A decade ago, on a dirt road off a dirt road in the rural hills of Vermont, award-winning author M.T. Anderson found his ideal home. The 18th-century cottage is the oldest surviving house in Calais, and it looks like it, too: It has wide plank floors that creak, 12-over-12 windows with wavy glass, an enormous fireplace — and a rumor that the house is haunted. Anderson doesn’t believe in ghosts, but that doesn’t stop him from gleefully relaying spooky stories about his abode.
Anderson won the National Book Award for the first volume of his Octavian Nothing saga, The Pox Party, a historical novel that takes place in Revolutionary War-era New England. He said he’d “always dreamed of owning an 18th-century house.” Anderson has written five books there, including Elf Dog & Owl Head, which was inspired by walks in the woods with his late dog LaRue.
In the latest episode of “Stuck in Vermont,” Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger got a candlelit tour and heard some tall tales.
Thanks to Sarah Woodard for sharing her comic about growing up in this house and to her brother Nat Woodard for sharing his story.
Music: Mozart’s Requiem, Performed by Hill Cronin
This episode of “Stuck in Vermont” was supported by the Vermont Community Foundation.
This article appears in October 28 • 2026.
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