New York

 

Lily Dale – Chautauqua County

Background:

Lily Dale is a spiritualist community allegedly built on supernatural ground. The town was founded in 1879 by William Alden and his family who hosted spiritual picnics and small gatherings on the land.¹⁾Fortmiller, Sandra P. 2006. “A ‘Dale’ By Any Other Name.” National Spiritualist Association of Churches of the United States of America. Feb 26. Lily Dale eventually became the world headquarters²⁾Haunted History Trail of New York State. n.d. “Lily Dale Assembly.” Haunted History Trail of New York State. Accessed Oct 2021. for the Spiritualist Church.³⁾Hauck, Dennis. 1996. Haunted Places: The National Director. New York: Penguin Books.

Spiritualism is quite an eclectic and free-thinking religion that believes, in essence, that spirits talk to the living. Mediums engage with the dead to draw out these dialogs.⁴⁾Kelly, Erin. 2019. “Lily Dale, New York: One of Spiritualism’s Last Bastions.” allthatsinteresting. Aug 15. The religion derived from the philosophies of Swedish mystic Emanuel Swedenborg and French physician Franz Anton Mesmer.⁵⁾Webster, Janet. n.d. “The History of Mediumship in Lily Dale, NY.” Pychics Directory. Accessed Oct 2021.

Spiritualism became more widespread after the staggering number of lives lost during the Civil War. Spiritualism offered devastated and grief-stricken mourners “a means to communicate with their lost loved ones and find a sort of closure.”⁶⁾Webster, Janet. n.d. “The History of Mediumship in Lily Dale, NY.” Pychics Directory. Accessed Oct 2021.

Lily Dale hosts an annual meeting where “thousands of mediums gather.”⁷⁾Hauck, Dennis. 1996. Haunted Places: The National Director. New York: Penguin Books. Several famous people have visited Lily Dale: Susan B. Anthony, Annie Besant, Deepak Chopra, John Edwards, James Van Praagh, etc.⁸⁾Webster, Janet. n.d. “The History of Mediumship in Lily Dale, NY.” Pychics Directory. Accessed Oct 2021. People who live and visit say the place overflows with mystical energy. The Reverend Sandra P. Fortmiller writes in her post about Lily Dale entitled, “A ‘Dale’ by Any Other Name,”:

There is something about the energy in Lily Dale. It seems whatever you need, if you will go and find a comfortable spot, sit and pray, asking for what is important to you, someone will come to you with help. They might be in the physical or someone from the spiritual, but it is as though questions are answered quickly here if a person takes the time to be open to receive.

Paranormal experiences:

Reportedly, Lily Dale has three haunted places:

• Inspiration Stump. The stump supposedly has “supernatural properties” that can be used to channel spirits.⁹⁾Ghost Quest. n.d. “Folklore and Haunted Locations Guide: Lily Dale, New York.” Ghost Quest. Accessed Oct 2021. People have witnessed apparitions around the stump.
• Lily Dale Assembly Hall is the gathering place for spiritualists. People have encountered the ghost of a bearded man, and they sometimes feel cold spots.
• The Maplewood Hotel. Several spirits are reportedly at the hotel. Witnesses have seen shadow people and ghosts. They’ve also heard footsteps. Some are reportedly awakened “in the middle of the night by a shadowy entity.”¹⁰⁾Ghost Quest. n.d. “Folklore and Haunted Locations Guide: Lily Dale, New York.” Ghost Quest. Accessed Oct 2021.

Eerie Factor:

I would imagine the supernatural energy is greatly felt. Reports indicate so. Ghosts are likely a mainstay at Lily Dale, especially given that mediums live and are educated there.

Danger Factor: Low

While ghosts may live and communicate there, little to no evidence exists to prove any malevolent force.

Bonus: Lily Dale is featured in the TV series, Supernatural. Check out a short trailer here.

