, which often made Halloween a little extra exciting, I mean who doesn’t want candy and cake!?

I also love wind – not hurricane force of course, but a warm, brisk wind feels and sounds amazing to me. Raking leaves to jump in or to burn is also special – there is a certain smell as you’re raking that stirs up memories; and of course just crunching through them is fun, too.

Bonfires, carving pumpkins, smores, apple cider, hay rides and best of all, ghost stories, are certainly well known aspects of fall. Probably one of the reasons I’m in this business!

If you live or vacation in Maine, you haven’t seen any red cloaks again this year, but we are out there! Lots of things have been looking different since 2019, and Red Cloak Tours is no different. We still love entertaining folks, telling Maine’s history and sharing those tales of haunts and spirits!

So, even though we’re not visible, our tours are taking place and we’re making history fun for locals and visitors alike as we guide them through Maine’s villages and cemeteries via phone. There’s no video, zoom or Facetime, just a private family or group and myself chatting as I guide them from point to point and do the storytelling.

As much as I love telling the stories in person, this is very enjoyable for me because I can personalize the tours for each group and take them places or tell them things that I might not on a regular basis. It’s a very fulfilling experience.

If you’re interested in seeing more about the type of tours we offer, just check out “TeleTours” or “Seafood Discovery Tours” for more information. You can also always give me a call!

Once in a Blue Moon

This is the first time in about 19 years that we’ve had a full moon on Halloween, and it’s the first time since 1944 that a full moon will be seen in all time zones around the world on October 31st – extra creeepy!

We also have a rare “blue moon” on Halloween this year. According to NASA, “once in a blue moon” means something so rare that you might or might not see it in your lifetime. The next blue moon on Halloween will occur in 2039. This one is so called because it is the second full moon within a month – the first was on October 1st.

This Halloween full moon is also called a Hunters moon, a Travel moon or a Dying moon. The moon names that we might be familiar with – Harvest moon, Strawberry moon, Sturgeon moon were all named by Native Americans who used the moons to track the seasons and times for certain things such as hunting or strawberry picking.

A Hunters moon is self explanatory, while a Dying moon might also be – the time for the dying back of the crops after harvest. The Travel moon indicates the time of travel for the Native Americans who moved from place to place according to the seasons.

There are 2 different schools of thought on what a blue moon is – the second full moon in a month or the 4th full moon in a season. According to a 19th century Maine almanac, two full moons in a calendar month named the second as a “blue moon.” This was not commonly known until a radio game show in the 1970’s asked the question, with the answer of “a blue moon.”

The game of Trivial Pursuit, “Kids World Almanc of Records and Facts” (pub. 1985) and an article in a 1946 “Sky and Telescope” Magazine have all contributed to the term “Blue Moon.”

Blue moons are not really blue, unless there is smoke or a lot of dust particles in the air, such as during a volcanic eruption. During those times, the moon might take on a bluish hue.

The moon has always played an important part in the culture and lives of humankind. The moon’s phases helped people mark the passing of the seasons, as previously mentioned, but it also helped them plan for the future. Because the 13th moon was an oddity, there were many superstitions associated with it.

This rarity in the heavens became the basis for myths and legends, as well as superstitions all around the world. Some cultures considered the blue moon to be a trickster moon – a faker. Other cultures felt it was something to celebrate; something to aid in planning – to help predict the future.

I remember growing up with a full moon legend or two – one was about warts. I was told to take an old dishrag and bury it on the night of a full moon to get rid of warts. For a blue moon, you should blow on the wart 9 times during the blue moon to get rid of the wart!

Here are a few other superstitions surrounding the blue moon –

*pick flowers and berries during the blue moon to bring abundance and love into your life –

*looking at a blue moon, or having it shine on your face will bring bad luck; blinds should be closed during this time –

*if a family member dies during a blue moon, 3 more family members will follow –

*gangsters believed attempting a robbery on the 3rd day of a full moon will fail –

*a woman will be more fertile during a blue moon –

Enjoy this special time of all Hallow’s Eve, a Blue Moon, and a full moon. 2020 could not ask for anything more!

