Many horrible things have been blamed on the Ouija Board over the years. One of the most famous cases was the murder often named The Ouija Board Murder in Buffalo were a woman in Buffalo was killed after the Ouija Board pointed her out in a mission for revenge.
In 1930, Buffalo, New York, was the backdrop for a chilling murder case that intertwined themes of jealousy, manipulation, and supernatural beliefs. This case, often referred to as the “Ouija Board Murder in Buffalo,” involved the tragic death of Clothilde Marchand, a respected artist and wife of sculptor Henri Marchand.
The Ouija Board Told them to do it
Lila Jimerson
In the fall of 1929, 66 year old Nancy Bowen and 36 year old Lila Jimerson had a Ouija Board session. The Seneca Native women lived on the Cattaraugus Reservation where Bowen was a tribal healer and Jimerson worked at the reservation school.
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Not long ago, Bowen’s husband had died and they tried to contact the afterlife to get an explanation. The loss of Bowen’s husband had really affected her and she was looking for answers in all the wrong places. The board started to move, and according to them, the spirit of her husband, Sassafras Charlie Bowen spelled out: “They killed me.”
When the women asked who they were, the answer was Clothilde and an address on Ripley Street in Buffalo. The board also added that she had short hair and was missing teeth. Since Bowen couldn’t read herself, Jimerson was guiding the planchette and spelled out the words. Turns out, the Ouija Board pointed them in the direction of someone they already knew.
The Marchand Family
Henri Marchand, a 53 year old French-born artist renowned for his dioramas and wax models, relocated with his wife, Clothilde, and their children to Buffalo in 1925. She was a tiny woman who had given up her life as a painter to take care of their children.
Henri was commissioned to create dioramas for the Buffalo Museum of Science, a project that required close collaboration with local communities, including the Seneca Nation. During this period, Henri developed a professional relationship with Lila Jimerson, a young Seneca woman who served as a model for his work. Little did Clothild know, his affairs would become the death of her.
After the Ouija Board session, Bowen started to receive letters signed from a certain Mrs Dooley that no one knew who was. In the letter, it said that Clothilde Marchand was actually a witch who had hexed Sassafras Charlie, who was also a tribal healer, because she was jealous. After her witchcraft didn’t work, she had to kill him herself, the letter claimed. Bowen started to fear that she was next.
The Murder of Clothilde Marchand
Nancy Bowen
On March 6, 1930, the Marchand household was shattered by violence. Bowen had tried to kill Clothilde with hexes and witchcraft instead, but when this didn’t work, she showed up to do the job herself. She knocked on the door and was let in as Clothilde recognized her from the reservation. Clothilde was found dead in their home on Riley Street, having suffered fatal injuries from a hammer and chloroform stuffed down her throat. She was found by her 12 year old son when he came home from school.
The neighbors led the police to the reservation as many natives working as models came and went to their house and Jimerson was arrested. The investigation quickly led to Nancy Bowen, after Jimerson gave her name to the police, who confessed to the murder.
Bowen revealed that she had been manipulated by Jimerson into believing that Clothilde was a witch responsible for the death of Bowen’s husband, Charlie. Driven by these manipulations, Bowen confronted and killed Clothilde.
The Trials and Aftermath
The subsequent trials for the The Ouija Board Murder in Buffalo garnered significant public attention. Henri Marchand’s testimony revealed his numerous affairs, too many to count as he said in court, including his involvement with Jimerson. He claimed getting romantically involved with the native women were necessary for his artistic endeavors as they would much easily take off their clothes for his modeling then. He also said that his dead wife was fully aware and supportive of his affairs, although nothing but his testimony says this. According to Jimerson, Marchand had said that he was tired of his wife and that this led to her planning to rid them of her. At the time of his wife’s murder, he was actually driving around with Jimerson.
Jimerson faced two trials; the first ended in a mistrial due to her health issues, and the second concluded with her acquittal. Bowen pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to time served. Henri Marchand relocated to Albany, remarried his 18 year old niece, and continued his work until his death in 1951. Jimerson lived out her days in Perrysburg, New York, passing away in 1972. Clothilde Marchand was laid to rest in an unmarked grave in Buffalo’s Forest Lawn Cemetery.
They never found out who wrote the letters, but it didn’t match up with Jimerson’s handwriting. If they ever tested it at Marchand’s is unclear, but doubtful. Although the murder was convicted, was it really justice served in The Ouija Board Murder in Buffalo?
The Ouija Board Murder in Buffalo
This case highlights the complex interplay of cultural beliefs, personal relationships, and societal prejudices. A lot of the focus on The Ouija Board Murder in Buffalo ended up being on the Ouija Board and witchcraft and not about how an innocent woman lost her life, and the manipulation from external forces that led to it.
The Ouija Board Murder in Buffalo underscores how deeply held superstitions and manipulations can lead to tragic outcomes, and it serves as a poignant reminder of the consequences of jealousy and deceit. Still today, you can see the sculptures in many museums to this day, including the Buffalo Science, the Smithsonian as well as the State Museum.
It’s impossible talking about communicating with the dead without talking about The Fox Sisters and their impact they had on the Spiritualism movement as well the enduring popularity ghosts and the afterlife have on people, even when its well known fraudsters performing.
At a public demonstration at the New York Academy of Music, Maggie Fox takes the stage. She had all her life been one part of the most popular medium duo in the world at the time. She had since she was a little girl held public seances where she and her sister would communicate with the dead. Now she was telling everyone in the crowd that it had all been a fraud.
She was met with hissing and cheers from the crowd. People had spent their money on her, been comforted when she said that their dearly departed was at peace in the afterlife and with her help, she could communicate a message from the spirit world to the world of the living. All a lie.
“When I began this deception I was too young to know right from wrong,” Maggie told the crowd, according to the Herald. “That I have been mainly instrumental in perpetuating the fraud of Spiritualism upon a too-confiding public, many of you already know. It is the greatest sorrow of my life.”
The Fox Sisters: Portrait of Kate and Maggie Fox, Spirit Mediums from Rochester, New York. Along the bottom edge of the daguerreotype “Kate and Maggie Fox, Rochester Mediums, T.M. Easterly Daguerrean” is inscribed. Portions of the daguerreotype are colored with pink pigment.
Spiritualism and the Hunt for Ghosts and Communicating with the Dead
The 19th century was a time of grand discoveries, scientific advancements, as well as talking to ghosts.
Enter Spiritualism, a movement that swept through the Western world like an eerie whisper in the dark. It promised communication with the dead, answers from the great beyond, and (let’s be honest) a fair share of parlor tricks.
At the center of it all? Two young girls from upstate New York, Margaretta and Catherine Fox—better known as the Fox Sisters. Their story is one of mystery, deception, and perhaps a little too much ambition. Were the Fox sisters truly gifted with the ability to communicate with spirits, or did they accidentally start one of the biggest hoaxes in history?
Light a candle, keep your ears open for unexplained knocks, and let’s step into the shadowy world of the Fox Sisters and the rise of Spiritualism.
A Knock in the Night: The Birth of a Phenomenon
Our tale begins in Hydesville, New York, in 1848, in a modest farmhouse occupied by the Methodist Fox family. It was here that 14-year-old Margaretta (Maggie) and 11-year-old Catherine (Kate) first encountered what they believed to be messages from beyond the grave.
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The family had been experiencing strange noises—knocking sounds in the walls, unexplained raps on furniture, eerie disturbances in the dead of night.
The Fox Sisters Childhood Home: Original Cottage before it was moved to Lilydale in 1916. This is where the alleged haunting started.
Instead of running for the hills, the Fox Sisters leaned into it when they scared their parents. One fateful evening, they wanted to share it with a neighbor. They said they heard the rapping every night on the walls and furniture. The neighbor was curious and wanted to see for herself and came to visit the small bedchamber the sisters shared with their parents. Their very superstitious mother, Margaret started, asking the knocking to count to five.
