Locations

The Hinsdale House also known as the Dandy house is located in Hinsdale NY, a small town outside of Olean, NY.It was actually in 1820 that legislation had passed and Hinsdale was formed and declared separate from the town of Olean. 

Often referred to as the most Haunted House in New York State, the Hinsdale House was built in 1853 by brothers David and Charles Everett. In 1861 Alfred Burton and his family purchased the property followed by the McMahon family in the early 1900's. The McMahon's resided at the Hinsdale house for 70 years and the road to the house, McMahon Road, is named after the family. 

Presumably the most recognized owners of the Hinsdale house were the Dandy family who moved into the home in 1970 and fled by 1974. Clara and Phil Dandy along with their four children Mike, Beth, Laura and Mary experienced numerous terrifying incidents during the years they lived there. Clara Dandy (now Clara Miller after her divorce from Phil in 1980) recounted some of these shocking and unexplainable events in a book she wrote in 1999 called "Echo's of a Haunting." Clara wrote of mysterious lights at night, disembodied voices, numerous incidents of car trouble and accidents, objects being moved, apparitions inside and outside the house, drumming and Gregorian chanting in the woods and much, much more.  

The activity was so bad and so troublesome that a structural cleansing was performed in the house in 1974 by Father Alphonsus Trabold from St. Bonaventure University- which was said to be unsuccessful as the activity seemed to ramp up after. 

Clara and Phil's daughter Laura tragically passed away in 1992 just 18 days short of her thirty-second birthday and is said to be back at the Hinsdale House along with many other spirits. Laura was most affected by what happened at the house and had even predicted her early death years before it happened. 

After the Dandy family left the Hinsdale House, it was owned by Florence and Edward Misnik who both passed away while still residing there. There are also accounts of Flo Misnik still residing at the house today, even one made by the current owner. 

Much of the information circulating about the Hinsdale House and the history is folklore that has no documentation to back it up due in large part to how far back the history of the property dates. These stories include that of a "hanging tree" located by the property where a young pregnant woman was hung and a pair of murderous brothers who would rob stagecoaches and hide the bodies of their victims in the crawl space in the basement until the spring when they were buried on the land. With the history of the Seneca Indian Tribes located in this area, there is also much speculation that the property is located on an Indian burial ground which contributes to the paranormal occurances on the property which includes a large pond and a decent size woods. 

The Hinsdale house is owned today by Daniel Klas who purchased it in 2015.He saved the house from being demolished and immediately began renovating and fixing the home and the property. Dan has done a tremendous job and the Hinsdale House has been opened for paranormal research where individuals and teams can come investigate and even stay the night to help solve the mysteries the house still holds within its walls. He puts everything he makes from the investigations back into the house and continues the restoration and repairs of the house and the land.  

Dan Klas is a paranormal investigator himself and one of the most honest, hard working and nicest individuals in the paranormal community. This will be very apparent the first time you meet him and I highly recommend the Hinsdale House for your next Paranormal investigation. With so many accounts of so much activity within the house , on the land, and what I have experienced the 4 times I've investigated there I can guarantee you will not leave disappointed! 

There are still so many mysteries of The Hinsdale House left to be solved and so many questions left unanswered. This may be why the house keeps drawing me back time after time and it's said to have this effect on many who have visited. 

Rolling Hills Asylum in Bethany NY was established as a poorhouse in 1826. A poorhouse is sometimes referred to as an asylum was a government run facility for the support and housing of dependent or needy persons. Rolling Hills often housed orphaned children, families, elderly, physically handicapped, mentally unstable, morally corrupt and even criminals.

In 1826 a stone building attached to the poorhouse was constructed. This building was made to confine lunatics and those committed for misconduct.

Residents of Rolling Hills Asylum were reffered to as inmates. The county would burry those with no family in a cemetery located on the property. There are many buried there who's graves are unknown and had so long ago been forgotten.

In 1964 Rolling Hills became the Genesee County Nursing Home. The facility was only used in that capacity for ten years and closed in 1974.

One example of a resident said to still roam the halls of Rolling Hills Asylum is Roy. Roy Crouse was the son of a prominent banker, and his physical appearance was an embarrassment to his family. Roy had gigantism caused by a tumor in the pituitary glands. At age 12, Roy was dropped at Rolling Hills and was left there until his death. He lived out his life at Rolling Hills and died in 1942, almost seven and a half feet tall at the age of 52. Roy is seen by visitors as a seven foot tall shadow man.

The current owner of Rolling Hills Asylum, Sharon Coyle does a wonderful job taking care of the building and those who are no longer living...but who are still there because this is their home- the only home they've ever known.  

