Pursuing the Lady in White: Part One

For this Halloween season I decided to visit destinations tied with the production of the movie Lady in White (1988) and the legend which inspired the movie. Despite having lived in the Rochester, New York area for most of my current life and having been a Lady in White fan since the late 1980s, I had never gone to the towns that were used in the making of the movie despite them being only an hour's drive away. It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I finally visited Durand-Eastman Park, right here in my very own city, where the legend of the White Lady stems from. This October, I decided it was about time I finally took an in-depth look at these local dark destinations.

I decided to begin with the source of the legend, Durand-Eastman Park. The park was created in the early 20th Century on land donated by Kodak founder George Eastman and Doctor Henry Durand. The park borders Lake Ontario and contains a pair of smaller lakes. The spot where the three lakes come the closest to each other is generally the focal point for the legend of the White Lady ghost of Rochester. A picnic area known as the 3-Lakes Pavilion is claimed to be site of the former home of Eelissa, the Lady in White. The pavilion is a hill with a cobblestone wall built into the side that faces Lake Ontario.

The legend states that a vengeful feminine wraith cloaked entirely in white stalks the park in the vicinity, searching for male victims. The reasons for White Lady's wrath and where exactly in the park she manifests vary from story to story. Often, the legends have the ghost motivated by a tragedy involving her daughter and a pre-existing distrust/dislike for men on the part of Eelissa. In this semi-sympathetic version of the story, the ghost is searching for her long-lost daughter and may attack any mortal men who have the misfortune to interrupt her search.

In some tales the White Lady is a woman who was driven to madness and murder by the actions of an unfaithful husband. Still blinded by her jealous rage, she is said to stalk the roads of the park, mistaking unfortunate young lovers in cars for her husband and his mistress whom she seeks to slay again and again, doomed to re-enact her crime with fresh victims over the centuries.

My recent visit to the park was on an over-cast and gloomy afternoon, the next best thing to visiting the park at night. The stretch of beach along Lake Ontario was my first stop. The first stories I had heard of the White Lady had her prowling this rocky beach with a pair of spectral dogs that she would sic on any man unfortunate enough to choose the wrong evening for a nighttime stroll.

I then moved on to the 3-Lakes Pavilion and the two smaller lakes across the street from Lake Ontario. The cobblestone wall of what some legends refer to as the “White Lady's Castle” has long cracks running through a few spots, but has held up otherwise well over the nearly 100-years since it was built. The view from the pavilion was wonderful, though there was a disquieting silence in the area. The only sign of wildlife I spotted were some swans quietly skimming through the water of Durand Lake when I wandered deeper into the park and away from the pavilion. Some legends claim that the White Lady forms from the mists of that very lake.



Overall, it was a nice fall hike with a with a slightly spooky ambiance. It made me want to return again during evening hours and take a stroll... hopefully not on a night when Eelissa is on the hunt.

My next journey was to Lyons, New York and a number of locations used in the filming of Frank LaLoggia's nostalgic supernatural mystery Lady in White. I will write about this in a future second installment.

In the meantime, you can click here to read our full article on Durand-Eastman Park for further details about the legend and photos I took during my last visit.


-Tom G

Odd Tales of the Lincoln Assassination

This Wednesday will be the 145th anniversary of the assassination of US President Abraham Lincoln. On April 14, 1865, Lincoln was shot in the head by actor John Wilkes Booth as the President and his wife sat in a balcony at Ford's Theatre, watching a production of Our American Cousin. Booth escaped, but was tracked by the US Army who caught up with him twelve days later. Despite orders to capture the assassin, a soldier named Boston Corbett shot Booth dead. Corbett, a former prisoner of war who had served time in the Confederacy's Andersonville Prison (see Andersonville National Historic Site) claimed that God himself gave the soldier the order to kill Booth.

The same night as the assassination of Lincoln, a fellow conspirator, Lewis Powell attempted to murder Secretary of State William Seward. Powell attempted to stab the man to death as he lay in bed, recuperating from injuries sustained from a carriage accident. Ironically, the very injuries that had him bedridden may have also saved Seward's life; a brace the secretary wore for a neck injury prevented the assassin from cutting Seward's throat and the Secretary's children managed to fend off the killer, driving him from their home.