Mysterious Burial and Unmarked Grave

Some folks think we’re a seasonal business, just during Halloween/Fall season, but we are definitely a year round business!

Our current project is an example of how we work throughout the year. Over 130 years ago a woman was taken from her family under cover of night and buried in an out of town cemetery in an unmarked grave. We’ve been researching this story for years, but have stepped it up recently.

Our goal is to find the Maine cemetery, if not the actual gravesite, by Spring and do some fundraising to give this unfortunate woman a marker.

She did nothing wrong, she was reportedly in a trance, as was common for her, as a medium in her hometown. She was being cared for by her brothers, who assured everyone that she was fine and would come out of it soon.

You can read more about Mary’s story and our efforts here, http://wgme.com//news/features/top-stories/stories/dirigo-stories-missing-grave-mary-howe-24603.shtml#.VFCX-haCV8E.

Our book, “Haunted Damariscotta, Ghosts of the Twin Villages and Beyond” has the original story. Signed copies can be mailed to you upon request. Call 207-380-3806 or e-mail redcloaktours@gmail.com.

Halloween Favorites

Halloween has always been a special time for me. Of course, it’s the favorite holiday of all kiddos, but my birthday happens to fall near Halloween, so it was double fun for me!

My birthday parties tended to be Halloween themed and it was such fun to have everyone in costume and all the decorations around the house. We had a huge yard with many trees, so jumping in piles of leaves was often incorporated into the party!

Because of my birthday and due to the fact of living in a rural area, trick-or-treating was minimal – what there was, was done by car, going just to relatives homes and visiting a bit, not just getting a treat and heading out. This was sometimes the only time I’d see some of my distant relatives other than at church and it was a nice tradition.

Of course, as I got older things changed and I’d go out with friends for group trick-or-treating, and then comes that sad day when you’re too old to go.

That doesn’t mean you’re too old for Halloween, though! I have attended many adult Halloween parties and also had lots of fun helping my children with their Halloween costumes and plans. Now I have grandchildren, so the fun never ends!

My favorite costume as a child was a clown. As an adult, I’ve been Red Riding Hood (!), a housewife with curlers and cold cream, a pirate, and the best – a Tacky Tourist, complete with fanny pack, camera, binoculars, and crazy mix matched clothes.

Last year I shared my favorite story with you, Tippity Witchet. I look forward to reading it again tomorrow!

My favorite Halloween treat was always homemade popcorn balls – yum!

What are some of your favorite memories, traditions, treats or costumes?

Enjoy the day!

Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treat

Halloween is only 10 days away! Here’s an interesting article on the history of trick or treating… Who’s going in costume as The Lady in the Red Cloak?

http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/smartnews/2012/10/the-history-of-trick-or-treating-is-weirder-than-you-thought/?utm_source=smithsoniantopic&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20121021-Weekender

Fall Ghost Events

With fall approaching, I want to remind you of our final Mysterious Destinations ghost adventures for 2012! Of course, our regular Red Cloak Haunted History Tours and Red Cloak Cemetery Tours will continue through October 30!

This coming Saturday, Sept. 22 – the Autumnal Equinox! – will be a Midnight Explore of the Winter Street Center in Bath, Maine. This 3 story building dates back to the 1850’s and is attached to a church built in 1843. We’ll have 4 hours to learn a bit of the building’s history and be trained on using paranormal investigation equipment, then head off on the adventure! We have had battery drain, registered cold spots, flashlight conversations, extreme EMF activity and more during past Explore’s. Cost is only $35 which includes light refreshments, bottled water and coffee as well as a donation to the restoration of the church. By reservation only.

On October 26, we’ll have an Explore similar to the above.

