Long Island is known for its beaches, its pizza, and its views. But it's also infamously known for the haunted locations that appear throughout the Island. Some friendly and some fierce, these spirits have made the LI a setting for creepy and haunting stories. For all you adrenaline seekers, here's a definitive ranking of the seven most haunted places on Long Island.
7. D.S. Shanahans
Located on Old Dock Road, in Kings Park, this bar is a "hole in the wall" hangout for locals of the area. Here, people have claimed to see the spirit of a young girl inside. Some have seen her for only a split second, others longer. She is speculated to have been an old call girl from when the bar used to be a brothel.
6. Fire Island Light House
The first lighthouse on Long Island, Fire Island Light House was built in 1826 and rebuilt in 1858. It stands at 168 feet. The story of the lighthouse is that back in 1858, a family lived there during the winter because the father had a job keeping up the lighthouse. This winter was very harsh and the caretaker's daughter became extremely ill and died. Alone, while his wife took his daughter's body to be buried, his grief became unbearable and he hanged himself inside. To this day, people who visit the lighthouse claim they see the ghostly visage of the caretaker pacing about. Other people claim to hear him walking the stairs and opening or closing doors. Some claim to see him with a rope in hand, searching for a spot to hang himself again and end his grief.
5. Hanging Tree
The Hanging Tree is located off Grove Avenue in Patchogue. Back in colonial times, it is said that people deemed as witches were hanged here. Many paranormal events have happened here, including unexplained lights, moving shadows, and distortions. People have said to feel uneasy and experience feelings of dread. Paranormal investigators have had equipment knocked from their hands, have been pushed and EVP's were also caught at this location. On at least one occasion, someone has claimed to see a “Lady in White” on the grounds.
4. Chandler's Estate (aka Satan's Trail)
Satan's Trail is located in Mount Sinai. During the 1950s, actress Marilyn Monroe, and playwright Arthur Miller stayed there. This area was rumored to be part of a various cult activity where satanic worshipers attempted to contact something nicknamed "the Whacker." People report sensing this satanic presence that these cults summoned, others reported even seeing a devilish apparition in the woods. Some report feelings of unease and that something watches them while they are on the property.
3. Sweet Hollow Road
There are many legends and stories surrounding this road, which runs from Jericho Turnpike in West Hills through Broad Hollow Road in Melville, and its history, leading it to be a home of paranormal activity. The first legend purports that three boys committed suicide by hanging themselves from the Northern State overpass bridge on Sweet Hollow Road.
Some report that if you look up at the overpass while driving down the road, you can see three bodies hanging from it. The second legend tells the story of a bus full of children that fell off the bridge and killed everyone on board. Many have said that if you drive directly under the bridge and put your car in neutral, the children who passed away will push your car under the bridge so that no harm will come to you.
The third legend surrounds a lady in white named Mary. Mary and her boyfriend were driving down the road one night when they got into a fight. During the fight, Mary's boyfriend either pushed her out of the vehicle or she jumped out of the vehicle while it was in motion. After she fell out of the car, then hit by another vehicle driving down the road and killed. People say when you're driving down Sweet Hollow Road, you will see a lady in white on the side of the road, and while you are driving by, she will jump in front of your car.
A fourth urban legend involves a police officer who was shot and killed on this road. A large number says that when you're driving on the road, you'll get pulled over by a police officer if you're speeding. The police officer walks over to your vehicle, questions you, and then lets you go. When the cop turns around and walks to his car, the back of his head is blown out from a shotgun blast.
2. Lake Ronkonkoma
Located in Ronkonkoma, this lake ranges from 15 to 65 feet deep. Many of the paranormal tales surrounding the lake center on a Native American princess who was in love with a white colonist. In one story, the colonist is killed by natives, while in another he was by a fellow colonist. The princess is overcome with grief and decides that she can’t live with the pain. She rows her canoe out into the lake and ties a rock to her body to drown herself.
She then vows to avenge her inability to marry her love by annually taking the life of a young man by drowning him in the lake. There have been over 200 drownings in this lake of adult men under 30, each once a year. People claim to have the feeling of being watched and thoughts of swimming out into the lake. Some men have even had thoughts of killing themselves while there.
1. Kings Park Psychiatric Center (KPPC)
Formerly called Kings County Asylum, this was a fully operating psychiatric hospital from 1885 to 1996. It housed, at its peak, 9,303 patients. People with mental illnesses ranging from anxiety to schizophrenia were treated with obscure medical practices such as full frontal lobotomies. KPPC is the most haunted place on Long Island and is home to some of the creepiest stories. Although it's illegal to trespass inside the buildings, those who have reported seeing doors open and close randomly, and shadows moving inside rooms and through the halls.
If you walk into a room, into the hall, and then back into the room, objects seemed to have changed position without a sound. Some have even been trapped inside rooms because of doors slamming shut without anyone pushing it. There is a perpetual feeling of being watched while walking the grounds and voices can be heard calling your name or wailing from inside the buildings. Some have reported scratches and marks all over their bodies under their clothing, even if they didn't scratch themselves. A few have even seen apparitions of people following them around wherever they go or standing with a group of people.
Long Island's haunted spots are no place for the easily disturbed. Many of the stories surround these places lead to explorations by visitors and residents of the area. If you decide to go to these places, be wary of what is there or what is illegal. So visit...if you dare, and if you have visited, and lived to tell the tale, leave it in the comments down below.
