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Overview
Located between New York's majestic Adirondacks and Vermont's famed Green Mountains, it's not surprising that some spirits linger in this otherwise tranquil place. Fort Ticonderoga saw some of early America's bloodiest battles, and soldiers' ghosts still stand guard. A spirit walks the halls of SUNY Plattsburgh, even after his original haunt burned in 1929. Champlain's islands—Stave, Crab, Valcour and Garden—all host otherworldly inhabitants, and unidentified creatures and objects have made appearances on the water, in the sky and in the forests surrounding the lake. Join Burlington's Thea Lewis as she explores the ghosts and legends that haunt Lake Champlain.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781609497293 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Arcadia Publishing SC |
| Publication date: | 08/21/2012 |
| Series: | Haunted America |
| Pages: | 112 |
| Sales rank: | 1,097,402 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.27(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Frighteners of the Fort
If, like me, you like your history mixed with a ghostly tale or two, you'll love New York's Fort Ticonderoga. This scene of some of the bloodiest battles in American history before the Civil War is one of the most haunted attractions in the North Country and home to ghosts of all nations. American, French and British forces are still buried there. If the glowing orbs, eerie lights, strange whispers and full-body apparitions reported by people who work and visit Fort Ticonderoga are any indication, these characters from the past aren't shy about having their stories told.
Designed by military engineer Michel Chartier de Lotbinière and built by the French in 1755, star-shaped Fort Ti, as it's known to locals, was constructed at a critical point on Lake Champlain to keep the British from gaining military access to the waterway. Because French forts represented the king, they were usually more ornate in design than more utilitarian British forts of the day. Marquis de Lotbinière had never designed a fort before, but his first effort was impressive. With walls seven feet high and fourteen feet thick, surrounded by a five-foot-deep dry moat and a glacis, or sloping embankment, the fort contained barracks, storehouses and, in one of the bastions, a bakery that produced sixty loaves of bread a day for the soldiers quartered there. It was a stronghold that changed hands many times, and each new occupation took its psychic toll. Murders, executions, spurned lovers, suffragists — all have left their mark on Fort Ticonderoga. In 2009, The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) documented the strange phenomena at the historic landmark. Presenting their findings, investigator Jason Hawes stated, "I firmly believe you have paranormal activity going on here."
Trisha Melton, a Fort Ticonderoga employee, agreed. She called the old fort "a very haunted place," confirming that people have seen glowing red orbs floating in some of the rooms. Steve Teer, who works on the museum's maintenance staff, said that one night, he spotted a strange red ball of light while working on the second floor of the South Barracks. The ball of light hovered in the air, just above his head. A co-worker who had come upstairs saw it too. "What do you suppose that is?" the man asked. As he spoke, the light whizzed away, disappearing into an air vent. From outside the building, people have spied a figure wearing a red coat standing in an upstairs window, and event coordinator Babette Props Treadway saw a figure in eighteenth-century dress wearing a large hat peering at her from the attic. One evening, after hours, two employees saw a figure in military attire go up the stairs to the second floor. They decided to split up, each taking one of the two stairways, so as not to lose the individual. When they both reached the landing at the top, there was no one there and no other exit. The French ovens, a cluster of caves beneath the fort, is rumored to have seen at least one murder, and people have heard low voices whispering in French. Some have smelled bread burning, and others have felt the sensation of falling or being pushed.
Outside, there have been numerous reports of the sound of footsteps emanating from the exterior stairs and smoky forms that take human shape and then disappear through solid walls. At the gatehouse, people claim to hear the spirit of a woman crying, and in the Garrison Cemetery, visitors have claimed to have seen horses with and without riders. Others have heard the sound of hoofbeats, though no horses are kept on the property. The mournful sound of bagpipes has been heard on the museum grounds, as well as the sound of drumbeats, as though some far-off regiment is being called to battle.
Fort Ticonderoga is a place where full-body apparitions abound. There is the ghost of Mad Anthony Wayne, which has been spotted in more than one location. Near the fort and at the water's edge, you might spot his paranormal paramour, Nancy Coates. There is the Scottish ghost of Duncan Campbell, too, along with the more modern ghost of Sarah Pell, who lived at Fort Ti in the 1920s and '30s.