As the conspirators were rounded up by the authorities, a case of mistaken identity led them to arrest Francis Tumblety, a con man who posed as a doctor to sell odd concoctions he claimed cured various ills. Francis, who was using one of his aliases, was incarcerated for three weeks until he was cleared of charges and set free. Years later, Tumblety would become one of many suspected to be the serial killer known as Jack the Ripper (see Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Rochester, NY).

It is said that President Lincoln had a prophetic dream about his own assassination days before it occurred. There are also numerous ghost tales associated with the assassination. Witnesses have claimed to have to seen the ghost of Lincoln at the White House, his grave in Illinois and the Peterson House (where Lincoln actually died of his injury sustained at the theatre). The ghosts of John Wilkes Booth, Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln are claimed by some to haunt Ford's Theatre (See Ford's Theatre National Historic Site). Even the route traveled by Abraham Lincoln's funeral train is said to be haunted by a spectral train.

Part of Abraham Lincoln's skull is on display at the National Museum of Health in Medicine in Washington, D.C. (see the National Museum of Health and Science). Part of his blood-stained collar can be seen at the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania along with part of the thorax of John Wilkes Booth (see the Mutter Museum).

These are just some of the strange stories surrounding the first assassination of a United States President.

-Tom G

The Haunting of the Hotel del Cornado

This coming Friday will mark 122 years since the Hotel del Coronado opened for business. The hotel was possibly an inspiration for description of the Emerald City in some of author Frank L. Baum's Land of Oz books. It has also been used as a filming location for a number of films (including Some Like It Hot and Wicked, Wicked). The Hotel del Coronado is also reputed to be haunted due to a tragedy that occurred when the hotel had only been open a mere four years. It is a tale of love gone wrong; a chilling Valentine for our dark travelers.

On November 24, 1892, a young woman, using an alias, checked into the hotel's room 302. Five days later the woman was dead. Her corpse was discovered, the apparent victim of a suicide, outside the hotel on the steps leading up from the beach. It wasn't until after her death that her identity was discovered; she was Kate Morgan, a con artist who assisted her card shark husband at bilking unsuspecting men out of their money during poker games. Her husband had left her after discovering that she was pregnant and wished for them to settle down. She apparently took her own life after days of fruitlessly waiting for him to return to her.

The hotel has changed the room number twice since the incident, but the rumors of haunting persist and it remains the most requested room in the hotel. Some have claimed to witness the ghost of Kate Morgan looking from the room's window or wandering the halls of the hotel. It has been theorized that Kate may not have taken her own life: rather she had been the victim of a murder staged to look as though it had been suicide. The truth may never be known. Perhaps if you stay at the Hotel del Coronado, the long dead Kate Morgan will whisper her story into your ear as you sleep.

Check in to the Hotel del Coronado to read more about the hotel, the current number of Kate Morgan's room, the other haunted room and learn what horror television show regularly used the hotel as a shooting location.


-Tom G

The Graveyard of the Pacific

The winter months are truly treacherous ones for those who sail the waters of the "Graveyard of the Pacific"; a section of the Pacific Ocean that runs along the western coast of North America. The turbulent waters have claimed thousands of ships and many lives. This week alone marks the separate anniversaries of two different sinkings in that section of the "Graveyard" that is the mouth of the Columbia River, with more later this month and over the next two.

The most infamous of the sinkings took place 49 years ago this coming Thursday. On January 14, 1961, The Mermaid, a crab boat with two crewman aboard, ran into trouble when it lost its rudder in violent weather conditions. The Coast Guard came to the ship's rescue. Unfortunately, the rescue attempt failed and led to the sinking of The Mermaid as well as causing three Coast Guard vessels to capsize in the process. The Mermaid's crew was lost as well as five members of the Coast Guard who were aboard the rescue boat Triumph. The names of the lost Coast Guard members were added to the memorial in Maritime Memorial Park in Astoria, Oregon (see Maritime Memorial Park, Astoria, OR).

Unsuprisingly, the area has also been the location of claimed ghost ship sightings and other paranormal activity. It has also reportedly been home to one or more sea monsters.

Click here to brave the treacherous waters along the Mouth of the Columbia River to learn more about its shipwrecks and supernatural lore.

