Saco River
Many years ago, a young Indian girl was kidnapped by a couple of settlers. She was taken out on the river in a canoe. A fight pursued and the vessel capsized; all three died. Three people (sometimes more) die per year according to the legend. The girl’s father, an Indiana chief, was highly upset. He placed a curse on the river and vowed that three people would die on the river every year. Since then, three or more people have died on the Saco each year.
I have been going to the saco river every year and nobody evr dies but my cousin was swimming and he started drownding and he almost died but luckly my dad jumped in and saved him and nobody got hurt so from then on my family has not gone all these years.
Comment by Brittany | 03.4.2006 | 4:36 pm
Whatever….not true never happens !!!!
Comment by Drew | 03.12.2006 | 8:24 am
Yes, there is a real folk legend of the Saco River, but the above story is pretty much wrong. To get the true story of the curse I suggest you go to ‘The Saco River Journey’ an on-line intro to the Saco. And yes, many folks have parished in that river over the years, and coincidently or otherwise, some years it is “three” people! I live by the New Hampshire border, by the Saco and a lot of old timers in this region of Maine feel very strongly about the Saco River Curse. It is a little creepy- I won’t go near it, nor will I let my kids go in it if I can help it!
Comment by Cathy Lyons | 03.15.2006 | 4:54 pm
i want to see proof
Comment by Tara | 04.11.2006 | 9:29 pm
WOW Dude radical oh yeah you must be a real genius to make this website it better not be fake because i believe it!!
Comment by David | 05.7.2006 | 2:59 pm
Theres a story just like that down in utah! this story its said that a woman takes kids that are by the river and pushes them down in… im not sure if its true.. but one of my friends when she when down she felt as something was pushing her into the river..the story is mainly about a woman that had kids and when they didnt behave she would drowned them to teach them a lesson.. so one day the kids drowned her cuz they were getting tired of her … any questions my email is Sweetcherrysuki@yahoo.com
Comment by Rachael | 05.15.2006 | 2:55 pm
I grew up in the area and have been aware of the curse for years. I know personally one person that drowned when I was in school eons ago and having been away 25 yrs I don’t know what’s been going on, but when I was living there, 3+ people did die every year. The curious thing is, the above legend hasn’t changed any over the many years since I first heard it.
Comment by Debbie | 05.31.2006 | 12:43 am
I lived in Portland, Maine for a number of years and have swam in the Saco River in the Buxton, Bar Mills, and Saco area. It is true! Check the local papers and news archives.
Comment by Ralph | 06.8.2006 | 3:44 pm
Check: http://www.outdoors.mainetoday.com/canoeing/020814riverdiary.shtml
Comment by Ralph | 06.8.2006 | 3:56 pm
That Legend is true it was like seven or eight years ago I was seven or eight. Me,my mom, my moms friend denise,her daughter shanon ,my friend anber and i think her mom kim. We all went swimming down there and we were in like the little pool and it has a stream that goes in the river.Well we were swimming all of us kids and we were joking around and playing shanon and amber and, kim went to go get lunch out of the car and i was there in the pool by myself my mom and denise was laying out in the sun!And all of A sudden I was going down stream in the river and this guy yells hey is that your kid my mom not thinking grab me by my hair and pulled me out! Since then we haven’t swam or even been down there since so yes the legend is true!!!!
Comment by Jodi | 06.20.2006 | 10:09 pm
I grew up in the Fryeburg area, which the Saco runs and yes the curse is very much true. In my years of living there, there were several deaths due to the river. The current that runs is very unpredictable. One minute you could be in a foot of water and the next a few inches. You just never know. Two summers ago I took my young son swimming in the Saco by Canal Bridge Campground, Fryeburg and he started to go under. I luckily pulled him to safety and then myself was dragged under. I was never so terrified of drowning in the Saco until that moment. I thank God that there were two men near by that pulled me to safety. So, for those of you who do not believe, trust me, it’s a powerful river when it wants to be.
Comment by kelly | 06.21.2006 | 1:34 pm
yes it is very true i live on the river in steep falls limington area have lived in buxton hollis cornish areas also been on the river my whole life it is no joke !!!! she is very very mysterious!
