SUMMIT MANSION
The Summit Mansion of Lockport New York was built in 1834. The mansion sits on top of limestone. In 1960 was the last time anyone occupied the mansion. The mansion itself is said to have been a safe house for the underground railroad, although so far to date, there has been no evidence on file to prove the claims. The mansion was built by Francis Hitchings. The house was also home to many servants whom had their own living area within the mansion. The mansion has been in the Ruhlmann family since the late 1940's. All inquiries and showings are taken by WNYPRWI.
GRAND ISLAND HOLIDAY INN
Down the halls of the Holiday Inn on Grand Island, New York skips a lone spirit. Running and laughing, swimming in the pool in the middle of the night, her playful spirit never rests. To the guests and the employees she is known simply as Tanya and her story has grown to be a legend heard by many people and the exact reason for her haunting is unclear. The only thing that remains unchanging is that she lives in room 422 and likes to play throughout the hotel, mainly on the fourth floor. After years of stories and experiences it has become hard to decipher fact from fiction. The legend of how she came to the hotel has become a splintered and sad tale with several different stories that have come to be. The most widely held story is that long before the hotel ever stood on that spot there was a small sawmill settlement. At the time many people called it the largest sawmill in the country, tearing down timber and sending it to Boston to be turned into ships. One night a great fire destroyed part of the town and killed only one resident. Tanya, the only daughter of the owner of the great sawmill had tragically died in their small house. Though her body was never found the family mourned her loss and left the island to try to forget their grief, leaving the little girl to haunt the property thereafter. The remnants of the small building still sit on the property just beside the Inn on the river.
Another widely believed tale is that of a small village that once stood on that spot years before the Whitehaven sawmill was ever built. The village of Whitehaven, for which the road leading to the hotel is named, was home to a young girl who wandered away from home one night and never returned. Mothers told the story of Tanya to their children over the years to keep them from wandering the woods near the town. Though her fate has always been unknown it is still believed that she wanders the area looking for her home.
Another widely believed tale is that of a small village that once stood on that spot years before the Whitehaven sawmill was ever built. The village of Whitehaven, for which the road leading to the hotel is named, was home to a young girl who wandered away from home one night and never returned. Mothers told the story of Tanya to their children over the years to keep them from wandering the woods near the town. Though her fate has always been unknown it is still believed that she wanders the area looking for her home.
IRON ISLAND
Built in 1895 as a popular Methodist-Episcopal church, it was eventually taken over in the 1950s by a funeral director and converted into a funeral home. Finally in 2000, Anthony Amigone donated the building to The Iron Island Preservation Society of Lovejoy, Inc. so that they could continue their efforts to preserve the history of the Iron Island neighborhood.
Now open to the public as a museum with a large collection of donated historical items, for $2 a person you can experience the rich history of the former railroad and maybe even meet the local spirits that make this museum their home. After being investigated by some paranormal groups, the members of the preservation society have embraced the paranormal history and offer late night lectures, ghost hunts, and seances for an additional fee.
The museum was even featured on the popular Sci-Fi Channel series Ghost Hunters. Previously thought to have the ghost of a young boy wandering the rooms of the old funeral home where he was laid for his wake, after the TAPS investigation it is now believed that the ghosts of an older man and a woman are part of the ghostly world of The Iron Island Museum.
Now open to the public as a museum with a large collection of donated historical items, for $2 a person you can experience the rich history of the former railroad and maybe even meet the local spirits that make this museum their home. After being investigated by some paranormal groups, the members of the preservation society have embraced the paranormal history and offer late night lectures, ghost hunts, and seances for an additional fee.
The museum was even featured on the popular Sci-Fi Channel series Ghost Hunters. Previously thought to have the ghost of a young boy wandering the rooms of the old funeral home where he was laid for his wake, after the TAPS investigation it is now believed that the ghosts of an older man and a woman are part of the ghostly world of The Iron Island Museum.