- Tom G

Amityville: 35 Years SInce the DeFeo Murders

This coming Friday the 13th will mark the 35th anniversary of the infamous night that 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo Jr. stumbled into a bar near his home asking for help and stating that he thought his parents had been shot. He assembled a small group of people and led them back to his family's house. A horrific scene awaited them -- not only had his parents been shot, Ronald's four young brothers and sisters (ranging in age from 18 to 9) had been murdered as well. All of the family members had been shot as they lay sleeping in their beds. Ron DeFeo suggested that the murders were mob related, but confessed to the murders the following day when details in his story unraveled.

Oddly, all six members of the family were slain while laying face down in their beds, with no signs of any of them waking up from the sound of a rifle going off. Neighbors also did not report hearing the sound of the rifle despite evidence that a silencer wasn't used. Toxicology reports on the slain family failed to reveal the presence of any sedatives that could have kept the family asleep during the murders. Ronald Defeo's ever-changing claims about the murders have at times included accounts in which he had accomplices -- including his own 18-year-old sister (herself one of the victims), but there has never been solid evidence to show that anyone else but Ronald had been involved. Some believe that this strange aspect of the DeFeo murders points to Ronald having assistance in his crimes from a supernatural force.

Indeed, a little over a year later the Lutz family moved into the murder house and lasted only a mere 28 days in the home before fleeing it. Their tales of demonic haunting in the home led to the book The Amityville Horror (which in turn led to a book and film franchise), increasing the infamy of the former DeFeo house.

Ronald Defeo was convicted on all six counts of second degree murder and given six consecutive sentences of 25 years to life. He is incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility in Beekman, New York. DeFeo has been eligable for parole for nearly a decade, but has been turned down for it each time he has applied. His family was buried in nearby Saint Charles Cemetery (see Saint Charles Cemetery, Farmingdale, NY).

Did DeFeo have accomplices in murdering his family? Are there people wandering free who helped him shoot his parents and younger siblings? Or was Ronald's accomplice something even more sinister and intangeable in nature?


Visit the Amityville Horror House and learn more about the controversies surrounding the home. You can also use Street View on our map to see the house as it appears today.


-Tom G

Attack of the Bunny Man

While some versions of the Bunny Man legend have his story extending back more than a century, the oldest recorded account of the Bunny Man appearing dates back to October 1970. On October 18, 1970, a Virginia couple had their vehicle attacked but what appeared to be a man in bunny suit with a hatchet (see Bunny Man: First Encounter at Guinea Road). Less than two weeks later the mysterious man in a bunny suit would once again appear, vandalizing property and menacing a security guard with an axe (see Bunny Man: Second Encounter at Guinea Road). If this indeed is the genesis of the Bunny Man legend, then the legend turns 40-years-old next year.

The legends of the Bunny Man vary from a mentally ill young man hacking up his family at Easter to a malevolent spirit that has haunted a Fairfax County culvert for nearly a century and likes to kill victims at the stroke of midnight on Halloween. Whatever the story, it is always bad news for those who see the Bunny Man.

Pay a visit to Bunny Man Bridge to learn more about the legends, but should you spot a rabbit... Run away! Run away!

-Tom GPS: Feel free to let loose with the Monty Python quotes.

The Haunt of Moundsville Penitentiary

By now, most everyone is familiar with the infamous West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville, West Virginia. The facility (and its "Sugar Shack") left a rather impressionable mark as the setting of the debut episode of the MTV reality series, Fear, and kept the momentum going with recent appearances in the likes of Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures. Well, today marks a rather notorious date in the facility's history. 110 years ago to this day, October 10, 1899, inmate Shep Caldwell was executed for murdering his mistress. His death marked the first execution in West Virginia Penitentiary and there would be 93 more before the prison closed in 1995.

Today, the facility is open to the general public as a living museum where guests can see what life was like behind bars for the inmates of the Moundsville prison. In addition, it also offers ghost tours/hunts for the would-be ghost hunters to hone their skills and attempt to shine some light on the facility's mysterious happenings. It is run by the Moundsville Economic Development Council who takes advantage of this time of year to turn the prison into the Halloween haunted attraction, Dungeon of Horrors. Intended to raise funds for the general upkeep of the prison and keep it open to the general public, the haunt has become one of the more popular Halloween attractions in the United States - drawing around 10,000 visitors each year.

This week, a minor controversy erupted in Wilmington, North Carolina over a similar fundraising haunted attraction that transforms the USS North Carolina into the annual Ghost Ship. Local area news reported on a veteran of the ship's objections that the Halloween haunted attraction was not respectful of those that served and died on the vessel. The staff that run the haunt defended the attraction by saying that the ship did not receive state or federal funding to keep the memorial open and that the group relied on dollars raised from the haunt (and other events throughout the year) to keep the ship open to the general public.