Five heavy knocks answered. Then followed her command when asking for fifteen knocks.
“What is our guest’s age,” she asked and the entity in the room answered with thirty-three knocks.
Convincing even the adults in the room, they didn’t even consider that the night was going into April Fool’s day. The young girls called the knocking for Mr. Spitfoot, a nickname for the devil, and the parents genuinely thought the house was haunted by something evil. They then called it Charles B. Rosna, the name of a man allegedly killed on the property.
There was a rumor that a peddler had been murdered in the same farmhouse five years before and that this was the spirit trying to communicate with them. It’s uncertain if the story started before or after the Fox sisters started to hear the knocking. There was a whole ordeal of whether or not there actually was a dead man buried on their property haunting it, but after excavations, it has, as with everything else, said to be a hoax.
The Rise of Spiritualism: Talking to the Dead Becomes Trendy
The 19th century was the perfect time for a movement like Spiritualism to explode. Death was everywhere, and people were desperate for comfort. High infant mortality rates meant grieving parents longed to speak to lost children. The Civil War (later on) would create millions of mourning families, looking for closure. Scientific progress made people more open to the idea that maybe there was something beyond the grave that could be studied.
And then came the Spiritualist Movement—an alluring blend of religious belief, science, and just enough mystery to keep people hooked. It promised proof of the afterlife, making it one of the most compelling belief systems of the era.
The Fox Sisters weren’t just two kids from New York anymore. They were the pioneers of an entire industry—one that would dominate the world for decades.
The Fox Sisters Take the Stage
With their newfound fame, the sisters—along with their older sibling, Leah Fox—decided to take their act on the road. They moved to Rochester, New York, a place where all kinds of spiritual movements flourished. This area gave birth to Mormonism, Millerism that would become Seventh Day Adventism – As well as Spiritualism.
The Fox sisters: Kate (1838–92), Leah (1814–90) and Margaret (or Maggie) (1836–93). They were famous mediums in Rochester, New York. Taken around 1852
They began holding public séances, demonstrating their “spirit communication” abilities to packed audiences. Where they could have been condemned to death for their claims to be communicating with the dead a couple of centuries ago, now they could make money from it. Leah had seen that this act could turn into a nice business venture.
The formula of the Fox Sisters was simple but effective:
A darkened room for maximum spookiness and where you could hide details your audience shouldn’t see. A table where spirits could “manifest” through knocks and tilts. A crowd eager for messages from beyond. And just like that, a supernatural empire was born.
They traveled from city to city, performing for skeptics and believers alike. Even respected intellectuals and politicians found themselves drawn into the movement. In 1849, 400 people came to see them at Rochester’s Corinthian Hall. After the performance they were taken to a backchamber and undressed to be examined by skeptics, finding no evidence of a hoax.
A physician from New England named Dr. Phelps claimed that his windows had shattered during one of their seances and that his clothes had been torn off by an unseen entity and objects were dancing on his floor. Even turnips had sprung from the carpet, inscribed with mysterious hieroglyphs.
The Medium Madness: When Talking to the Dead Became Big Business
By the 1850s, Spiritualism was in full swing, with thousands of people across America and Europe attempting to communicate with the dead. In upstate New York there were forty families claiming to have the same gifts as the Fox sisters, and hundreds of more throughout Virginia and Ohio.
They were not the first to claim to be able to communicate with the dead, and there were already many thinkers and philosophers who were exploring the idea around the same time. Franz Anton Mesmer from Australia was healing people in the States in the 1840s by putting them in a hypnotic state where some who woke up, thought they had been visited by a spirit. Philosopher and mystic, Emanuel Swedenborg from Sweden described a world of spirit and claimed to have seen and talked with them.
And then things got really out of hand.
Séance: After the Fox Sisters, the séance and spiritualism got a boost in popularity that changed how the western world would see the ghosts and afterlife. The alleged clairvoyant medium Erik Jan Hanussen (middle) at a an illuminated séance.
With the Fox Sisters’ success, everyone and their ghostly grandmother wanted a piece of the action. Suddenly, mediums were popping up everywhere, offering séances, table-tipping sessions, and spirit photography.
It was a belief system with a show, filled with lighting, music and drama feeding on people’s curiosity of death and longing after their death. The mediums like The Fox Sisters became celebrities. Some of the most famous names in Spiritualism came out of this boom, including:
Daniel Dunglas Home, a medium who could allegedly levitate. There was also Eusapia Palladino, known for “spirit hands” appearing out of thin air. This is where the notion of Ectoplasm was coined.
The Bangs Sisters, who produced “spirit paintings” of deceased loved ones. But with fame came skepticism. Scientists, magicians, and journalists began questioning whether these supernatural events were real or just elaborate hoaxes.
Not to say that this went on without controversy. They had from day one people suspecting them for fraud. One time Maggie was almost kidnapped by a group of men who didn’t like the childrens show. They tried as early as 1849 to end the charade and said that the spirit bid them farewell during a show. But Leah pushed them onward.
And unfortunately for the Fox Sisters… things were about to fall apart.
The Fall of the Fox Sisters: Confession and Collapse
By the late 1870s, the Fox Sisters’ once-glorious reputation was crumbling. Throughout their career they had noted mistakes they made. Like when they conjured the ghost of Benjamin Franklin through writing and one observer noted how the former president’s spelling and grammar had diminished since he died. On a show in Buffalo the girl’s had cushions placed under their feet and only silence came through that night.
Maggie struggled with alcoholism as she was mourning the death of her sort-of-husband in 1857. His family hated her and she wasn’t even allowed to attend his funeral. She had by then converted to Catholicism to honor her belated husband and promised to abandon Spiritualism forever.
Kate on her side had married a devoted Spiritualist and wanted to expand and cash in on the grief the Civil War left in society. She was also accused of fraud and drinking heavily under the pressure to constantly summon spirits and perform.
The final blow came in 1888, when Maggie Fox did the unthinkable—she confessed and was scheduled to publicly denounce Spiritualism.
In a public lecture at the New York Academy of Music, she admitted that their ghostly communications had been faked all along. Leah had distanced herself from the younger sisters and Maggie was mad at her and the other Spiritualists who ridiculed Kate for her drinking and calling her an unfit mother as all of her children had been taken from her because of her drinking. Kate herself was in the audience to support her.
Their secret? Cracking their toe joints to produce the knocking sounds. They also used their knuckles.
Yes. The entire phenomenon that launched Spiritualism had been created using nothing more than clever deception and a few well-placed toe pops.
Maggie even demonstrated the technique on stage, proving that the rapping noises could be recreated without any supernatural assistance. She confessed to the New York World in 1888 that the childhood prank had spun out of control.
“My sister Katie and myself were very young children when this horrible deception began. At night when we went to bed, we used to tie an apple on a string and move the string up and down, causing the apple to bump on the floor, or we would drop the apple on the floor, making a strange noise every time it would rebound. Then we started to crack our bones. A great many people when they hear the rapping imagine at once that the spirits are touching them, It is a very common delusion.”
She then went on to expose her sister, Leah, who had known it was fake all along and exploited them. The audience was horrified. The Spiritualist Movement had been built on a lie.
But here’s the kicker—even after the confession, people still believed in Spiritualism that had by then spread around the world. Many brushed off Maggie’s words, claiming she was coerced or simply bitter. After all, people had claimed to talk with the dead before the Fox sister’s ever existed and types of mediums have been around in all cultures at all time. The movement was too big to die, and it continued to thrive long after the Fox Sisters faded into obscurity.
