SIEUR DE MONTS SPRING - A WONDER OF NATURE OR MAN MADE

BAR HARBOR TIMES

JULY 21, 1960




To the Editor;

Visitors at Sieur de Monts Spring may at times wonder about the early history. One standing on the large flat rock in the brook and watching the water bubble and gorgie from beneath it may think he is beholding a natural event, when in fact, he is looking at the result of human planning and effort.

In the summer of 1907 John Prescott, owner of the property developed the spring at the upper end of the Harding Farm, so called, which was originally known as Red Rock Spring, and later, Mt. Kebo Spring, undertook to do the same thing with what is now the Sieur de Monts Spring.

I learned this quite by accident. One day in the summer above mentioned I was walking with a friend of my parents through the woods in that section. As a boy I had fished in the brook that flowed out of the meadow - now known as the tarn - and I knew that area very well.

Near the brook at that time was a small boiling spring with a much larger one several yards away.

As we came into the path off the Seal Harbor Road we heard from the valley below us the sound of horses and a stone drag. Coming into the clearing at the foot of the hill we found Mr Prescott with a team of horses dragging a large flat rock towards the smaller spring, and learned that he was planning another bottling plant similar to the one at Red Rock (Mt. Kebo). He told us he was setting that flat rock over the smaller spring in the attempt to force the water back into the larger one which he planned to deepen and enlarge.

The bottling plant, as such, did not prove to be the success had hoped, and in course of time the property passed to other hands and now has been developed into the beauty spot we have today. But that rock is the same one we saw put in place over 50 years ago.

What we see today is not a freak of nature but a deliberate attempt to improve on what nature has provided.

I can vouch for this as I am the only living person who was present when that stone was set in its present position.

Sincerely,

Rev. Charles S. Mitchell, DD

SIEUR DE MONTS SPRING HOUSE
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

WHO WAS THE REV CHARLES S. MITCHELL




A piece I found in an article in the Bar Harbor Times dated August 2, 1922 states in part;

"Mr. Charles S. Mitchell served Long Island till cold weather, than he moved his family to Bar Harbor and spent the winter assisting in special services at Cranberry Isles, Matinitus, and other places. It seemed best to locate Mr. Mitchell at Corea where he can be of help in the town of Gouldboro, as there is not a minister in the town."

In the December 6, 1922 Bar Harbor Times, upon the passing of Rev. A.P. MacDonald, who had been the head of the Sea Coast Mission. A piece in that same paper was written by the Rev. Charles S. Mitchell, whose title states the following;

"Rev. A.P. MacDonald; A word of appreciation by Rev. Charles S. Mitchell, who was for some time associated with Mr. MacDonald as Assistant Missionary."

In a copy of the Bar Harbor Times dated July 26, 1922 an article begins with the following;

"BAR HARBOR MAN IS ORDAINED AT COREA

Charles S. Mitchell after service in Sea Coast Mission is now Baptist Minister.

A council of churches of Hancock County, was called by the church at Corea Wednesday, July 19th, to set apart by ordination to the Baptist ministry, Charles S. Mitchell who has been serving this church for the past two months, after nearly two years in the Sea Coast Mission work."

An article from the Bar Harbor Times in 1915 states that "Charles S. Mitchell expects to enter Gordon Theological School in Boston the middle of next month."

CAR PLUNGES OFF BAR HARBOR PIER

I have this accident posted on my website, STORIES FROM THE PAST, and though it doesn't deal with a trail or with Acadia National Park, I thought it would post it on here, because I am not sure how many people are aware that at different times, two cars have accidently gone off the end of the Bar Harbor Town Pier over the years, resulting in the drowning death of four people.  In the last accident, in April of 1947, a car with five people ended up going off the pier, two escaped, one being a young school teacher from Emerson Grammar School, but sadly three others in the car that day did lose their lives.