Comment by wayne | 08.9.2006 | 9:40 pm
britany how do u know have u checked?omg there seem to be 3 bodies floating on that river! yeah rite!
Comment by angel | 08.10.2006 | 7:23 am
if people want proof check the death records of people that have parished in the saco river!!! i lived in the biddeford saco area my entire life and a couple people that died there happen to be friends of mine…..
Comment by Melina | 08.19.2006 | 5:41 pm
yeah rite how can i check death records when i live in jersey CI?
Comment by angel | 08.22.2006 | 6:43 am
I love angel
Comment by Big Bill | 08.22.2006 | 7:42 pm
Well, I would like everyone out of state to know, that yes, there are usually at least three deaths per year on the Saco River - but consider, this is an extremely long river that travels way up into the state, and with all the people that swim in it every year, there are bound to be that many drownings. One happened right where we live on the river, near the mouth in Biddeford, when a 10 year old boy jumped off a bridge and struck himself on the bottom. His body was found right on the edge of our property, about 2 years before we moved here from New Hampshire. Accidents happen, especially when dealing with a river versus a lake. This river is very dangerous in the spring when the snow is melting, and we have had several floods as a result. Not the result of some curse, just human nature to at times take stupid risks.
Comment by Nora Kesick | 09.9.2006 | 10:33 pm
This is all true. People who disagree obviously have not been around the area for long. 3 white males DO die every year in the saco river. If ou don’t believe us… do the research and check out the statistics.
Comment by Jessica | 09.20.2006 | 8:49 pm
Yes i have lived in biddeford maine and the story is true i have had 2 friends that had died there in a row.
Comment by Jeffrey Decker | 09.27.2006 | 2:07 pm
I moved to Maine in 1999 and just recently left in 2006, My son still lives in Biddeford Maine. In the entire time that we lived in Maine there had been three deaths each year, coincidentally I do believe they were all white males. Whether it is due to the Native American curse or just human stupidity remains to be seen but I can tell you that newspaper research will support this “Urban Legend”
Comment by mainerbychoice | 09.30.2006 | 1:29 pm
I lived in York county in the 1970,s.
I would go with my Dad to the Biddeford Saco area .
One outing we were at a lumber yard that bordered the Saco river, I had always heard about the curse, on this particular outing I wadered close to the edge of a steep embankment and the earth crumbled under my feet.
My Dad heard me screaming as I clung to a root.
He pulled me up.
I will never forget almost becoming a victem of the curse.
Comment by scott | 10.8.2006 | 12:14 am
If you have ever taken a trip on the Saco you would know that there is a ton of beer and other things consumed.The river is stong in springtime and early summer.Sooo big suprize that people drown.
Comment by Paul | 10.20.2006 | 2:26 pm
Kayaker Found Dead In New Hampshire
10/29/2006
A 36-year-old man from Conway, New Hampshire died Saturday while kayaking on the East Branch River.
Authorities say the man, whose name is not being released, was paddling with two other men when he rolled his kayak in Bartlett, New Hampshire and was unable to roll back over.
About an hour later and six miles down the river, in the Saco river, his body was recovered.
Authorities say he was an experienced paddler and wearing a life vest, but because of the heavy rain, the river was choppy.
