As October descends upon the Lake George Area, tales of yesteryear and ghost stories are shared in preparation for Halloween… do you believe that the region’s history has conjured spirits with unfinished business? Dare to be scared, and visit these supposedly haunted locations to decide for yourself if ghosts are real.
Certified Haunts
Fort William Henry
Fort William Henry, a historical stronghold in the French and Indian War, was a place of violent warfare, illness, and death. Needless to say, the souls of British and French causalities remain active centuries later. The fort is an official stop along the Haunted History Trail of New York State.
*Fort William Henry Haunted History Tours are held late May through late October; reservations required. Your fearless guide will lead you around the fort by candlelight, narrating the gruesome history and the numerous eyewitness accounts of ghostly soldiers stuck in battle for over 250 years.
The Lake George Examiner also reports that wartime spirits linger at neighboring Battlefield Park, where phantom regiments of marching soldiers, a Native American apparition, and the sound of musket fire are said to be recurrent phenomena. Pick up a map of the self-guided walking tour at Lake George Battlefield Park Visitor Center and witness it for yourself.
Old Warren County Courthouse
The verdict is in…this location is guilty of being spine-tingling and hair-raising. The Warren County Courthouse building from 1845 to 1963, is now the home of the Lake George Historical Association and Lake George Arts Project. Open to the public, brave visitors at the local history museum can step inside the iron-barred jail cells where many have reported difficulty breathing as the result of a supernatural presence, among other haunting disturbances, according to The Lake George Examiner.
*New this season, the LGHA presents Ghost Tours at the Courthouse Museum. From the spirits of early settlers to the mysterious apparitions of travelers past, your guides will regale you with tales of ghostly encounters and eerie happenings that have been reported for centuries. Act fast and purchase your tickets for these hour-long tours that are only taking place on the evenings of Saturday, October 7 and Saturday, October 21.
Barkeater Chocolates
The centuries-old building that houses Barkeater Chocolates has a gruesome history that isn’t so sweet. Between stories of scandal, murder, and disappearance, this paranormal hotspot is an official stop along the Haunted History Trail of New York State. Since Barkeater Chocolates opened at this location in 2013, employees and visitors alike experience unexplained noises, loud banging, and footsteps.
*Haunted Factory Chocolate Making Sessions, as well as the Ghost Hunting Fireside Experiences, are offered from March – November. Learn about the building’s history and mysteries, do some ghost hunting, and enjoy spooky chocolate treats!
The Sagamore Resort
The prestigious Sagamore Resort, with its stunning views of Lake George and lavish amenities, is also well-known for its resident ghosts and has been ranked numerous times among the most haunted destinations in the country. It took four wealthy businessmen to make the dream of a resort on Green Island a reality in 1883, but only a decade later that dream burned to the ground. The hotel reconstructed and reopened during the Great Depression, and it would briefly sit abandoned for a period in the 1980s.
You might run into “Walter” in the elevator, easily recognizable by his walrus mustache. Have a short conversation with “Lillian” on the docks as she waits for her friends to go boating. Or, dine next to an argumentative couple in the main dining room. Bring extra golf balls if you reserve a tee time at the beautiful Sagamore Golf Course – the mischievous ghost of a small boy, hit and killed by a car in the 1950s, likes to steal them.
Chapman Museum
Built by the DeLong family in 1865, the present-day Chapman Museum has exhibits that tell the history of Queensbury and Glens Falls. There are believed to be at least two residual energies at the Chapman from eras long ago. Employees over the years have reported a ghostly female figure, thought to be a housekeeper. And, an account from a maintenance man depicts seeing a dark shadow figure of a man in a wide-brimmed hat looking down at him from a third-floor window. This presence corroborated by the toddler of an employee found babbling to someone unseen and describing the man in the hat as well.
*The Chapman Museum also does a Haunted Glens Falls Walking Tour. The 45-minute tour is a guided walk around downtown with Chapman employee Maureen Folk, as she narrates stories about possible hauntings and bizarre occurrences, followed by refreshments around the firepit back at the Chapman.
Stony Creek Inn
A hangout for loggers, mill workers, and hunters in the earlier part of the 1900s, regulars at the Stony Creek Inn like to stick around in the afterlife. Pull up a stool at the left end of the bar. If a cold draft blows in or a bottle is thrown, chances are you’re sharing a drink with a ghost. Could it be the late staff member who still frequents the establishment and leaves his coffee cups as a trace of his presence…or someone else? A firsthand account from Dot Bartell, current and longtime owner of the Stony Creek Inn, recalled a night she slept there alone with just the cat “Innkeeper” for company. She awoke to the sound of the piano playing and the cat fast asleep beside her – proof enough that a spirit, or spirits, must be lingering.
The Carol Theatre
The Carol Theatre has been open sporadically since the 1930s, but it’s always showtime for the ghostly presences within. Those attune to the spirit world claim there is a male and female presence in the projection room. And, the spirit of an 8-year-old girl is sometimes encountered in the women’s bathroom, rumored to have often snuck into the theater before passing away from an illness in her young age. Whether you believe or not, there is no denying the cold mass felt near the stage, or the unsettling sensation near a section of seats with lingering occupants from the 1940s.