Maggie later recanted her confession the year after confessing it all, but the damage was done. What was the hoax? The confession or their entire career? According to Spiritualist she had been lying at the confession performance as she needed money and they paid her 1500 dollar for it. She then said that her spirit guides had told her to do so. Still, she spent the rest of her life to reveal the tricks behind her profession and the lies of other mediums.
Maggie never reconciled with her sister who died in 1890. Her sister Kate died two years later, Maggie eight months after that. Both sisters died in poverty, their once-glorious reputations reduced to whispers of fraud and scandal.
Legacy: The Fox Sisters’ Impact on the Paranormal World
So, were the Fox Sisters frauds? Yes. But did they also accidentally launch an entire paranormal movement? Also yes.
Their “discovery” of spirit communication led to:
The rise of modern-day mediumship, the popularization of séances, spirit boards, and paranormal investigations. An entire industry of ghost hunters, TV psychics, and supernatural tourism. Even today, we see echoes of the Fox Sisters in every ghost-hunting show, every psychic reading, and every flickering candle during a séance.
Whether you believe in ghosts or not, one thing is clear: the Fox Sisters left their mark. Even when confessing to lying people refused to believe in the power of communicating with the dead. It was something that people desperately needed to believe in.
They may have started with toe cracks and lies, but their influence? It’s undeniably haunting.
So, the next time you hear a mysterious knock in the night, ask yourself—
Even though the events in the haunting case of the Amityville Horror have been depicted again and again since it happened, there are still so many misconceptions and unanswered questions in this case. Was it an actual haunting by an evil entity, or just a cash grab after a real and deadly tragedy?
Few paranormal stories have gripped the world quite like the chilling saga of the Amityville Horror. The very name conjures up images of sinister glowing eyes, disembodied voices, and a house steeped in unspeakable terror. The image of the Dutch Colonial house with its distinct gambrel roof in the Long Island town of Amityville has become an iconic landmark.
Though skeptics have tried to debunk it, the eerie events surrounding the infamous house at 112 Ocean Avenue continue to haunt the public imagination. Was the Amityville Horror all a hoax, or did something truly supernatural take place in that cursed dwelling?
The Amityville Horror: James Brolin and Margot Kidder posing in front of a house in a scene from film ‘The Amityville Horror’, 1979. The movie catapulted the story into being a worldwide phenomenon.
The Tragedy That Started It All with the DeFeo Family
The house was first built in 1927, but the haunting was said to have started decades later. The true horror of Amityville began not with ghosts, but with cold-blooded murder. On the night of November 13, 1974, 23 year old Ronald DeFeo Jr. took a rifle and systematically slaughtered his entire family—his parents and four siblings—as they slept.
Ronald DeFeo had a troubled childhood, the father was an abusive one and the mother was said to have been passive to it all. He had already threatened with a gun once before and was reportedly a known LSD and heroin user.. The grisly crime sent shockwaves through the quiet Long Island community, leaving the house abandoned, tainted by the bloodshed.
The Real Murder Behind the Ghost Story: Behind all the media frenzie and backstabbing of who would earn more money after the events in the house became famous, it’s easy to forget that the basis of the story of The Amityville Horrorwas actual deaths of a whole family.
During his trial, DeFeo claimed he had been driven to kill by malevolent voices whispering in his head. The jury didn’t believe his demonic possession as a defence and sentenced him to six consecutive life sentences. Though he later changed his story multiple times, he insisted on this fact until his death in 2021. His original claim planted the seed for what would become one of the most infamous hauntings in history.
Convicted: Ronald Defeo Jr., seen here leaving court shortly after the killings, died years later at age 69. His defense was that voices in his head told him to do it.
The Lutz Family’s the Amityville Horror Nightmare
In December 1975, just over a year after the murders, the Lutz family—George and Kathy Lutz, their three children and dog—moved into 112 Ocean Avenue. George Lutz was said to have an interest in the occult and paranormal and actively tried to summon spirits prior to the events in Amityville.
Despite knowing its dark history, they saw the house as their dream home and for $80,000, it was a bargain. Their dream quickly turned into a nightmare. Strange voices echoed through the halls, whispering unintelligible words, sometimes calling out in eerie, distorted tones. Doors slammed shut on their own, furniture moved, and shadowy figures loomed in the night.
One of the things connecting the strange things happening to the DeFeo case was that George Lutz claimed he woke up at 3:15 AM every night—around the time the DeFeo murders occurred. The children allegedly started sleeping on the stomach, the same way the DeFeo children were found. Both he and Kathy allegedly levitated above their bed, unable to move, as unseen hands gripped them tightly.
Kathy was also said to have transformed into a 90 year old crone, and other really strange things only befitting in a horror movie. On the 28th day, on Jan. 14, 1976, the family fled the house in sheer terror, leaving their belongings behind. They refused to ever return.
The Investigation and Controversy
Already before they left, they had investigators into the paranormal claims. The haunting caught the attention of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren and two months after the Lutz family fled, the Warrens and a local TV crew did a segment on the house, bringing in so-called “ghost hunters” and paranormal experts to evaluate the couple’s claims.
The Warrens visited the house on the night of March 6, 1976, and declared it infested with a dark, demonic presence.
The Ghost Boy: One of the more iconic images from The Amityville Horror case is the photo taken when the Warren family visited the house. They snapped this picture and claimed it showed on of the murdered children.
Among other things, they snapped the now famed photo of the ‘ghost boy’, thought to be one of the DeFeo children. But was it? The picture has gone through a lot of investigations and mostly debunked by those who had a closer look. they claim it was It’s Paul Bartz, an investigator working with the Warrens on his knees and wearing glasses.
Paul Bartz: Wearing the same outfit, it is said he is the actual person showing up in the picture.
The Story Becomes Famous and Further Reading
One of the big books about the horrors was written by the American Author, Jay Anson in 1977. This book based on the experiences of the Lutz family was also the background for the movies that was produced from 1979 about the incident to this day. It was a sensation when published and topped the best sellers lists, but there were also a lot of lawsuits and controversy around it.
The Amityville Horror faced a lot of scrutiny over how real it was after its publication. Skeptics were quick to challenge the Lutzes’ claims, even after they both passed a lie detector test in hope to prove their story. Anson said this about how he felt about the story; “I tell them that I have no idea whether the book is true or not. But I’m sure that the Lutzes believe what they told me to be true.”
One year later, director Stuart Rosenberg’s adaptation of the same name came out and became a modern day horror classic and would have around 50 sequels, remakes and other interpretations of the story over the years.
Movie Franchise: The Amityville Horror spun many movies over the years, fueling the interest of the case.
Weber and the Lutz Falls out over Money
Some believed it was an elaborate hoax designed to profit off the tragedy. But where did Lutz get so many details of the murder correct? Turns out William Weber, Ronald DeFeo Jr. ‘s defense attorney had worked with the Lutzes to make a book. They fell out over how to split up the money though. Later admitted he had collaborated with the Lutzes to fabricate aspects of the story and that they had come up with the story after many bottles of wine.
The Lutz Couple: Although they never denied the haunting, many of their details were inaccurate, exaggerated or pure fabrication according to many of the people looking into The Amityville Horror.
He told a lot about how the details of the hoax came to be. Their daughter, Missy, had spoken of an imaginary friend named “Jodie,” a red-eyed pig-like creature that would appear outside her window. This creature was also said to stare down at George and his son Daniel from a window. Later, Weber would say this idea came from the neighbor’s cat who looked into their window at night on the TV program “A Current Affair” in May 1988.
A thick, green, foul-smelling substance oozed from the walls and keyholes were often mentioned and written into the story. According to Weber in 1988, it was inspired by an incident where De’Feo’s father once had smacked his mother when she held a plate of red-sauce spaghetti. In some variation of the legend, this substance was described as green, in some red or black.
