Ledgelawn Summer Estate, a former summer home for the luxurious and wealthy in Maine, has long been haunted by the ghost of Mary Margaret, an abandoned bride who haunts the house in her wedding dress.
Built in 1904 in the coastal town of Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island, Maine, Ledgelawn Summer Estate was one of the original stately summer estates from the port's golden age, designed for the elite who summered by the sea.
Ledgelawn Estate is a 21-room, shingle-style cottage on Mount Desert Street, located near the church. The estate was once called cottages where the luxurious spent their summers. This building is said to be the most haunted in Bar Harbor. This story is known to all the locals.
Ledgelawn Haunted Summer Estate
The red building built for wealthy summer guests in 1904 was built on something older, as mysterious as its alleged haunting. It is said to be haunted by a woman in white known as Mary Margaret. According to legend, she was abandoned just before her wedding.
Most versions of the story say that Mary Margaret was a dark-haired beauty of the time, a member of the wealthy and powerful Astor family, or at least related to them.
Her future husband ran away just before their wedding and left her alone. Mary Margaret took this so demanding that she went straight to the third floor, put on her wedding dress, and then hung herself from the attic beams with her wedding veil.
It is said that when her family found her, her face was so bruised they almost didn't recognize her. Her lips were curved into a smile. She has been haunting Ledgelawn Summer Estate for years since then.
The Visitation of Mary Margaret
Although her death is said to have occurred in the attic of the Ledgelawn Summer Estate, she is most often seen on the third floor. Her spirit is said to be clear and float, returning to the place where she died, time and time again.
The ancient summer home was once an inn and there is a particular story from that time that is told. At that time the place was called the Ledgelawn Inn and it was said that room 326 was the place she appeared most often.
Guests checking in there or staff working there have often experienced ominous and sinister premonitions before claiming to have seen the ghost of a woman floating at the foot of their bed or to have seen a ghostly bridal veil hanging from the ceiling and swaying in the night.
According to this guy, the ghost went to bed with him. Scared by what had happened, he tried to ignore her lying next to him and simply fell over, paralyzed, and didn't dare open his eyes.
Ghost of the Maid at Ledgelawn Summer Estate
The dramatic ghost of Mary Margaret is not the only spirit that supposedly haunts Ledgelawn Summer Estate. There is also said to be a former maid, most commonly referred to as Catherine, who haunts the former summer house and former inn.
It is said that she had an affair with the then owner of the house and became pregnant while working there. The story is often said to have taken place in the 1930s. She died after falling down the back stairs. Whether she fell or was pushed is a matter of dispute and was hushed up at the time.
In addition to the women who supposedly haunt Ledgelawn Summer Estate, there is also a child who supposedly haunts the closet she hides in. According to the story, she drowned somewhere in Bar Harbor.
The Truth Behind the Legends
How true is this particular story that supposedly haunts the Ledgelawn Summer Estate? The historic inn was purchased by a company in 2010, ending its time as an inn.
The story of the house is that Ledge Lawn was built by Samuel Willard Bridgham and Fanny Shermerhorn in the early 1900s. Fanny was related to the Astors, a family full of money and scandal. Samuel and Fanny were known to be kind people, had no children, and there were no other mysterious deaths in their home.
What about the ghost that people still see? Could it be just a trick your mind plays on you when you are in an ancient building, and a local story told for fun in a sleepy seaside town? Or is it something that history has not recorded or where the details and facts have been distorted over time?
Bibliography:
American Ghost Walks – Bar Harbor | Culture & Tours | Family Friendly Activities
The Haunting of Ledgelawn – Carrie Jones
Travel company buys historic Bar Harbor inn
Image Source: Pixabay.com
