This article identifies and describes several Haunted houses in the Long Island/New York City area
Ghosts and hauntings have occupied the public interest for centuries. From the time that you were a child, the ghost stories you were told held you riveted to the storyteller. Although the fascination changed as we grew up, it still is a topic that is cause for great speculation. It is this interest that has led me to compile a listing of the more widely known "Haunts" in New York State.
Amityville, Long Island:
Amityville is located in the town of Babylon (Long Island). It is located at the junction of Route 110 and Sunrise Highway (Route 27). I will not give the street address as it is a private residence and the family that resides there has had their privacy invaded all too often by seekers of all denominations.
What compilation would be complete without at least a mention of this famous haunt. The DeFeo house is the object of the famous "Amityville Horror". As the story goes, 24-year-old Ronald DeFeo murdered his family one night in November of 1974. He told police that he was being directed by voices that told him to kill his family.
Unfortunately "Crime does not Pay," no matter who told you to do it and Ronald was sentenced to 6 consecutive life terms in prison.
In December of 1975, a year after the murders, George and Kathy Lutz purchased the home. By January of 1976 they vacated the premises without a word to their neighbors. Shortly thereafter, rumors began to spread that; evil spirits possessed the house. Not long after, the media picked up on the rumors and whipped the story up into headline news.
In 1977, the Lutzes had a book out and contracts signed for the movie rights. As we all know the book and the movie were overnight successes. So successful that Hollywood ground out 2 sequels. Unfortunately, none of the ASPR investigators were able to substantiate any of the Lutzes claims. They found no incidence of paranormal activity.
Some have speculated that the Lutzes were unable to pay the mortgage and concocted this story in order to capitalized on the publicity.
The present owners have reported no unusual activity in the house.
Brentwood, Long Island
Hermitage of the Red Owl:
The Hermitage used to stand near the railroad station on Brentwood Road, just south of Suffolk Avenue and directly across from the Mid-Island Baptist church.
In the late 1800's, Brentwood was the site of a Utopian community called Modern Times. People within the commune had total freedom. The only taboo in the commune was that profit was forbidden. Any supplies and household goods were sold at cost.
During the winter of 1877, one of the members of the commune, a Charles Godman, found a red owl freezing to death in the woods. He took the bird to his cabin and the mysterious bird began to talk. The story goes that the large owl sat on the back of a chair and explained that it was the spirit of an Indian chief named Oriwos. Continuing his story, the owl told Godman that Mohawks had murdered him and that his spirit was doomed to wander the earth until his bones were found and buried. When the owl had finished his story, he abruptly vanished from sight.
Godman began searching for the bones of Oriwos and within a few days, found them. They were located in a ravine behind his cabin under a pine tree. The ravine is now a shopping center located between First and Second Avenues on Brentwood Road.
3 days after Godman had buried the bones of Oriwos where he had found them, the red owl reappeared to Godman and thanked him. Godman was so impressed by his experience that he painted a portrait of the owl, wrote a book about his experience, and named his cottage "Hermitage of the Red Owl"
Stonybrook, Long Island
Country House Restaurant:
The Country House Restaurant is located on Route 25A in Stonybrook. Located in Suffolk County it can be accessed by taking the Long Island Expressway to Exit 62 North (Nicholls Road). Take Nicholl's Road north until it intersect Route 25A. This is just after the last entrance to SUNY Stonybrook.
The Country House Restaurant was originally an old farmhouse that was used as a stagecoach station in the late 1800's. It was built in 1710 and did not become a restaurant until 1960.
The restaurant had a community wide reputation for being haunted for many years. The present owner asked the PSRF to investigate and confirm the allegations. Rita Allen was dispatched and in the course of her investigation contacted the spirit of a young woman hanged by the British as a spy during the Revolutionary War.
The ghost is that of Annette Wilson, who is buried in a small graveyard on the property. She has been known to focus on the area in and around the kitchen. A towel has floated by several witnesses and a skeptical newsman has had a glass of wine thrown in his face.
Cutchogue, Long Island
The Wicham Farmhouse:
Located on the east end of Long Island on the Peconic Bay.
Today the farmhouse is a private residence. In 1988 the residents awoke to find the ghost of a man hovering over their bed. They promptly sealed the door and moved into another bedroom. The farmhouse has been in the Wicham family since 1854 but no one ventures into the master bedroom anymore.
The story behind the haunting is of a grisly, tandem murder. In 1854 James and Frances Wicham were hacked to pieces by a farm hand that had gone insane. Even with the master bedroom sealed, the sounds of the murderer's footsteps as he creeps through the second story hallway, can still be heard.
Glen Cove
Morgan Hall:
Located in northern Nassau County. Route 107 (Hicksville Road). Accessed easily from the Long Island Expressway (Route 495)
This is the estate of banker J.P. Morgan. He built the estate in 1910 and was used by the Russian government as their embassy. After the Russians gave it up, the Catholic Church took possession and converted it into a school and a convent.
Soon after the convent was occupied, the nuns began complaining of loud footsteps emanating from the hallways and attic at all hours of the night. Shortly thereafter, in October of 1965, windows on the third floor began opening and closing by themselves. The novice nuns were witnessing rumors of a spirit of a girl, wearing a long black dress. The spirit eventually revealed herself to one of these novices. She identified herself as Alice Morgan, the daughter of J.P Morgan who had succumbed to typhoid fever as a young girl.
Winfield Hall:
Today Winfield Hall is home to the corporate offices of the Pall Corporation. Prior to that, the mansion had been home to the Reynolds family (Reynolds's Aluminum) and the Downs School, a modeling academy from 1964 to 1977.
This is the former estate of F.W. Woolworth. 2 years following the construction of this mansion, Woolworth died. His death was caused by his overwhelming fear of dentists, which caused him to delay treatment of his infected teeth. The infection eventually overwhelmed him a caused his demise.
It had been rumored that during his short stay in the mansion that he dabbled in the "Black Arts". It is reported that he kept a black mirror that was used in occult rituals, in his master bedroom. His daughter Edna Winfield committed suicide in the house. The story goes on to state that the family's coat of arms cracked through the face of Edna (etched on the coat of arms) the night she killed herself. Ghostly organ music can be heard, at times, in the hallways. Also, 2 white mists have been seen floating from room to room.
New York Central Railroad Tracks:
The funeral train of Abraham Lincoln toured 1700 miles. It started in Washington, passed through New York, and then traveled to Illinois.
It is reported that Abraham Lincoln's funeral train reveals its ghostly image as it traces the route it took in 1865. On April 27th of every year the train makes its trip. The old steam engine has a wide smokestack with a polished brass boiler. A cadre of ghostly engineers, fireman, and oilers runs it. Other cars carry an entourage of ghostly mourners. A company of blue-coated soldiers also accompanies the train. It has been reported that the tracks appear to be covered with a black carpet as the train passes through a railroad station and all the clocks stop when it passes through.
New York City
Clinton Street Brownstone:
This is now a private residence in Brooklyn
This is a 100-year-old building in the heart of Brooklyn. It is reported that the ghost of Cesa Rist haunts this building. Her father, a doctor, was the owner of the house. She died while her father was performing an illegal abortion on her.
She became pregnant by her boyfriend and her father tried to abort the child at home. Unfortunately she died during the operation. Her family had her buried in the family plot in Denver, Colorado. It is rumored that her spirit wants to rest next to her one and only lover.