Gallery:

Children at playground in Lily Dale, 1910 - picryl

The pagoda in Lily Dale, NY, 1898-ish - picryl

Clipping from New-York tribune. August 03, 1908, Page 5

Clipping from the 1939 Lily Dale Assembly booklet

 

Wildwood Sanitarium – Chautauqua County

Background:

Wildwood Sanitarium initially opened as “Sunnyside Sanitarium” in 1906,¹¹⁾Walls, Kathleen. 2018. “Wildwood Sanitarium: Do You Want to Spend the Night?” American Roads and Global Highways. Sept 1. a one-of-a-kind holistic health center focused on osteopathic medicine.¹²⁾Haunted History Trail of New York State. n.d. “The Wildwood Sanitarium.” Haunted History. Accessed Oct 2021. Doctors John Henderson and Carroll Perry,¹³⁾Great Lakes Ghost Hunters of Michigan. n.d. “Wildwood Sanitarium and Osteopathic Hospital.” Great Lakes Ghost Hunters of Michigan. Accessed Oct 2021. opened the site. They focused on the individual and treated everything but infectious diseases using holistic medicines and “modern therapies like UV light, electric battery baths and bone stretching to name a few.”¹⁴⁾Wildwoods Sanitarium. n.d. “Wildwoods Sanitarium: Our History.” Wildwoods Sanitarium. Accessed Oct 2021. The sanitarium also offered a bath house in the basement. A sign on the structure says:

The sanitarium and bath house is now open and for the treatment of all conditions except infectious and contagious diseases. We have endeavored to make the conditions inside the house as pleasant as possible and will try to give each patient individual attention.¹⁵⁾Iron City Paranormal. 2021. “Wildwood Sanitarium — History.” Iron City Paranormal. Feb 16.

In 1923, Wildwood became a tuberculosis treatment clinic. Years later, the sanitarium returned to holistic health, but never really bounced back. Strangely, both Henderson and Perry died in 1941. Ownership of the building changed hands several times. The structure even became apartments at one point.¹⁶⁾Haunted History Trail of New York State. n.d. “The Wildwood Sanitarium.” Haunted History. Accessed Oct 2021. Wildwood fell into ruin until it was purchased and fully restored.

Paranormal Experiences:

• Construction workers and the current owner experienced unexplained incidents once renovations began.¹⁷⁾Iron City Paranormal. 2021. “Wildwood Sanitarium — History.” Iron City Paranormal. Feb 16.
• Whispers seemed to come through the walls. People in lab coats walked the halls.¹⁸⁾Iron City Paranormal. 2021. “Wildwood Sanitarium — Investigation.” Iron City Paranormal. March 11.
• Shadow people and orbs have been seen.
• People reportedly were touched, scratched, or pushed, “as if they are not welcome there.”¹⁹⁾Iron City Paranormal. 2021. “Wildwood Sanitarium — Investigation.” Iron City Paranormal. March 11.
• The owner of the building claims “one of the patients may have hanged themselves near a window on the second floor. Strangely enough, this same location attracts swarms of flies” that won’t go away.²⁰⁾Paranormal Dares. n.d. “A Recap of our Findings at Wildwood Sanitarium.” Paranormal Dares. Accessed Oct 2021.
• People reportedly have faced a “dark entity.” They claim to have “experienced a cold, aggressive grip on their shoulders. Some have even reported a scratching sensation on their chests.”²¹⁾Paranormal Dares. n.d. “A Recap of our Findings at Wildwood Sanitarium.” Paranormal Dares. Accessed Oct 2021.

Eerie Factor: 

Sanitariums and hospitals and clinics and asylums all have about the same creepy factor (especially the abandoned ones). Sickness, disease, or death feature in all of them.

Danger Factor: Medium to High

Whatever lingers at the Wildwood Sanitarium building allegedly has the capacity to harm the living. The “dark entity” possibly implies some kind of demonic force.

Gallery:

Dr. Carroll W Perry - According to Great Lakes Ghost Hunters of Michigan website

Dr. John Henderson - According to Great Lakes Ghost Hunters of Michigan website

Caption reads in part: ". . . Cattaraugus County . . . recently appropriated $10,000 for . . . an addition to the County tuberculosis sanatorium." Within one year, TB cases increased 110 percent.

Wildwood Sanitarium from Olean Times Herald Oct 24, 2021 - closer image

 

North Carolina

 

Demon Dog of Valle Crucis – Watauga County

Valle Crucis is Latin for “Valley of the Cross.” The town was named for the “two streams which meet at right angles in the middle of the valley.”²²⁾North Carolina Ghosts. n.d. “The Demon Dog of Valle Crucis.” North Carolina Ghosts. Accessed Oct 2021. In Valle Crucis, something otherworldly has appeared at the old St. John’s Episcopal²³⁾National Purebred Dog Day. 2017. “The Demon Dog of Valle Crucis.” National Purebred Dog Day. Oct 31. graveyard.