CAR PLUNGES OFF BAR HARBOR PIER
Bar Harbor Times
April 10,  1947

Three Young People Drown When Car Slews On Municipal Pier And Goes Into 25 Feet Of Water
George W. Dolliver Jr., Carroll E. Frost Jr., of Bar Harbor and Elinor Talbot of West Haven, Conn., lose lives in accident.
Three lives were lost by drowning when a car allegedly operated by Elliot Sawyer of Bar Harbor slewed on the municipal pier Wednesday evening just after 11 o'clock and went over into about 25 feet of water.  Those dead are;  Carroll E. Frost Jr., age 23;  George W. Dolliver Jr., age 23, both of Bar Harbor, and Elinor Talbot, anout 22 years of age, of West Haven, Conn..  Sawyer and the fifth occupant, Miss Barbara Curry, a teacher at Emerson Grammar School, were able to swim to0 the pier and climb the ladder to safety.
According to Sawyer, he didn't realize the pier was a glaze of ice until the felt the car slew and when he realized it, was going over the edge.  He opened the door and as it sank, he and Miss Curry, who with Dolliver were riding in the front seat, were able to extricate themselves, but due to the depth of the water were unable to reach the others.  The bodies  of Miss Talbot, and Frost were found in the back seat where they had been riding while that of Dolliver was located near the ouitside of the car clutching a fender guide.  The bodies were recovered at 8;15 a.m. by a diver and were taken in the Sherman Funeral Parlor.
This was the second accident with the loss of life to happen on the head of the pier in recent years, the other being a visitor who drove off of the head of the pier a few years ago and the car was not recovered until the next morning.

Having read of these deaths, it got me thinking about the Sand Bar connecting Bar Harbor to Bar Island, how many times have I seen people wading across in deep water or attempting to drive across while sections of the bar were under water.  I did some research and was only able to find one recorded death along the Sand Bar;

Bar Harbor Times
June 19, 1915

Sad Accident Of Bar Harbor Boy On Bar Sunday

Francis Hamor, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ansel A. Hamor of Bar Harbor, was drowned on Sunday afternoon on the bar leading to Bar Island, as he and another small boy - George Landers, where making their way to their camp on the island.  He was 7 tears, 6 months and 24 days of age.  The boy's mother is suffering severly from the shock.
Many conflicting stories are told as to how the accident happened but it appears from information secured by Chief of Police Gerry, who was called to the scene, that the happenings were as follows;  The tide had not wholly left the bar as the boys started to cross and the Hamor boy began to wade across the strip next to Bar Island which had not been left bare.  The Landers boy refused to go and returned to the Bar Harbor side.  He threw rocks into the water and killed some time until the tide went out.  Then it was that he joined some other boys on the other side and asked them if they had seen the Hamor boy.  They said they had not.
Then the search began.  Some of the boys went to the camp but failed to find him.  Cecil Hodgkins, a young man who happened to be some distance away on the beach, inquired of the boys if the one who had started across had arrived safely and sent the Landers boy to get the Hamor boy's father - Bert Hamor, as he is generally known, at his home on Strawberry Hill.  Mr. Hamor rushed to the scene.  A man in a row boat soon put in an appearance and when his services were asked, rowed around Bar Island to get on the other side of the bar and began searching up and down the length of the bar.  The body was found in about three feet of water and brought ashore.  Mr. Hamor than went and notified Mr. Gerry who at once sent for doctors.  In the meantime Dr. Fremont Smith's son began to administer first aid.  Doctor's who arrived found a flutter of the heart and at once rushed the boy to the hospital.  Everything that could be done was done but without avail as the boy had been in the water for about two hours.
Scratches were found about the face but according to those who examined the body there appeared to be no badbruises which would indicate that the boy had been stunned by striking his head in a fall.  It is rather the opinion that he walked into a deep hole and was unable to get back within his depth and that the scratches were those received from sharp shells as the tide rolled him over the beach.  The fact that it was about two hours from the time the boy must have fallen into the water until he was taken out  is thought to bear out the theory that he had fallen into a deep hole, the lapse of time accounting for the receding of the tide to the depth of about three feet.  The fact that no one saw the accident and that no one knew that the boy was in the water seems to be accountable for the tragedy.  The police feel that they should always be notified immediately in all such cases.  Funeral services were held at the home on the May Drive, Strawberry Hill on Tuesday afternoon, Rev. Dr. F.A. Leitch officiating, and internment was at Ledgelawn Cemetery.


