Bangor, ME - A Horror Fan's Stephen King Tour
Bangor? I hardly know her! Hahaha I’m sure the people of Bangor, ME
have never heard that one before. Sorry y’all I just couldn’t resist! Lol
Anyway all jokes aside I was very excited to visit Bangor, Maine because
this is the town of one of the kings (literally) of horror, Stephen King.
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Stephen King's House -
47 W Broadway, Bangor, ME 0440
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The first stop in Bangor was Stephen King’s mansion. This is actually the
private home of Stephen King and his family so unfortunately there are no
indoor tours, but you can respectfully admire the mansion from the street.
Now I really want spider gates put up outside of my home.
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After the mansion we continued the Stephen King tour visiting more of
the top sites that inspired locations and characters in his novels.
(Mainly his novel IT. Bangor is actually said to be the real life Derry!)
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(Possessed?) Paul Bunyan Statue -
Bass Park
Paul Bunyan statues like this can be found all across the country, however, this
one in Bangor has a bit of a dark story attached to it. Readers of King’s
book IT might recognize it as the Paul Bunyan statue that comes to life in
the novel. Luckily while I was there ole Paul stayed standing on top of his
pedestal, but I definitely kept a close eye on him! The 31 foot tall statue
(said to be both the tallest and most handsome of all the Bunyan statues)
can be found in Bass Park in Bangor.
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IT storm drain -
corner of Union and Jackson streets
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Everyone knows that Pennywise loves to hang out in the storm drains
like a weirdo and this storm drain in Bangor is said to be his official
drain. If you have seen the movies you will know that it isn’t anything
like the more open drains they use, however, it was still cool to see
even though, as you can see above, I barely escaped Pennywise with
my life. Can you see the red “it” painted on the drain?
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Thomas Hill Standpipe-
41 Thomas Hill Rd, Bangor, ME 04401
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The Thomas Hill Standpipe was built in 1897, holds 1.75 million gallons
of water providing water storage and regulating water pressure for the
city of Bangor, and, oh yeah, is where Stanley from IT came face to
face with some drowned zombie children. I don’t believe the standpipe
was open when I was there so I wasn’t able to go inside so once
again I have escaped the clutches of Pennywise.
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Mount Hope Cemetery -
1048 State St, Bangor, ME 04401
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This cemetery is said to be one of the most haunted places in the country
and it is where King used to come to sit and write. He would even
sometimes take inspiration from within the cemetery, most notably a
couple headstones with the names Georgie (Georgie from IT) and
Carrie (from Carrie) that led to names of main characters in his novels.
It also served as the filming location for the movie Pet Sematary! Driving
around this cemetery in fall was quite a beautiful drive and honestly it is hard
for me to believe this place is haunted. Sure it has some spooky aspects like
every other cemetery, but one thing I really noticed about it is it’s beauty.
Everywhere you look is a gorgeous view with trees and well maintained
grounds and headstones. I wouldn’t mind coming here to sit and read and write either!
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Want more Stephen King and to hear more on these places and others? Book a tour with SK Tours of Maine! They offer a 3 hour tour that takes you to ALL the King sites in Bangor!
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