USS THE SULLIVANS
In World War II, the five Sullivan brothers, who, believing nothing bad could happen to them as long as they were together, enlisted in the US Navy on one condition--that they serve on the same ship. The Navy went against policy and agreed, placing all five brothers on the USS Juneau. Tragically, on Friday, November 13, 1942, the Juneau was sunk by a Japanese submarine. Four of the brothers died; only the eldest, George, survived the attack. He spent days going from life raft to life raft, searching for the brothers he didn't want to believe had died, as around him, the survivors of the Juneau were, one by one, eaten by sharks, the victims of a country which had chosen not to rescue them. Days after the attack, George Sullivan attempted to swim for a distant island--and was eaten by a shark. After the country reacted in horror, a ship was named for the brothers. The first in the US Navy to have the word "the" in its name, the USS The Sullivans served with distinction for more than twenty years, finally being decommissioned in the sixties. Interestingly, no one in The Sullivans crew was ever killed in duty while on the ship. Now part of the Buffalo and Erie County Naval Park, The Sullivans is the site of much ghostly activity. Poltergeists leave locks undone, throw items, and restart radar that isn't under electrical power. A phantom bloodied face that once appeared after-hours caused a worker to quit his job. And, perhaps most interestingly, when photographs are taken of the picture gallery in which hang the portraits of the five Sullivan brothers, all come out clearly--except the picture of George, the one who couldn't die with his brothers.
CENTRAL TERMINAL
Mark Lewandowski, president of Central Terminal Restoration Corp., said he and many other volunteers have experienced something out of the ordinary at the East Side landmark.
“There is something unexplainable at the Central Terminal. Everyone has their own experience, their own spin on what they’ve seen or experienced. It’s not always the ghostly presence, but there is something there,” he said.
The most common sighting, according to Lewandowski, although he hasn’t seen it himself, is a nicely dressed man wearing either a railroad uniform or suit from the 1940s. He’s always observed in the main concourse area, and always at a distance, Lewandowski said.
Others, according to volunteer Marty Slawiak, report seeing a man with a baseball hat and plaid jacket standing at the ticket office.
Slawiak, whose father once worked in the Central Terminal commissary, recalled one bizarre experience he had when he came into the station, alone, to polish a set of brass door handles.
“As I walked by the doors leading to the restaurant, I heard voices like when you open a cafeteria door. I couldn’t make it out, walked on, and then it became very loud, I mean, it was loud. So, I stuck my head in there and there was no one around.
“I turned the light on, still nobody, and ran straight through to the kitchen, and nobody again. Then I ran outside and there was no one in the parking lot, so that really made it pretty eerie,” Slawiak said.
“I wasn’t going to say anything, but then I told a guy who showed up later about the cafeteria voices, and he said he had previously heard the same noise from the same place.”
“There is something unexplainable at the Central Terminal. Everyone has their own experience, their own spin on what they’ve seen or experienced. It’s not always the ghostly presence, but there is something there,” he said.
The most common sighting, according to Lewandowski, although he hasn’t seen it himself, is a nicely dressed man wearing either a railroad uniform or suit from the 1940s. He’s always observed in the main concourse area, and always at a distance, Lewandowski said.
Others, according to volunteer Marty Slawiak, report seeing a man with a baseball hat and plaid jacket standing at the ticket office.
Slawiak, whose father once worked in the Central Terminal commissary, recalled one bizarre experience he had when he came into the station, alone, to polish a set of brass door handles.
“As I walked by the doors leading to the restaurant, I heard voices like when you open a cafeteria door. I couldn’t make it out, walked on, and then it became very loud, I mean, it was loud. So, I stuck my head in there and there was no one around.
“I turned the light on, still nobody, and ran straight through to the kitchen, and nobody again. Then I ran outside and there was no one in the parking lot, so that really made it pretty eerie,” Slawiak said.
“I wasn’t going to say anything, but then I told a guy who showed up later about the cafeteria voices, and he said he had previously heard the same noise from the same place.”