Bar Island has its own rich history, the Bar Harbor Conoe Clulb once had their club house located over there, and for a number of years Mr. Pineo ran a fairly large dog kennel there.  There is a story in an old newspaper where a bear was seen on the island, and a group of men from Bar Harbor went over to investigate.  They located the bear and chased it into the water, then circled it with boats and killed it.

BEACHES IN & AROUND ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

SAND  BEACH;
Just under 300 years long, Sand Beach in Acadia National Park is by far one of the most popular beaches on Mount Desert Island, not to mention it is breathtakingly gorgeous.  Sand Beach is ocean water, which means it will not be warm like one would expect to find at a lake or pond, and the water is salty. 

Pros;
a large sand beach with lots of sun
Thunder Hole is not far away
Changing rooms
Flush toilets
Island explorer Free Buses service beach
Several nearby hiking trail heads, including Beehive, the bowl, Champlain South Ridge trail, Great Head,  and the Gorham Mountain Trail.

Cons;
Beach can get  over crowded
parking lots often full
Many will find the water cold

To access Sand Beach, drive along the One Way section of the Park Loop Road, just beyond the Fee Station on the left are the parking areas for the beach.
If your taking the free Island Explorer to the beach, you want to board the Sand Beach bus at the village green along Main Street in Bar Harbor.  A park pass is required, but since they can't hold up the buses to check everyone for a pass, it is on an honorary system - so at no time will you be asked to present a park pass.

Phone number to Park Headquarters;
207-288-3338



ECHO  LAKE  BEACH
Echo Lake Beach in Acadia National Park is smaller in size compared to Sand Beach, but has a few things going for it that Sand Beach doesn't have, like fresh water swimming in a warm body of water.  But like Sand Beach, this is a very popular swimming area with both locals and tourists and parking spaces can quickly fill.  To assure you get both a parking space as well as a prime spot on the fine sand beach, arrive early.  Children love this beach because they can wade out a ways  and the water doesn't get much deeper.  Nearby Beech Mountain towers over the lake and there is a fire tower on the mountain you can climb up.

Pros;
warm body of water
Restrooms
Changing rooms
fresh water swimming
serviced by free Island Explorer Buses

cons;
Parking spaces can fill quickly
smaller size beach can become crowded

To reach Echo Lake Beach in Acadia National Park, drive through Somesville headed towards Southwest Harbor along route 102.  The lake will come up on your right, just after passing the lake, look for signs directing you to Echo Lake Beach on the right.
To take the free Island Explorer buses, from the Bar harbor Village Green along Main Street in Bar Harbor, hop on the Southwest Harbor bus.

Phone number to Park Headquarters;
207-288-3338




LAKE  WOOD  POND  BEACH

On a nice warm summer day Lake Wood Pond Beach in Acadia National Park can be breathtaking with Young's Mountain rising up in the rear of the pond.  If you have never heard of Lake Wood Pond Beach it is for good reason - the National Park Service does not promote the pond at all nor does it make any upgrades to the area.  A number of blogs have labeled the water at Lake Wood Pond as the warmest body of water on the entire island to swim in, with the pond being sheltered on all four sides by forest. 
To reach the diving ledge, park at the first parking area you come to and follow a trail behind a sign, No Alcohol Allowed" sign which will lead well along the pond, when the path ends at the water, the diving ledge is along a well worn path to the right.
To reach the sand beach, park in the second parking lot you come to, past the metal gate follow the path to the beach. 
Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of Lake Wood Pond Beach is that the park does not promote it, so there are no crowds, and on average you will find between 20 to 40 people there with only half that number being at the beach itself.

