The Poland Spring Inn ranks #7 among Maine's most haunted places

With Halloween approaching, The Poland Spring Inn in Poland ranks #7 among Maine's ten most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index. The index ranks 51 Maine sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.

The Poland Spring Inn ranks #7. Hiram Ricker began drinking only water from a spring on the family farm in 1844, crediting it with curing his chronic dyspepsia, and the family built the water into a national resort before Ricker died in 1893. Three separate published accounts describe activity there, the earliest dated to 1856. Staff have described seeing a figure resembling Ricker walking the older buildings in early morning hours, hearing his voice from rooms confirmed empty, and finding keys and paperwork moved between shifts.

Statewide, Fort Knox State Historic Site in Prospect ranks #1 and is also Maine's most famous haunted site.

"We rank by evidence, not legend: independent published accounts, documented history, and how far back the reports go. We don't claim ghosts are real, or that they aren't. We document where the reports concentrate, and we show our work," said Ben Fineman, editor of HauntBound. The ranking shows each site's documented record.

Visiting:The Poland Spring Inn, 640 Maine St., Poland, is a working resort with overnight rooms, dining and golf; its historic Bottling Museum and Maine State Building are open seasonally through Oct. 11.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/maine/The fact sheet, with cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/maine/Venue contact: polandspringresort.comA short version follows.

HauntBound (hauntbound.com) is a family-friendly field guide to more than 6,000 documented haunted and historic places across the United States, ranked by published evidence rather than legend. No venue pays to be listed or ranked.

Media contact: Ben Fineman, Editor, HauntBound, editor@hauntbound.com

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