Bangor by the book “Tommyknockers” tour takes the stout of heart to the scary places Stephen King has made famous

loading...

BANGOR – You don’t have to be a Stephen King fan, or even an avid reader of his work, to appreciate “The Tommyknockers & More” bus tour, named after the Bangor author’s 1987 best-seller.

The event, promoted by the Greater Bangor Convention & Visitors Bureau, takes place once a month from July to October.

Tour guide Scott R.C. Levy warns: “The tours fill up quick.”

For Levy, the purpose of the tour – the only official tour authorized by King and his wife, Tabitha – is multifaceted.

The idea is for participants to:

. See the places in Bangor that are a part of King’s life.

. Visit sites that make appearances in King’s novels.

. Find out where movie scenes based on his novels have been filmed.

. Learn about Bangor’s history.

Levy, who started serving as tour guide last year, said he did about 10 private tours arranged specifically for groups visiting Bangor, and also four public tours.

He said about 85 percent of the people on the public tours were out-of-staters and that of most of them weren’t fans of Stephen King’s horror fiction.

“That was surprising to me,” Levy said. “I found that there were a lot of people who didn’t know a lot about Stephen King and hadn’t read his books.”

Levy, producing artistic director at Penobscot Theatre Company in Bangor, also has taught classes at the University of Maine and other places. For him, the tour is a way to teach people about things in Bangor, such as the area’s architecture, that often are overlooked.

“It’s a form of teaching,” he said. “And it’s a fun summertime activity.”

The public tour starts at 2 p.m. at the Bangor Waterfront in the parking lot next to the harbormaster’s office on Front Street. Along the way, the bus stops at King’s home on West Broadway, famous for its hand-forged gate, adorned with bats and spider webs. It is situated in a neighborhood of homes built in the 1850s and ’60s by the area’s lumber barons.

“It does represent Bangor’s golden era,” Levy said.

In an effort to respect the Kings’ privacy, not every stop on the 90-minute tour lets people get off the bus, but cameras are allowed and people can take pictures from inside the vehicle.

At Bangor’s landmark Thomas Hill Standpipe, participants not only get to see the tower that looms large in King’s novel “It,” they learn that it was built in 1898 and still serves its original purpose. The standpipe holds 1.75 million gallons of water and is the city’s water supply.

There’s also a stop at Mount Hope Cemetery, the setting for King’s novel and movie, “Pet Sematary.”

Mount Hope is the second-oldest garden cemetery in the country and holds the remains of well-known gangster Al Brady, as well as Abraham Lincoln’s first vice president, Hannibal Hamlin.

When he signed over the film rights, King created a clause in the contract that the movie had to be filmed in Maine. The author even appears in a scene at the cemetery as a minister.

What most people don’t know is that the real pet cemetery is across the river and northeast of Bangor in Eddington.

In addition to seeing landmarks made famous by King’s writings, participants get a chance to see places where the author lived and worked before becoming one of the best-known writers of his time, Levy said.

“We talk about his other ventures in the Bangor area,” Levy said.

People often are surprised to learn that King has a radio station and is an active philanthropist through the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation.

There’s also a lot of history involved. The logging industry and the river played a tremendous role in making the city what it is today.

“People are surprised at everything,” Levy said. “How often do you actually stop and think about the history of this town?”

There are other stops on the tour, but Levy said that he couldn’t reveal everything. He would disclose that the King works focused on in the tour include “The Tommyknockers,” “It,” “Insomnia,” “Dead Zone,” “The Langoliers” and “Pet Sematary.”

“Fan or not, recognizing that the most popular novelist in the world is writing about things that we see every day is pretty amazing,” Levy said. “It may spur you to actually want to pick up a specific book.”

adolloff@bangordailynews.net

990-8130

Don’t be scared – just go

The Greater Bangor Convention & Visitors Bureau has set the following four tour dates for 2008:

Friday, July 4

Sunday, Aug. 10

Sunday, Sept. 21

Sunday, Oct. 26

All tours begin at 2 p.m. at the Bangor Waterfront in the Front Street parking lot next to the harbormaster’s office. Space is limited and reservations are required. To reserve a space on the bus, call the visitors bureau at 947-5205 or (800) 91-MOOSE. The cost is $12 per person.