On this date back in 1890 a terrible snap of winter weather wracked the East coast from the Carolinas to Canada. Temperatures dropped amidst snow and ice and heavy winds. It set the scene for a tale of nautical tragedy that still haunts us today, perhaps literally. The schooner Louis V Place set sail from Baltimore to New York bearing coal, but it would never reach safe harbor this night.

It became so cold that the sails began to freeze and in short time they could no longer control the ships’ direction. The schooner ran aground on a sandbar and fell mercy to the fierce rolling waves that washed over its decks. The crew had already been in the cold and extreme weather for the past few days. With the ship little more than a block of ice, there was little else to be done. Men were given generous helpings of whiskey and instructed to wear as much clothing as they could and climb up into the riggings to hope for rescue.

This was not the only ship caught up in the fierce weather, and life saving stations had their hands full. No sooner did the men at the Lone Hill lifesaving station attempt to deal with one wreck then they were sent out to attempt a rescue on the Louis V. Place schooner. But try as they might, the winds and rough seas were too much. And even when they managed to get a line to land on board the ship, the men were too frozen to secure it. Only by morning was it possible in calmer seas to get to the ship, but by then all but two men had frozen to death.

Mrs. A. J. S. Weeks of Patchogue donated plots for six of the sailors to be buried and it is here that one part of the strange story begins. About a week later, an article appeared in the Brooklyn Eagle regarding employees who had heard moaning coming from the cemetery on their way home from the old Lace Mill and had witnessed a white apparition rising from the ground where the sailors were buried. It seemed to be an ongoing thing that left women scared to walk home at night.

And there is also the legend of Whistling Sam who was buried in the sands of Fire Island and could not be found when they went back to give him a proper burial. He has been seen walking the shoreline in his pea coat at least as recent as the 1950’s.

So on the anniversary of this historic shipwreck, and the beginning of two local legends, with cold weather of our own coming down, I wonder if there is still anything lingering about today. Every year now we make the trip to Lakeview Cemetery on or around this anniversary hoping to pick up some remnant of the ghostly sightings seen by those women back in 1890.

There have been some promising evidence gathered, but the jury is still out. Do spirits naturally fade away over time? We hear of so many old homes, old museums, and historic places that still seem to remain haunted. What makes some spirits stay for years and years, and others make a brief appearance and disappear. There are so many unanswered questions that I am reminded of today in re-reading my research. I would love to hear your thoughts as well so please feel free to comment on this.

Stay warm and dry!

One thing I have noticed over the years spent researching haunting and legends is that some of our most treasured legends are not as unique as we think they are. This may come as a surprise. I know it did for me. And I have to admit I am very curious as to what other folklorists think about it.

Let’s take the lady in white on good old Mount Misery Road. It’s a tale that almost every teenager knows and the source of many a dark night’s drive down the wooded road, sometimes without headlights on. Whether you believe she is a patient from the old mental asylum rumored to have existed in the 1800’s, or you believe her to be the young Mary who was untimely struck down on the road, the appearance is similar. A woman in a white gown steps into the road in front of an unsuspecting motorist.

So let’s see if this is really a unique phenomenon to Long Island. According to Wikipedia, “A White Lady is a type of female and fake ghost purported to appear in many rural areas, and who is supposed to have died or suffered trauma in life. White Lady legends are found around the world”. In Upstate New York in a town called Acra there is a similar legend. This white lady is the ghost of a woman who died on her way home from her wedding night in the 1800’s and is sometimes seen on an old dirt road. In Mukilteo, Washington on Clearview Drive there is a spirit in white that may try to hitch a ride with you if you take the bend slow enough. Even as far away in the Phillippines there is a story of a woman with long white hair in a white dress.

What is it about a woman in white that chills us so much, and why is Long Island only one of the locations that can boast such a tale? Is there something deep within our human or cultural heritage that causes some of these similar legends to recur? Or is there some common paranormal thread? Most of the legends involving a white lady ghost involve a sudden and violent death to an innocent woman. We have also heard of gray ladies, and even a pink lady in other places. Is the color significant somehow?

Similar stories elsewhere can be found to connect with our Lake Ronkonkoma legend, Mary of the cemetery on Sweet Hollow Road, and even the reported demon dog of Mount Misery Road just to name a few. I may touch on these in another entry.  For now we have to wonder when driving on a certain road late at night, just what you might see and why.