So a question for you all - Do you believe it is disrespectful to run a Halloween haunted attraction at a facility where lives were lost - be it a prison, military vessel, or similar public venue? Does the money raised that help keeps the facility open to the general public justify the means?

For more information on West Virginia Penitentiary and Dungeon of Horrors, check out our articles on Dark Destinations:

West Virginia Penitentiary
Dungeon of Horrors

-Casey H.

Stephen King's Birthday

Prolific horror author Stephen King turns 62-years-old today. In honor of his birthday today's Dark Destination is the Stanley Hotel. The hotel was part of the inspiration for Stephen King's 1977 horror novel, The Shining. King was inspired after staying at the hotel with his wife on October 30, 1974. It was the night before the hotel closed down for the season and the author and his wife were the only guests. The empty halls and ballroom along with ghost stories about the place caused King to resurrect a story he'd never finished and change the setting from a carnival to a hotel called The Overlook.

Over two decades later, the hotel became the primary shooting location for the television mini-series adaption of the novel, directed by Mick Garris. Dark Destination's own Casey Hopkins was actually on set during part of that shoot, and had the chance to chat with King and others after being invited by the director following an interview for the site. Perhaps he'll share his story with all of you sometime. The mini-series followed King's novel closer than Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film adaption, leading to fans being polarized in opinion over the two adaptions. It is rare to find a fan who enjoys both adaptions equally.

Which adaption do you prefer?

Stay the night in the haunted rooms of the Stanley Hotel if you dare.

-Tom G

Halloween and the Economy

In past years of economic difficulties, Halloween still managed to bolster retail sales figures as people purchased candy, costumes and decorations despite financial woes. Last year, despite the recession, Halloween resulted in between five to six billion dollars in sales for the retail sector. This year, however, as I look about my hometown of Rochester, NY, I'm seeing less costume shops and Halloween supplies available than I did at this time last year.

Last year one of the most popular local haunted attractions, Fear at Frontier (see Frontier Field/Fear at Frontier), chose to skip the season. It now appears that they have chosen not to reopen for 2009 as well. I was then saddened to learn from artist Larry Moss that due to lack of donations his Balloon Manor Halloween event (see Balloon Manor) was also going to have to skip this year. It has left me wondering what other haunted attractions are keeping their doors closed this year, or have possibly had to change venues due to the economy. It also has me wondering about the impact on ghost tours. Casey mentioned to me that a ghost tour local to him is skipping the 2009 season. I had actually been wondering if haunted attractions being closed might drive further business toward guided ghost walks and spooky-themed bus tours. Tours require far less staff and materials than a haunted attraction and despite the economy there are bound to be a large number of folks who will be in search of creepy Halloween thrills.

What is happening with the haunts and tours near you? Have you noticed any changes this year in your local retailers gearing up for the Halloween season? Do you plan on laying low this Halloween? Or are you going all out to spread and enjoy the Halloween spirit?

If you are a haunted attraction owner or an operator of a macabre-themed tour that is running this year, please give us a shout. We'll make sure to plug your business on our Web site.

-Tom G

The Haunting of Malco Theatre

The Malco Theatre is a celebrated landmark in the tourist city of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Although the current building dates back only to 1935, the Central Avenue location has hosted theatrical venues since the 1880s. Previous incarnations were torn down for one reason or another (one after it was gutted by fire), but perhaps something was left behind. In addition to reports of paranormal activity, the Malco Theatre is home to a rather unusual tale. From 1996 until very recently, the theater was also host to Maxwell Blade's Theatre of Magic and while researching the venue's history, he reportedly stumbled across an interesting legend.

The date was August 28, 1888 and a German magician was performing at an early incarnation of the theater when he asked a woman in the audience to join him on stage to assist with his final illusion. The woman was Clara B. Sutherland and a red silk sheet was placed over her. When the magician pulled it away, she had vanished - a fairly normal routine. What was not normal was that when the magician ordered the woman to reappear, she didn't. According to the legend, the woman had simply vanished and could not be summoned back despite the magician's best efforts. She was never seen again. While some might dismiss the tale as being just part of Maxwell Blade's former act, there are several who believe that there is a connection between it and the reports of an apparition of a woman that has been spotted in the venue's basement.

