What’s Halloween without a Ghost Story?

It’s Halloween this month and in honor of one of my favorite holidays, I will repost one of my favorite Sharing Suzette’s from the past.

On Halloween, we start to think things like, are ghosts real? Let me start by saying I absolutely DO NOT believe in ghosts or anything else like that!

Ghostly cocktails

Yet once, my brother Jon told me of his real estate agent friend who had placed one family after another in the same old house in rural Michigan. Each family had the same paranormal ghost story to tell as they vacated their recently acquired house. It made me pause, as I thought, are ghosts real? Come on now.

Then, one day I was invited to a farewell cocktail party. Little did I know that it was in one of New York state’s haunted houses. And afterwards, I found myself having terrible nightmares about ghosts in the weeks following. This is true (really!) and I will add images to help you visualize the nightmares it gave me. With Halloween upon us, here’s my ghost story of a haunted house in New York state.

Setting the Stage in a Historic 1846 Village

Quaint historic Cold Spring, NY village

The location of my ghost story is in historic Cold Spring, New York, a Hudson Valley village of only two thousand people that dates back to 1846. During the Civil War, it had quite the boom economy with its Parrott rifles, which were manufactured at the West Point Foundry. The manufacturing wealth created large estates in the Cold Spring village. Today, various outbuildings of the long-gone mansions remain. This includes the Craigside manor, an 1866 porter’s lodge.

A similar house to the home of the ghost

An invitation to a Haunted House Cocktail Party

I was invited by Kelly, owner of the local pastry shop, to join a farewell cocktail party she was tossing for a mutual friend. On a crisp fall evening, I walked up to the warm orange glow of the porter’s lodge that she and her fiancé Robert were renting. It was erected of stone from a small avalanche at the local quarry, and once guarded the 140-acre Craigside mansion. Little did I know I was about to find out it was not just any house– it was a New York state haunted house. (Sadly, the Google car never drove past the lodge on the corner of  9D and Craigside Drive.)

Entering the House on a Dark Fall Evening

Stone amulet to protect from evil spirits

Kelly and Robert greeted me at the door. The other guests were all busy chatting with cocktails in hand. The hosts immediately offered a tour.

Some History of its Hauntings

They began by telling us that the house had been owned by the same family for as long as anyone had known. The third generation son, who had been living in the house, was moving to South Africa for a year and offered Kelly and Robert the rental. Unknowingly, they accepted what they thought was a great offer. The day they moved in, the owners handed them the keys. They also recommended that the stone amulet in the window not be removed to “protect them from the evil spirits.” Kelly and Robert looked at each other after that remark.

Beginning the Haunted Tour: The Clock Never Strikes (or does it?)

The soundless grandfather clock

We stood in a beautiful, spacious living room with an ancient circular stone staircase by the front door. Off to the other side sat an old grandfather clock. Kelly informed us “it has never once chimed.” Well, except for the day she had a friend over and they were playing backgammon and, as they both sat there, it chimed 12 times. The ghost, she felt, was letting them know of his presence.

The Ghost Was Not Invited to the Dinner Party

We traveled to the dining room, which had stairs right at the base of a long dining table. Robert told us of the day they had six friends over for dinner when the ghost began to walk down the stairs towards them. They all stopped talking and listened as the steps creaked in their direction. The ghost of the house had come to join them, they decided — and they named him Oliver.

Another evening they were BBQing with friends outside by the kitchen, when suddenly, the light turned off. Kelly said she “turned around and yelled, ‘Oliver – turn that light back on!'” And while everyone was standing in the dark, the light immediately flicked back on. Kelly laughed as she recalled this. But it was one of those nervous laughs.

The Ghost’s Attic of Tricks and Follies

The ghost rolls a bowling ball across the attic floor

We walked upstairs. In the hallway, Kelly pointed to a ladder leading to a fully open attic hatch. She invited me to climb it — to take a peek into the attic. She informed me there was not one item stored up there. Yet she would often hear the sound of a bowling ball rolling back and forth in the attic.

Once, she came home and was in the house alone when she heard what sounded like someone hitting the ceiling with a broomstick. The sound wouldn’t cease. Kelly said she was so frightened that she opened the drapes of her picture window and sat on the sofa — in full view of the street — until Robert came home.

The Warm, Lingering Smell of (Haunted) Home-Cooked Food

“Does he always watch you leave the house?”

Then, she relayed another haunted occasion; it occured when she arrived home to Robert sitting on the sofa. The house was warm and smelled like an amazing Thanksgiving dinner. She lit up, excited. But Robert laughed, telling her that he hadn’t even used the stove that day.

The Ghost Likes to Watch from the Window

While living in their haunted house, Kelly and Robert also got married. The day of their wedding, they were walking to the car when her mother looked back at the house and saw Oliver in the window. She turned to Kelly and asked, “Does he always watch you leave the house?”

So, now you know why I had nightmares for weeks! Haunted houses with resident ghosts are best not explored. I’ll leave you to decide if you believe my story.

Happy Halloween!

• Cold Spring, NY residents refer to Cold Spring as “Mayberry.” Read about Andy Griffith and his character “Andy” who lived in Mayberry.
• Read about the “Top 10 Haunted Houses in America.”