Strange, huh? Many report feeling cold spots or something that doesn't allow them to leave, as well as lighter phenomena like the sounds of children's laughter. From the haunted gravestone of the Lady in Granite, to the creepy abandoned Insane Asylums there is a slew of spots that have a supernatural past all across the Finger Lakes region. Several of the huge brick buildings still stand, now abandoned and empty, just relics reminding visitors of the time when Lyon Mountain was a boomtown Adirondack village. Instead, take this haunted road trip in New York thatll take you to some of the most haunted places in the state (and you can visit these places legally). The abandoned buildings include a mess hall, various cabins, vinyl-curtained lean-tos, a campfire ring, and even a swimming pool. People have claimed to have seen the bride, especially on Halloween, wearing white and glowing as she floats above the road, looking for her husband. For half a century, paranormal activityhas been reported at theformer Munro House, including a transparent woman in a long dress named Sara, believed to have hung herself on the third floor. It is full of creepy places that serve as playgrounds for ghosts including an old asylum, an abandoned orphanage and a spooky old cemetery that is home to a statue that bleeds from its eyes! Eight people died in the 19th century Victorian mansion, and guests at the former inn say they've seen human and animal spirits, heard ghostly voices or seen objects moving on their own. A Gothic castle, all boarded up on the outskirts of Roscoe. New York State capitol building in Albany. Forest Park Cemetery -- Brunswick, N.Y. USA Today recommends this abandoned 1800s cemetery, also known as Pinewoods, located outside of Troy and closed to the public -- though the gates and. The company that bought it went bankrupt, leaving it to crumble. Follow us on social media to add even more wonder to your day. Read more from the Bennington Museum. For the future, he hopes to publish another book focusing just on kitchens in these abandoned homes and possibly spending time overseas doing similar explorations. The cottage is not currently open to the public, but tours have been offered in the past. When October comes around in Upstate New York, our thoughts turn to cider donuts, apple pies, hayrides, Halloween and spooky places. It is also one of the most beautiful and the most haunted. Once a dream home, the mansion and the grounds fell into disrepair, and in 1958, a fire destroyed most of the mansion leaving the Cornish's grand estate in ruins. It also killed over 50 men. It's unclear what causes the EMF mystery, but the city recently celebrated its claim to fame with a sign in the park for "Watertown's Area 51.". The village of Sharon Springs was once the vacation mecca for thousands of travelers in the beginning of the 20th century. Amazing stories, but visit at your own risk. The structure (known as Dundas Castle to many locals, after one of the many owners) is boarded up but easily accessible. The camp is open for tours on Saturdays. Buffalo's abandoned concrete grain elevators are getting a second life. Must be something in the water. This 19th century Victorian mansion is reportedly haunted by a woman in white, standing by the lake with a parasol, and the voice of a child looking for someone to play Hide-and-Seek with. Admission to the museum is by donation, suggested at $5 for adults, $1 for kids, $10 for. You will see enormous stone walls, towers, archer's windows, tall curved gateways and more. It started out in 1902 as the home of. Also, public events are held on the island sporadically. Financial troubles left it mostly unattended after the 1930s, with the exception of a volunteer who looked after it until his death in 1961. Stories of a curse and other not-kid-friendly hauntings are covered in summer and October "Hyde & Shriek!" Abandoned Subway - Rochester Zack Seward/Flickr Thompson Park allegedly contains a "vortex" to the past, where visitors are mysteriously transported to another portion of the park after a brief disappearance. The Adirondacks once was home to many theme parks. Frontier Town. Today, the wind whistles alone, only accompanied by the occasional urban explorer. Sign up for our newsletter and enter to win the second edition of our book. Visitors to the converted inn, including The Albany Paranormal Research Society (APRS), have long reported seeing ghosts and other paranormal activity. Batcheller Mansion Inn (Saratoga Springs). Originally opening as a tavern in 1704, there have been countless ghost stories to come out of this haunted hot spot in the past 300 years. Marc Rich. It opened in 1933 and was sold in 1998. Join us as we explore some of the most haunted places in Upstate NY. There are actually several haunted hotels in New York, but The Beekman Arms Inn is considered the most haunted. While there are haunted places all throughout the Empire State, nothing beats a good, old-fashioned haunted cemetery. People that have spent the night in the house hear strange noises that sound like ghosts, making "Spirits in the Castle" tours a fun