Pros;
said to be warmest swimming hole on the island
location not well known
no crowds
has a nice diving area
fresh water swimming

Cons;
not serviced by free Island Explorer Buses
not well marked
day use area, must leave before dusk
some nude swimming takes place on far end of pond

There are several paths around the sides of the pond and locals seem to have their favorite spots they go to.  Most popular area of the pond is the diving area.  To reach Lake Wood Pond Beach, from Route 3 in Hull's Cove, turn onto the Crooked Road and drive about .7 miles to the blue street sign on the left that reads "Lake Wood Pond Road Pvt. - totally ignore the private part, the pond is park of Acadia National park and open to anyone with a park pass.  A narrow dirt road leads a short ways up through the woods to the two parking areas.

Phone number to Park Headquarters;
207-288-3338





HADLEY  POINT  BEACH
To locate Hadley Point Beach, from route 3 turn onto Bay View Drive and look for the Hadley Point Road and follow it to the beach.  The town of Bar Harbor owns the property and there is private property not far from the beach.  This is not a sand beach and many go there to escape the summer heat and have picnics and fish.  Just a reminder, in Maine it is illegal to do any salt water fishing without purchasing a salt water fishing license, for Mainers the cost is $1, not sure if the fee is higher for non-Mainers.  Some online sites claim you can tent at the breach or sleep in your car for free - that is false information as Bar Harbor Police regularly make the beach a part of their patrol during the summer months.  Hadley Point Campground is not too far away and the campground is serviced by the free Island Explorer Buses.  To reach the campground by bus, at the Bar Harbor Village Green along Main Street Bar Harbor, get on the Campground Bus.

Pros;
free beach - no park pass required
picnic tables & grills
good fishing location
usually a nice cool ocean breeze

Cons;
not serviced by free Island Explorer Buses
off the Main Road
not a sand beach
cold ocean water




SEAL  HARBOR  BEACH
Seal Harbor Beach is located in the village of Seal Harbor along route 3.  This beach features fine sand with ocean water for swimming.  On nice hot summer days the parking area can become full as this is a sought out beach with locals.  It is common for kids to find star fish there and to the far right hand corner of the beach in the water it is common to locate sand dollars.  What many tourists don't know is that if you stand and look outward towards the ocean, the top of the hill on your left is where Martha Stewards summer home, Skyland,  is located. On her Maine visits she is said to enjoy going into Seal Harbor to her favorite bakery there.

Pros;
might spot Martha Steward
very nice fine sand beach
cool ocean breeze on hot days
serviced by the free Island Explorer Buses
town beach - no park pass required
path leads to shops in town

Cons;
might spot Martha Steward
salt water swimming (cold)
limited parking area

To locate Seal Harbor Beach follow route 3 from Main Street Bar Harbor in direct of Otter Creek.  Route 3 passes through Main Street Seal Harbor before rounding the corner and not much further on the right is the parking area for Seal Harbor Beach, with the fine sand beach directly across the roadway. From inside Acadia National Park you can reach the beach  by way of taking the Stanley Brook Road not far from Jordon Pond. 
To reach Seal Harbor Beach by the free Island Explorer Buses, from the Bar Harbor Village green along Main Street, hop onto the Northeast Harbor bus, Seal Harbor Beach is a regular bus stop.





WONDERLAND BEACH
Wonderland beach is located along route 102A in Seawall, Maine, just down the road from the Seawall Campground in Acadia National Park.  The small parking area is marked by a large sign - WONDERLAND, and the beach is located at the far end of a old fire road.  It is a fairly easy walk but in a couple places, if pushing a stroller, you will need to carry the stroller across a couple rough areas.  To the far right of the beach is a tiny cove where lobster traps and buoys often wash ashore.  I have never seen anyone swim here but people do lay on towels or blankets in the sun.  The beach itself is made up of crushed shells and sand, and if you run the hands through your finfers you can often find pieces of smooth sea glass.  The main path continues past the beach to where nice pieces of smooth drift wood often washes up on shore.