Read more about the Malco Theatre at Dark Destinations.

-Casey H.

Fire That Swept the Halloween Capitol of the World

Today marks 125 years since a great fire swept through the streets of Anoka, Minnesota and destroyed a total of 86 buildings. The fire, which took place 53 years prior to the city being declared the Halloween Capitol of the World by Congress (see Dark Destinations entry on Anoka), began in a local ice rink and quickly spread to other buildings the night of August 16, 1884. One of the buildings to survive the fire, though heavily damaged, was the Jackson Hotel. The hotel, which had only existed for seven years at the time of the fire, underwent extensive repairs and re-opened nearly a year later. Later renamed Billy's Bar and Grill, the hotel has since been the scene of a murder and a reported haunting - though the haunting does not appear to be connected to either the fire or the murder. Who haunts the former Jackson Hotel?

Pay a visit to Billy's Bar and Grill and see for yourself.

-Tom G

30th Anniversary of The Amityville Horror

On this date in 1979, the first film in a popular haunted house franchise hit screens. On July 27, The Amityville Horror was unleashed and became a box-office success worldwide. The film starred James Brolin, Margot Kidder, and Rod Steiger and was an adaptation of the novel of the same name by author Jay Anson. Of course, the film told of the alleged real-life haunting of the Lutz Family in a house located at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York (see Amityville Horror House).

The residence that doubled as that infamous house for the film was actually located in nearby Toms River, New Jersey, as Amityville officials turned down the studio's request to film there – reportedly already fed up with the exposure from the alleged haunting. The success of The Amityville Horror was spawned into countless sequels and even a remake in 2005 (see Amityville Horror Movie House (2005)) and reinvigorated the haunted house sub-genre of horror films. In fact, as this film celebrates its 30th Anniversary, another film based on an reputed haunting tore up screens earlier this year and is currently on top of the DVD rental charts - The Haunting in Connecticut (see The Haunting in Connecticut House).

Celebrate 30 years with a trip to Tom's River.

-Casey H.

The Hawthorne Hotel of Salem, Massachusetts

The Hawthorne Hotel opened on July 23, 1925 (84 years ago today) in the infamous city of Salem, Massachusetts. The hotel, then known as just The Hawthorne, was named after one of Salem's most accomplished residents, Nathaniel Hawthorne. The name "Hawthorne" actually has an ironic connotation for the city of Salem. While it pays tribute to the famed author, it is also an unintentional reference to the city's dark past. Nathaniel Hawthorne's great-great-grandfather, John Hathorne, was one of the judges during the Salem Witch Trials, earning him the moniker of "The Witch Hanging Judge," and the only one to refuse to repent for his actions during the time. Out of great shame of his family's legacy, Nathaniel later legally changed his name by adding the "w" to Hawthorne.

Perhaps it is only fitting that a hotel named after an author well known for employing the supernatural in his fiction and whose own past is tied to one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in the United States is itself rumored to be haunted. In fact, there is a legend that the hotel is built on the former apple orchard of Bridget Bishop, the first person to be executed during the infamous trials. According to reports, guests and staff alike encounter the phantom smell of apples throughout the hotel to this very day. Of course, that is just one of the many ghostly legends tied to the hotel. In fact, if the stories are to be believed, the hotel is one of the most haunted locations not only in the state of Massachusetts, but in the entire country.

Read more on the ghosts and legends of the Hawthorne Hotel.

-Casey H.

The Mad Dog Killers of Mansfield Reformatory

Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio might be better known by its unofficial name, Mansfield Reformatory. The former reformatory is renowned for its paranormal activity and spooky appearance, which has led many to dub the facility, "Dracula's Castle." Today, it is known in the paranormal field as something of an ideal training grounds for would-be ghost hunters to learn the tools of the trade. After all, the prison is steeped in legends of past inmate violence and other notorious goings-on. In fact, sometimes it is quite difficult to separate the legend from reality, For example, it is not uncommon to hear that the Ohio State Reformatory housed the worst of the worst in the state of Ohio. In reality, it was an intermediate facility whose inmates were those too old to serve in a juvenile detention center, yet too young for the hard life awaiting them at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus. That's not say that the facility did not have its bad apples and bloodshed. In fact, today is the anniversary of one of the reformatory's most notorious crimes.

