However, Haunt ME’s analyst, Ty Gowen, said he thought he “heard some faint footsteps and breathy murmurs” in the aged house. An electromagnetic meter did not give any readings that would indicate paranormal activity.

In 2018, the ghost investigation team Haunt ME explored the Tubbs-Reed house on the island. Visitors say they can feel the presence of the past and its ghosts when exploring the island. Both the standing houses and ruins of homes and other manmade structures are said to be haunted. It is no surprise that some residents may not have left their homes behind. Peeking into the long-abandoned buildings really does make one feel like a peeping Tom! Other buildings have been mostly cleared of furnishings, but still seem as if they have just been vacated. Looking in the windows of some of the buildings, one can see rotting furniture under layers of dust and grime.

The outside of the houses that are left are in good condition-some are used by the state of Maine as official buildings decay-and the insides of some of the houses have also been left alone since the forties.

Five houses dating back to the eighteenth-century still stand, as well as the remains of other houses and structures. This comes as no surprise, given the odd landscape: The area has remained mostly untouched since 1936. Though the Perkins Township finally fizzled out due to mundane circumstances, it now has a reputation for being haunted. By 1936, Perkins was completely abandoned. Though some sources claim that the island was abandoned for unknown or mysterious reasons, with the usual vague rumors of curses, disease, or other unusual circumstances, sources allege that economic depression in the 1930s and 1940s was what really pushed the last few residents out.

The highest peak in population during the township’s official existence was 95 in 1860. There were full-time residents with businesses, trades, and farms, and there were even some summer residents who built seasonal homes on the island. The island was apparently self-sustaining, hosting a schoolhouse, government buildings, a cemetery, and just about anything else you would expect from any town. The first white residents of Swan Island began building their homes in the eighteenth century, though there were native Americans on the island prior to that time. Swan Island, the location of Perkins Township, has been completely abandoned since the late 1930s. But there are even ghost towns in New England! Perkins Township in Maine is especially unique because it is located on an island. When one thinks of ghost towns in the United States, one tends to think of old mining towns and cowboy towns out in the Midwest.

Swan township missouri ghost town