Priest Blessing the House
One controversy was the role of Father Pecararo, or Father Mancuso who he was named in the book The Amityville Horror (1977). George asked the Catholic priest, to bless the house when they moved in, which he did.
According to some sources, he sensed a dark presence in the upstairs bedrooms and had allegedly warned them to not sleep in there. This was said to be the room where the children had been killed. In the book, he was said to have felt a sharp slap in the face and someone telling him to get out. In the movie, flies inexplicably gathered in large numbers, particularly in one upstairs bedroom.
In the lawsuits following the book he stated that all he knew about the case had been in conversation with Lutz over the telephone. Although when interviewed about the The Amityville Horror in 1979 he did say that he entered the home for a cleansing and that he was in fact slapped by an entity who told him to “get out”. Other accounts say that the father did enter the house, but nothing of consequence happened there.
The Haunting of a Native American Chief and an Escaped Witch from Salem
Another controversy after the Amityville Horror was the claim that the house was built on top of a Native American location of where they had abandoned the mentally ill and dying people of their tribes. Dr. Hans Holzer, the parapsychologist who examined the house in the wake of the events in the 1970s claimed that the house itself was not haunted, but the land was haunted by an old Native American chief.
This is a very fundamental and a classic go-to in allegedly haunted places in America. Although it is impossible to document for certain as far back as when Native Americans first settled in the area, the local Shinnecock natives said that there had been no such thing.
In addition to stories about sacred burial grounds and Native American Chiefs, there were also Salem Witches put into the mix. Jay Anson’s book suggests that the property is cursed because it had once belonged to John Ketcham, a suspected witch, who had fled Salem, Massachusetts before taking up residence in Amityville.
The Amityville House Today
So what really happened behind the scenes of the Amityville Horror? Was the mortgage and tax payments too much for the Lutzes and the poltergeist story made up to try and evade this? The Lutzes never retracted their story and George stood his ground until his death in 2006. Daniel, the son living there claims that he still has nightmares about the time he spent in the house. He believed it was his father’s interest in the occult that opened up to some sort of entity in their home.
The Amityville house has since changed ownership at least four times. Some residents have reported no unusual activity, like James Cromarty who lived in the house from 1976 with his wife, Barbara. According to them, nothing strange ever happened in the ten years they lived there. They were bothered by the fans of Amityville Horror though, coming to their doors, asking for Ronald DeFeo and stole shingles from the roof and ripped out chunks of their lawn. In the end, they moved out as well. They tried to change the address to 108 Ocean Avenue to deter people from flocking to their door.
They sold it to Peter and Jeanne O’Neill in 1987 and they sold it in 1997 to a man called Brian Wilson. It was sold as recently as 2017. The house itself has been renovated and even had its iconic quarter-moon windows changed, perhaps in an effort to erase its infamous past.
Regardless of whether the Amityville Horror was a genuine haunting or an elaborate fabrication, it remains one of the most terrifying and enduring ghost stories of all time. The legend of 112 Ocean Avenue and The Amityville Horror refuses to die—just like the restless spirits that are said to dwell within its cursed walls.
In the middle of the night in the Lower East Side hotel in New York City, the elevators of The Bowery Hotel are said to act in a paranormal manner. Every night at one in the morning, they go up and down of their own will, carrying their ghostly guests.
On Manhattan’s Lower East Side, The Bowery Hotel stands as a beacon of luxury and historical intrigue on 335 Bowery in the East Village. Although the hotel is not really that old, it has already managed to have conjured up a haunted rumour.
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This iconic hotel, steeped in the charm of New York’s Gilded Age inspired decor, offers more than just opulent decor and sumptuous comfort—it harbors a dark, spectral history that has become part of its allure. Beneath the velvet drapes and within the shadows of its oil-painted hallways, legends of hauntings and paranormal activity have taken root, giving the hotel an eerie reputation.
The Bowery Hotel is more than just a boutique retreat; it’s a window into New York City’s storied past. The neighborhood itself, once a hub of the city’s gritty underbelly, has evolved through the centuries from a bustling thoroughfare for immigrants and artists to a chic destination for travelers and residents alike.
The Bowery: Making a throwback to a cozy time, it sticks out from modern New York City. Is the nostalgic interior something that evokes a haunted vibe? Source: Wikimedia
Opening its doors in the early 2000s, The Bowery Hotel was designed to evoke the grandeur of New York’s Gilded Age. Its interiors, adorned with plush velvet, antique furnishings, and oil paintings reminiscent of the late 19th century, create an atmosphere that is both inviting and haunting. The charm of the hotel’s decor is undeniable, yet many visitors have reported an unsettling undercurrent—a sense that they are not alone.
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Since then big celebrities have partied their way into the night. And if we are to believe the legends, some of the guests checked into the hotel rooms, sitting having a sip at the bar and riding the elevators, are not of the living kind.
The Haunting Legends of the Bowery Hotel
Perhaps the most famous legend associated with The Bowery Hotel revolves around its elevators. Guests and staff alike have reported strange occurrences involving the lifts, particularly at the stroke of one in the morning.
According to the tales, the elevators often go haywire—doors opening and closing without cause, buttons lighting up at random, and sometimes even stopping between floors. This phenomenon has been attributed to the hotel’s resident poltergeists, mischievous spirits that seem to revel in the disruption of the hotel’s nightly calm.
One popular theory suggests that these spirits are tied to the hotel’s location, which has a long and storied past. The location wasn’t always so swanky, as the Lower East Side used to be one of the city’s poorest places. The Bowery neighborhood was once home to theaters, flophouses, and speakeasies, places where revelry often ended in tragedy. Even when it was built, it was next to the Salvation Army shelter and methadone clinic. Some believe that the spirits of those who met untimely ends in the area have found a new home in the hotel, bringing with them the chaos and unrest of their former lives.
The hotel is also right next to The New York Marble Cemetery, and many think that the ghostly happenings are from the spirits lingering in the cemetery and having taken a trip into the hotel.
The New York Marble Cemetery: With its entrance at 41 Second Avenue between 2nd and 3rd Streets in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, was founded in 1830 and was the first non-sectarian cemetery in the city and is right by the Bowery Hotel. Could this be the source of the haunted rumors? Source: Wikimedia
Ghostly Encounters at the Bowery
Beyond the mischievous elevators, guests have reported other ghostly encounters throughout the hotel. Shadowy figures have been spotted in the dimly lit hallways, disappearing around corners or vanishing into thin air. The hotel’s oil paintings, some depicting somber and mysterious subjects, seem to watch over visitors, their gazes following passersby in a disconcerting manner.
One story passed around the halls, talks about a guest that got his beer spilled over himself, or knocked out of his hand, although he was sitting by himself. The doing of a malevolent spirit, or one too many beers?
Some visitors have even claimed to hear disembodied whispers in their rooms at night, the faint murmur of voices that cannot be traced to any living source. Cold spots, sudden drops in temperature One story in particular talks about one of the guests who was welcomed by the ghost of a woman wearing white as he was checking into his room.
Room at the Bowery: Some claim to have met the ghost of a woman as they entered the room. Who could this mysterious woman that people claim to have seen, but know nothing of? Source: Wikimedia
This was not the only time the legend of the woman in white at the hotel has been told, and it looks like the legend is spreading. Some sources claim over 700 guests have spotted her, asking for directions before vanishing into thin air.
Perhaps the worst is the talk about the feeling of being strangled in the bed as you are asleep. Would you dare to check in?
The fine restaurant, One If by Land, Two If by Sea in the old building in New York are said to be haunted by more than one ghost. The staff have even tried to appease the spirit over the years, even by serving them food, but still, they continue to linger.
If you’re a fan of history and fine dining, then you must have heard of One If by Land, Two If by Sea in the West Village in Manhattan. This iconic restaurant, marketing itself as one of the most romantic spots in the city, has been a staple in New York City’s culinary scene for over four decades.
