William Fogg Library

The William Fogg Library in Eliot was built in 1907 with a bequest from Dr. John S. H. Fogg in memory of his father William. Library lore says the building is haunted by Phyllis Parker, an innkeeper's daughter who is said to have lost her mind in 1777 when her boyfriend, a British spy, was hanged and his coffin was delivered to her family's tavern. A volunteer in the Local History Room, Eileen Luz Johnston, wrote a 46-page booklet on the story in 1991 called Phyllis, the Library Ghost? Other reports include a photo taken for a newspaper that appeared to show a transparent skull floating above a staircase, and windows that broke on their own. The library is a working public library, and the stories are local lore that the booklet treats with a question mark.