Explore the Haunted Adirondack Trail.
Celebrate Spooky Season by exploring the Haunted Adirondack Trail.
The Adirondacks are one of the best places to visit this time of year. From crisp mountain air to some of the best fall foliage in the Northeast, fall in the 6-million-acre park is unparalleled.
The Adirondacks are also home to dark, dense woods, war forts, and cure communities, making for the perfect setting for ghost stories and spirit sightings. Adirondack Wayfinder has curated a haunted trail featuring nine spooky stops from Big Moose to Speculator. Keep reading to learn more about these haunted spots, then visit for yourself and see what spirits cross your path.
Big Moose Lake
Perhaps one of the most well-known murders in the Adirondacks is that of Grace Brown. It was the inspiration for the novel An American Tragedy and the film, A Place in the Sun.
The story goes that Grace Brown met Chester Gillette while working at the Gillette Skirt Factory in Cortland, New York. They started dating in secret as he didn’t want people to know he was with a factory girl. She got pregnant and wanted him to marry her. He took them for a romantic trip to the Adirondacks, where she assumed he would propose but instead murdered her. They went for a canoe ride on Big Moose Lake, where he is believed to have hit her in the head with a tennis racket, causing her to fall into the water and ultimately drown since she didn’t know how to swim. He fled the scene, and her body resurfaced soon after. There have been many sightings of her ghost around Big Moose Lake ever since.
Inlet, 5th & 6th Lakes
Jasper Day was a hermit who lived in the woods in Inlet, New York. It is said that his ghosts haunt the bridge that connects the town’s two lakes. You can take the Jasper Day Trail that leads to the eerie remains of Jasper’s shack. That is, of course, if you don’t mind feeling Jasper’s spirit among you as you cross the bridge.
Inlet was also home to the Arrowhead Hotel (burned down in 1913), where the aforementioned Chester Gillette was arrested for the murder of Grace Brown.
Saranac Lake
Rated #7 in USA Today’s “10 Best Haunted Hotels” in 2020 (and again this year!), Hotel Saranac is the only remaining of 15 grand hotels that filled the town at the turn of the last century. Built in 1927 in a village devoted to curing tuberculosis, it’s no wonder this hotel made the list.
At least two ghosts have been seen in Hotel Saranac. One is a woman in the kitchen working with dough. The other is a cat of a woman who died at the property. The cat’s ghost has been known to disturb guest’s items, sleep on the bed, and brush against the housekeepers’ legs.
Lake Placid
If you’ve ever taken a ride on a Lake Placid Boat Tour, you’ve probably heard the story of The Lady in the Lake. In 1933, Mabel Smith Douglass disappeared while out rowing. Almost 30 years later, her body was found perfectly preserved by Pulpit Rock. She was found with a rope around her neck, and while the official cause of death was accidental drowning, some people believe she killed herself. You can read A Lady in the Lake by George Christian Ortloff and decide for yourself. Throughout the years, campers and boaters have spotted her ghostly figure around Pulpit Rock.
Built in 1926, the Palace Theatre is a Lake Placid staple and home to a friendly ghost. George Bola was a contractor for the building, and many employees and patrons of the theatre say his ghost wanders around. His footsteps have been heard coming down the booth stairs, and glasses on shelves have broken when no one else is around. There was even a séance once where people tried to talk to George, and he said hi by opening the nearby bathroom door. Residents of the building (four apartments are above the theatre) have also heard George “working” early in the morning.
The Stagecoach Inn dates back to the 1700s when it was an actual stagecoach stop. It’s the oldest operating Inn in Lake Placid and the oldest building in Lake Placid! It’s no wonder that they have a ghost. She’s said to be friendly and a bit mischievous as she tends to move items (like pillows) to odd locations.
Lake Champlain, Westport
Lake Champlain is home to a graveyard of shipwrecks, a sea monster, and a vengeful witch. The Champlain Witch is said to be the cause of freak pop-up storms, rogue waves, and other unusual on-the-water occurrences that often end in tragedy. Many believe she was a mother or lover who lost a young sailor. The witch is believed to be responsible for the wreck of Sarah Ellen. The Sarah Ellen was a 73-foot long, 15-foot wide sailing cargo schooner that could carry approximately 60 tons of cargo. In the winter of 1860, three people were on board when the ship wrecked. Henry Clay and his new bride, Lucy, and Joseph LaPlante. Henry and Lucy were lost under the waves, and some say it’s because the Champlain Witch was jealous. The ship wreckage was found in 1989 at 300 feet deep, highly preserved.
The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum has an hour-long broadcast that takes you on a shipwreck tour.
Fort Ticonderoga
With a military history dating back to 1755, it’s not surprising that many period soldiers have been seen wandering the barracks and drifting around the property at Fort Ticonderoga. One of those is a former Scottish soldier named Duncan Campbell. While living in Scotland, he gave shelter to a stranger who (unknown at the time) murdered his cousin. The cousin’s ghost appeared and said he would meet Campbell at a place called Ticonderoga. The Fort was named Fort Carillon when Campbell was there and killed in action. It was renamed Fort Ticonderoga a year later when the British took it from French forces.
Another ghost is Nancy Coates. She is said to have drowned herself when she suspected her lover was leaving her for another woman. She now roams the fort crying and looking for him.
Speculator
Built in the early 1800s by Phillip Rhinelander, the Rhinelander Estate could be seen as a romantic gesture. That is until you learn that the mansion was most likely built to keep his wife, Mary, prisoner. Many also speculate that he slowly poisoned her until she died in 1918. Phillip left a few years later, leaving the property abandoned until it burned down in 1875. There have been many ghost sightings since, a crying woman and candles flying through the air. You can still visit the estate today, although the only thing you’ll see is a historical landmark noting the estate was there. If you venture towards the lake though, they say you’ll feel a cold, quiet presence come over you, but not to fear. It’s just Mary saying hello.
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