The name “One if by land, and two, if by sea,” is from the poem Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry W Longellow. The saying was a secret signal to alert patriots about the route the British troops went on their way to Concord, perhaps a hint to all the secrets and hidden passageways the building at least used to have. Because this elegant eatery has a dark and mysterious past.
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One If by Land, Two If by Sea is said to be haunted by several ghosts, perhaps as many as twenty different ghosts. This includes the ghost of Aaron Burr’s daughter, Theodosia, who disappeared mysteriously at sea. The restaurant’s eerie ambiance, complete with antique chandeliers, flickering candles, and dark wood paneling, only adds to its haunted reputation.
One If by Land, Two If by Sea: Restaurant at 17 Barrow Street in Manhattan as it looked in 2024 said to be haunted by as many as twenty ghosts. // Source: Transpoman/Wikimedia
The History of the One If by Land, Two If by Sea Building
One If by Land, Two If by Sea is housed in a historic building that dates back to 1767. Originally built as a carriage house, the building has also served as a brothel, a speakeasy, and a residence for several prominent New Yorkers. Some even believe that the strange passageways down to the shore were used for forbidden contraband, or perhaps even used during the Revolutionary War. It was also used for runaway slaves in the underground railway.
The building’s storied past from carriage house, silent movie theater, bars and restaurants are reflected in its architecture, which features antique chandeliers, original brick walls, and dark wood paneling. But it’s not just the building’s physical attributes that make it unique; it’s also the ghosts that reportedly haunt its halls.
Ghostly Encounters and Haunted Tales
One If by Land, Two If by Sea is said to be haunted by several ghosts, including the ghost of Aaron Burr and his daughter, Theodosia. Theodosia was known for her beauty and intelligence, and her father, Aaron Burr, was one of the most controversial figures in American history.
In the 1790s, Aaron Burr kept his horses there when he was the Attorney General of the State of New York. Burr’s Wife, Theodosia Bartow Prevost had died early and he was raising his daughter by himself. His enemies said the daughter and father were too close.
There were many rumors floating around about their relationship being too intimate and many say that a famous duel between Burr and Alexander Hamilton started because of gossip about the father and daughter.
The two were rivals and tried to ruin each other’s reputation for years. On July 11, 1804 they held a duel in Weehawken in New Jersey. At this time, Burr was the Vice President of the United State, and Hamilton, a war hero as well as the first American Secretary of the Treasury. In the duel, Hamilton died and Burr lost everything. His carriage house was taken away from him and the building was used as an engine house for the fire station next door.
Aaron Burr Jr: (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician, businessman, lawyer, and Founding Father who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805 during Thomas Jefferson’s first presidential term. He is also said to haunt the restaurant as he owned the building when alive.
So what happened to his daughter? Theodosia married her husband, Joseph Alston, Governor and one of the most powerful and wealthy men in South Carolina, in 1801.
Theodosia Burr Alston: (June 21, 1783 – January 2 or 3, 1813) was an American socialite and the daughter of Aaron Burr. After she was lost at sea, she is said to haunt the restaurant with her father.
However, tragedy struck when Theodosia disappeared mysteriously at sea in 1813. She lived in Charleston, South Carolina after her fathers downfall, and she used to visit her father with her ship, the Patriot. She had just lost her ten year old son to malaria, and was only 29 years old. The ship sailed into the fog close to Cape Hatteras, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina and was never seen again.
Could it be enemies of her father or perhaps her husband who did something? Was it wreckers that had lured the ship to shore to rob them and kill the crew? Was it stormed by pirates and was she forced to walk the plank? Or was it just taken by a storm as her father insisted on until his death?
Her fate remains a mystery to this day, but many believe that she haunts the restaurant as well as her father. He died in a Staten Island boarding house in 1836, and they are often seen together in the restaurant’s mezzanine.
It is said that the ghost of Burr throws glass and plates around as well as moving chairs around. People claim to have seen his apparition, a hefty looking man in period clothing.
The ghost of Theodosia is said to walk up and down the stairs and one of the restaurant’s maître d’ quit after spotting her ghost. Earrings of women sitting in the bar are also said to keep disappearing, and people blame this on the ghost of Theodosia. This is said to have been most frequent in the 90s and it seems a long time since someone has made this claim.
Other Ghosts Haunting the Restaurant
The carriage house was sold in the late 1890’s and was used as a brothel and saloon as the area became an up and coming neighborhood. The building has several hidden passageways, running all the way to the Hudson river, making it a perfect place as a discreet meeting locale.
The ghosts of Theodosia and her lover are not the only spirits said to haunt One If by Land, Two If by Sea. Guests and staff working at the restaurant since it opened in 1973, have reported a variety of ghostly encounters over the years, including unexplained noises, cold spots, and the feeling of being watched. Some have even reported seeing apparitions of women in period clothing, which they believe to be the ghosts of former residents or prostitutes who worked in the building.
A woman wearing black is seen coming down the stairs as well. She is never seen going up them and some say that a strong stench of sulfur has come from the stairs. Some mediums claim she was a woman who tripped over her dress and broke her neck falling down the stairs.
A Flo Ziefield Follies girl is said to haunt the restaurant in the Constitution room. The term “Ziegfeld Follies Girl” is used broadly to describe the “singers, showgirls and dancers” who appeared in Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.’s theatrical Broadway revue spectaculars known as the Ziegfeld Follies from 1907 to the 1930s. The staff is said to light a candle for her ghost.
A Blacksmith is seen in the stairways in the upper stories of the building where he lived. Many years ago he was seen by a staff member who used to work there. Despite these spooky tales, One If by Land, Two If by Sea remains a popular destination for those looking to experience the restaurant’s haunted history firsthand.
The Haunted Restaurant: Over the years, guests and staff have claimed that something supernatural is going on in the old building. How much of the haunted rumors are true?//Source: Melanie Levi/Flickr
Ghostly Happenings in the Restaurant
Lights flicker in the restaurants, and some that have come to have a meal claim to have been shoved by an unseen force. In the kitchen there are strange and angry whispers of ghosts that want them out of the room. Ghosts are said to linger by the fireplace as well as the front door. Seemingly over the whole restaurant as the sound of glasses clink in empty rooms.
According to Rosanne Martino who was the manager of the restaurant, paintings and pictures put on the walls of the restaurant are also said to keep falling off and machinery malfunctions and goes off at odd times. At one point the staff has even tried to appease the spirits by serving them some Beef Wellington.
One If by Land, Two If by Sea is more than just a restaurant; it’s a piece of New York City history. From its haunted past to its famous guests and events, this iconic eatery has a story to tell.
Leading up to Christmas, the Lefferts-Laidlaw House at 136 Clinton Avenue in Brooklyn got uninvited visitors, knocking on the doors. The haunting lead to a spectacle of onlookers trying to solve the strange case that even the New York Police couldn’t solve.
In the bustling borough of Brooklyn, New York, among the charming brownstones of Clinton Avenue, one address stands out for its eerie reputation: 136 Clinton Avenue, a grand Greek Revival House built around the end of the 1830s, still standing close to the Brooklyn Navy Yard on Clinton Hill. Today it is known as the Lefferts-Laidlaw House and when it was put on the market in 2020, it was listed for 3.4 million dollars after being on and off the market for years.
The residents that have lived there in modern times as well as the agent trying to sell the house all say that it isn’t haunted. But could the haunted ghost story be the reason buyers are deterred from it? The chilling events that took place here in the winter of 1878 have left an indelible mark on local lore, giving rise to one of Brooklyn’s most infamous Christmas hauntings.
The whole story was told in a series of news articles in the New York Times on the 20th and 21st of December.
