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Showing posts with label Granite. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Granite. Show all posts

Friday, September 28, 2012

Fright at the Fort is a True Halloween Thriller



© Copyright Gail J. VanWart All Rights Reserved
Fort Knox in Prospect from the Bucksport, Maine

Not many people in America enjoy such a grand fortification as a community focal point as the residents of Bucksport, Maine. Their view of Fort Knox in Prospect is a scene to behold. The fort, named after Major General Henry Knox, America's first Secretary of War, was established in 1844 in preparation of a British battle on the Penobscot River, which never materialized. It now stands proudly as Maine’s most visited historic sight. 

Courtesy of Friends of Fort Knox
Three Witches - Photo by Kate England
 Courtesy of Friends of Fort Knox 
As serene as it looks most of the year, during October, Fort Knox becomes perhaps the largest spook house in the state of Maine, maybe even on the entire East Coast. Who knows? What I do know is, it’s a somewhat spooky, giant window into the past. You can look beyond its granite and brick construction and into the very spirits of those who once lived in its dark and chilly confines. Many visitors have claimed to have seen and heard remnants of another era who are still clinging to the fortification to this very day in their afterlives. Don’t just take my word for it, do an Internet search. You’ll discover plenty of reports of pretty believable evidence from paranormal experts of ghostly footsteps and spectral apparitions of the soldiers who were once encamped there.

Courtesy of Friends of Fort Knox
Photo Courtesy of Friends of Fort Knox 
If you’ve never done so, imagine visiting Fort Knox for a planned haunted event. I’m sure hair will rise up on the back of many necks there this year, as it executes its 13th annual Fright at the Fort event. Friends of Fort Knox, the non-profit, historic preservation organization that oversees and plans fort activities, reported 9,200 people attended their 2011 Fright at the Fort and, since they’ve doubled their efforts, expect an even larger crowd this season. When you add to those previously mentioned spirits, still clinging to the fortification in their afterlives, some concocted—yet thoroughly convincing—demons, ghouls, zombies and witches, you can’t help but have a frightfully perfect Halloween thriller. Exactly what Friends of Fort Knox strives for!

Courtesy of Friends of Fort Knox
Waldo - Photo by Jamie Pellerin
Courtesy of Friends of Fort Knox 
The four opportunities to experience Fright at the Fort this year are on October 19, 20, 26 and 27, from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m.  Plan to arrive before 8:30 p.m. to allow enough time to be properly frightened.

Other upcoming October 2012 events at Fort Knox are ghost tours scheduled on October 6 and 13, and a special Belfast Maskers theatrical production—a positively terrifying retelling of Robert Lewis Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde—dramatically staged on the fort’s parade grounds October 12 and 13.
©Copyright 2012 Gail J. VanWart All RightsReserved
Ghost hunting can be fun at Fort Knox any time of year.


Photo Courtesy of Friends of Fort Knox
Click picture to view larger poster.

For more information about Fort Knox in Prospect, Maine, visit www.fortknox.maineguide.com and for advance event tickets, call 207-469-6553.



















© Copyright 2012 Gail J. VanWart  All Rights Reserved


Gail J. VanWart is a regular contributor to theSCENE,
a publication of Courier Publications LLC in Rockland, Maine