visit in October. On Cedarvale Road, 60 years ago, a young married couple were thrown apart in a crash and died along the snaky drive. Today, legends include a pair of brothers who allegedly lived in the house and raided passing stage coaches, killing the occupants and burying them in the hills nearby. This is a carousel. When you visit, stop by the villages two historic hotel buildings: The 1842 American Hotel (1842) and the Roseboro Hotel, which operated as a hotel as far back as the 1850s. Now, after years of taking hundreds of photographs, Sansivero has turned them into a book titled American Decay. The book features homes from all over the country, but he said about 50% of photos in the book are homes in Upstate New York. It is an eclectic list containing a munitions castle, a quarry, a fading amusement park, the most glamorous hotel of the golden era, in the Catskills and several others. Like Atlas Obscura and get our latest and greatest stories in your Facebook feed. Sharon Springs was known as one of the state's best spa and resort towns.Doug Kerr from Upstate New York | CC BY-SA, Main Street, Sharon Springs (Schoharie County). The region has plenty of attractions perfect for a. For those that dare to spend the night, the Parkview is currently undergoing renovations to open up 11 "early 1900's style" hotel rooms. Towering over the village of Woodstock at about 3,000 feet, is the ruins of one of the Catskills most famous early resorts. Paranormal Investigators of Central New York owner Shawn Davis positions an infrared night vision ccd camera on the third floor of the Wayside Irish Pub, considered a hot spot for haunted activity. A mysterious, abandoned building rotting on the Brooklyn waterfront. The Hinsdale House may be one of the most haunted places in Western New York, according to WGRZ. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Remains of this short-lived mining town and rail station from the mid-nineteenth century can still be found near Harrisville in St. Lawrence County. In Livingston County, you can talk to the living dead by booking an overnight stay at this 19th century B&B that was once featured on the "Today" show. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Supposedly you can see the ghost of Abraham Lincoln in this summer home owned by Clara Harris, the woman who sat next to the president when he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Throughout the months of Sept. and Oct., the site offers several corn maze events (including night tours by moonlight for extra fun). This was the site of a munitions plant that exploded in 1918, killing more than 50 people. The home is open for select weekends and holidays throughout the year. While the remains of the fort are technically abandoned, it is considered a historic site and is being preserved. What began as a company town called Adirondac (owned by the Adirondack Iron Works Company) slowly went from bust to boom to bust. The mansion home is located on a large abandoned winery deep within the Hudson Valley. Located about an hour north of New York City, and sitting 1,000 feet out in the Hudson River, Bannermans Castle may be the most viewed of all of the abandoned places on this list. The castle was destroyed by fire in 1969. Students at this K-6 magnet school have reported seeing children enter a locked door with a hidden staircase to a classroom for disabled students, according toThe Free George. According toNBC, the more than a century old hotel near the National Baseball Hall of Fame was the private Knox School for Girls from 1920 to 1954. It's amazing how easily nature reclaims what we abandon. Located in Canajoharie, N.Y., the building once had an iconic sign.Teri Weaver | tweaver@syracuse.com, There are many abandoned places across Upstate New York. Beech-Nut is credited with inventing the first vacuum-sealed jar. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. The Jackson Sanatorium, known locally as The Castle on the Hill, was founded in the late 1800s by Caleb Jackson to be used as a health and wellness resort. , Bennett College, Millbrook, NY. Sometimes they are vacant and vast, while others retain furniture and clothes and photographs of their former owners. Lots of ghost stories surround the Belhurst Castle, including an opera singer named Isabella who died when a secret tunnel collapsed and a former caretaker, Dick O'Brien, who still walks the stairs or sits in his favorite chair more than 45 years after his death. According to the Haunted History Trail, the only man hanged in Wayne County was William Fee, right in the jail in 1860. A circus tent was painted on the ceiling in this room, but it's slowly peeled away over the years. Her spirit has been claimed to be seen near a fountain that was once where her body was buried. 