The Uninvited Guest at 136 Clinton Avenue
It all began a few weeks before Christmas in 1878. Edward F. Smith, a resident of 136 Clinton Avenue, was enjoying a quiet evening at home when the doorbell rang. He answered the door, expecting a visitor, but found no one there. It happened several times more that night, the doors of the house kicked, banged and rattled. It was so loud, but not a single thing was seen and carried on until 10 in the evening. Mr. Smith had to tell himself that: It was only the wind, and went to sleep.
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That was only the beginning of a pre-Christmas nightmare. This seemingly innocent event soon turned into a nightly occurrence, each time with the same perplexing result: the doorbell would ring, but there would be no one outside, and no signs that anyone had been there at all.
Smith and his family were initially baffled and soon grew frustrated. Determined to catch the prankster, Smith sprinkled ash and flour along the path to the door, expecting to find footprints. But the substances remained undisturbed, and the mysterious noises continued unabated.
Escalation of Fear
As the days passed, the unsettling events escalated. The doorbell ringing turned into aggressive banging on the doors. The Smith family, now deeply concerned, decided to seek help. They contacted the police, who began to investigate the strange occurrences as they spent the night, but nothing came of it.
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Despite the police presence, the disturbances did not cease. The ringing and banging persisted, defying all attempts to identify their source. The Police Captain McLaughlin was even there, opening the door as it banged only to find empty air. This was on Monday the 16th of December when things took a darker turn.
The situation took an even more sinister turn one night when a brick suddenly flew through a window from outside. Officers standing nearby saw no one who could have thrown the brick, adding to the growing sense of fear and confusion.
The Paranormal Conclusion
Weeks of investigation yielded no answers. The police were unable to determine the cause of the disturbances, and the relentless noises and inexplicable events continued to plague the Smith family. With no rational explanation in sight, Smith and the witnesses to these bizarre happenings began to suspect a supernatural cause.
The haunting of 136 Clinton Avenue became a topic of local gossip, with many speculating that the house was cursed or that it harbored restless spirits. Some suggested that the disturbances were the work of a mischievous poltergeist, while others believed it was the ghost of a former resident seeking vengeance or closure.
Paranormal seekers and spiritualists begged to come inside to have a look, but Mr. Smith refused them all as he would have none of that nonsense. This didn’t stop them though and it was reported of semi-seances on the sidewalk with a crowd the police had to send away at times. One police officer was even bitten on the fingers by what the paper described as: ‘one powerful German who refused to move.’
Who was the Ghost Haunting the Lefferts-Laidlaw House?
After three weeks of mayhem, the haunting suddenly stopped according to the residence, and no answer was given to what really happened there. The local gossip claimed that it had to be the work of the ghost of a lawyer said to have committed suicide inside of the house years before.
According to Mr. Smith, he was so rattled and annoyed he was said to have said it had to be Satan himself in his home. He claimed it was he who had driven the ghost away with long prayers and had previously said to the newspaper that: ‘we consider ourselves perfectly able to take care of any ghost that comes along.’
There are also stories about the original owner and his chef, where according to this story, the owner murdered the chef when he found out about the affair with his wife.
According to the police, they remained inconclusive. It wasn’t like they could accept the theory about the devil or the ghost of a lawyer, but even they had to stand behind what they saw the things that happened, and that there was no way a living human could have done it without having been seen.
The Legacy of the Haunting
The haunting of 136 Clinton Avenue remains one of Brooklyn’s most enduring ghost stories. Over the years, the house has changed hands multiple times, and each new owner has been regaled with tales of the Christmas haunting. Some residents have reported experiencing strange noises and unsettling events, while others have lived there without incident.
Today, the story of the Christmas haunting serves as a chilling reminder of the unexplained phenomena that sometimes invade our lives. Whether a skeptic or a believer, the tale of 136 Clinton Avenue continues to captivate those who hear it, adding a touch of mystery to the holiday season in Brooklyn.
In the bright summer village of Lake George you find the old Caldwell Cemetery. It holds the tombstones and the ghosts of the place’s bloody and disease ridden past.
The village of Lake George is named after the lake with the same name who is also nicknamed The Queen of American Lakes. It is a beautiful northern village today and a popular place to visit in the summer. But this summer colony has a bloody past that is said to haunt the place to this day.
One of the supposedly haunted places is at the local graveyard. The Caldwell Cemetery is an old cemetery with over 200 years the place having been used as a burial ground in Lake George in Warren County, New York.
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It is an eerie looking graveyard even by day and the tombstones you find north of the cemetery are almost disappearing into the woods.
Smallpox Victims from Fort William Henry
It was here in Caldwell Cemetery the victims of smallpox from Fort William Henry were buried. There was a big outbreak of smallpox there and it is the Colonial soldiers that are said to haunt the place.
Haunted Cemetery: Caldwell Cemetery in Lake George is said to be haunted by more than one ghost.Source/find a grave
It is not only Caldwell Cemetery that is said to be haunted by soldiers in Lake George mind you. Now it is mostly known for being portrayed in the novel The Last of the Mohicans. But before it served as a place in the novel, Fort William Henry was also a place where many battles took place as it was on the route between the French and British colonies during the French and Indian War. The fort itself has a very haunted rumor as well as being a stop on the haunted history tour in the area.
Smallpox used to be an extremely deadly virus. In America it is estimated that it killed up to 90 percent of the indigenous population. This was something that the commanders in the British forces took advantage of as an early biological weapon. The commander in chief, Lord Jeffry Amherst handed out smallpox-infected blankets to the natives in 1763.
But also the soldiers of the British forces were not immune to it. And although the vaccine for it had already been used for a while, it was still claiming lies during the outbreak at the fort. Some sources place the outbreak in 1810, something that seems highly unlikely.
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Historical Accuracy of the Fort William Henry
If it ever was an outbreak though among the soldiers is a bit clouded, as the Fort were said to be abandoned after the Siege of Fort William Henry in 1757, and left in ruins for over 200 years before being rebuilt in the 1950s. Meaning that the fort you can visit today is nothing more of a replica.
Under Siege: Depiction of the Siege of Fort William Henry in 1757.
Also, as the U.S got its independence from Britain in 1776, there would not have been any British colonial soldiers at the Fort in 1810 anyway.
What about the smallpox victims in Caldwell Cemetery then? Even though the years and dates from most sources date the smallpox outbreak to 1810, it could very well have been much earlier. Fort William Henry before the siege was known to be in bad condition with frequent outbreaks of smallpox.
So who is to say really, that there weren’t really any soldiers victim to the disease from Fort William Henry that are still roaming Caldwell Cemetery?
The Ghost Soldiers in Caldwell Cemetery
The haunting rumors appear to have very military details to it as it is said to be mostly the soldiers of the fort that are haunting the grounds. Those who claim to have experienced something paranormal at the place tell about smelling burnt gunpowder as well as hearing the sound of musket fire when entering the graveyard. The ghosts that are spotted are often reported to be wearing a soldier uniform.
And considering both Fort William Henry as well as the place around Lake George itself, the lingering presence of the spirits from the soldiers dying in the battles over the years makes sense.
The Grave of the Founding Father
There is however, not only soldiers from colonial times that have created paranormal rumors and ghost stories in Caldwell Cemetery. And that is where the founding father of the place comes in.
Before being renamed, Lake George was known as Caldwell, named after the founder of the place in 1810 (which might be why 1810 keeps showing up in accounts of the hauntings of the graveyard).
According to the author Lynda Lee Macken who writes books about haunted places, she tells her own story of a paranormal experience. When she was a teenager she was investigating Caldwell Cemetery with friends when one of the burial vaults started to glow orange.
The next day when she went back to further investigate she found that the tomb belonged to the founder of Lake George, James Caldwell, an Irish Presbyterian buried in a Catholic churchyard.