Sarah Gibbs Thompson Pell, a noted member of the women's suffrage movement, and her husband, Stephen Hyatt Pelham Pell, owner of a coffee, cotton and stock brokerage firm, were responsible for the early restoration of Fort Ticonderoga. Stephen, whose great-grandfather, William Ferris Pell, had purchased the property, visited Fort Ticonderoga as a boy and was impressed by its history and its artifacts. He pledged that he would one day restore the place. In September 1908, he attended a press clambake hosted by the Ticonderoga Historical Society to talk up the idea of having the federal government purchase the Garrison Grounds from the Pell family. His wife and her father, Colonel Robert Means Thompson, were on board, with Means supplying the initial funding for the restoration, which became known as "Sarah's Project."
Today, Sarah's likeness can be observed meandering on the porch of the Pavilion, which is the site of the old Pell Estate and hotel. She has also been spotted in an upstairs window, gazing down at the plot known as the King's Garden.
Getting There:
Fort Ticonderoga is located in the picturesque Adirondack Park on Lake Champlain and includes a prime view of Vermont's gorgeous Green Mountains.
From U.S. Interstate 87 (North or South): Take Exit 28 onto NY Routes 22 and 74 East. Turn left onto Route 74 East. Fort Ticonderoga will be on the right.
From NY Route 9-N (North or South): Follow 9-N to the traffic circle in the town of Ticonderoga. Turn east onto Montcalm Street and continue three miles through two stoplights and one flashing light onto Route 74 East. Follow for about a half mile, and the entrance to Fort Ticonderoga will be on the right.
From Vermont: Follow State Route 74 West to the Ticonderoga Ferry (toll ferry) at Shoreham or Route 22A via Route 73 in Orwell. After crossing Lake Champlain, the main entrance to the fort will be one mile ahead on the left.
Call: 518-585-2821 fortticonderoga.org
CHAPTER 2Mad Anthony Wayne
On the lakeshore by Fort Ticonderoga, a pale spirit waits. You may encounter her running along the water's edge, her cheeks wet with tears, or see her floating face-down in the shallows of the lake. She is Nancy Coates, the famous victim of a tainted love affair with Mad Anthony Wayne.
The jury is out on just how mad Mad Anthony Wayne was. It is written that Major General Wayne (his military title) had a fiery temperament but was a brilliant strategist and cool in battle. History also tells us he took care of his men and was highly regarded by them. Muster rolls of the Pennsylvania line, a formation within the Continental army, show soldiers repeatedly returned to fight under him. Even Native American scouts sent to spy on him were admiring, calling him "The Chief Who Never Sleeps."
Sane or not, he was always a challenge. He made his own rules and had a mind of his own. When he was just a boy, he was sent to his uncle, Gabriel, who was supposed to oversee his education. Not long afterward, Gabriel wrote to the boy's father, saying he was sorry, but he was afraid that young Anthony would amount to nothing.
"I really suspect that parental affection blinds you, and that you have mistaken your son's capacity," the letter said. "What he may be best qualified for, I know not." In hindsight, his uncle's letter was like an omen. He continues: "One thing I am certain of, he will never make a scholar, he may perhaps make a soldier. He has already distracted the brains of two-thirds of the boys under my charge by rehearsals to battles, sieges, etcetera." After some tough love from his father, Wayne's interest in academics improved. He was especially good at math, and he became a surveyor, married and had nine children. But after a while, farm life and local patriotic pursuits weren't enough, since, at his core, Anthony Wayne was a military man.
Eventually, he recruited and organized the Fourth Pennsylvania Battalion of Continental troops and saw active service commanding his brigade during the retreat of Benedict Arnold. It was at that time, while in command at Fort Ticonderoga, that he met a widow, Nancy Coates.
Nancy Coates was a local woman. She was young, witty, attractive and known by the soldiers to be very generous with her attention. But even while she passed the time with a handful of enlisted men, her eye was on Anthony Wayne. Wayne found her pretty and charmingly unpredictable, a welcome distraction from the rigors of his command.