Pros;
sand beach
cool ocean breeze on hot days
some nice areas to fish
serviced by free Island Explorer buses
(they stop by request only)

Cons;
no restrooms
no changing rooms
very limited parking

To reach Wonderland from Southwest Harbor, follow route 102 out of town in the direction of Manset, as your coming to a sharp curve in the road, look for route 102A to the left and follow it until you come to the sign for Wonderland on the left.  To reach Wonderland on the free Island Explorer buses, from Main Street in Bar Harbor, get onto the Southwest Harbor bus at the Village green, and tell the driver you want to get off at Wonderland.  To catch the bus back, simply wave it down as it approaches the Wonderland Parking area.

Phone number to Park Headquarters;
207-288-3338

ACADIA NATIONAL PARK'S MOST DANGEROUS CAVE

If we were having a conversation on which of the two climbs in Acadia National Park are considered the most dangerous, there would be no debate, it would be Champlain Mountain's Precipice followed by a close second with the Beehive trail.  No one knows for certain just how many lives have been lost on those two trails because according to the National park Service, they don't keep those kind of records, but judging by old newspaper articles a number of hikers have met a most tragic fate on those two climbs.
If on the other hand we were to have a conversation on what is the most dangerous cave in all of Acadia National Park, we may not see eye to eye, since several of the caves in the National park on Mount Desert Island have taken a life or two.  At Schooner Heads Anemone Cave, college of the Atlantic student Douglas Rose was the last person to have died there by drowning after becoming trapped in the cave by rapidly rising waters, and a bad coastal storm approaching did not help matters any.  The cave on Great head claimed a teens life as he attempted to enter the cave and a rogue wave swept him off the rocks and out to sea.
Clearly the caves that are easy to access pose a danger unique to themselves, but the most dangerous of all the caves are the ones very little, if anything is written about, caves whose past are so dark only a handful of explorers have dared venture into them.  One such Maine explorer, Matthew Marchon, described as a death cave, the kind of cave where one can easily lose their life in.  The cave I am speaking of is the ancient Sporting Horn Cave, and while you will find some writings on the Sporting Horn, you will come up short when it comes to the Sporting Horn Cave.  That was not always the case, back in the mid 1800's to early 1900's crowds would gather nearly every day to make their way out on the dangerous cliffs just to look down at the mouth of this mysterious cave, all lured there by the spectacular show the mouth of the cave put on, for as each onrush of wave advanced toward the mouth of the cave, a hugn shower of white water would shoot upward into the sky.
I had come across a very old story that told how a few island school boys had accessed the mouth of the cave by rowboat at low tide and how two of the boys ventured a short ways into the cave.  The cave reached its heigth of popularity when a couple films used the cave in a motion pictures, but with the passing of years and the property where the cave is located on changing hands, the cave faded into time and nearly became forgotten altogether.
Today's land owners, unlike the ones of the past who welcomed the crowds, would rather not see anyone on the property, and the less written about the Sporting Horn Cave the better.  This is a true cave in every sense, it runs pn some distance, and earns its nickname, the death cave, simply by the fact that the further back you venture into the cave, the more it slopes, go too far in and you risk sliding downward to a certain death.  Due to how dangerous this cave is and the potential for loss of life, I will not give instructions as to how you can reach the mouth of the cave by land, but I will post a few photos and maps.  In his book, The Acadia You Haven't Seen, explorer Matthew Marchon gives specific directions on how to reach the cave, listed under the name "Meadow Brook Sea Cave,"  which is also known as the Sporting Horn Cave.  Needless to say, you DO NOT want to get caught in the cave as the tide is rising, and only enter the cave at low tide.  Good footing is a must and flashlights strongly recommended.