October 27th, you’ll have the opportunity to eat dinner and spend the night with Myrtle, a ghost who is said to haunt her past place of business as well as her nearby home in Newcastle, Maine. Myrtle has been active for years, but just recently there have been 2 full bodied apparitions seen – one in each building! There is limited space left for this special Halloween event.

For more information on any of the above, please call 207-380-4677  or go to www.mysteriousdestinations.com

NEW! Red Cloak Cemetery Tours!

I am SO excited! I have loved cemeteries ever since I was a little girl. The ones I grew up with in Nevada are very different than New England cemeteries, yet still have that allure… With my parents, I used to go to family cemeteries, as well as some desert and ghost town cemeteries. It was always a mini history lesson, but certainly not boring! How could it be when it involved death and sickness and crime and sadness?

Now, as I’m older, I also appreciate the symbolism of the markings on the stones and the heartfelt epitaphs, sometimes biblical, sometimes written by loving family members. There is so much to life, behind the deaths that you realize in a graveyard.

It must be a family thing – my sister, still in Nevada, participates in a type of cemetery tour every Halloween season, and is head of the local Cemetery Association!

So, I’ve been wanting to start these tours for a while and finally they’re here! Each tour will be offered in the town that has a Red Cloak Haunted History Tour that evening. Due to a Maine State law that does not allow visiting cemeteries after dusk, these will be early evening tours, lasting about 1 hour. You can double up and go on a Haunted History Tour in the same town, the same evening, if you’d like.

A twist on the Red Cloak Cemetery Tours is that we will donate a portion of the proceeds of every tour to the local Cemetery Association if there is one, or to the local Historical Society if not. The Cemetery Tours will not focus as much on ghosts and hauntings as the Red Cloak Haunted History Tours, but we will feature a ghost story on each one!

So, if you’re a taphophile – you may be and not even know it – come and join The Red Cloaked Guide on a walk through a midcoast Maine burial ground!

Halloween – only a few days away!

Halloween already?! My, time flies here at Red Cloak Haunted History Tours! We’ve been having such fun… I mean, how can you beat the apparition of Grandpa, the ‘Spectre’, a ghost who slaps men on their backsides, the most haunted building in the state of Maine, and the spirit of a playful little boy?!?

In case you’ve been wanting to come on a lantern walk and haven’t made it yet, we do have some 5:00 and 9:00 tours in addition to the regular 7:00 ones. Our last night is October 30th. Check www.mysteriousdestinations.com for a special event on Saturday, October 29 – a Visit with Myrtle – a chance to participate in a ghost hunt of 2 buildings!

I’d really like to thank everyone who came on tours this year and gave us the opportunity to share our stories and the rich history of midcoast Maine. I’d also like to thank my associate ‘Ladies in Red Cloaks’ who worked very flexible hours these last months!

I’m looking forward to a winter full of research and maybe some new offerings next summer/fall! Don’t forget I am available off season by special request… I have some great school tours coming up in November! Check back now and then – you never know what random weird thing I’ll come up with to blog about!

Also, keep an eye on www.mysteriousdestinations.com for winter offerings as well as next summer and our November 2012 cruise!

There’s still room for October Red Cloak Haunted History Tours in Maine!

We still have room on all Red Cloak Haunted History Tours the rest of the month… except this Saturday(Oct. 8) in Camden, ME! Because that one is full, I’ve added a 5:00 pm tour for Camden that evening. We’ll also have a 9:15 tour in Wiscasset on the 8th.

Please keep in mind that our schedule (at least one tour every night this month!) is subject to change, but that we also do offer some 5 pm and some 9 pm tours! Just call and we’ll do the best we can for you so that you can take an October ghost tour! Once a firm reservation is made, that tour will not change – unless there’s an emergency or rain, of course!

I’m looking forward to seeing you this last month of our season! Often, the October tours are the best… a little chill in the air, crunchy leaves to walk through, and of course, Halloween approaching!