Abandoned Spirits
The Wells House
Those who have set foot in The Wells House describe the atmosphere as otherworldly. Therefore, it is quite feasible spirits are about. At the junction of Olmstedville Road and Route 9 sits The Wells House, now permanently closed. Built in 1845 by Joseph Hotchkiss and Joshua Collar, The Wells House initially made profits from tourists and merchants passing through Pottersville on stagecoach, often headed to Schroon Lake after disembarking the Upper Hudson River Railroad’s Riparius Station in North Creek. Alleged specters include: a cheating wife killed by her jealous husband in an upstairs bathtub; a blond little girl; and a tall, thin gentleman in a hat that waits for someone or something just outside the café door. Previous guests have reported hearing laughter from an empty hallway, piano music, and the shuffling of square dancers stuck in a rhythm from long ago.
Balsam House at Friends Lake
Atateka Road in the off-season is an eerily quiet, scenic drive that will take you around Friends Lake and by the forlorn Balsam House that once catered to summer visitors. The mischievous energies inside the boarding house turned hotel are known for opening/closing doors, electrical issues, and – in at least one instance – making a phone call from the beyond. The most well-known spirit is a women in sorrow, whose sobs can be heard by occupants in Room 21. Those driving by the vacant building have reported seeing a figure gazing out of an upstairs window.
Ghostly Apparitions
Caldwell Cemetery
Do you dare to walk among the headstones in the Caldwell Cemetery? This plot of land on Mohican Street in Lake George was once a burial ground for those who succumbed to smallpox at Fort William Henry, and has markers dating back to the 18th century. Caldwell Cemetery is also the final resting place of the town’s founder, James Caldwell. According to The Lake George Examiner, brave souls investigating the cemetery have reported hearing musket fire and smelling burnt gunpowder, seeing colonial-era solider apparitions, and witnessing a strange, orange glow around James Caldwell’s tomb.
“Waiting for the Train”
Besides the submerged tracks, the only thing left of the section of the Delaware-Hudson railroad that passed through the Lake George Village from 1909 to 1911 is the railway station – now the Lake George Steamboat Company Gift Shop. Locals walking along Beach Road in the early morning hours have seen the apparition of a solider dressed in a World War I army uniform outside the station. He is always spotted with a suitcase, or sometimes a duffel bag, slung over his shoulder. Although a train hasn’t passed through the area since the 1950s, the soldier still manifests for a quick visit in the Lake George Area.
Spooky Spots
Bloody Pond
Driving along on Route 9 between the Lake George Village and the Million-Dollar Half-Mile, you’ll pass a historical marker for Bloody Pond. Although there are no reported sightings of apparitions, this spot’s history is enough to spook you. During the Battle of Lake George in the French and Indian War, hundreds of soldiers’ corpses were supposedly dumped into the pond – their wounds staining the water blood-red.
Legends & Lore
Lake George Mystery Spot
X marks the mystery spot. Legend states that a Native American god stood in this exact spot, shouting wisdom for the Lake George landscape to hear. Only those who stand in the center of the two metal rods within the painted blue outline of the lake will be able to hear their voice echoed back to them from the mountains. Head to the circular platform behind the Lake George Village Information Center and experience this eerie acoustical phenomenon for yourself.
Long Island Campground
Accessible only by boat, Long Island Campground is haunted by a ghostly bride pining for her groom and their short-lived marriage. Legend states that in the 1960s the honeymooning couple were murdered in their tent while they slept.
Abigail West
The area of present-day West Mountain was named for Abigail West and the West family, farmers who inhabited and tended to the land between the 1700 and 1800s. Abigail West – rumored to be a witch – met a tragic end when she was struck by lightning on the land. The legend continues that Abigail’s farmhouse stood until the late 1970s, when it burned to the ground in a fire set by Abigail from the afterlife. Her presence is said to linger at the family’s burial plot and at the intersection of Tuthill Road and Clendon Brook Road – the location where her farmhouse once stood, and now only the chimney remains. Neighbors who houses now sit atop the land she farmed have reported unexplained occurrences in their homes, while light anomalies have been documented around the chimney and at her final resting place.
“Graphite”
Making your way along State Route 8, also known as Graphite Mountain Road, you will drive past a sign marking the hamlet of “Graphite”. In the late 1800s and early 1900s this region was a mining town and large supplier of the graphite used to make pencils. Although the mines have not been in operation since the 1920s, a frightening tale continues to be passed down through the generations. In the 1880s, a couple who moved to Graphite had not yet settled in when the wife began hearing a distressed moan reverberate throughout the home. Unable to locate the sound and dismissed by her family and neighbors, she moved closer to Graphite Mountain and forced her husband to sell the house. The new owners quickly got to work renovating and excavating the basement. Imagine their fright upon tearing up the old basement stairs to reveal a human skull and bones! The bones were buried in a nearby cemetery, however when the original owners revisited the house the wife claimed to still hear the cries of someone who is not resting in peace.
Research was done using Haunted Warren County by David J. Pitkin, the Haunted History Trail of New York State, The Lake George Examiner, & firsthand accounts.