But not long after, Penelope Haynes came along. Haynes was the daughter of a Vermont landowner. She was beautiful, rich and younger than the widow Coates. She wasn't interested in any sexual shenanigans outside of marriage, but she had a bit of a crush on Wayne and loved to tease and flatter him. Nancy Coates, meanwhile, was completely smitten. She was spending less and less time in the company of other men and pressing Wayne for a commitment.
Even though it was whispered that Major Anthony Wayne had a wife back in Pennsylvania, both women vied for his affections. When the British began making military advances, General George Washington ordered Wayne to take troops, round up the community's women and weaker citizens and bring them inside the fort for protection. While he was away, people taunted Nancy Coates that he was off courting Penelope and might make her his bride that very day. When the troops returned later that night, Nancy saw Penelope at the head of the crowd, riding right beside Wayne.
Convinced the two had married and that her Anthony was lost to her forever, she became unhinged and made a grave mistake. She ran to the lake and threw herself into the dark, cold water. Wayne and Penelope had not advanced their relationship, but Nancy Coates drowned never knowing the truth.
Startled hikers have seen her ghost, its arms outstretched, on the wooded footpaths, and her moans have been heard by visitors and fishermen near the deep blue lake. Some have seen what looks like the lifeless form of a woman in a long dress floating face-down in the water, only to have it disappear before their very eyes.
Poor Nancy Coates. She's destined to live out eternity at Fort Ticonderoga without her one true love. Or is she?
It seems Mad Anthony Wayne's ghost also spends time at this familiar haunt. Even though he didn't die at Fort Ti, his ghost has been spotted there, beside a fireplace, drinking from a pewter mug. He's also been seen smoking and standing watch inside other chambers in the fort.
A Spooky Side Story
In the northern part of Vermont, there is a place called Lake Memphremagog. They say Wayne, who once tracked in that part of the territory, still shows up now and then. The story goes that back in the 1700s, he and two Canadian guides were looking for some bald eaglets to train for hunting. They found two, and Wayne raised them, even hand-feeding them himself. As they grew, he became very attached to them, and while they lived, he insisted they go everywhere with him. His fondness extends beyond the grave. Many a local has been caught off guard by the specter of Mad Anthony Wayne dressed in the garb of a frontiersman, walking along the shores of the lake with his arms outstretched. On each hand he holds an eagle poised for flight.
CHAPTER 3No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
One of Fort Ticonderoga's earliest and most famous ghost stories begins in the Scottish Highlands, at a place called Inverawe, west of Loch Lomond.
Duncan Campbell, Laird (Lord) of Inverawe, was tall and dark, with flashing eyes and a regal bearing. He was considered one of the most handsome men in the Western Highlands. He was a member of the Black Watch, Scotland's best-known regiment, and he had quickly risen to the rank of major. As the tale begins, Duncan, home in his castle, had just finished his supper and was enjoying the warmth of a crackling fire when, suddenly, there was a commotion. A stranger burst through the door and into the great hall. The intruder, his clothes torn and bloodied, rushed forward to place his hands on the hearthstone. Frantically, he explained that, in the midst of a skirmish, he had accidentally killed a man and needed Duncan's help. At that time, the unwritten law of the Highlands was that sanctuary must be given to any man who touches your hearthstone. "For God's sake, hide me!" the man begged. "Swear on your dirk you will not give me up!" Wary, but minding his conscience, Campbell swore, hiding the man in a secret chamber downstairs.
Later that evening, in the gathering mist, a band of men pounded at his castle door. From them, Campbell learned his cousin, Donald, a man who had been like a brother to Campbell, was the one the stranger had killed. He sent the gang away without revealing his secret and, some time later, finally managed to fall asleep.
But as he tossed and turned during the night, Donald appeared to him in a dream, begging him to give up his murderer and, in doing so, avenge his death. Distraught, but resolute, Campbell said no. He would not break his oath to the man he harbored, even for a beloved member of his own clan.
The next night, the spirit appeared again. This time, he was more demanding. "Shield not the murderer!" he said. "Blood must flow for blood."
