Remote island in the Isles of Shoals where Louis Wagner rowed 10 miles to murder two Norwegian immigrants in March 1873.
Smuttynose Island, Isles of Shoals, Kittery, ME 03904
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Access via seasonal boat tours from Portsmouth or Rye Harbor; ferry fares typically $35–$50 round trip. No admission once on the island.
Access
Limited Access
Rocky island terrain with uneven paths; no maintained walkways to the murder site. Boat transfer required.
Equipment
Photos OK
Last Public Execution in Maine (Wagner, 1875) · 19th-Century Immigration History · New England Maritime History
Smuttynose Island sits in the Isles of Shoals, a cluster of nine small islands straddling the Maine–New Hampshire border about six miles offshore from Portsmouth. In the early 1870s, a small community of Norwegian fishing families had settled on Smuttynose, among them John Hontvedt and his wife Maren, who took in boarders including Karen Christensen, John's sister, and Anethe Christensen, who had recently married John's brother Matthew.
Louis Wagner had worked as a fisherman on the Shoals and was acquainted with the Hontvedt household, where he had occasionally boarded. In early March 1873, he was boarding in Portsmouth with nothing to show for the winter fishing season. On the evening of March 5, he learned at the Portsmouth dock that the men of the Hontvedt house — John, Matthew, and a neighbor — would not return that night; the weather had forced them to stay in Portsmouth to get the fish-hold cleared.
Wagner stole a dory and rowed the roughly 10 miles to Smuttynose in the dark, arriving after midnight on March 6. Inside the cottage he found only the three women. He killed Karen Christensen first, then Anethe. Maren Hontvedt escaped through a window and hid in a rocky crevice on the island's shore, where she remained until morning, listening to Wagner search for her. She was discovered by her husband when the men returned at dawn.
Wagner was arrested in Boston two days later after being spotted. He was tried in Alfred, Maine, convicted of murder, and hanged on June 25, 1875, in the last public execution in Maine. The case became one of the most sensational 19th-century criminal trials in New England and was the subject of Celia Thaxter's 1875 essay 'A Memorable Murder,' later collected in 'Among the Isles of Shoals.' Anita Shreve's 1997 novel 'The Weight of Water' re-examined the case.
Sources
Smuttynose Island generates less formal paranormal investigation than most well-documented 19th-century crime sites, in part because access is boat-dependent and the island has no permanent structures to anchor investigation activity. The lore that exists concentrates on two locations: the cottage site on the island's south end, and the rock crevice where Maren Hontvedt spent the night of March 6–7, 1873.
Accounts collected by Portsmouth-area ghost-tour operators and regional paranormal enthusiasts describe a persistent unease around the cottage foundation, particularly in the predawn hours. A handful of boaters who have anchored overnight off Smuttynose report hearing voices or sounds that did not correspond to anyone aboard or on the water. The accounts are anecdotal and not formally documented.
The crevice site is the more atmospheric of the two locations. Maren Hontvedt, the sole survivor, described the night she spent hiding there — hearing Wagner call out for her, watching the cottage door — in testimony that remained consistent across multiple retellings. Visitors who seek out the crevice describe a heaviness that they attribute to Maren's documented vigil rather than to any active presence.
The case acquired a wider cultural footprint after Anita Shreve's 1997 novel and the 2000 film adaptation brought the murders to a new audience. Contemporary visitors to the island generally arrive with prior knowledge of the case, which shapes the emotional register of the experience.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Arrive via seasonal tour boat from Portsmouth or Rye Harbor. The Hontvedt cottage site on Smuttynose's south end — where Karen and Anethe Christensen were killed on March 6, 1873 — is accessible on foot from the dock. No formal interpretive signage; visitors typically consult historical accounts in advance.
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