Two men²⁴⁾Some sources claim they were Appalachian State students. passed by the old church as they traveled on Highway 194. Suddenly, a large, mysterious figure sprang in front of them. The driver swerved to avoid hitting the thing, slammed on the brakes, and stopped at the side of the road. He looked back, his eyes quickly widening at the sight of a massive dog, “as tall and wide as a full-grown man,” with coarse black fur, huge yellow canines, and eyes that glowed like a “smoldering red light.”²⁵⁾North Carolina Ghosts. n.d. “The Demon Dog of Valle Crucis.” North Carolina Ghosts. Accessed Oct 2021. The dog moved toward them with purpose. The driver wrenched the car in gear and sped off. But the dog followed steadily behind them, moving faster and faster, until it ultimately outran the car. The beast kept its pursuit until the car crossed a bridge and drove past those two streams diverging into a cross.²⁶⁾North Carolina Ghosts. n.d. “The Demon Dog of Valle Crucis.” North Carolina Ghosts. Accessed Oct 2021.

Stories about the demon dog have existed since the 1800s. In 1862, for example, a number of people were found dead in the woods near St. John’s Episcopal church. A local preacher alleged the culprit was a demon dog.²⁷⁾Kincaid, Ezekiel. 2020. “The Demon Dog of Valle Crucis, North Carolina, an Urban Legend.” Puzzle Box Horror. June 26.

Other people claim to have seen the beast. A Reddit user said he saw the creature after he and his family drove past the church cemetery. The dog followed behind the family van. The Reddit user said the beast “had the head and scruff of a great black wolf. The body was of a man almost, though the arms were too long. And it was standing upright on two muscular legs.”²⁸⁾Swancer, Brent. 2019. “The Mysterious Demon Dog of North Carolina.” Mysterious Universe. Feb 23. The dog also had eyes like “two cigar embers but with a yellow iris.”²⁹⁾Swancer, Brent. 2019. “The Mysterious Demon Dog of North Carolina.” Mysterious Universe. Feb 23.

One evening, a woman and her husband drove by the church graveyard, came upon the creature, and stopped. At first, they thought it was a large bear. But the red glowing eyes and canine teeth told them otherwise. She said the dog was mastiff-like “but much larger, all muscular and bunched up, with scraggly hair stuck up in all directions.” The creature rapidly ran toward them “at full speed,” then, as soon as they braced themselves, it suddenly disappeared.

An interesting question: Is the dog evil or protective? Folklore says the first person buried in a graveyard is tasked to protect it for eternity. A black dog is often buried in the human’s stead to protect the graveyard.³⁰⁾Jackson. 2018. “Demon Dog of Valle Crucis.” cryptidarticles.tumblr.com. July 2.

Eerie Factor:    

Who wouldn’t be creeped out, not to mention scared poo-less, of some giant dog creature with red eyes chasing after your vehicle?

Danger Factor: Low to Medium

Though the creature appears terrifying and chases after random cars, the only evidence the dog harms people is the aforementioned account by the local preacher in Watauga County. No reports or newspaper accounts seem to exist, however.

No images available for gallery

 

Tsali – Jackson and Swain Counties

Background:

Between 1830 and 1850, the United States government forcibly removed tens of thousands of Native Americans and made them travel West on a journey through the Trail of Tears. Many from the Cherokee tribe petitioned to stay in the North Carolina-Tennessee-Georgia regions. White settlers and the Cherokee tribe solved everything through their own signed agreement.³¹⁾The Franklin Press and The Highlands Maconian. 1939. “Ghost of Tsali Blocks Way to New Blue Ridge Parkway.” The Franklin Press and The Highlands Maconian, Sept 1: 4. Some of the tribe agreed to move.³²⁾All the U.S. government seemingly needed was one signed agreement, which they received in the Treaty of New Echota. The Cherokee, however, never recognized the group who signed the document as leaders of their tribe. Jackson disregarded any documents favoring the Cherokee (besides a Supreme Court ruling) and ordered General Winfield Scott to take 7,000 federal troops and remove the tribe. The soldiers forced the Cherokee into stockades using bayonets. Cherokee women were raped and some were killed.³³⁾Four thousand Cherokee died from sickness, exhaustion, cold, or starvation on the Trail of Tears.

