After a devastating fire in 1947 in Acadia National Park in Maine, flames engulfed a man and his cat. Then there were reports of people encountering what appears to be the ghost of a Seawater cat, staring at you through the trees with red, glowing eyes.
In the whispered tales that drift through the fog-shrouded corners of the Bar Harbor resort on Mount Desert Island, Maine, a haunting legend persists – the story of a faithful cat and the tragic fire that claimed the life of her master.
Seawater, a ragged cat with eyes that sparkle like rubies in the dim, is said to wander the island in search of her beloved owner, Willie Cunningham, who died in the flames of the Great Fire of 1947.
The Great Acadia National Park Fire
Acadia National Park is a stunning nature reserve located primarily on Mount Desert Island, the largest offshore island outside the state of Maine in the United States. Founded in 1916, it encompasses over 49,000 acres of rugged coastline, lush forests, granite peaks and pristine lakes.
Acadia National Park is not only a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts, but also a place of profound natural beauty and ecological significance. It is also known for being one of the most haunted places, and one of the park's ghost stories involves a ghost cat from the Great Fire of 1947 that took the lives of six people, leaving only ash and ghosts.
On the frigid days of October 17, 1947, Acadia National Park was engulfed by a terrible fire that consumed over 10,000 acres of old forests. The fire, which started along Crooked Road west of Hulls Cove, spread its fiery fingers, consuming everything in its path. Not only did the park suffer, but the flames ravaged Mount Desert Island beyond its borders, leaving an additional 7,000 acres in ruins.
This inferno was one of many that devastated Maine's forests in a arid and desperate year. For almost a month the fire raged unrestrained. From the Coast Guard to the Air Corps, from the Navy to local residents and National Park Service employees, everyone joined in to fight the approaching flames.
The historic cottages along Millionaires' Row were reduced to ashes along with the houses and hotels, leaving only smoking ruins behind.
Willie Cunningham and the Ghost Cat
Willie, a lonely and elderly man living on Forest Street in Bar Harbor, had only his faithful companion, Seawater the cat, whom he loved very much. The cat was the only thing Willie had for company when the disaster struck and the fire continued to creep in.
As the inferno approached their home, Willie managed to escape to safety with seawater in his arms and board a vehicle that would keep them safe and sound. But the terrified cat rushed back into hell when something startled it. Desperate to save his beloved pet, Willie disappeared in the smoke and followed the cat into a burning house from which they tried to escape, never to be seen alive again.
Rescuers had no choice but to leave them there and return once the flames were under control. Over the following days, Willie's bones were discovered in a nearby stream, and the flames sealed his tragic fate.
But what happened to the cat? Seawater's ghost is said to live as a ghost cat, and her form grows larger and more sinister with each passing year.
Spirit of sea water – cat
Some claim to have encountered Seawater the Cat in the dim forests of Acadia, a ghostly figure surrounded by a pack of dim cats.
The story goes that when a neighbor found Willie's skull, it felt like the eye sockets were still looking at something behind them. When the neighbor turned around, he saw a black cat staring at him. The ghost cat looked like Seawater, but its eyes seemed to glow red.
The neighbor then chased away the ghost cat, but it wasn't the last time some people claimed to have seen the ghost of Sea Water in the forest. In 2005, a woman claimed to have seen about four cats, one of which was more the size of a panther than a domestic cat.
With each encounter, the legend of Seawater grows, her eyes blazing like lanterns in the night, a ghostly guardian forever bound to the island she once called home.
Bibliography:
Great fires of 1947 – Wikipedia
Have you seen Acadia's Ghost Cat?
Image Source: Pixabay.com