9 Abandoned Buildings in Upstate NY's Lake George Region Marc Rich 7. Some rooms are more haunted than others, but the tavern is the most haunted spot of them all. This one was designed by the famous Henry Hobson Richardson. It's no secret Upstate New York has many haunted locations. Catskill Game Farmwas one of the most enchanting, popular animal game farms in the East until it was closed for good on Columbus Day in 2006. A post shared by Bryan Sansivero. It was also a favorite with entertainers performing late-night shows at the Borscht Belt nightclubs. You don't have to look very hard in upstate New York to see signs of our past. A little ways south of the village of Lake George sits Barkersville, the location of one of the state's . A museum was constructed on the site to educate school groups and visitors. Plans to demolish the neighborhood were set in place in 2016. At the south end of Lake Georgeis a ghostly bride, some say, looking for her husband after they were murdered while sleeping on their honeymoon in the 1960s. Each of these 10 tells of a. Guests can stay in the haunted B&B year-round. The remains of what was once the world's steepest passenger funicular. Canfield Casino in Congress Park (Saratoga Springs). Then, the homes became the main attraction. The Phelps store and Palmyra Historical Museum offer double the spooky fun, with evidence of spiritual happenings recorded by several groups of investigators. Photographer Bryan Sansivero has spent years exploring and documenting homes across Upstate New York that have been left to the ravages of time. Feel free to walk around the paths, though, and bring your camera to see if you can capture anything paranormal in your photographs. It covers more than 400 acres and has the feel and character of a rural cemetery. Word is people sometimes see or hear her when working late at night on the top and bottom floors of the courthouse. Click through the slideshow above to learn about a few sites around upstate New York that were once thriving and have now fallen to ruin. The efforts have been in fits and starts, but it looks like the historic 550,000 square foot manufacturing plant is disappearing in small bites. Be warned although this is a popular and fascinating place to explore, you should do so with great caution. This is another resort similar to Grossinger's. From Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3pK2VxglxQ, , Solvay, NY. The college closed due to financial struggles in the 1970s. Located near Syracuse, this old quarry has an incredible history to it. This old, abandoned, former mill site was once one of the first shopping centers to locate in the Mohawk Valley. Seven miles east of Lyons is a bed-and-breakfast frequented by tourists and ghost hunters. , Binghamton. The inn, previously known as Point Lookout Inn, was once the site of a murder. Sometimes, city dwellers just need a break from the chaos of urban life in order to relax. If you want real scares that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, then grab a flashlight and enjoy our list of truly haunted places in Upstate NY. For 135 years, this magnificent health spawas a major draw to the village of Dansville. The resort closed in 1986 and has fallen into decay and ruin. The Old Stone Barracks were once part of the Plattsburgh Air Force Base, which saw its last remaining units leave in 1995. Back in the day, when it was known as "Vacationland," the region hosted several fun parks which carried names like Storytown, U.S.A., and Frontier Town. The site has been restored and transformed to be the home of the Valcour Brewing Company, but the ghosts may still take up residence within structure. The 1755 British-built fort is part of New York's Haunted History Trail, which maps out places where there have been claims of paranormal activity and invites tourists to see for themselves. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). The Greater Western New York Paranormal Society (GWNYPS), known for the docu-series "Behind the Shadows," regularly leads ghost tours of this 1923 hotel, built by Ellsworth Statler, where some guests apparently never checked out. Doors slamming, sounds of whistling, smells of tobacco and perfume, lights flickering and other phenomenahave led to theories that she was murdered, committed suicide or died during childbirth or illness. The outlet mall also housed two restaurants (one with an outdoor deck) and an OTB betting parlor. According toNYFalls.com, she lost her daughter (to kidnapping, murder or ran away) and continues to search for her while dressed in all white. There are plans to convert it to apartments similar to Harmony Mills in Cohoes. While many of the, Muttontown Preserve, Muttontown, NY 11791, USA, One of the most popular places to visit when people take the time to explore Roosevelt Island is the ruins of this, Smallpox Memorial Hospital, E Rd, New York, NY 10044, USA, Closing its doors back in 1978, the women's college originally opened up back in 1890. 