A Cherokee man named Tsali (known as “Charlie” by white settlers) was the kind of person who minded his own business. When the troops came, he and his wife, three sons (Lowney, Ridges, and Wasituna),³⁴⁾The Sylva Herald and Republic. 1950. “Tsali, Who Died for His People, to be Immortalized.” The Sylva Herald and Republic, June 22: 15. and a brother obeyed the removal order. Things went fairly smooth for the family until one of the soldiers “whipped [Tsali’s wife] and prodded her with his bayonet.”³⁵⁾Carter, Samuel. 1946. Cherokee Sunset: A Nation Betrayed. Garden City: Doubleday. Sources differ on the reason why the soldier did so. One source said Tsali’s wife fell and the soldier jabbed her to move on. Another says she stopped to care for her baby. Yet another source says the soldiers “caused the death of Tsali’s youngest child.”³⁶⁾Finger, John R. 1996. “Tsali (Charley).” NCPedia.

Whatever the reason, Tsali burned with rage due to the cruel treatment. He, his family, and other Native Americans planned an escape. According to the 1950 article “Tsali Who Died for His People, to be Immortalized,” in The Sylva Herald and Ruralite newspaper, Tsali said the following:

When we reach the turn in the trail, I will trip and fall, I will complain of my ankle. The soldiers will halt. You [the three sons and one brother] will leap upon the soldiers and disarm them. We will escape into the hills.

A soldier was killed accidentally during their escape.³⁷⁾The Cherokee Scout. 1938. “107-Year-Old Cherokee Indian Recalls Exodus of Tribe Century Ago.” The Cherokee Scout, Nov 17.

Tsali, his sons, and his “fugitive braves” hid in the mountains. The total in the resistance reached over 1,000. Around half of these were led by a Cherokee named Utsala.³⁸⁾The Cherokee Scout. 1938. “107-Year-Old Cherokee Indian Recalls Exodus of Tribe Century Ago.” The Cherokee Scout, Nov 17. The other half (around 60 percent) were led by Tsali. All research I came across said the Cherokee resistance was very successful. Sources vary as to what happened next.

One story says General Scott (or one of his men) made a secret deal with Utsala. If he gave up Tsali and his men, the federal troops would abort their mission and “obtain permission” for the remaining Cherokee to stay.³⁹⁾The Cherokee Scout. 1938. “107-Year-Old Cherokee Indian Recalls Exodus of Tribe Century Ago.” The Cherokee Scout, Nov 17. Tsali got wind of this proposal and “agreed to surrender,” saying, “I don’t want to be hunted down by my own people.”

In another account, General Scott relayed the deal to Will Thomas, a white man who was the adopted son of Cherokee Chief Yonaguska. Thomas conveyed the message to Tsali, who surrendered, along with his sons, wife, and brother.

Tsali, his brother, and two of his sons were executed shortly after their surrender. Tsali’s wife was set free and the youngest son, Wasituna⁴⁰⁾Wasituna and his mother went back to the home they lived in. He later remarried and had a family. was released because “he was only a boy of twelve.”⁴¹⁾The Sylva Herald and Republic. 1950. “Tsali, Who Died for His People, to be Immortalized.” The Sylva Herald and Republic, June 22: 15.

Tsali’s sacrifice has not been forgotten. He is considered a martyr and the Cherokee’s “tribal hero.” His grave now rests under two hundred feet of water. The land was flooded to build the Fontana Dam.⁴²⁾The Sylva Herald and Republic. 1950. “Tsali, Who Died for His People, to be Immortalized.” The Sylva Herald and Republic, June 22: 15. An outdoor drama was written about Tsali called Unto These Hills. A short video introduction to the performance can be found here.