http://www.wlbz.com
Comment by erin | 10.31.2006 | 9:03 am
I personaly believe that the curse is real. I think that it is strange that every year three white males are killed on the saco river. I have had one scauy encounterand don’t plan to have another. In 2004 me and my friend had went up there to swim. Well we went in and it was all good until i turned around and i couldn’t find her. I finally found her and pulled her out of the water. she had ALMOST drowned. If I hadn’t pulled her up right then I would have grabbed her dead body. Since then I have went back once. ONCE! On my second trip I was alone or so I thought. Well my neighbor had decide to follow me and when I went into the water he jujmped me and i was carried under the water and when i finally came up I was all alone. I don’t believe that was the curse it was just my neighbor but what happened to my friend we both believe it waas the curse. since my second frightning incounter with the saco river I haven’t been any were near it on foot! If you have any questions you can E-mail me at horses_should_be_free@yahoo.com. you can reach my friend at Phantom_stallion_girl@yahoo.com!!!!! thanx
Comment by Allie | 12.14.2006 | 10:56 pm
I personaly believe that the curse is real. I think that it is strange that every year three white males are killed on the saco river. I have had one scauy encounterand don’t plan to have another. In 2004 me and my friend had went up there to swim. Well we went in and it was all good until i turned around and i couldn’t find her. I finally found her and pulled her out of the water. she had ALMOST drowned. If I hadn’t pulled her up right then I would have grabbed her dead body. Since then I have went back once. ONCE! On my second trip I was alone or so I thought. Well my neighbor had decide to follow me and when I went into the water he jumped me and i was carried under the water and when i finally came up I was all alone. I don’t believe that was the curse it was just my neighbor but what happened to my friend we both believe it waas the curse. since my second frightning incounter with the saco river I haven’t been any were near it on foot! If you have any questions you can E-mail me at horses_should_be_free@yahoo.com. you can reach my friend at Phantom_stallion_girl@yahoo.com!!!!! thanx
Comment by Allie | 12.14.2006 | 10:58 pm
I very much can support this legend,I have been going to the saco area of maine every summer for the last 4 years,everyone on this comment page is right.I don’t know if the legend is actually true but take a look at the evidence.When I went to the Saco River with my aunt in summer of 04 we went kayaking,normally I’m the kinds girl who loveds a good paddle but something about that river is just not right.The currents are way to strong and its almost as if the river has a mind of its own.
When I got into my kayak and decided to paddle out ,I was shocked to find that I couldn’t steer my kayak!My warning to anyone who wants to venture out to the saco river,be carefull.Being alone in that river is no joke.Its dangerous.
Comment by Brittnie | 12.16.2006 | 2:42 pm
I have heard about this before and 3 people died in a raft in march of 06.
Comment by Dakota | 01.1.2007 | 5:03 pm
I also agree with Paul.
Comment by Dakota | 01.1.2007 | 5:05 pm
This is scary but it seems so not true!
Duh people!!
Only gullible people would believe this stuff.
Comment by destiny | 01.2.2007 | 8:44 pm
I live next to the saco river it is true believe me
Comment by dragon man | 01.3.2007 | 11:20 am
Take it from someone in the Coast Guard, this river is more deadly than most. People die from drowning every year, yes, this is true. But most rivers, or any other body of water for that matter might average one per year. Not the 3 or more that this one racks up. If you don’t believe this, you’re a fool. You can argue with me until you’re blue in the face that it’s just coincidence. Facts are facts my friend. Not all truths are easy to swallow.
Comment by Megan | 01.5.2007 | 4:55 pm
do u want 2 evr say hi?i du. cu cu im a baby!im going to pu.
im goin to p.do u have to use the bathroom in your diapy.
Comment by Sammy | 01.10.2007 | 3:32 pm
One time there was a ghost hiding in my daipy.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I screamed that can you believe that?
Comment by Sammy | 01.10.2007 | 3:40 pm
sup dudes im back.why arent you peeps writin back.are u scared?dont worry i already used the bathroom in my diapy.my favorite colors are brown and yellow.oh no i have to go potty in my diapy again.peace out peeps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by sammy | 01.10.2007 | 5:26 pm
i luv u rachel!!do u luv me?come over to my house tonight at 5555n783cherrystreet and my phone # iz abc-defg.
Comment by sammy | 01.10.2007 | 5:35 pm
i believe this is true….we went there alot when we were little. i almost drowned myself for no apparent reason. my mother got really ill after returning from the river one day. she was sick for a really long time. that was the last time she ever stepped foot there.
Comment by romy | 01.31.2007 | 10:02 pm
This is true i live in biddeford the next town over and one person that went to my school in like 3rd grade died in that river after diving in a hitting a rock knocking him unconsutios….My best friend andrew his real dad fell into that river drunk hit the water sank drown and floated up three days later.
Comment by bronson | 02.1.2007 | 11:59 am
Umm, perhaps that is true but keep this in mind. Though some people may die in the Saco river a year or so, does not make it cursed. The odds are in every river, lake or large pond, somone drounds. It just happens, doens’t make it curse just happens. And I think that perhaps this article maybe exagerating the amount of people killed as well.
