THE LEGEND OF LUCY KEYES

Director’s Statement - January 2006

I live on part of the land originally owned by the Keyes family.  I run with my dog through the woods where Lucy disappeared in 1755.    I’ve heard the story of Lucy Keyes told over and over again.  I’ve spoken to neighbors and townspeople who have experienced the ghost, and I’ve also heard strange things, had my skin crawl and a cold feeling climb up the back of my neck, so I figured the true story of Lucy Keyes was fertile ground for a screenplay. 

We felt strongly about shooting as close as possible to the actual site of the Keyes home and the sites where the spirits have been witnessed.  Paranormal experts claim that we stirred up the spirits in undertaking this project, and we did have to deal with an extraordinary amount of wind during the shoot, but I’m convinced that our respect for the true story and the ultimate attention that our project may shine on this mystery made sure that all the spirits we encountered were benevolent.

It has been an incredible journey for me, seeing this movie come alive before my eyes.  I firmly believe that the work is too hard for it not to be fun, and the credit goes to our entire crew for making this project such an incredible success even before it heads out into the world.  I wish the process of making a movie were more important to the end result, because then The Legend of Lucy Keyes would already be a huge win.

- John Stimpson
  writer/director, The Legend of Lucy Keyes

Filmmaker’s Bio

John Stimpson is a resident of Princeton, Mass. and owns part of the property formerly farmed by Robert Keyes. His most recent short film The Winter People garnered many film festivals laurels including Woods Hole and Savannah where it was named Best Short, Northampton, Sonoma Valley, Florida and Marco Island film festivals. His feature film, Beacon Hill (aka, The Gentleman from Boston, which he co-directed) premiered at the 2001 Nantucket film festival.  The screenplay for The Legend of Lucy Keyes, won 1st runner up in the 2002 Woods Hole Film Festival screenplay competition.

Stimpson’s interest in film and television began at Harvard where he was President of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals.  His documentary film Backstage at the Hasty Pudding earned him a Bronze Apple at the National Educational Film Festival.   He also received a Parent’s Choice award for his children’s program Tool Power.  John has extensive experience writing, directing and producing episodic television for Outdoor Life Network, Animal Planet and HGTV