12 Reasons Why Maine Is The Most Terrifying, Spookiest State

We tell you a lot about how wonderful Maine is, but every now and then we like to even things out a bit. Maine's dark history dates way back and with that history comes stories. These Maine horror stories have been passed down from generation to generation and become spooky along the way. Massachusetts has the witch trials, but here are a few reasons why we think haunted Maine is the scariest state.

1. We have haunted lighthouse tales.

To help stave off the loneliness of his isolated wife, the caretaker of the light in the early 1800s, had a piano shipped to the island to keep her occupied. However, she only knew one song and played it incessantly. Eventually the caretaker could take no more, went a bit insane and destroyed the piano with an axe. Next he killed his wife and, finally, himself. Today, in a noted instance of Maine horror, locals claimed to have heard the lone song coming from the lighthouse.

2. Stephen King has made his home here.

Wrought-iron bat fences and all. There's got to be something spooky about Maine if it inspires tales as scary as King's. His Maine home is located in Bangor and comes with all the touches you'd imagine. Spider-webs and bats adorn his front gates. Though his literary Maine towns are fictional, they have the feel of small-town Maine which presumably comes from living in and loving Maine and all things Maine horror.

3. We've got abandoned places, which makes imagining scary stories easy.

4. Some of our small towns seem eerily similar to those mentioned in Stephen King books.

King's towns are fictional, but any King-loving Mainer has tried to guess where he drew his inspiration. Some say that Dexter feels like the small town of Derry. Derry was featured in "It," "Insomnia," and "11/22/63," among others.

5. We make the cut to be included in scary films.

6. We have an underwater ghost town.

7. We have the most foggy, eerie roads.

In any season, our coast will bring a veil of fog making for some pretty spooky trips.

8. In 1976, Mary Catherine Olenchuk's unsolved murder happened in Maine.

In 1976, Mary Catherine Olenchuk was vacationing with her mother and sisters at their home in Ogunquit. She left on a friend's bicycle to head into town for a pack of gum and The New York Times. She never returned. What happened?

Here are some theories: After being promoted to Brigadier General, Mary's father oversaw a program called "Operation CHASE." The controversial effort included dumping munitions and chemical weapons into the ocean. There had been threats against his family and many people assumed Mary had been kidnapped. When a random call never came, it was clear that something more nefarious had happened.

About two weeks after disappearing, Mary's body was found in a Kennebunk barn. Despite being decomposed and buried under some hay, it was clear she had been strangled. Her bike was found at a nearby hotel. Sadly, both of Mary's parents have passed away and there have been no real breaks in the case. It is still open and is one of a few unsolved mysteries being re-examined by Maine police.

9. We have roads haunted by crying brides.

Another well known Maine horror story takes place on a wooded road in Millinocket, where a newlywed couple traveled on a dark winter night. The story tells us that the groom was drunk and lost control of the car, hitting a telephone pole which killed him. After the young bride crawled from the wreckage and made her way back to the snowy road, she waited for hours for someone to drive by to help her. However, the conditions of the night meant that nobody was traveling and the woman never received help.

It is reported that she has remained in the same place in her wedding gown where she eventually froze to death. Travelers on the road have reported seeing the woman in the white gown on Brownville Road. She can still be seen wandering along the side of the road searching for help that never came. Some even claim to have actually spoken to the woman. In these situations, she tells the driver of her situation but as the vehicle approaches closer the woman suddenly disappears.

10. Maine has had reports of alien abductions.

In August of 1976, four men ventured into the Allagash Wilderness for two weeks of camping. As they enjoyed the Northern Maine wilderness one night, they noticed a bright light that seemingly tracked them as they paddled on the water. Then, just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone.

Until two nights later when it came back. As they watched from their small boat, the bright light shot out and beamed down upon them again. They began paddling back to shore. Rather than arriving back on shore and pulling the boat inland, the next thing they remember is simply being back. The light was gone.

The campfire, set just recently, had completely burned out as if they had been gone for hours. Over the next six days of the trip, the light never reappeared. When they returned, they told friends and family of the strange light and then moved on.

However, in 1988 two of the men began having terrible nightmares. The frightening dreams included images of four men sitting naked on a bench, feeling terrified. They enlisted the help of UFO researcher, Ray Fowler, who hypnotized them and recorded them each telling a tale of being abducted and probed during their 1976 Allagash trip.

Later, they each passed polygraph tests.

11. This bug lives here.

It's a Bold Jumping Spider and it has the ability to jump more than four times its own body length.

12. But one lighthouse has an even more deadly (and definitely true) story.

In 1710, the Nottingham Galley crashed along the rocks of Boon Island, off the coast of York. Of the 14 men on board, only 10 made it back. Forced to survive for 24 days while stranded on the island, those who were not killed turned to cannibalism to ensure they made it back.

Which of these bits of Maine horror scares you the most? Do the ghost tales of paranormal activity in Maine keep you up at night? Do you know of any other Maine ghosts or real-life scary stories?