History: 

 Iron Island Museum is located in Lovejoy- a section of Buffalo New York. This neighborhood is called Iron Island due to the community being entirely surrounded by railroad tracks. Iron Island Museum was built in 1883 as a former Episcopal church. The attic in the Museum offers a beautiful view of the original stained glass windows . The church ran until the 1940's. It was left vacant for a few years before it was turned into a funeral home in 1956. When this transformation occurred, a new structure was built inside the church to offer three viewing rooms resulting in Iron Island Museum actually being a building within a building.  The building was donated to current owners Linda Hastreiter and Marge Hastreiter, Linda's mother in the year 2000 and it officially became the new home for the Iron Island Museum. Linda and Marge do a great job keeping the history alive- both that of Lovejoy and of the spirits said to wander within it's walls. One of the most known spirits said to reside at Iron Island Museum is Edgar Zernicke. Edgar Leroy Zernicke served as a U.S. Marine and later joined the navy in the early 1930's. He later moved to Buffalo and lived as a tool and die maker in the East Delavan area. Edgar's remains were amongst the 24 canisters of cremated Veteran's remains found in Iron Island Museum's basement when Linda and Marge first acquired the building. Linda and Marge organized a wonderful operation to have these remains claimed so the veterans could be reunited with their families and be  laid to rest properly. Edgar's ashes were one of the many that went unclaimed until 2010 when a relative was located and he was finally laid to rest. Iron Island has a known child spirit named Tommy along with many others. This location is highly active and is called one of the most haunted places in all of western New York. Iron Island Museum is a beautiful place to visit and take in the proudly displayed history of the community or seek out a different more spooky type of look into the past. Iron Island Museum is definitely at the top of my list for haunted locations where you can go and most definitely experience paranormal activity during your stay.

History:

Graestone manor is known as western New York's most haunted bed and breakfast. Located in Gasport New York, this Victorian mansion holds many stories and rich history within its walls.

Silas Newcomb first settled this property in 1833 where he established a large fruit farm. He was also a copper and carriage maker. He planted acres of apple and pear trees, some of which are still producing fruit on the property today. 

In 1850, the house and farm had changed hands to Silas’s son Albert Newcomb, his wife Ester and their daughters were now living in the house and running the farm. 

Silas’s other son A.C. Newcomb now owned 2 acres of the farm that were part of the original apple orchards. 

Then in 1860 the farm and house were sold to their neighbors, Horace and Harriet Chapin. They were farmers and continued caring for the fruit orchards and farming the land until 1865.  
Curtis Root and his wife Melissa along with their 5 children purchased the property from the Chapins in 1865 and lived there until about 1923. Curtis Root was a racehorse enthusiast and died in 1889 after sustaining an injury involving one of his prized racehorses. The horse was startled by a passing train and landed on Curtis crushing him. Mr. Root thought his injuries weren't serious but he unfortunately had internal bleeding and died at home in his bed after several weeks. He is known to still inhabit the manor - particularly the green room which was Curtis's bedroom. There are reports of him watching people when they sleep, hearing him whistling a tune, smelling cigar smoke and it is said that Curtis loves when women stay in his room. 

His wife Melissa passed away in 1901 of pneumonia in the same room as Curtis, the green room.
Flora Root, their youngest daughter then inherited the house and lived there until 1923.

Flora sold the house to local dairy farmers, Henry and Minnie Kelkenburg and their teenage daughter Mina. They took away the racetrack and brought in dairy cows and started farming the land. 

Henry and Minnie passed away in the 1950's and their daughter Mina and husband Dorsen Rosman inherited the house. Mina and Dorsen lived here until about 1999. Her husband Dorsen passed away in 1960 of mesothelioma in the Gold Room after being bedridden and sick for many years with lung issues. There are accounts of people having breathing issues when being in the Gold room or at the top of the stairs. 

After Mina's husband Rosman passed away Mina lived in the house and had a farm hand who stayed with her. He was an elderly man and it is possible that he died in the house since he was on all of the census records and then disappears from them in the 1970's. He was a really bad drunk and was always getting in trouble and it is believed he is the man that is heard in the basement.  Mina started to go blind as she had glaucoma. Her vision had gotten so bad she closed the whole house off and moved down into the parlor/library room. She refused to go upstairs because she said a man was trying to get her and could hear walking and talking coming from the 2nd floor. In the 1980's neighbors discovered that Mina was living here with no electricity or plumbing. They had thought the house was abandoned. The state ended up coming in to evaluate her and forced her to put a toilet in and worked to make it livable. Mina then had nurses coming in to care for her and she went into hospice care in 1999 and passed away a couple months later. 

In 1999 the farmers next door brought the property and really just wanted the land since the house was in such disrepair.

2 years later a woman and her husband drove by and were fascinated by the house and ended up purchasing it. She was a historian and antiques dealer and fixed up and preserved the house as it was but made it livable (plumbing electric, new roof, etc..) She had it for about 14 years until the current owners purchased Graestone Manor. 

