The Haunting of the Red House

New England Legends Podcast

Jeff Belanger and Ray Ogier travel to Long Island, Maine, to investigate the legendary haunting of the Red House, a former tavern turned boarding house that gained notoriety after a young woman vanished from

Key takeaways

• Jeff Belanger and Ray Ogier investigate the Red House on Long Island, Maine, a former tavern turned boarding house linked to an unsolved 1880 disappearance.
• A young woman vanished after paying three months of rent in advance, leaving all her belongings behind while her male companion never returned for her.

Main topics

• Red House haunting history
• Long Island, Maine geography & settlement

Notable quotes

"If every one of our podcasts ended with a final conclusion. Yeah, we'd be out of business. Yeah, it wouldn't be that interesting, I guess. It's the mystery."

Conclusion

The episode leaves listeners with the enduring power of unsolved local

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:06) We're standing on the eastern Speaker 1 (0:07) shore of Long Island. Right, Long Island, Maine, just off the coast of Portland. Speaker 2 (0:12) In fact, Long Island was part of Portland until 1993 when they broke off and became their own town. We had to take the Casco Bay Lines ferry to get here today. Speaker 1 (0:21) It's October. Weather's getting colder. The leaves up here are already starting to peak in color. The perfect time to go searching for ghosts. And that's exactly why we're here, Ray. We've come to Long Island, Maine, to explore the haunting of Long Island's Red House. Speaker 1 (0:39) Hello, I'm Jeff Belanger. And Speaker 2 (0:41) I'm Ray Ogier. Welcome to episode 464 of the New England Legends podcast. Thanks for joining us on our mission to chronicle every wicked strange legend in New England, one story at a time. We're always on the hunt for ghosts, monsters, UFOs, roadside oddities, and the just plain weird. So many of our story leads come from you, so please reach out to us anytime through our website. We love hearing from you. Speaker 1 (1:04) Ray, we talk a lot about our Patreon patrons. We love them. So speaking of our website, one of our patrons went and purchased a three-month free membership that we can give away as a contest. So here's what we're going to do. What year did Long Island break off from Portland? Hey, if you're listening from the beginning, it's pretty easy. We literally already told you. Email us through our website, ournewenglandlegends.com, and we will pick one of the correct winners at random and give you a free... three-month Patreon, courtesy of one of our other patrons, who thinks you might like it and you should check it out. Okay, we'll go searching for the ghost of Long Island, Maine, right after this word from our sponsor. Speaker 2 (1:45) Today, Long Island, Maine is a quiet island community. The population is just over 230 people according to the most recent census. And those folks are spread over a 33 and a half square mile island. So plenty of space for everyone. But you're saying a house here on the eastern end of the island is haunted? It is, or at least it was. Now Long Island has been used by people for thousands of years. First, it was the Abenaki people who used this island as a home and fishing grounds during the warmer months. The first European settler came here in 1640, and then the entire island was purchased by John Smith of Boston. John Smith, if that's his real name. Yeah, that's fair. In this case, it is his real name. John Smith bought the island around 1705 and named it Smith Island, but he never moved out here, so the name didn't stick. Ezekiel Cushing... bought the island in 1732. After his death in 1765, he willed it to his children. By that time, others moved out here to make a go at fishing and lobstering. In the 1800s, a few hotels set up out here to try to make a go at tourism. And in 1903, the U.S. government purchased 10 acres of the island to set up a Speaker 1 (2:57) fueling station for Navy ships. So Long Island has seen quite a bit over the centuries, but it's always been a sparsely populated island. Tough winters and storms have helped forge this place into what it is today. It's the kind of island where everyone knows everyone else. It'd be tough to slip something like a haunted house by the other locals. That's true. To figure out how the haunting of the Red House came to be, let's head back to the year 1880. Speaker 2 (3:22) It's June of 1880 here on Long Island, Maine. Rutherford B. Hayes is president of the United States. Daniel Davis is governor of Maine. And here on Long Island, some folks are busy with their fishing vessels. Others are gearing Speaker 1 (3:35) up for summer tourism. Island life is special. Locals know locals. They mostly look out for each other. Folks that are from off the island tend to stick out. They're welcome, sure, but they're still noticed. We're standing near Speaker 2 (3:47) the eastern shore of Long Island. Behind us is a place they call... The Red House. I Speaker 1 (3:51) can see why. It's a red house. Not terribly big. Speaker 2 (3:55) Well, it used to be a tavern, but now it's mostly a boarding house. Today, a man and a younger woman are calling on the house. Speaker 2 (4:03) The man explains how he'd like to secure lodging for the young woman for three months. He explains how he needs to leave for a trip, but will be back before the three months are up. He's even willing to pay for the whole thing in advance. Now, the landlord can't refuse an offer like that. So the man leaves for his trip, and the young woman moves into her room upstairs. The Speaker 1 (4:24) young woman mostly keeps to herself around the red house. She's quiet. She spends her days in her upstairs room sewing by the window light or going for walks nearby the house. She doesn't venture too far. It's Speaker 2 (4:34) a Speaker 1 (4:34) shame, Speaker 2 (4:34) too, because the summer weather has been great this year. Speaker 1 (4:37) One evening, Speaker 2 (4:38) the Speaker 1 (4:39) young woman heads up Speaker 2 (4:39) to her bedroom. Speaker 1 (4:43) The landlord bids her goodnight. And with that, the young woman is never seen again. Speaker 1 (4:51) It's the following morning. The woman's chamber door is open. All of her belongings are still there, but her room is empty otherwise. The landlord looks outside but finds no trace of her. Speaker 2 (5:01) It hasn't even been two months since she first came to the Red House. She had over a month of lodging still paid for. Speaker 1 (5:07) This is strange. Very strange. Speaker 2 (5:09) The Speaker 1 (5:10) landlord's concerned. He asks some other locals to help mount a search. They ask around. They inquire of the various boat captains if any young women asked for a ride to the mainland, but no one's seen this woman anywhere. There's no question. She didn't leave on a boat