Ghosts in the woods

I have head about ghost stories in Whites.... People being swear there being followed hearing footsteps but nobody there..... headlamps going on in the middle of night while people are asleep......I read some ghost stories about the observatory.... Ghost of hutkeeper at carter hut... different stuff like that. Anybody else know anything about this or have experiences?? Not meant to spook anyone out of hiking just curious.

I've also heard the Great Gulf is supposed to be haunted. And something about yeti sightings along the Wilderness Trail.

Wood Devils

http://www.bfro.net/GDB/show_report.asp?id=1192

After a long one-day slog on the Pemi loop last year I had what I believed was an experience. Here is what I wrote on my trip report on another site:

"As soon as I started arriving at the Wilderness trail and turned right onto it I saw a man walking away on the trail. He looked taller than 6ft, was wearing dark clothes and was about 30 yards away. I thought nothing of it and figured I'd talk to him when I caught up shortly. At this point I started fishing for my watch in my pocket to see what time it was - 7:05pm - I had missed my estimate by only 5min, excellent! I put my watch back in my pocket and looked up.

The man was gone.

There was a bush and a log to the right of the trail where I had last seen him so I thought that he stopped there to rest or something. As I got closer I kept looking in that direction. I got there and no one was there. I looked around and there was no way that someone could have left the trail and hid without me hearing leaves rustling or seeing them through the trees. There were many trees around, but the forest was not dense, had low vegetation, and I could see at least 50 ft out. I looked around more, whistled, called out to see if maybe an animal would appear or run away or something. Nothing.
I walked away very puzzled and the only explanation that crossed my mind was that I was hallucinating or I had just seen a ghost. Of course preferring to take the latter assumption I became curious to find out if there had ever been any "sightings" in the area.
The trail itself looked eerie enough as the trees formed an endless tunnel - when the "ghost" thought settled in my mind I walked away faster and once in a while would glance over my shoulder, just in case."

Some suggested it was just low blood sugar playing tricks with my mind

SherpaK

SherpaK has a nice first person story he tells about meeting a logger in the Pemi Wilderness.

Artex said:

I've also heard the Great Gulf is supposed to be haunted.

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Definitely, it is.

Recommended:

Tales Told in the Shadows of the White Mountains by Charles J. Jordan.

i did the devils path last year and could swear there was someone following me

Alot of Scissorfight tunes talk of horrors in the whites.

Artex said:

I've also heard the Great Gulf is supposed to be haunted.

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The Great Gulf Ghost! Check out BirdHead Studios ...... HERE

Gotta see that Isolation video ...... great stuff!

I see a Ghostly Black Dog on the trail every weekend.....and she is always following this scary looking , Magic Mountain Man.....

Brian

There have been more than a few people who have had "interesting" experiences in the Pemi...... I would prefer to retell mine in person by a campfire sometime at a gathering.... I'm not sure if I would define the phenomena as "ghosts", however. A cross dimensional time slip might be a better description as the past, present, and future might not be as solid or locked as we percieve them to be most of the time...... did you get that? There will be a quiz next week!

The Ossipee Mountains also have a lot of legends associated with them - ghosts, UFO's, etc. One of the first and most famous UFO abductions took place somewhere in the whites during the 1960's on Rt. 3, the Betty and Barney Hill case. In an earlier thread I remember someone telling of a ghost they saw while hunting in the Ossipees.

There are many Native American legends about spirits and strange creatures in the woods. Some of the ones that interest me are the ones about Pamola, whom one of the Katahdin peaks is named after. Some legends describe Pamola as a bird like creature while others describe Pamola as looking more like Bigfoot. There have been quite a few sightings of Bigfoot or Wood devil type creatures in the north woods, not to mention legends of Celts, Viking, or pirate treasure buried along the coasts and rivers of the NE.

If you're really interested here's some -

Recommended Reading:

1. "Passing Strange" - Joseph Citro - a great book for night time reading in the backcountry He also wrote "Weird New England" and "Curious New England", which I haven't had a chance to read yet. His fiction is also quite entertaining and he is described by some as Vermont's Stephen King. Why not support your local authors and buy one of his books?

2. "Yankee Ghosts" - Hans Holzer

3. "Field Guide to Mysterious Places of Eastern North America" - Salvatore Trento

4. "Celtic Mysteries In New England" - Philip Imbrogno + Marianne Horrigan

I guess at this point one should add a very common and cliche caveat about the authors opinions being their own........ I certainly don't believe all of the stuff written in these books but do find them very interesting and highly entertaining!

When you die, and if you come back as a ghost, where would you rather hang out: In the woods, or in some creeyp old house?

Many have disputed me when I inform them that I have in fact been followed many times on the Southern peaks. I am very aware of my surroundings and while it has certainally not happened on all my hikes, I tell you that on many hikes espechally near the summit of Clinton,I have been in fact followed by ghost.
Given how many people have perished on the Southern peaks over the years, its not that hard to believe, is it? I remember one time, I almost turned around I was so spooked.

Nothing specific, but to add on to the Southern Presi's feel....the first time i did the presi's traverse, i very much got feelings of "presence" around me as i crossed the hump of franklin on a misty day. I kept swinging my head around and peering off into the mists...i was with a small group so it's not like i was solo and spooking myself. I actually wrote in the LOTC hut log that evening that i felt a presence of those before me...and i was not meaning of this decade or such. ...When i solo hike i usually sing somewhat loud and unfortunately off key(for those i meet unexpectedly), because i can spook myself, but i'm getting over that....ctsparrow

Lincoln Woods/ Wilderness Trail is a great place for mind games as it is.

The long green tunnel has a way of making familiar shapes out of downed trees and boulders. Plus, by the time you are walking out of there, its usually been a long day (Bonds, Owls Head etc.) or you've spent a few nights out.
I once saw (I think) a guy come out of the woods about 100 yards in front of me on the left (the river side if youre heading back to the lot). He stopped, took off his hat and kept walking into the woods across the trail. When I got to where I thought he went in, like 2 minutes later, there was no noise or sight of him. He had a very wide brimmed hat and suspenders, thats all I can remember. It wasn't far from Osseo so I just figured he cut the corner and whacked up to the Trail but I thought it odd to start up that trail at 7 at night w/o a pack.

I for one, welcome ghosts if they exist. Id rather have one of them to hang out with rather than some of the whack-jobs running around the woods I've bumped into....

I'm currently prepairing myself for a 8-10 day solo hike. Now you guys are going to have me looking over my shoulder all of the time. Ghosts was not one of my concerns till this thread started.

adirobdack46r said:

I'm currently prepairing myself for a 8-10 day solo hike. Now you guys are going to have me looking over my shoulder all of the time. Ghosts was not one of my concerns till this thread started.

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You do know that ghosts are 7.2 times more likely to appear to solo hikers, than appearing to groups. Also It's a well known fact that 58.3% of ghosts are friendly.

coldmountain said:

...I for one, welcome ghosts if they exist. Id rather have one of them to hang out with rather than some of the whack-jobs running around the woods I've bumped into....

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Like Mr. X for instance?

adirobdack46r said:

I'm currently prepairing myself for a 8-10 day solo hike. Now you guys are going to have me looking over my shoulder all of the time. Ghosts was not one of my concerns till this thread started.

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I am sorry that was not my intention. Just curiosity. I am actually more concerned with getting attacked by a Yeti