July 21, 1948 marked the start of a two-week crime spree that would take the lives of six innocent civilians and spread fear throughout the community. Interestingly, the crimes were sparked not by inmates then serving time, but rather two men who had recently been paroled. On this day 61 years ago, Robert Daniels and John West returned to Ohio State Reformatory to enact revenge on an employee of the prison. When that individual could not be located, the two men went to the home of the prison's farm superintendent and kidnapped the man, his wife and his daughter. They took the three souls to a nearby cornfield and executed them in cold blood. As it turned out, the crime spree had only just begun and it would last for two weeks longer until it ended in a shootout with West dead and Daniels in handcuffs. Robert Daniels would ultimately be executed for the crimes, for which the press dubbed the men the "Mad Dog Killers."

Read more of the history and the stories of ghostly activity at the Ohio State Reformatory.

-Casey H.

She Cries by the Light of the Moon

In honor of the 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11 touching down on the lunar surface, we thought we would throw together our own little tribute to the Moon.

Our first stop is on the Earth's surface and at just one of many legends that the Moon is said to play a role. The story behind the lake and a small falls at Creve Coeur County Park in Missouri (just outside St. Louis) involves a Native American princess whose love of a French fur trader went unrequited. With a shattered heart, she took her own life by jumping from the cliff near the lake and her agony was suddenly reflected by the lake itself, which morphed to resemble a broken heart, while a small spring began to run over the cliff to represent her tears. Today, the ghost of the young maiden is said to be seen crying at the top of the cliff on Dripping Springs, but only by the light of the full Moon. On other nights, she is seen and heard in other ways.

Read more about the Native American Princess at Creve Coeur County Park.

We'll leave our own atmosphere for our next stop. As many of you are aware, Dark Destinations incorporates Google Maps into our site to make navigating your travels all the more easier. While Google Maps, and its offshoot Google Earth, are extremely popular, not everyone is aware that Google's reach extends beyond our own planet. In fact, Google has launched similar service that maps out and give you a satellite's view of the Moon (a similar interface is also available for the planet Mars). On Google Moon, they have even added an interface that allows you to see the landing spots of the Apollo missions and learn even more about what each mission entailed. Unfortunately, some features like Street View are not yet an option for obvious reasons. However, it probably won't be long knowing Google. Why else do you think NASA has future plans to send unmanned craft back to the lunar surface?

We do not yet have any Dark Destinations on the Moon, but maybe someday. After all, as Pink Floyd put it, “There is no dark side of the Moon, really. As a matter of fact, it's all dark."

-Casey H.

Escape from Fort Delaware

In the early days of the American Civil War, the Union-run prisoner of war camp, Fort Delaware, still had a relatively low inmate population (still over half of what it would become only a year later) and few problems. It was run by Captain Augustus Gibson, whose general philosophy was to show the same respect and treatment to the captured Confederate troops that he would hope to be shown if he was in their shoes. While the attitude won him respect from the very prisoners he was in charge of guarding, it also raised suspicions about his loyalty to the Union by some of his troops and nearby residents. He remained confident of his approach however and that confidence proved to be his undoing.

After a general had visited the camp and had expressed a specific concern regarding the lack of gunboat patrols around the island that could keep a lookout for escape attempts, Captain Gibson assured his general that he had things completely under control. Only a few weeks later, this would prove to be a big mistake. 143 years ago to this day, 19 inmates at Fort Delaware constructed a makeshift raft and managed to navigate it across the Delaware River to the shore of Delaware, where local residents aided in their escape. For the high command it was obvious that Gibson's overconfidence (and suspect allegiance) was a detriment to his command and he was removed.

Things changed drastically after Gibson had left the camp. The population continued to swell and the treatment of the inmates went from bad to worse. In total, the Union estimates put the total of successful escape attempts at 273, although Confederate estimates nearly double, if not quadruple, the number. Escapes from the island were fraught with danger. Those that tried faced everything from drowning in the swift currents to patrol boats to sentries to sharks. It is unclear about how many perished by attempting to escape, which might account for some of the paranormal activity reported on the grounds of the former prison to this day. During the second week of June, these escape attempts are recreated with the annual Escape from Fort Delaware Triathlon, which attracts around 400 athletes per year.

Read more tales of Fort Delaware.

-Casey H.

