Ghosts and Legends of Lake Champlain (Haunted America) - Softcover

Lewis, Thea

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1609497295 ISBN 13: 9781609497293

Verlag: HISTORY PR, 2012

Inhaltsangabe

Despite the beauty of the region, Lake Champlain has been the site of dark and mysterious events.

Located between New York's majestic Adirondacks and Vermont's famed Green Mountains, it's not surprising that some spirits linger in this otherwise tranquil place. Fort Ticonderoga saw some of early America's bloodiest battles, and soldiers' ghosts still stand guard. A spirit walks the halls of SUNY Plattsburgh, even after his original haunt burned in 1929. Champlain's islands--Stave, Crab, Valcour and Garden--all host otherworldly inhabitants, and unidentified creatures and objects have made appearances on the water, in the sky and in the forests surrounding the lake. Join Burlington's Thea Lewis as she explores the ghosts and legends that haunt Lake Champlain.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Thea Lewis is the owner and tour guide for Queen City Ghost Walk. She is the author of HAUNTED BURLINGTON (2009). She works for WCAX-TV and is also active in the chamber of commerce in Burlington.

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Ghosts and Legends of Lake Champlain

By Thea Lewis

The History Press

Copyright © 2012 Thea Lewis
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-60949-729-3

Contents

Acknowledgements, 
Introduction, 
1. Frighteners of the Fort, 
2. Mad Anthony Wayne, 
3. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished, 
4. Who's Haunting Hawkins Hall?, 
5. Mystery at MacDonough Hall, 
6. Murder in Plattsburgh, 
7. By Dunder!, 
8. Sit Right Back and You'll Hear a Tale, 
9. Secrets of a Swashbuckler, 
10. The Black Snake and The Fly, 
11. Back Inn Time, 
12. Ghost Ship, 
13. The Hermit of Champlain, 
14. More Terror in the Walk-In, 
15. It Came from the Sea, 
16. Creatures of the Northern Woods, 
17. Alien Crossing, 
18. The Bishop's Tale, 
19. Close Encounter at Camp Buff Ledge, 
20. But Wait! There's More!, 
Bibliography, 
About the Author, 

CHAPTER 1

Frighteners of the Fort

If, like me, you like your history mixed with a ghostly tale or two, you'll love New York's Fort Ticonderoga. This scene of some of the bloodiest battles in American history before the Civil War is one of the most haunted attractions in the North Country and home to ghosts of all nations. American, French and British forces are still buried there. If the glowing orbs, eerie lights, strange whispers and full-body apparitions reported by people who work and visit Fort Ticonderoga are any indication, these characters from the past aren't shy about having their stories told.

Designed by military engineer Michel Chartier de Lotbinière and built by the French in 1755, star-shaped Fort Ti, as it's known to locals, was constructed at a critical point on Lake Champlain to keep the British from gaining military access to the waterway. Because French forts represented the king, they were usually more ornate in design than more utilitarian British forts of the day. Marquis de Lotbinière had never designed a fort before, but his first effort was impressive. With walls seven feet high and fourteen feet thick, surrounded by a five-foot-deep dry moat and a glacis, or sloping embankment, the fort contained barracks, storehouses and, in one of the bastions, a bakery that produced sixty loaves of bread a day for the soldiers quartered there. It was a stronghold that changed hands many times, and each new occupation took its psychic toll. Murders, executions, spurned lovers, suffragists — all have left their mark on Fort Ticonderoga. In 2009, The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) documented the strange phenomena at the historic landmark. Presenting their findings, investigator Jason Hawes stated, "I firmly believe you have paranormal activity going on here."

