On the East End in Portland, I met with a landlord who had been in real estate for 32 years. He claimed to have a deep knowledge of historic buildings in and around Portland. The one I was seeing had ornate heaters and detailed woodwork. It was gorgeous in the classical sense. One design feature stuck out at me and I asked him, “Why are there two doors right next to each other going into the apartment from the hallway?” Inside, I observed one door in the living room, and on the other side of a small wall, the other door in the dining room. He said, “Not to be ghoulish but they used to talk to the dead in the living room.” I said, “What do you mean…” He said, “Well, the open coffin would be here in the living room. The folks would walk in the living room door, give respect to the deceased, and go to the dining room to speak with the family and then exit the door in the dining room. The builders designed it for this occasion. As I said, I know a lot about these buildings. I’ve been doing this for a long time.” I thought it was very interesting. And then he said, “It’s not haunted or anything like that!”
–Adam Chittenden