MAP OF SCHOONER HEAD
SPOUTING HORN CAVE
Acadia National Park

SPOUTING HORN CAVE
Schooner Head - Acadia National Park

THE MYSTERIOUS SPOUTING HORN CAVE
Schooner Head
Acadia National Park

PEOPLE GATHERED TO VIEW SPOUTING HORN CAVE
Schooner Head
Acadia National Park

REAL HAUNTED PLACES IN ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

A GUIDE TO HAUNTED LOCATIONS IN ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

In some cases a demonic spirit can seek a person out for one reason or another, as countless stories attest to, but one can also attract a spirit to show itself in various ways, anywhere from a ghost-like sighting to strange, unexplained sounds, such as a voice around the corner or footsteps coming up behind you, only to turn and find no one there.  In some cases we encounter these restless spirits when we seek them out, by visiting the site where their grim deaths occurred.
it should not come as a surprise to anyone that restless spirits, or ghosts, are rarely if ever encounter during bright sunny conditions, that is simply not how the spirit world operates.  Restless spirits seem to be mostly at home under conditions they find most favorable, during a storm, when fog creeps in, in a dark place with candle light of a burning fire, and at those prime times at dusk or early dawn.  Many times people encounter those from the spirit world not by a sighting or through strange sounds, but through their senses, you will suddenly feel a chill come upon you, perhaps the hairs on the back of your neck will stand up, and you will suddenly find yourself focusing on an area, sensing something, or someone there.
Your best chance of encountering the spirit world is by visiting a location where a horrific death has occurred, at dusk or dawn, preferably when a fog is present or just coming in, and watch and wait for a sign to show itself.



TWELVE YEAR OLD MEETS MOST HORRIFIC DEATH
In August of 1853 one of the most tragic deaths to ever occur on Mount Desert Island took place on the cliffs of the Precipice, and it was perhaps the earliest recorded death on that trail, the most dangerous in all of Acadia National Park.  This death of a young girl who was about to turn 12 occurred in an area just above a site known as The Great Cave.  Some women from town had taken a group of young girls up by the Great Cave for a picnic and to pick wild blueberries, as the baskets were filled  with nice plumb berries, the women gathered up the girls to head back down the mountain side, but two girls, Lucreatia K. Douglas, going on 12, and Almira Conners, a few years younger, had spend the entire time talking with one another, so as the group prepared to depart, the two girls begged to remain behind so they too could fill their baskets with berries.  No one knows why, but the women consented and the group was soon out of sight as the two girls began picking berries.  At some point, one of the girls spotted a nice clump of berries not far away, and the girls made a dash for them, not realizing the clump of berries was perched on the edge of a high cliff.  They no sooner reached the berry bush when a section of the cliff gave way, carrying both girls downward.  The Conners girl ended up landing in the upper branches of a tall tree and had broken bones, cuts and bad bruises , she was the lucky one and would live to tell of the horror which followed that tragic accident, for the pain and suffering had only just begun.

For the Douglas girl, it was not a question of rather she would die, but when, for as she rolled on the ground from the fall a large boulder rolled on top of her.  Both girls were badly injured and one was being crushed by the weight of a huge boulder, and as duck came on all each girl could do was cry out in pain, as well as for help.  The Conners girl would later recall how the Douglas girl continued to cry out in pain nearly throughout the entire night, her voice finally going silent and her body limp just before dawn, for her the fight for survival was over.
It was the Uncle of the Conners girl who discovered the two girls and raced back to town for help.  One story recalled how the parents of the Douglas girl was poor and how her body was brought back to town and buried in an unmarked grave in a cemetery along Mount Desert street which lies between two churches.  For years she lay in that unmarked grave, until one day her brother returned to the village and purchased a headstone to mark his sisters grave.
There are those that say to this day she in one of a few ghosts in that tiny cemetery that make their presence known at duck or early dawn, when a haunting fog stretches out over the cold gravestones there.
Still others have said her young spirit still roams the narrow ledges of the precipice, and that as the fog has come creeping in hikers have heard a young girls voice ahead, or sensed some one coming up behind them, to turn and find no one there.  And as strange as it may seem, the dead girls family lived in a house at Compass Harbor, a site others have written about of ghost sightings and strange sounds on foggy evenings.