Comment by littlesami | 02.9.2007 | 2:51 pm
I am originally from florida. Was visiting my cousins in maine. I can tell you that river is treacherous.I could tell by the way the water was running thru and over the dam area there by the bridge. I have seen lots of rivers & undertows in the ocean, and rapids in colorado-nothing compared to this.
Comment by slumak | 02.10.2007 | 1:05 am
It makes for a nice story, but the fact is that the Saco River is pretty long by Maine standards and is frequented by swimmers, kayaks, canoes, and campers. In the summer months it can be hard to find a place to even beach your canoe because of all the campers which typically are high school and college students looking for a place to drink away from home. I know of many people who come from Mass. just for this reason. Any body of water that sees that much traffic and alcohol consumption is going to see accidents. There are plenty of non-alcohol related accidents as well. The Saco river is known for having a lot of debris from trees as well as sudden whirlpools created by rock formations. All of these factors can lead to experienced swimmers and boaters drowning. Statistically, you’re more likely to die in a car accident on the way to one of the boat launches than you are to die, excluding those who increase their chances by swimming or boating drunk, or alone.
Comment by veggieboy | 02.12.2007 | 9:18 am
I think it’s true. Stranger things have happened here in South Dakota that nobody can explain. We all hear the stories and warnings. Some people refuse to even talk about it.
Comment by imp | 02.15.2007 | 4:39 pm
it is true because one day i was in india and me and my friend georgia saw three ghosts a child and two kiddnappers and that was the last time we ever went to india
Comment by georgia | 03.26.2007 | 3:31 am
it is true because one day i was in india and me and my friend georgia saw three ghosts a child and two kiddnappers and that was the last time we ever went to india
Comment by georgia | 03.26.2007 | 3:31 am
I live in Saco and have swam in the saco many many times in my life. The Saco River is a very dangerous river with some nasty undertoes in spots. As far as it being haunted it very well could be,Maine is a very haunted place. A cousine of mine’s father was direct descendent of Judge/colonal Johnathan Buck (Bucksport,Maine) He had a witch hung and she put a curse on his grave of her foot. I’ve driven by it several times and it freaks me out every time!!!
Comment by Big D | 08.18.2007 | 2:52 am
It’s True! I drown there 3 times last year! Could it be people there can’t swim or are too dumb to know how dangerous rivers can be? Just curious…any questions email me via seance.
Comment by booth | 09.4.2007 | 9:33 am
My husband told me a close version of this story (which appears in several other forms as well that can be looked up) when I first moved to Fryeburg in college. I can tell you from swimming in the Saco myself that there are several weird anomalies that I haven’t seen in other rivers - like the underground ledge that almost caught me unawares my first time practicing scuba diving (minus the heavy air tank) and would have trapped my drowned body underneath it for quite some time had I not seen it coming toward me and gone over the top, scraping my belly badly while fighting the current that so wanted to keep me down there.
After that first experience with the Saco, I always waited until the news of the third drowning before swimming in the summers we lived nearby. Whether it was because I was more aware of the river’s oddities or whether it was related to the curse, I never had another “near miss” - but I’ll still wait for the third drowning report before I take my kids over to canoe, kayak or swim the Saco.
Comment by Debi | 09.4.2007 | 3:30 pm
This is actually true. A lot of out of staters don’t believe it anyways, but the story is true. The Saco claims at least three lives each year. It’s never in the same spot of the Saco either.
Comment by jd | 09.16.2007 | 4:05 pm
Maine sucks. End of story.
Comment by HotCarl4All | 10.6.2007 | 2:35 am
I live on the saco river and I agree that 3 people die there every year.
Comment by Julia | 10.14.2007 | 4:56 pm
OMFG thats really scary….
Comment by Britni | 10.15.2007 | 2:39 pm
This is completely true. I grew up in the city that teh river gets it’s name from! Saco, Maine. We learn about the curse in grade school but most know of it before hand. Check any local papers and such…you gotta love Urban Legends…even worse when they’re true!