Trisha Melton, a Fort Ticonderoga employee, agreed. She called the old fort "a very haunted place," confirming that people have seen glowing red orbs floating in some of the rooms. Steve Teer, who works on the museum's maintenance staff, said that one night, he spotted a strange red ball of light while working on the second floor of the South Barracks. The ball of light hovered in the air, just above his head. A co-worker who had come upstairs saw it too. "What do you suppose that is?" the man asked. As he spoke, the light whizzed away, disappearing into an air vent. From outside the building, people have spied a figure wearing a red coat standing in an upstairs window, and event coordinator Babette Props Treadway saw a figure in eighteenth-century dress wearing a large hat peering at her from the attic. One evening, after hours, two employees saw a figure in military attire go up the stairs to the second floor. They decided to split up, each taking one of the two stairways, so as not to lose the individual. When they both reached the landing at the top, there was no one there and no other exit. The French ovens, a cluster of caves beneath the fort, is rumored to have seen at least one murder, and people have heard low voices whispering in French. Some have smelled bread burning, and others have felt the sensation of falling or being pushed.

Outside, there have been numerous reports of the sound of footsteps emanating from the exterior stairs and smoky forms that take human shape and then disappear through solid walls. At the gatehouse, people claim to hear the spirit of a woman crying, and in the Garrison Cemetery, visitors have claimed to have seen horses with and without riders. Others have heard the sound of hoofbeats, though no horses are kept on the property. The mournful sound of bagpipes has been heard on the museum grounds, as well as the sound of drumbeats, as though some far-off regiment is being called to battle.

Fort Ticonderoga is a place where full-body apparitions abound. There is the ghost of Mad Anthony Wayne, which has been spotted in more than one location. Near the fort and at the water's edge, you might spot his paranormal paramour, Nancy Coates. There is the Scottish ghost of Duncan Campbell, too, along with the more modern ghost of Sarah Pell, who lived at Fort Ti in the 1920s and '30s.

Sarah Gibbs Thompson Pell, a noted member of the women's suffrage movement, and her husband, Stephen Hyatt Pelham Pell, owner of a coffee, cotton and stock brokerage firm, were responsible for the early restoration of Fort Ticonderoga. Stephen, whose great-grandfather, William Ferris Pell, had purchased the property, visited Fort Ticonderoga as a boy and was impressed by its history and its artifacts. He pledged that he would one day restore the place. In September 1908, he attended a press clambake hosted by the Ticonderoga Historical Society to talk up the idea of having the federal government purchase the Garrison Grounds from the Pell family. His wife and her father, Colonel Robert Means Thompson, were on board, with Means supplying the initial funding for the restoration, which became known as "Sarah's Project."

Today, Sarah's likeness can be observed meandering on the porch of the Pavilion, which is the site of the old Pell Estate and hotel. She has also been spotted in an upstairs window, gazing down at the plot known as the King's Garden.

Getting There:

Fort Ticonderoga is located in the picturesque Adirondack Park on Lake Champlain and includes a prime view of Vermont's gorgeous Green Mountains.

From U.S. Interstate 87 (North or South): Take Exit 28 onto NY Routes 22 and 74 East. Turn left onto Route 74 East. Fort Ticonderoga will be on the right.

From NY Route 9-N (North or South): Follow 9-N to the traffic circle in the town of Ticonderoga. Turn east onto Montcalm Street and continue three miles through two stoplights and one flashing light onto Route 74 East. Follow for about a half mile, and the entrance to Fort Ticonderoga will be on the right.

From Vermont: Follow State Route 74 West to the Ticonderoga Ferry (toll ferry) at Shoreham or Route 22A via Route 73 in Orwell. After crossing Lake Champlain, the main entrance to the fort will be one mile ahead on the left.

Call: 518-585-2821 fortticonderoga.org

CHAPTER 2

Mad Anthony Wayne

On the lakeshore by Fort Ticonderoga, a pale spirit waits. You may encounter her running along the water's edge, her cheeks wet with tears, or see her floating face-down in the shallows of the lake. She is Nancy Coates, the famous victim of a tainted love affair with Mad Anthony Wayne.

The jury is out on just how mad Mad Anthony Wayne was. It is written that Major General Wayne (his military title) had a fiery temperament but was a brilliant strategist and cool in battle. History also tells us he took care of his men...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: HISTORY PR
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2012
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1609497295
• ISBN 13: 9781609497293
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 110
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar