Maine has long inspired spooky stories.
Of course, the king of horror himself, Stephen King, is famous for scary stories set in Maine. But the state has also been the setting for other horror buffs, whether they’ve penned books or produced films such as “The Lighthouse” and “Lake Placid.”
In recognition of that, the Strand Theatre in Rockland will celebrate Halloween on Thursday by showcasing a set of ghostly stories that have been written by locals in the midcoast. They’ll be read aloud in story slam style, in between showings of films inspired by “The Phantom of the Opera.”
At least three of the writers who contributed to the Strand’s event said life on Maine’s coast inspired their eerie tales.
Stephen Costanza, a children’s book author and illustrator, submitted his first horror story to the story slam, he said. It’s about a young boy named Milo who is trying to get his lobstering license, but is bullied by the older kids he must apprentice with. What brings the scares, Costanza said, is that there’s a strange connection between two of the older boys, Milo’s recurring nightmares and his grandfather who used to have the same nightmares as a child.
Costanza said his story is most definitely inspired by North Haven, where he’s lived since 2017. He’s also lived in Portland and Belfast, but he said North Haven is the most “Maine” place he’s lived so far.
“You have people that have been here for generations, whose families have been here for generations and some of them doing the very same things, whether it’s fishing or carpentry, things like that,” he said. “It’s very, very, very community-minded here. Everybody has everybody else’s back.”
The unbridged island life also inspired Katie Liberman, who submitted her story, “The Captain’s Log,” to the story slam. It’s about a haunted lighthouse that could be anywhere in Maine, and the scary things that happen there.
“I have spent a lot of time on the Maine coast and on several unbridged islands. And so I kind of wanted to pay tribute to that a little bit,” Liberman said.
The Strand itself helped inspire Susan Umberger’s story. “When I Walk Down a Darkened Street at Night,” is based on the feeling that one is being followed, or that something is lurking around the corner. And, it has a surprise ending, she said.
Umberger, 76, has submitted stories to other story slams hosted by the Strand. She recalled a time when she was 19 and went there in a blizzard to see a movie with a date. She and her date were the only people in the theater, save a white cat wandering the aisles. She said nobody else had ever seen that cat, except when she returned for a story slam last year and saw the figure of a white cat behind the stage.
“I’m retired, and I really am going back and enjoying all the places that I used to visit, and I feel so much inspiration there,” she said.
The theater has been around for just over a century. But with the emergence of film and TV streaming services coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Strand, like many small theaters, is looking for new ways to bring people in, said Anna Frangiosa, the box office manager.
Frangiosa said having events like Thursday’s Ghost Story Slam, which will feature about 10 different stories, helps bring in the community.
“People want to take the stage. They want to participate,” Frangiosa said. “I think part of why movie theaters struggle is because people can just watch movies at home.”
This will be the third story slam hosted by the theater. The previous ones have each attracted crowds of between 50 and 70 people, Frangiosa said. She’s hoping Thursday will see a similar turnout.
The Halloween celebration will start with a screening of the 1925 silent version of “Phantom of the Opera” at 1 p.m. The stories will be read by radio actors and other volunteers at 6 p.m. The 1987 Italian horror film “Opera” will screen at 8 p.m. Normal ticket prices will apply to the films, but the story slam will be free with donations encouraged.