Paranormal Experiences:

• Hikers have seen a strange shadow figure in the forest that disappeared as quick as a flash. The shadow figure comes back at night “silhouetted tall in the sky against the bright moon.”⁴³⁾The Moonlit Road. n.d. “Tsali: North Carolina Cherokee Ghost Story.” The Moonlit Road. Accessed Nov 2021.
• The Eastern Band of Cherokees allegedly believe the figure is Tsali “returning to wander forever through the majestic hills he loved.”⁴⁴⁾The Moonlit Road. n.d. “Tsali: North Carolina Cherokee Ghost Story.” The Moonlit Road. Accessed Nov 2021.

Eerie Factor:  

The Appalachian Mountains can be creepy for some people. Strange sights and sounds sometimes do occur. A shadow person would scare the bejesus out of just about anybody.

Danger Factor: Low

No evidence or reports suggest Tsali’s spirit is harmful.

Gallery

Cherokee boy and girl, 1939 - Snappygoat

Dennis Wolfe - a full-blooded Cherokee Indian, Cherokee, NC - 1980, photographer Carol Highsmith - Wikimedia

Cherokee mother and home - Snappygoat (Sometime between 1921-1971)

Postcard of Cherokee Native Americans, 1960-1979 - picryl

William Holland Thomas - Wikipedia

General Winfield Scott,1835 - Wikipedia

"On the Indian reservation, Cherokee, NC" January 1909

 

Ohio

 

Prospect Place – Muskingum County

 

Background:

George Willison “G.W.” Adams was an abolitionist from Virginia who emancipated his slaves before he moved to the free state of Ohio. He and his family were highly successful flour mill merchants. During the Civil War, he gave the Union his land for a “right of way to both the Panhandle and the Cincinnati & Muskingum Valley railroad companies,”⁴⁵⁾Sutor, J. Hope. 1905. Past and Present of the City of Zanesville and Muskingum County, Ohio. Chicago. thereby providing a supply chain. His home, Prospect Place, was built by paid labor.

The twenty-nine-room, 9,500 square feet⁴⁶⁾Travel Channel. n.d. “Prospect Place’s Haunted History.” Travel Channel. Accessed Oct 2021. mansion was gorgeous, standing three stories high with a large two-story extension. The roof shone with a blazoned glow of copper panels. Then, the night before the move-in, the house mysteriously burned to the ground.⁴⁷⁾The G.W. Adams Educational Center. n.d. “Historic Prospect Place.” The G.W. Adams Educational Center. Accessed Oct 2021. Though several stories emerged as to what caused the fire (including a Native American culprit named “Satan”), most sources point to the hired bricklayer George Blackburn. Blackburn “supposedly bragged in a drunken stupor to someone . . . of having burned the mansion in order to generate more work for himself.”⁴⁸⁾The G.W. Adams Educational Center. n.d. “Historic Prospect Place.” The G.W. Adams Educational Center. Accessed Oct 2021. Some sources say Blackburn went to prison for the arson. However, researchers found no evidence he spent a day in jail over it.

Prospect Place was rebuilt “identical to the first in every way.”⁴⁹⁾The G.W. Adams Educational Center. n.d. “Historic Prospect Place.” The G.W. Adams Educational Center. Accessed Oct 2021. The mansion became a stopover on the Underground Railroad. Adams’s mills also “served as safe houses for runaway slaves.”⁵⁰⁾Travel Channel. n.d. “Prospect Place’s Haunted History.” Travel Channel. Accessed Oct 2021. Slaves were hidden in the Prospect Place basement. Some slaves arrived injured, ill, or mortally wounded. The family helped or healed whenever possible, but some slaves died in the home. Legend says an underground tunnel existed but historians have yet to find it. Adams also reportedly “smuggled slaves out of the South on flatboats during business trips to New Orleans.”⁵¹⁾Travel Channel. n.d. “Prospect Place’s Haunted History.” Travel Channel. Accessed Oct 2021.

Bounty hunters in search of runaway slaves (or any person of color, free or not) approached the home on several occasions. Allegedly, one of those bounty hunters came to Prospect Place and demanded to have all the slaves G.W. Adams harbored. Legend says Adams refused and fought with the man. One source says slaves ran to help Adams. Another source says they were ranch hands. I’m inclined to believe they were ranch hands who were once slaves. In any case, the bounty hunter fled, only to be caught by these men and hanged inside a barn.⁵²⁾Anomalien. 2020. “The Haunted Prospect Place in Ohio.” Anomalien. Sept 24.