The Myths and Legends of the Hollywood Sign

Now a world-famous landmark, the Hollywood Sign was originally erected in 1923 to advertise real estate above the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. It was officially dedicated on July 13 and each letter on the sign originally measured 30 feet wide and 50 feet high (it has since been resized) and adorned with light bulbs - 4,000 in total. While the real estate deal didn't work out, the sign was unofficially adopted by the burgeoning film industry as a symbolic marquee of the very industry itself.

Today, the sign is maintained by the Hollywood Sign Trust and has countless imitators around the world. While the sign is an iconic image for Hollywood, it is also the subject of countless of stories. Aside from the various urban legends about the sign, the various pranks throughout the years, its regular appearance (and typically destruction in film and television), the sign was also the site of a tragic suicide of a young starlet within a decade of its dedication. Following her death, the sign has also become the source for countless tales of paranormal activity and apparitions that are said to haunt the sign to this day.

Read all of the stories of the Hollywood Sign.

-Casey H.

100 Years of Ghosts and Monsters at Oregon Caves

Today marks the 100th Anniversary of President William Howard Taft declaring a 480-acre plot of land in Oregon's Siskiyou Mountains as the Oregon Caves National Monument. The massive marble cave in the mountain has since been open to tour groups and expansion into further caverns has expanded the tour to 90 minutes today. 25 years later, the Oregon Caves Chateau was built directly adjacent the caves entrance to serve overnight guests to the park. In the years since, both have gained a reputation for some rather strange experiences.

Deep in the caves is an appropriately-named Ghost Room, which is said to be haunted by formal guide who was known for his pranks. Recently in 2000, an Oregon psychologist was walking with his family on the trails outside the cave when he reported seeing large upright figure that he described as fitting the descriptions of the famous Bigfoot. In the Chateau, guests on the third floor (and Room 310 in particular) have reported strange activity that staff have attributed to the ghost of Elizabeth - An early guest that was said to take her life on her honeymoon after finding her husband in another woman's arms.

From Tom and I here at Dark Destinations, a very happy 100 years to the Oregon Cave National Monument and all of its stories! Here's hoping that the next 100 bring even more interesting stories to light.

Read more stories about the Oregon Caves National Monument.

Or pay a visit to Elizabeth and Room 310 at the Oregon Caves Chateau.

-Casey H.

The Bell Witch in Mississippi

The stories of the Bell Witch haunting and tormenting the Bell family in Adams, Tennessee are well known and documented (see The Bell Witch Historical Marker). However, there is another part of the story that is seldom told. Following the death of John Bell (some say at the hands of the entity), the life of the other focus of the spirit's taunting, Elizabeth “Betsy" Bell, was not much better. Though the “haunting" had seemingly finished for the time being, Betsy continued to suffer a variety of hardships and tragedies. She would live to see the death of five of her children (four at a young age, the fifth died fighting in the Civil War). Her husband, Richard Powell, would suffer a stroke and Betsy (now Elizabeth Powell) would spend 11 years caring for him before his death.

The story of the Bell Witch haunted Betsy for the rest of her life. In 1849, she was forced to threaten a lawsuit against the Saturday Evening Post who had recounted the legend of the entity, but alleged that the paranormal accounts were fiction and that Betsy was actually responsible for the events themselves. The magazine recanted the article and publicly apologized to Betsy.

In her later years, she moved to Mississippi to be closer to her children. She died there July 11, 1888 and was laid to rest at the Long Branch Cemetery in Water Valley. However, the story was not quite done. There are many that allege that the Bell Witch's torment of Betsy Bell continued until the day she died. In fact, there are many that report strange activity in and around Long Branch Cemetery to this day and that whatever taunted Betsy Bell in life has stayed around her even in death.

Visit the Long Branch Cemetery in Water Valley, Mississippi.

-Casey H.

The Basin Park Hotel of Eureka Springs

Although often overshadowed by its often better known sister-hotel, Crescent Hotel (see Crescent Hotel & Spa), the Basin Park Hotel offers more stories for ghost enthusiasts to explore in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The hotel opened on this date in 1905 and at one-time hosted unsavory Chicago mobsters because of the hotel's owners outright ignoring of city laws that banned alcohol and slot machines. Today, the site plays host to ghost tours that explore not only the hotel itself, but downtown Eureka Springs. Like the Crescent, multiple spirits are said the haunt the halls of Basin Park Hotel and guests and staff alike still report strange encounters to this day.

Read the history and stories of the Basin Park Hotel.

-Casey H.