Spanky’s Diner is rumored to be haunted by many ghosts, including one who once tied a patron’s shoelaces together while she was eating. Other paranormal experiences here have included uneasy feelings, apparitions, orbs with faces, electronic voice phenomena, and more.
Spanky's Diner
Wells College
Wells College has an abundance of ghost stories. Among the spirits said to live on campus are Morgan Hall’s Max, a security guard who died in a fire; a female student in Zabriskie Hall who was stabbed to death by a professor who stole her research; vengeful Mrs. Wells, who haunts Pettibone House looking for her husband’s mistress with a knife; several ghosts in the Main House; and a ghost who melted all the bicycles together in the Glen Park Mansion basement. Many more stories, and other versions of these tales, are told by the Wells students.
City College of New York
Many ghosts are said to have haunted the City College of New York. From as far back as the 1920s, witnesses have seen apparitions of former students and professors. Among those seen have been a student who died in 1918, apparitions wearing clothing from the 1960s or 1970s, and a sad-looking male apparition wearing the “grunge” style of more recent years.
Brittany Hall - NYU
NYU’s Brittany Hall dormitory, originally the Brittany Hotel, was built in 1929, and has had some private residents: actor Al Pacino and journalist Walter Winchell. Its penthouse was used as a speakeasy, and phantom parties are still heard coming from the upper floors. Witnesses described footsteps and music along with a feeling that they were being watched.
McClurg Museum
The 1818 mansion that’s now the McClurg Museum was originally built by James McClurg, son of a wealthy industrialist, as his stately private residence. It is said to be haunted by the ghost of a maid. Children on a fourth-grade field trip encountered the ghost, whom they described as a white shadow that looked like a girl in her 20s, hiding in the corner and crying. The ghost is said to reside at the mansion to this day.
Skene Manor
Built circa 1874 by Colonel Skene and believed to be haunted by his wife, Skene Manor is a castle of a place, built of stone and open for guided tours. When the colonel’s wife passed away, according to local lore, the colonel chose to keep her body nearby. Some say he kept her in a lead-lined coffin in the basement; others say it was under the grand staircase. Furthermore, when the place became a restaurant, the coffin was behind the bar with a stone fountain around it, said to remain to this day. Witnesses claim to have seen an apparition of a lady in a Victorian gown near the fountain, wearing a large ring.
Isle of Pines
Isle of Pines is a private island residence that has been investigated by TV’s Ghost Hunters together with the musician Meat Loaf. Among the many paranormal claims they experienced were unexplained noises, footsteps, shadows, apparitions, objects that move by themselves, and lights that flicker. Further, young relatives of the residents claim to have played with priests in the ballroom, which was once a monastery.
Sanger Mansion - Sangerfield House
The historic Sanger Mansion, aka Sangerfield House, is rumored to be haunted by ghostly monks. Some folks have told the tale that the place used to be a monastery; other reports say this is simply not so, and the house was always a private home.
Western House
Western House, which reports say is currently unoccupied, was a hotel and saloon turned into apartments and a restaurant. A ghost called Christine is said to reside here. Folks in the know claim she is the daughter of a former owner.
Lake Ronkonkoma
Lake Ronkonkoma has quite a few legends attached to it, one of the most popular being the Lady of the Lake, a Native American woman who drowned herself here during the colonial times. Some say the ghost comes every year and takes an attractive man between ages 18 and 38, which accounts for some of the many drownings that have occurred here. A nearby mural is dedicated to the ghost, painted on the side of a strip mall on Rosevale Avenue. Another legend about the lake is that it has no bottom, only a whirlpool or an abyss some claim is a gate to Hell. Still another lake legend is that pirates once used the area to bury their treasure; some witnesses claim that a skeleton was found on the beach long ago, bound in chains.