PULLED TO HIS DEATH BY WATER LILIES
On July of 1896, one of the most strangest  deaths to have occurred on Mount Desert island took place at Witch Hole Pond.  Two boys, Jimmy Elkhorn and Guy Bunker had ventured out to the pond one day and decided to row out to the center of the pond in a home made rowboat Jimmy had build and kept by the shore of the pond.  They rolled out to the center of the pond when Jimmy began to rock the small boat.  The bunker kid did not like this at all, but dispute his protests Jimmy continued to rock the boat until it overturned.  The Bunker kid clung to the boat, and begged the Elkhorn kid to stay with the boat with him, but Jimmy took off swimming toward shore.  Now what makes this case so strange  is the fact that not only was Jimmy a good swimmer, everyone who knew him said he was a great swimmer, yet as Jimmy got close to shore, he suddenly stopped swimming and began thrashing about, as if something in the pond had a hold of him. Jimmy finally sand below the water.

 After a rescue party arrived and got the Bunker boy out of Witch Hole Pond, they went to the area where Jimmy was last seen and were able to retrieve his body from the pond.  What they found shocked everyone involved, for Jimmy's legs were entangled in a mass of water Lillie stems which had prevented him from making it safely to shore, and it was the way Jimmy died that so shook the entire community.  Jimmy earned spending money from that very pond, going out early in the mornings in his boat to pick water lilies which he would take to town and sell out front of the motels in the summertime.  Jimmy died at age 15 in one of what is today one of the more beautiful areas of Acadia national Park.  Some say if you stand on the banking of witch Hole Pond on a calm summers evening and watch the water, you will catch the sight of a disturbance on the pond, in the area where the lilies grow to this day, some say its just fish coming up to feed off passing bugs, but others swear its the spirit of Jimmy, still entangled in a place he loved.

MURDER AT OTTER CLIFF
Some say on a foggy evening, just around dusk, one can hear the lone blood curdling scream of a young bride plunging to her death from the eerie cliffs at Otter Cliff.  One thing is certain, if such screams are heard there, it is for good reason, for a new bride meet with a horrific death there one evening - plunging 88 feet to the rocky shore below.
Dennis R. Larson, one might say, seemed on a run of bad luck when it came to wives, with his first wife meeting an untimely death by drowning in a creek, and a second wife soon leaving him.  He placed an ad in a Maine newspaper in search of a third wife and 25 year old Kathy Frost answered his ad and soon married seven weeks after that.  The day after she said "I do," Mr. Larson took out a $200,000 life insurance policy on her, though his new bride had no idea of the keen interest her new husband had just taken in her health.

MURDER AT OTTER CLIFF
Acadia National Park

The marriage was on the skids almost from day one and Kathy wanted out of it, but Mr. Larson talked her into taking a trip to Bar Harbor so they could work things out.  She reluctantly agreed to go, but with the intend of telling him she wanted to end the marriage, while friends and family members pleaded with her not to go on the trip.  Mr. Larson had his own reasons for the quickly planed trip to Maine, and once the couple arrived in Bar Harbor, Mr. Larson suggested they take a drive into nearby Acadia National Park.  At Otter Cliff, the couple walked out to the high towering cliff where Mr. Larson pushed her off the edge to her death, her final scream echoing off the granite wall of the cliff.
At his trail, Mr. Larson admitted to having drown his first wife, also in order to collect the insurance policy and as it turned out, and as it turned out marriage was simply a business deal for Mr. Larson, and there's no telling how many young brides might of meet an untimely death at his hands had he not been convicted of murder.