The current owners are Robert Mattison and his wife Psychic Medium Heather Rease Mattison purchased the home in 2017 and opened it up as a Bed and Breakfast. They are excited to share the rich history and welcome those who come for a comfortable sleep and delicious meal or those who visit looking to have an encounter with the supernatural. 

 Wildwood Sanitarium is a historical building  constructed in the late 1800's,  located in Salamanca New York. The sanitarium opened in 1906 by Dr. Perry and Dr. Henderson who were osteopathic doctors who wanted to bring holistic healing to the area. Wildwood Sanitarium got its start as a Sanitarium and Bath house and offered help to those who needed treatment for issues like drug addiction and alcoholism. 

The sanitarium did not retreat those with infectious and contagious diseases until the Tuberculosis outbreak which resulted in the change to a Tuberculosis clinic in 1923. Wildwood reopened under its original purpose after it was no longer needed for Tuberculosis treatment. Dr. Henderson and Dr. Perry operated the sanitarium until their deaths in 1941. 

After the hospital closed, the building was owned by various families , was converted to apartments and has been vacant over the years as well. 

The current owner Brooke and her husband are doing a great job caring for and rehabilitating Wildwood Sanitarium. They have already had and will continue to have huge projects on their hands renovating the building. Their goal is to restore it as close as possible to the original look of the structure.  Wildwood Sanitarium is full of mysteries, historical beauty and many "residents" that are sure to keep you company and give you an experience that will leave you in awe and amazement. 

The Van Horn Mansion is a living history museum and event center in Niagara County, first built as a home by the Van Horn Family in 1823. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

James Van Horn Jr. is the first child of James and Abigail Van Horn. He began construction on what would become the first brick building in the area in 1819. Today it is known as the Van Horn Mansion which took four years to complete. It was finished in 1823, the same year of James' youngest child, Burt. 

In 1836 James married  Malinda Niles. In less than a year she would die allegedly after falling ill during childbirth to a son called James C. Van Horn. Her death came only ten days after her 21st birthday. The family buried Malinda in their estate graveyard on January 13, 1837. only ten days after her 21st birthday. Malinda has been rumored to still be seen within the mansion walls.

In 1837, the mansion was burned in a fire and the family had it rebuilt.

James Van Horn Jr.'s son, Burt Van Horn became the second owner of the mansion. He married his first wife, Charlotte Goodell, in 1851 and they had two sons, Burt II (Jr.) and Willis. Charlotte died in 1869. Burt remarried in 1870 to his second wife, Alecine Schuyler. Burt and Alecine had two daughters, Mary and Grace. Mary unfortunately had died in infancy.

Burt began a large expansion to the house around 1898. A large addition was added on the back of the house. This made room for a dining room, new kitchen, and more bedrooms, bathrooms and closets. A third story was built and constructed two skylights within it. One skylight was over the other which protected the lower skylight. The lower skylight was imported from Paris, France, and still remains a a beautiful collection of stained glass panes surrounded by cast iron. The staircase was also moved to the center of the remodeled house which was now considered a mansion. 

In 1910 the mansion and farm was purchased by Henry Winter Davis. 

On Sept. 27, 1922 the mansion was sold to Herbert Pease. 

In February 1929 The Cramer brothers purchased the foreclosed house to flip it for a profit. 

In November of 1929, Douglas R. and Florence Patterson purchased the mansion and the same year Mrs. Patterson died. In 1939, the home suffered another fire.  Douglas married his second wife, Blanche Carnall Harman who had three children. The newly blended family lived in the mansion until 1949.

When the Pattersons lived in the mansion the family cemetery was removed from the property. The Van Horn's were re-laid to rest at the Glenwood Cemetery in Lockport. They are in a row in one plot: James Sr. and Abigail, Burt Sr and both wives Charlotte and Alicine, and Burt & Alicine's children, Schuyler and Mary. Buried near them are Burt Jr. his wife Helen.

Mary Wagner purchased and transformed the mansion into a hotel and restaurant in 1949. It was called Green Acres and was uniquely the first of its kind in the area.

Howard Fitzgerald took over in 1954 through app. 1963. 

The mansion was converted into a boarding house by John Strickland. The boarding house was active from 1964 - 1967. He then rented it out for a few years until it became vacant. The abandoned building was vandalized and started declining over the years.

The Baker family arrived the fall of 1971 and began fixing up the mansion. The secret passageways and unusual architecture led many to wonder if the house was used as part of the underground railroad. 

In 1977, Noury Chemical Company acquired the property. They considered turning the building into offices but they were never able to move forward with the plan.

By the 1980’s, the Van Horn Mansion was well-known as a haunted structure in Niagara County.

In 1985 the Noury Chemical Company changed owners. The new owners donated the building and property to the Newfane Historical Society. The The Van Horn Mansion was saved. The donation came with the condition that the mansion be used as a museum and never again be sold as a residence.

History.