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MUIR, Mrs. Carolyn & Family
(The Ghost & Mrs. Muir)
Gull Cottage
Schooner Bay, ME
Carolyn is a freelance magazine writer. Now
widowed, she lives in a house named "Gull
Cottage" in the quiet seaside village of
Schooner Bay, Maine. She shares her quaint
abode with her young children, Candice and
Jonathan; their pet wire-haired terrier,
Scruffy; and Martha Grant, the housekeeper.
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Mrs. Carolyn Muir |
The ghost of the home’s previous owner, Captain
Daniel Gregg also resides in the cottage. He
died there one night in November 13, 1869 when
he accidentally kicked over a gas heater by his
bedside and expired. The fumes killed him, but
his death was wrongfully reported as a suicide.
So, for one hundred years, Daniel retained
possession of the cottage by haunting it and
scaring potential buyers away. Then in 1968,
Claymore Gregg, Daniel’s only living relative (a
real tightwad) leased the cottage to the
strong-willed but unsuspecting Carolyn Muir.
When Carolyn first saw the cottage she confessed
"It's exactly what I had in mind - a dear,
gentle lovely little house." After the Captain
revealed himself, Carolyn told him "Now that
we've moved in, I hope you'll be kind enough to
do your haunting elsewhere." The Captain
thundered back "You do your living elsewhere".
Upset, Carolyn confessed "the minute I saw this
house I seemed to belong here. It's as though it
was welcoming me, asking me to rescue it from
being empty." As Carolyn began to cry, she
explained that she spent her life savings to
move to Schooner Bay and that she couldn't
leave. Seeing Carolyn's "spunk" and that she
truly loved the house, Daniel establishes a
truce with Carolyn and allows her to stay -- on
a trial basis.
Carolyn moved into Gregg’s upstairs bedroom
("The Captain's Cabin") to be close to her
children while the spirit of the Captain kept
watch on the observation deck on the roof above
or resided within his oil painting portrait in
the parlor. But when it came time to change her
clothes, however, the ever modest Carolyn still
stepped inside in a closet to disrobe. After
all, dead or not. Captain Gregg was a man, and a
handsome one at that. Truth be told, the Captain
popped in occasionally just to watch Carolyn
sleep.
Captain Gregg's Portrait
Over time, Carolyn and the Captain became
comfortable with each others rhythms and habits.
Caroline began to predict Daniel's moods by
reading the barometer on the wall (When angry,
the device indicated "Stormy Weather"). Carolyn
even became fond of the Captain's favorite
expression "Blast!" which she adopted as one of
her own curse words. And every Tuesday, Carolyn
and the Captain established a custom, if time
permitted, to meet in the wheelhouse at 2:00pm
and share a leisurely glass of Madeira.
The biggest mistake Carolyn ever made while
living at Gull Cottage was cutting down the
Captain's prized but now overgrown Monkey Puzzle
tree. He had personally planted the tree 137
years earlier. When Carolyn had the tree
removed, Daniel Gregg's spirit suddenly left the
cottage, as if the tree had somehow rooted him
there. Desperate, Carolyn traveled to Boston and
bought a new tree. Upon planting it, the Captain
returned.
Continued next page >
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