THE NINE YEAR OLD GHOST THAT HAUNTS EAGLE LAKE
Ghosts come in many forms, the one that haunts the shores of Eagle lake takes on the form of a nine year old child, who vanished from sight on Christmas Day in 1909 while onlookers could only watch in horror.
The day had started out like any other Christmas Mornings, with nine year old Adren Peach in a hurry for him and his mother to start out from Southwest harbor and make the trip over to his Cousin's house in Bar Harbor, where the two families were to unwrap gifts.  In a house on Forest Street in Bar Harbor, 12 year old Clarence Suminsby paced back and forth as he kept an eye on the street, anticipating the arrival of his cousin..  As the car pulled into the yard and gifts were carried inside, the two boys had but one thing on their minds, for each had repeatedly asked for the same gift, a pair of new ice skates.  The two sisters, wanting to spend some time together, had the two boys open a gift, and to their elated surprise, both unwrapped a new pair of skates and immediately began to beg to go to the lake to try them out.  The sisters agreed to let them go, the other gifts could wait to be unwrapped later that day.
The two boys headed for Eagle lake, with their brand new ice skates hung over their shoulders.  Once at the lake they skated for a bit before noticing a group of other skaters on the far end of the lake.  The two decided to head to the other end of the lake and join the others, with the nine year old skating down one side of the lake while the twelve year old skated down the other side of the lake.  At one point as they neared the other group of skaters, Clarence began skating across the lake to join up with his cousin, as he got nearer there was a screams as first one, two, than three skaters fell through the ice.  People on shore scrambled to try and rescue the skaters from the freezing waters of the lake as the nine year old continued in the direction of the horrific scene playing out before him, when the ice opened up below him, in a heartbeat he was gone, his cousin Clarance turning and racing for the safety of the nearby shore.  The three that had first fallen through the ice were soon pulled to shore and the focus was now on helping young Adren Perch, yet the surface of the lake was eerily still.  A rescue party arrived at the scene and hours later the body of the nine year old was recovered from 69 feet of water, as they pulled him from the frigid waters his tiny mittens were still frozen to his hands, and his brand new skates still laced to his feet.

THE DEVIL'S OVEN LIVES UP TO ITS REPUTATION
Anemone cave got its most recent name from the anemones, tiny sea life, which make the cave their home, but the cave has a dark past and was known as far back as the 1800's as The Devil's Oven.  It is not the only place on Mount Desert Island so named, but it is the only sea cave that lives up to its name, for as others have found over the years the Devil's Oven below the cliffs at Schooner head can turn deadly in a heartbeat.
Books have been written and stories told of cries for help coming from the ancient sea cave, which the National Park Service claims was abandoned as a park attraction in order to protect the Anemone that live there, but truth be known, deaths by drowning and countless accidents and injuries from falls in the wet sea cave also played a key role in abandoning the cave.  As one Ranger put it, "we were called to assist tourists at the cave too often who were either injured or becoming trapped by the rising tide."
So were the books and stories of cries for help and blood curdling screams heard coming from the cave over the years true?  I set out to investigate if there was any such records of people becoming trapped in the Devil's Oven and meeting a horrific death at the hands of a brutal rising tide.  At first I could not find any such proof, in part because the National park Service doesn't keep such records.  Finally one evening, after pouring over countless newspapers, I came across one such tragedy, that of a local college student, Douglas Rose.
On an evening in 1993, Mr. rose and another college student used ropes to climb down to the mouth of Anemone Cave, not knowing at the time that only one would make it out alive.  While the two were inside the cave a storm approached, causing the sea to become rough, and soon threatening waves began to crash against the rocks outside the cave as the water inside the cave began to rise alarmingly so, to the point where the two students knew they had to exit as quickly as possible, leaving their climbing gear behind a struggle between life and death unfolded.  Exhausted and beaten by waves, the two students finally exited the cave, to be met by heavy downpour and thrashing winds and waves.  One student made it to the rope they used to reach the cave by and began to climb up it toward the cliff above, stopping along the way to look back at the other student and encourage him to also climb up the rope, but Rose was too exhausted and his body soon sank below the surface of the sea.  The following day a rescue team ascended upon the scene and the body of Douglas rose was found floating inside the cave.
Because no records were kept, we will never know how many others have met the same fate, or what the exact body count is for the Devil's Oven, but clearly Mr. rose was not the first, nor will he be the last to meet an untimely death in a place so names, "the Devil's Oven.