Comment by Katie J | 10.26.2007 | 11:51 pm
I Grew up in Saco right on the river, as a child spent many a Saturdays talking to the women quite elderly at the time over at the York institute Museum, they told me many stories about Saco, and the Indians, in fact in my own neighborhood was an old colonial cemetery , and there on the unsanctified outskirts of this cemetery where some Indian graves, a grave of a mother and a child, a child who was drowned by early settles in Saco to see if an Indian baby really could swim, it could not and drowned, the Indian baby’s mother is the one to put the curse on these three men to drown, and the curse continues to this day!
Comment by Michael Martineau | 10.29.2007 | 8:24 pm
I Grew up in Saco right on the river, as a child spent many a Saturdays talking to the women quite elderly at the time over at the York institute Museum, they told me many stories about Saco, and the Indians, in fact in my own neighborhood was an old colonial cemetery , and hear on the unsanctified outskirts of this cemetery where some Indian graves, a grave of a mother and a child, a child who was drowned by early settles in Saco to see if an Indian baby really could swim, it could not and drowned, the Indian baby’s mother is the one to put the curse on these three men to drown, and the curse continues to this day!
Comment by Michael Martineau | 10.29.2007 | 8:25 pm
Hardly no one swam in the river until 1948 or 49 when there was a whole year where there were no deaths. It was also said that it wasnt the woman and 3 men that died, but instead the men were playing a trick on the woman and threw her baby into the river. She got him out but he got sick and died. The baby was the chiefs son which is why he placed the curse on the river. It was also said that the chief made peace with the white man a while later but people still continued dying in the river. My opinion is that it’s just a river with a nasty current. Lots of those around and not because of a curse.
Comment by chass | 10.30.2007 | 6:12 pm
I think the story is true. So many ppl have drowned there and there are always at least 3 ppl a year. And it just so happens that it is always 3 white men. Any of u ppl who think it is not true can look it up and stop being stupid. Also sammy what the hell is ur problem ur messages don’t even make sense. Are you a ******* baby cause u are soo imature.
Comment by shell | 11.6.2007 | 2:40 pm
i live in saco and it is true i kno people who died in the saco river
Comment by andrew | 01.15.2008 | 9:24 pm
I live by the Saco River and the legend is true. At least three people die every year on this river.
Comment by Mimi | 02.15.2008 | 7:31 pm
I don’t believe in people casting spells and ****… coinsidence!
Comment by Melissa van Niekerk | 03.29.2008 | 2:51 pm
yeah its true and actually to tell u the truth the cops and coast gaurds are actually looking for a 12 year old boys bodie right now he fell in yesterday afternoon.so yeah for u people that dont live in maine look up stuff about the saco river its not a safe place
Comment by ashley | 04.20.2008 | 9:03 am
They found him…he is the third to drown this year…but the river may claim one more male, as one of the victims was female…
Comment by EYEZ | 04.21.2008 | 2:56 pm
but how do you know that is real if you were not alive to see it or here about it
Comment by paige | 04.21.2008 | 3:49 pm
I live close by in Kennebunk. I read about the little boy being found in the paper, and At work we were discussing the curse, and whether the curse states 3 white men, or if it including women too… Don’t go in the water we still have 1 man to go!
Comment by Witchy_mich | 04.22.2008 | 12:14 am
The little boy was not white…2 more men to go.
History has proven it to be true. It happens every year except once in the 1940’s. People were forbidden to go in or on the river to try and break the curse.
Comment by EYEZ | 04.29.2008 | 2:47 pm
im sorry but isnt this story a bit racist i mean only the Caucasions (white people) die my uncle was a person who lived near there and for sum reason whenever hes near he hears a crowd of people and when i went i heard voices sayin hes here i think im a desentent of this person who was killed
Comment by Brad Welch | 05.1.2008 | 7:30 am
I think the Ghost Hunters…(T.A.P.S) should do an investigation on it.
Comment by HannahBlendz | 05.12.2008 | 12:03 am
^…not sure TAPS does rivers though, but cool idea.
Comment by EYEZ | 05.13.2008 | 9:22 am