Sitting on the porch outside the historic John Lawson House, three mannequins sat on the porch for over a decade. No one really knew who lived there, or why the mannequins were there. And no one really saw when or if someone came and moved the mannequins’ positions, clothes and wigs.
The old house is found in Wappingers Falls in New York and has probably seen its fair share since it was first built. It is a really old house built in 1845 by a man named John Lawson that is not known much about and were the name comes from. What is known of this man is that he is descended from the one of the first Europeans families that took over the area. But who lived in this house now, is uncertain and up for a lot of speculation.
But one day something strange appeared on the poarch that caught the curiosity of the locals and made people speculate in the haunted rumours of the house. A couple of dressed up mannequins without any explanation suddenly appeared, and to this day, we still don’t know the full story.
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The John Lawson House, sitting by the road and letting the paint peel therefore has an old story, and the house would by its historic architecture and age be a breeding ground for haunting house rumors and paranormal ghost stories. But it was in recent times that the house really started to be known as the creepiest house in America.
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The Mannequins on the Porch of The John Lawson House
In a span of a decade in the early 2000s, the house on 9A Main Street was known for housing a group of life size mannequins that sat on the porch of the house. In each of their rocking chairs the three mannequins sat in their vintage dresses, looking out on those passing the house.
The Mannequins on the Porch: The John Lawson House was for over a decade a place of wonder when three mannequins camped out on the porch and started a rumour of the house being haunted. They would be dressed up in different clothes, wigs and hold onto different accessories. It was a mystery as to who or why did this.
The mannequins on the porch of the John Lawson House were of the kind you would find in clothing stores. What is weirder is that someone would change their clothes and their wigs occasionally. In pictures they wore everything from vintage dresses to normal mainstream fashion, often according to the seasons as well.
The people orchestrating the mannequins would also get different props to hold in their hands like standard props like books opened for the mannequins to look like they just relaxed on their porch, reading as if they are taking the view in. There were however also occasions where the mannequins held onto things that made the weird sight, even weirder. Like when they held onto stuff like an empty birdcage or tool boxes.
Whenever there was bad weather in New Hamburg, the mannequins would disappear from sitting on the porch so they would not get caught in the rain, but come back when the weather cleared up.
What was this supposed to be? At the time, no one really knew who lived in the house, and no one really saw who changed the props or clothes of the mannequins in between sets. This of course led to people thinking the house was really haunted and people started to look to the old history of the house for an explanation.
The Haunting Accidents near The John Lawson House
There are mainly two tragedies from the past the locals used to explain the reason behind the supposed hauntings of The John Lawson House, although the most disturbing thing yet seems to be the thing sitting on the poarch that everyone can see and touch. But can we really explain it?
Historic Building filled with Dolls Living their Lives: The John Lawson House is thought to be one of the oldest houses in this area. According to some, this house is also a haunted one.
One of the dark legends connected to the John Lawson House comes from a terrible accident decades ago. Back in 1871 a freight train derailed close by the John Lawson House on February 6th. It ended up colliding with a passenger train that was unable to stop and it all ended in a big tragedy.
The train was carrying oil which caught fire and ended in an explosion only 200 feet from the John Lawson House. That night, 22 people were killed, and this is one of the events that are said to haunt the house. But what came first? Did the haunted legends fuel the urge to put eerie dolls on display, or did the dolls sitting there like the uncanny valley give a head start to the haunted rumours?
Another thing that is attributed to the haunting is the second fire that broke out in the neighborhood around John Lawson House. In 1877 on May 3rd, seven buildings burned to the ground and the John Lawson House was one of the few houses that survived the fire for some reason. There were at the time theories that the fire was arson and a very strategic one at that. If there were any casualties in the fire is unknown, but the ghost stories claim that there really was.
If there was any local legends surrounding the the John Lawson House before the mannequins showed up on the porch is unknown. Or if these two tragedies have been told as a ghost story before they started hanging out on the poarch, is also unknown. Most likely the stories have been used to create the legend of a haunted house, not just the house of an eccentric.
The Haunting Mannequins
According to the legends told, the mannequins were haunted by the spirits of those that died in those two accidents. But as the article has already have stated, what came first, the hauntings or the mannequins is a bit unclear.
There are also those that connect the dots that some of the mannequins are facing the site of the train derailing and others are facing the other historic house that survived the second fire. Coincidence? Like most things in life, most likely. Or…
The strange house has made many theories about what really went down in the John Lawson House. The most likely scenario is of course the house was owned by some really committed pranksters or just some with a strange hobby. And although one can very easily find out who lived in the house or occasionally comes to rearrange 3 real life dolls outside on the Main Street, everyone loves a good mystery without an unsatisfying truth behind. Could this be one of the cases were the locals simply don’t want the truth and full story, as the life in these parts are boring enough?
Read Also: Another haunted case were the locals didn’t want the truth to ruin the fun local legend is the case of The Anson Lights Highway Ghost in Texas.
The Disappearance of the Mannequins of the John Lawson House
Relaxing: The mannequins relaxing with a book and a coffee mug on the porch outside of John Lawson House before they disappeared in 2016.
This strange house with its strange inhabitants started to become more than just a local legend of the quaint town of New Hamburg and the story of the weird mannequins started to draw tourists wanting to have a look around The John Lawson House and see for themselves what the thing was all about.
What outfits would they wear? What items would they clutch in their cold and stiff hands?
But if you are curious about the house and the mannequins, you are now in bad luck most likely as it seems that the pranksters got tired of the constant upkeep of the dolls. Today there are no more mannequins sitting on the front porch of the house.
One day in the summer of 2016, the locals in the town found that the porch was empty and the mannequins had simply vanished during the night. Even when the weather cleared up, they were nowhere in sight. No one really knows where they have gone or why they were there in the first place.
Or is this simply another case of the: the story is better if we don’t know the truth? Because rumor has it they are found at a house near Route 9W, ready to create another urban legend, sitting ready in their outfits, reading a book and enjoying the nice weather outside.
The legend of the Lady of the Lake in Rochester has been around the Durand Eastman Park in the state of New York for centuries, haunting the lakes and park, in search for her daughter – and possible revenge.
Between the cities of Rochester and Irondequoit in the state of New York, the Durand Eastman Park has been a place for a nice park and a cozy picnic since the turn of the century. According to the legend though, the park is not always sunny sundays as the Durand Eastman Park is allegedly haunted by the ghost of a woman named The Woman of the Lake.
This type of ghosts takes on numerous names: The Lady in White, The White Lady, Lady of the Lake. She becomes a different entity with those names, one of many, a ghostly transparent figure of folklore. She loses her humanity and such, gains her legacy that lasts longer than a human lifetime. But who were this lady down by the lake when she was alive? Does she have a name?
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According The Rochester Candlelight ghost walk, the legend of the Lady of the Lake in Rochester have been told as far back as when the Durand Eastman Park was used as a vacation destination. And when a Boy Scout Camp was set up in the park, the legend grew around the campfire when they started to whisper about who the one in the deep lake could be and what she was after.
The Legend of Lady of the Lake in Rochester
Before the 1900’s, the area surrounding the Durand Eastman Park was a swampy place and not the nice and curated park we see today. It was farmland and small farms was around the lake with a few families living in the area. The lady that has been roaming the place since the early 1800’s is said to have been the wife of one of those farmers, farming this swampy land.
A walk in the park: During the day, the Durand Eastman Parkis a pleasant place for a walk. But at night though remember there is a ghost story about Lady of the Lake in Rochester// Photo: DanielPenfield
Lady of the Lake in Rochester’s name, according to written accounts and oral storytelling, her name was Eelissa. She appeared in different shapes and forms. Sometimes she was told to be an old and ugly woman. In other variants of the legend, she is a youthful spirit of the lake, almost more like the mythical fairy from the stories than a real woman.
