Phantoms and Monsters

fosters - The Hackmatack Playhouse is haunted, according to a group of ghost-hunting paranormal investigators.

Everything Paranormal of New England said it detected the spirits of a singing woman and a very angry Native American on the playhouse property.

The good news?

"They're not going to hurt anybody," said the group's founder, Renee Alling.

She and her team, which has investigated several historic homes across New England, scoured the playhouse with infrared cameras, electromagnetic detectors, and audio equipment last month.

She recently presented the evidence to playhouse owner Michael Guptill.

He wasn't surprised by the findings. He said the playhouse property, which has been in his family since the early 1600s, was the site of the "Salmon Falls Massacre"(*note below). A group of Native Americans burned down a home, killing several of his ancestors.

Alling said an audio recording in a former slaughterhouse next to the playhouse picked up a Native American spirit. The group asked if the spirit burned down the home during the massacre, instructing it to knock once for "no" and twice for "yes." Alling said the recording picked up two knocks.

"It was the strangest thing," she said.

The voice of a singing woman was also recorded; Guptill said it likely belongs to his now-deceased grandmother.

Another piece of evidence was a photo taken inside the playhouse. Alling said the photo contains an "orb" of energy indicating a spirit trying to manifest itself.

Guptill was enthralled. When the paranormal group contacted him about collecting evidence, he agreed because he said it sounded fun and reminded him of the movie "Ghostbusters."

He said he has an "open mind" and "believes in things you can't see."

He is currently preparing for the playhouse's season opener June 24 — a performance of "Cinderella."

There's no word from the spirits if they will be in attendance.

*NOTE: South Berwick, Maine - Late 1600's - The Newichawonnock tribe had been summering there long before whites arrived. People heard of the great opportunities in the New World and came to the settlement. The river became a highway. The center of town was Pipe Stave Landing (Leigh's Mills). The community was made up of fishermen, lumberjacks, merchants, laborers, and sailors. Many Scottish settlers inhabited Vaughan Woods. Some of the cellar holes of those homes can still be seen. Lumber was an especially prosperous business. The gigantic trees were chopped down and floated down the river and over to Portsmouth. They were called the king's pines because they were used as masts for the king's ships. With the throngs of people arriving in early South Berwick, the wildlife slowly disappeared. The late 1600's brought conflict to South Berwick.

During King Phillip's War in 1675, Native Americans and colonists fought each other. King Phillip was a Native American. Most white homes were burned by 1690, including the Humphrey Chadbourne House, which has been an archeological dig site during the past few years. To protect themselves during an attack, the settlers built garrisons: 16 by 16 ft. square-shaped structures. What remained of the Hill Garrison still stands on Brattle Street. Today's Salmon Falls Nursery is the site of a massacre at the Tozier Garrison, which took place on September 24, 1675. During King William's War of 1690, the French got Native Americans to fight the colonists. At the Plaisted Garrison (near Leigh's Mills), fighting lasted for several days and the settlers lost. This could have been when the Humphrey Chadbourne House was burned. 54 prisoners were marched to Canada. One of these captives was Hetty Goodwin. Legend says that her husband, who had himself been held captive by Native Americans, gathered ransom money and was eventually able to bring Hetty back to the settlement. Hetty is now buried in the Old Fields Cemetery. (www.southberwickmaine.org)

Maine Playhouse Spirits Remnants of Massacre

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The Ultimate Revenge...Pubic Lice?

A British web site is serving up revenge in an unusual way...by selling pubic lice.

Crabrevenge.com claims it does not endorse giving “crabs” to people, and the lice are for “novelty purposes only.” On the other hand, it also says, “Make that bitch itch. If you want a method of revenge that doesn’t involve permanent damage or risk of personal injury or jail time, you have come to the right place,” CNews reports.

The company based in the British Isles offers three options to choose from when ordering lice:

Green package – One colony that can lay as many as 30 eggs for about $20.

Blue package – Three colonies to share with your friends or freeze a batch or two for about $35.

Red package – A vial of “shampoo resistant F strain crabs” which can take up to two weeks to kill for about $52.

The web site, which has numerous spelling and grammatical errors, claims it’s not a joke, but some find it hard to take seriously. If you don’t like what you see there, yes, there’s another similar site, revengecrabs.com.

A ‘lousey’ way to burn someone.