State Ranked

Folklore and Stories

in Maine

  • Tarboxer of Maine

    The 1819 blizzard deaths of Samuel Tarbox and his wife became so iconic that fierce storms in the region were remembered as ‘real tarboxers.’

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  • South Portland 1946 UFO of Maine

    A Bangor Daily News/WGME survey of Maine UFO reports highlighted a 1946 South Portland case in which a hovering dark oval was seen over the sea and then shot straight upward out of sight.

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  • Wood Island Lighthouse Haunting of Maine

    The 1896 Hobbs–Milliken murder-suicide is central to Wood Island’s ghost lore; the lighthouse organization also documents ongoing reports of voices, rearranged objects, and resident spirits.

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  • Wessie the Giant Snake of Maine

    A 2016 wave of reports described an enormous snake along the river in Westbrook; a later shed skin fueled the legend, though biologists suggested an illegally released pet python or anaconda.

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  • Turner Beast of Maine

    Local reports described a black predator menacing pets and livestock; DNA testing on one carcass reportedly suggested a large dog or wolf-dog hybrid, but the legend persisted.

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  • Tote Road Shagamaw of Maine

    Area: North Maine Woods Hybrid bear-moose creature unique to Maine/New Brunswick lore, said to alternate walking on front and back legs in quarter-mile intervals.

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  • Tides Inn / Emma Foss Haunting of Maine

    The Tides Inn by the Sea is said to be haunted by Emma Foss, the original owner, whose spirit is believed to react to changes made to the old house.

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  • The Isidore Ghost Ship of Maine

    After the Isidore was lost in a storm in 1842, stories arose of a phantom vessel seen off southern Maine; witnesses say it vanishes when approached.

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  • Spirit Pond Runestones of Maine

    Three stones found in 1971 were touted by some as evidence of Norse contact and dismissed by others as inauthentic; they remain one of Maine’s best-known fringe-history mysteries.

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  • Specter Moose of Maine

    A giant white or luminous moose said to appear around Lobster Lake and vanish without a trace; later sightings reinforced the hunting-camp legend.

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