Of all the potential mysteries hidden in the depths of Maine’s forests there are only a small number that could be considered innocuous enough to allow ourselves to be intrigued to the point of being entertained by their mere existence.  It’s not ‘fear’ that drives the curious to learn more about these small numbers of harmless curiosities, but rather a drive for ‘understanding’ the curiosity, because we feel safe enough to do so.  It’s, also, not fear that’s the driving factor for why we’re still telling the tale of the “White Spectre Moose of the North Maine Woods”; it’s awe and fascination.  The people who’ve seen, with their own eyes, the giant albino behemoth of the north are considered lucky, fortunate, even privileged; rather than cursed or forced to carry the burden of having witnessed a paranormal occurrence they weren’t supposed to see, as happens to be the theme in the grand majority of long-lasting local legend, and lore, of the opposite kind.

The sketchy thing about “The Spectre Moose (or Specter Moose) of Maine” legend is how long it’s lasted.  It was first reported as having been a story purposely started by a man named Granville Gray back in 1901.  He admitted, in an ‘interview’ of sorts, (a Bangor Daily News reporter happened to be present when Granville told his story) that he started the rumor, which eventually became a legend, just a few years earlier while he was a hired Maine Guide for a wealthy family out of Chicago.  The story he told was that he took the daughter, from this family, out for a canoe trip along the shoreline of Lobster Lake toward the later end of one particular day.  He paddled purposely quietly so as not to disturb nearby wildlife so Florence, the daughter, could experience seeing it, and wound up paddling up to within view of a perplexing sight.

Granville Gray was a seasoned Maine Guide who had plenty of experience with large animals in the North Maine Woods.  What he saw didn’t make sense.  It looked like a moose but was so much bigger, it was stunning.  It was incredulous to him how large this moose was; he had to get a better look.  So he paddled their little canoe around some brush on the edge of the lake, got some distance, which gave them a clearer view, and they laughed as they discovered it was actually a horse; a large black workhorse that was part of a pair that made up a team for a local lumberman friend of his who was working in the area.  He and his passenger, Florence, got out of the canoe to get a closer look and saw the horse was hitched, which led them to discover someone was working in the area and who it was.

The birth of the legend was during this stop to check things out.  Florence had a camera and Granville had a sense of humor.  He found it pretty funny he thought this horse was ‘the biggest moose’ he’d ever seen, and it turned out to be just – this horse he was now staring at.  So when it moved into a position where it looked like some nearby branches formed a mass of antlers over its head he couldn’t resist.  He and Florence caught the horse in the exact right position at the exact right moment, and produced a photograph that allowed him to tell the story of the experience he thought he was having when he first laid his eyes upon it – the largest moose he’d ever seen in the North Maine Woods.

The problem with the legend, compared to this “confession” Granville Gray supplied was Granville said the horse they saw, and took a picture of, was black.  Every other account of people seeing this spectre/specter moose said it was white.  They liken it to a “ghost moose” because it’s an albino.

Granville Gray swore his story was the original and all others that came after it were incarnations of his version so, if we’re really into the notion he’s telling the truth, then all the stories that came after his are telling us there have been a small number of incredibly elusive albino moose (or just one) in the North Maine Woods over a relatively short time in Maine’s history, and each and every one was an absolute massive giant compared to their “normal colored” counterparts. Numerous witnesses over the years have attested, at risk of great loss of credibility, to having counted 20 points on one side of the ‘original’ spectre moose’s rack, and 21 points on the other.  Back in 1907 one young man was chased down a road and up a tree by the albino moose and he said the antlers spanned at least 13 feet across because they were clipping the bushes on both sides of the road as it ran after him.  Others have claimed to have shot the moose but it was such a massive beast the bullets really didn’t do anything to it, and so they couldn’t “bring it down”.  Otherwise, one of the hunters, who was a taxidermist, was quoted as saying he thought it would have been worth $1,500, easy – and this was back in 1901; the equivalent of which would be $55,500 in present times.  And make no mistake about it, hunters were out there looking for this majestic beast which one observer noted as being at least 15 feet tall.

There haven’t been any sightings of this legendary – giant – albino moose in the North Maine Woods in modern times; the last documented sightings seems to have been around 1911, so maybe it really was all just one moose.  It’s hard to imagine because the life span for moose is generally around the 14 year mark, but it was an outstanding specimen of nature in a few extraordinary ways, maybe an extended lifespan was another.

Bibliography/References:

The Bangor Daily News – Bangor, Maine · Saturday, November 22, 1902

Ellsworth American – Ellsworth, Maine · Wednesday, December 16, 1908

The Bangor Daily News – Bangor, Maine · Saturday, November 21, 1908

Morning Sentinel – Waterville, Maine · Wednesday, March 09, 1994