Campbell couldn't take it any longer. He hauled the killer out of his bed and traveled with him to a cave near Ben Cruachan, the high point of a ring of mountains known as the Cruachan Horseshoe. He promised to return with food and water. But when he arrived the next day, the cave was empty. The man had vanished.
That evening, his cousin's ghost appeared to him once more, saying, "Farewell Duncan, farewell, 'til we meet again at Ticonderoga." Ticonderoga? Duncan had no idea what it was.
In 1758, Campbell found himself and his regiment across the ocean in New York, planning to advance on New France, what is today known as Canada. One night, while eating and drinking with a group of officers, Campbell told them about the incident with the man who had killed his cousin and wondered if any of them had heard of this place called Ticonderoga. One of the men said he had. The place they would soon attack went by a name other than Fort Carillon. The Iroquois called the land "Cheonderoga," which meant the "place between two waters." The white man, often imprecise in the pronunciation of native language, called it "Ticonderoga."
Duncan realized his time was running out. His fellow soldiers tried to console him, saying the apparition was a nightmare or figment of his imagination. Some joked that the fort was actually called "Fort George." But Duncan knew better. "Ticonderoga!" he would exclaim. "How to explain it away? I never heard the name until a few weeks ago!"
The night before his final battle, Duncan Campbell's cousin appeared to him one more time to deliver a final farewell. By the morning of July 8, 1758, he was resigned. "I have seen him," he told his fellow soldiers. "This is Ticonderoga. I shall die today." Duncan went to meet his fate.
And an ugly fate it was. Brigadier Lord Howe, the head of Campbell's expedition, had been killed three days earlier. That left Colonel Abercrombie, a man who was more politician than soldier, to mount the invasion. Unfortunately, he didn't make up his mind how they would go about it until they got there. Under his command, the British delivered what has been called one of the more bungled attacks in recorded history. By the time they arrived, the French had added another layer of fortification to their unfinished fort, an abatis made up of heavy logs, trees with the branches still on and sharpened spikes. Campbell's men got caught up in the barricades and became easy targets. In the mêlée, Major Campbell was wounded by a projectile from a French cannon, a mixture of shards of metal and broken glass. Blood poisoning set in, and he died nine days later at Fort Edward, in the home of distant relatives.
You would think that would be the end of the story, but there was more mystery to follow. Back in Scotland, on the day the Battle at Ticonderoga was taking place, renowned Danish physician Sir William Hart, along with a companion and his servant, was strolling around the castle Inverawe, Campbell's ancestral home. Hearing his friend gasp, Hart turned to see what was the matter. Looking up at the clouds, in the direction of his friend's pointing hand, he was astonished by a vision that seemed to depict Highland forces attacking the French, their efforts met with round after round of musket fire. He had no explanation for what he saw.
Later in the day, two sisters arrived at the castle with their own tale. They were crossing a bridge when one happened to look up. She shook her sister's shoulder and pointed excitedly at what she saw in the clouds overhead. It looked like a battle going on in the sky. Banners in the colors of different regiments seemed to be flying, and two men, Major Duncan Campbell and his son John (who served with him), were shot down. Her sister saw it, too. As it turned out, there were more firsthand accounts of this strange phenomenon.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Ghosts and Legends of Lake Champlain"
by .
Copyright © 2012 Thea Lewis.
Excerpted by permission of The History Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements 5
Introduction 7
1 Frighteners of the Fort 11
2 Mad Anthony Wayne 15
3 No Good Deed Goes Unpunished 18
4 Who's Haunting Hawkins Hall? 22
5 Mystery at MacDonough Hall 26
6 Murder in Plattsburgh 30
7 By Dunder! 37
8 Sit Right Back and You'll Hear a Tale 42
9 Secrets of a Swashbuckler 48
10 The Black Snake and The Fly 50
11 Back Inn Time 54
12 Ghost Ship 61
13 The Hermit of Champlain 66
14 More Terror in the Walk-In 71
15 It Came from the Sea 79
16 Creatures of the Northern Woods 85
17 Alien Crossing 90
18 The Bishop's Tale 95
19 Close Encounter at Camp Buff Ledge 101
20 But Wait! There's More! 106
Bibliography 109
About the Author 111