Through the generations the story has been passed down through the locals, the story about this Lady in White or Lady of the Lake that has been haunting the park since the early 1800s has taken some different roads along the way. But the main overview remains the same.
In one of the variations of this ghost story, Eelissa had an abusive husband that left her for another woman when he got tired from her. In her jealous rage, she killed them both when she realised she would be alone. It is said that this is why she is haunting the Durand Eastman Park, mistaking young couples for her husband and mistress.
Legend has it that she is a dangerous ghosts, still blinding by rage and keeps slaying them, again and again for revenge. This variant of the legend about the scorned woman turned deadly is a classic take on a ghost story to tell around the campfire, but it is certainly not the most famous take on this legend.
The variation retold the most about the Lady of the Lake in Rochester, is that the Lady of the Lake is a grieving mother more than a scorned woman. The ghost of her is seen around the beach of the park, looking for her daughter she lost. In some variation, the daughter ran away with a lover and away from her overprotective mother to live their life in peace. Left all alone she haunts the place waiting for the return of her daughter.
In other versions the daughter was brutally raped and murdered close to the lake. The mother was unable to go on after this when the culprits got away without punishment. The grieving mother looks for remains of her daughter to this day, as well as those who did her harm. In some variations of the story, she is accompanied by two ghost dogs, helping her in the search.
No matter how the story is told, one thing is a binding link: She still have an enormous mistrust in men, even in the afterlife. Perhaps because of the abusive husband, perhaps because of the man stealing her daughter away or because of the rapist and murderers that took the life of her daughter. Who knows really, perhaps it could be all of them?
She is therefore rumored to attack men that in some ways are: ‘hindering’ her mission and interrupting her search. So if you are a man taking a stroll in the Durand Eastman Park, beware so to not be hindering anyone.
The Castle Housing the Lady of the Lake in Durand Eastman Park
In the Durand Eastman Park, the ruins of a stone wall is hidden among the trees. It is called, the castle. The Castle is a common place to gather for parties and retelling of the legend of Lady of the Lake in Rochester. It has over the years also become a part of it. Whispers that it is actually a part of the Lady of the Lake’s house when she was alive, or that it used to be an insane asylum or even a cannon wall.
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But in reality the castle is just the remains of a dining hall that used to be there. Before the Great Depression this was a place people in the Durand Eastman Park could get some refreshments while strolling among the trees after it was built in 1911. But over the years after vandalism, even arson and the passing of time, this wall is all there remains of the building.
The Castle in the Park: In Durand eastman park, there is something that look like a castle that has become a part of the woman in white in Rochester.
Investigation The Lady of the Lake in Rochester
The blogger for The Rochester Subway, spoke to a Jenni Lynn that owns the Rochester Candlelight Ghost Walks that includes the ghost story about the Lady of the Lake in Rochester. She told that they had teamed up with local physic, Shelly Phillips to investigate the Lady of the Lake in Rochester once to get to the bottom of the matter. Could they possible find out anything about the ghost supposedly haunting Durand Eastman Park?
They had used several different equipment, including divining rods, EMF-detectors, temperature readers as well as noise monitors. According to Lynn, Phillips was able to stand behind the legend that Eelissa’s daughter ran away together with a local farm boy and that this was the true origin story of the legend.
Lynn also says she spoke with the local police, The Irondequoit Police Department to try to get some hard facts that could perhaps shed some light on the matter. According to her, there have been many reports to the police regarding the Lady of the Lake in Rochester and that people claimed to have seen her. These reports is maybe including even the police officers themselves when they have been patrolling the Durand Eastman Park.
Lady of the Lake: In Durand Eastman Park there are rumours about the ghost of a lady in white walking around the lake in search of her lost daughter.
It is worth noting though, the police department themselves have not confirmed this, and the stories about the Lady of the Lake in Rochester is for now just that, stories.
But then, there must be some historical records of this, right? Eelissa is such an uncommon name, and the place is well documented. But according to town historian Patricia Wayne, there are no such records, documents or proof that can verify the story. Even so, every year, reports of sightings every year comes in of people claiming to have seen the Lady of the Lake in Rochester.
The Lady in the Tree in Rochester
Telling of these ghost stories varies throughout the time, and sometimes there’s things that happens that gives new life into old stories. One thing that literary blew some new life into the story of The Lady of the Lake in Rochester though, happened in 2017. A forceful wind was storming around the Rochester area, awakening the ghost once more.
According to Democrat and Chronicle this storm seems to be the first that broke the story online when the wind ripped apart a chunk of wood from a tree in the Durand Eastman Park. It left in splintered in the form of a skull like female, that many believed to be the ghost of the Lady of the Lake in Rochester, centuries after the legend was born, reminding everyone that she was still here.
Can we say that Jordan Peele with his two movies, Get Out and Us, made his mark on horror cinema? Yes, I think we really can. His fine line of horror, social commentary and comedy is so well balanced it makes us wonder what the hell we were watching before. And it also have given a voice to black people through the genre as well as killing some tired tropes of black people dying pretty fast. So, here are some other horror movies that came before with some kick ass black protagonists in them.
Director George A. Romero’s classic, Night of the living dead, turned cinema upside down. He was a pioneer in many ways. That includes iconifying the zombies, casting a black man as his starring role, and letting him be the bad ass survivor that he was. It seems stupid by calling that a pioneer, but that is the stupid world we live in. In any case, the role of Ben, played by Duane Jones is still some of the most kick-ass characters in one of the most kick-ass movies there is.
Synopsis: A ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a bloodthirsty, flesh-eating breed of monsters who are ravaging the East Coast of the United States. Who knows what would have happened if the horror genre just continued to treat their black characters like this?
Director Danny Boyle, claims he didn’t set out to make a zombie movie, but no matter what his intentions were, he ended up with reinventing the whole genre. On the DVD commentary, Boyle explains that, with the aim of preserving the suspension of disbelief, relatively unknown actors were cast in the film. Cillian Murphy had starred primarily in small independent films, while Naomie Harris had acted on British television as a child. It is perhaps weird to think of her as a relative unknown actress today, but hey, the movie is a couple of years old, and Naomie Harries looks and kick-ass as she did back then. As the kick ass Selena, she is the one character that got the comic book spin off and that the audience follows. (Heads up: Most of the zombie-characters that are actually great and memorable are black. Remember Ben, Selena and Michonne. Whatever that is a metaphor for, I think we will leave to the reader.)
Synopsis: Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.
A lot of white actors were considered to play the lead role, including Tom Cruise, Nicolas Cage, Michael Douglas, Mel Gibson, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Ted Levine. It was after all what could be called: A confirmed white man. Whatever that mean, whatever, whatever. But it went to Will Smith when Francis Lawrence directed the movie, and gave way of putting many black characters in a blockbuster horror movie. As it should as Will Smith is sort of the only great thing about this movie. (Not to say I don’t like it, but…)
Synopsis: Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in New York City struggles valiantly to find a cure in this post-apocalyptic action thriller.
Yes, they did try to give Halle Berry a razzie for this role. But it is still alive and kicking on various streaming sites, and it is Halle Berry, so it makes the list. Her role was of a kick-ass, well educated black woman that saves the day and herself (of a white man’s oppression if we read into it a bit.) It is worth watching the movie if only for that fact, even if the script is a bit… well, silly…
Synopsis: A depressed female psychiatrist wakes up as a patient in the asylum where she worked, with no memory of why she is there or what she has done.
It might be more of a thriller than a horror actually, but it got Morgan Freeman in it, so hey! It is also so well received and made, it needs to be remembered. And I don’t think I need to tell anybody about how kick-ass Freeman is, it’s just the most unnecessary thing, we all know, he played GOD for heavens sake!
Synopsis: Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.
An online magazine about the paranormal, haunted and macabre. We collect the ghost stories from all around the world as well as review horror and gothic media.