2. Note: This is not a bunch of hayrides with fake graves and people in creepy clown costumes jumping out to make you scream. Today the main building called, On the Hudson River down near New York City, Pollepel Island is home to some of New York's most beautiful ruins. The ruins, including a stone mausoleum and large headless statue, still stand. Johnsontown 9. This ghost minein the Adirondacksholds a fascinating footnote in history. Squatters and the homeless routinely make this their nightly resting place. The last of the original cement mines closed in 1970. Fun factoid? Some are off-limits, others beg exploration, and a few are even trying to make their comeback. The Historic Naples Hotel has been "keeping travelers happy since 1895" -- so happy, that some refuse to leave. The abandoned site was used beginning in the mid-nineteenth century. The home is supposedly haunted by ghostly voicesand footsteps and even a flying candlestick. The Haunted History Trail says this former railroad hotel built in the late 1800s boasts a variety of unexplained experiences, including visions of two women having tea in the Fainting Room, footsteps heard on a staircase that no longer exists, and a little boy moving a chair and spilling gumballs. Did Juliette Gordon Low, Samuel F.B. I thought, these houses are really cool and how could all of this stuff be left behind? he said. We wish them well in the future. Since he shot photos of the home two years ago, it has now been sold and renovated. Bryan Sansivero. The Utica Psychiatric Center's "Old Main" periodically reopens to the public for tours of the former lunatic asylum. Haunted places in Upstate NY: 87 spooky sites to visit (if you dare). Legend has it the park is haunted by a "White Lady," the ghost of a woman who once lived in the 3 Lakes Pavilion (also known as the White Lady's Castle) near Lake Ontario. Now, he is publishing them and others in a book titled, "American Decay," now available. Allegiance Bed & Breakfast (Mount Morris). One of upstates most beautiful and most popular areas is Lake George. Discover 69 abandoned places in New York State. All around New York urban explorers can visit a variety of neglected locations that have been left to do nothing but crumble away with time. OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. The Burrville Cider Mill offers freshly pressed sweet apple cider and fried cider donuts so good the previous owners don't want to leave. Was built by a millionaire in the early 1880s. 3. Construction on this massive Gothic facilitybegan in 1858. Groups can rent the space for a meal and a guided ghost tour. Spirits even have charming nicknames, like Limper (who creeps with uneven footsteps) and the Slammer (who slams doors, of course). Another haunted place near Lake George? What to know. In this April 14, 2016 photo, General Manager Marc Violino stands outside The Rapids Theatre in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Visitors say they've seen candles flying off the fireplace mantel, lights flickering, chandeliers swaying and translucent figures -- possibly including the cottage's namesake, William Casey. USA Today recommends this abandoned 1800s cemetery, also known as Pinewoods, located outside of Troy and closed to the public -- though the gates and fencing have been removed. Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you. Buffalo State Hospital. This castle on the Hudson was actually a surplus military goods warehouse. You can book your own ghost hunt and see for yourself. 3. TheHaunted History Trailrecommends this 42-room house built in 1889 by Charles Knox. Inquiries: Lmonroe@onlyinyourstate.com, The Abandoned Pines Resort In New York Is One Of The Eeriest Places In America, Theres Something Truly Terrifying About This Abandoned Insane Asylum, The Incredible Hike In New York That Will Lead You To An Abandoned Plane Crash, This Fascinating New York Subway System Has Been Abandoned And Reclaimed By Nature For Decades Now, Most People Have Long Forgotten About This Vacant Ghost Town In Rural New York, The Creepiest Hike In New York Takes You Through The Ruins Of An Abandoned Asylum, Follow This Abandoned Railroad Trail For One Of The Most Unique Hikes In New York, The New York Ghost Town Thats Perfect For An Autumn Day Trip. A post shared by Jennifer Campbell (@_jennycamp) on Jul 13, 2014 at 7:32pm PDT. The Salt City's most famous haunted venue is this theater, home to a woman named Clarissa since she fell off a balcony to her death in 1930. Mysterious occurrences are frequently reported at Casey's Cottage, located on Lake Ontario at Mexico Point State Park. Discover Welwyn Preserve in Glen Cove, New York: The abandoned grounds and derelict greenhouses of this once-magnificent Edwardian estate are now a nature preserve open for exploration. Others have claimed to see ghosts in the bathroom or heard children's laughter when there are no kids on the grounds. Francis Bannerman VI built it in 1901 to house millions of rounds of military munitions, of which he was a major dealer. Chittenango is best known as the home of "The Wizard of Oz" author L. Frank Baum, but the dry docks along the Erie Canal are allegedly hauntedby victims of thieves and murderers, searching for justice. A forgotten relic from New York's bygone trolley system hides in plain sight under a bridge. File photo of Bannerman's Castle and residence on Pollopel Island. Also, the more well-known a property gets, the higher the risk of it being trashed and graffitied. Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds were married at Grossingers.