After G.W.’s death in 1879, the mansion went to his daughter Anna and her husband William Cox. The family history kind of has the weird factor here. Cox spent a crapload of money remodeling and updating the home. He was famous for holding lavish and extravagant parties there. Then, one day he mysteriously disappeared. Anna’s friend claimed she saw William Cox in San Francisco, California. She had no idea Cox had disappeared. She “advanced towards him calling his name” but he seemed annoyed, and “hastily swept by her.”⁵³⁾The G.W. Adams Educational Center. n.d. “Historic Prospect Place.” The G.W. Adams Educational Center. Accessed Oct 2021. She followed him but he eluded her. After this encounter, he was never seen or heard from again. No one knows the reason Cox disappeared. He may have squandered his wife’s money. He may have wanted to be single again, or return to family in San Francisco. Whatever the reason, his time was fairly short in California. He lived in a hotel in San Francisco for years. Cox is believed to have died when the hotel was destroyed by the horrible 7.9 magnitude earthquake in 1906.⁵⁴⁾The G.W. Adams Educational Center. n.d. “Historic Prospect Place.” The G.W. Adams Educational Center. Accessed Oct 2021.

Anna’s son, George Cox, inherited Prospect Place then sold it to Cox Gravel Company. Tourists were welcomed in 1976, but the mansion wasn’t properly maintained. After the roof leaked and caused several floors to collapse, it was deemed unsafe and subsequently boarded up. Vandals broke into the structure on several occasions and caused “terrible damage.”⁵⁵⁾The G.W. Adams Educational Center. n.d. “Historic Prospect Place.” The G.W. Adams Educational Center. Accessed Oct 2021. The house was scheduled to be destroyed in 1988 until Dave Longaberger bought it and started its repair and preservation. Longaberger passed away before the project’s completion. In 2001, the home became the property of descendant George Jeffrey Adams, founder of the G.W. Adams Educational Center.

Paranormal Experiences:

• The bounty hunter’s angry spirit allegedly haunts the barn, where people have felt an evil presence and something touching them.⁵⁶⁾Anomalien. 2020. “The Haunted Prospect Place in Ohio.” Anomalien. Sept 24.
• One slave woman arrived at Prospect Place with a grave head injury. Her spirit supposedly lives in the basement area and is considered friendly, helpful, and protective.⁵⁷⁾Anomalien. 2020. “The Haunted Prospect Place in Ohio.” Anomalien. Sept 24.
• Shadow figures have been seen.
• The home was a makeshift hospital for nearby train accident victims. Their spirits have also been witnessed.⁵⁸⁾Old Houses under $50K. n.d. “The Haunted House of Prospect Place Ohio.” Old Houses Under $50K. Accessed Oct 2021.
• Some have seen G.W. Adams’s ghost on the staircase. His wife’s ghost has reportedly been seen on the second floor.
• A girl who was sick with a fever wandered toward the balcony one night⁵⁹⁾Ghost Research. n.d. “Prospect Place Investigation.” Ghost Research. Accessed Oct 2021. and allegedly fell from the second floor and died. Her body was kept on ice during the winter until she could be buried after spring thaw.⁶⁰⁾Live Scifi Tv. 2012. “Prospect Place History, and Hauntings.” Live Scifi Tv . Jan 22. Her ghost has been seen in various rooms. People have heard a girl’s footsteps and laughter.
• Satanists allegedly met and performed rituals in the house. Demonic activity has been reported in particuar rooms.⁶¹⁾Live Scifi Tv. 2012. “Prospect Place History, and Hauntings.” Live Scifi Tv . Jan 22. A cross was painted on the wall in the ballroom to hide satanic graffiti.⁶²⁾Ghost Research. n.d. “Prospect Place Investigation.” Ghost Research. Accessed Oct 2021.

Eerie Factor:      

Images of the home’s interior are downright creepy. Like The Exorcist. Or The Rite.

Danger Factor: Medium

The presence of angry or vengeful spirits and the potential demonic presence offsets any harmless spirit at Prospect Place. Plus, Satanists.

Gallery:

George Willison Adams - gwacenter.org

Prospect Place - Wikipedia

Prospect Place interior from Old Houses Under 50 K

Prospect Place interior - From Old Houses Under 50 K

William Cox - from Old Houses Under 50 K