19-05-2025
She starred in iconic horror movie...and now she's enraged Maine neighbors by spraying orange crosses on TREES
Blair Witch Project star Heather Donahue has once again found herself in trouble in the woods, this time embroiled in a spat with her Maine neighbors.
The retired actress, 50, bought property in the tiny 700-resident town of Freedom in 2020 and was elected to the town's governing body, its Select Board in 2024.
However, she was ousted just over a year into her tenure over a property dispute, reported Midcoast Villager.
A recall effort was launched after Donahue used orange spray paint to mark trees on what neighbors claim is private property along Beaver Ridge Road.
Donahue painted the orange cross using historical maps to show what she claims is public property.
Abutting property owners of the road said the overgrown stretch is private and to use it for public access is trespassing.
The dispute led to the first successful recall petition drive in the town's 212-year history and Donahue was removed in April.
Tyler Hadyniak, one of the abutting property owners, told the Associated Press the recall wasn't just about the trail, it addressed a pattern of behavior by Donahue that chafed longer-established residents in the year since she took office.
'I was relieved that the recall was successful. I thought Heather's demeanor and behavior toward others was just unbecoming of a town official,' Hadyniak said.
Donahue has defenders in town, including Bob Kanzler, who served on a local roads committee and agrees the disputed path is public.
'Heather has done a wonderful job in researching these discontinued roads in town,' Kanzler said. 'I know the road is public.'
The domain of the road remains unresolved, with the town and abutting landowners fighting it out in court.
Despite the ongoing battle over the road, Donahue said she has found peace in Maine and plans to stay put.
'I mean, this is where humans flourish,' she said of the Freedom woods. 'I've figured out a way to do a lot with very little. That was all kind of centered around being able to walk in the woods.'
Following The Blair Witch Project, Donahue struggled with alcoholism, left acting, became a medical marijuana farmer and wrote a memoir.
She moved to Maine eight years ago, overcame her addiction and bought land in Freedom in 2020.
Recently, she has worked as a life coach and shared her passions for gardening and medicinal plants with anyone who will listen.
She said she is not interested in reliving the glory of starring in the film that was released in 1999 and is one of the most successful independent movies of all time.
The film sparked a resurgence of interest in 'found footage' style horror movies, wowed critics and polarized audiences with its homespun take on terror.
It also led Donahue to years of legal wrangling over compensation and the right to her likeness.
The film follows the disappearance of three student filmmakers in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary on the local legend known as the Blair Witch.
It starred Heather Donahue, Michael Williams and Joshua Leonard playing fictionalized versions of themselves using their real names. The actors shot nearly all of the footage shown in the film themselves.
They only got paid $500-a-week for their work on the film, with filming lasting only eight days and when the film grossed $100million, they only received a fruit basket for their contributions.
Despite the film making millions, the actors profited little of that success and even had to spend several months after the film's release lying low as part of the marketing campaign to make fans believe they were actually missing and presumed dead like the movie alleged.
Donahue even had to issue a statement to the New York Times that she was still alive after someone marked her as deceased on IMDb, negatively impacting her career.
