Welcome to the Adirondacks: Ladies of the Lakes, Spirits of the Mountains

The town of Saranac Lake became a haven for those seeking relief for the disease known as consumption. Known today as Tuberculosis, Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau was one of the earliest to seek a cure for the disease, and in the pine scented air of the Adirondacks found relief. He soon founded a sanitarium and pioneered an early industry in Saranac Lake. Numerous “cure cottages” popped up in its wake, and many of them can be seen in the ordinary neighborhoods of the town.

While many sought relief, a great many more died. When I was a child, my mother told me that the house across the street was haunted. I grew up with the ghosts of my hometown, and they were everywhere. And I, armed with my plastic Ghostbusters proton pack, was ready to bust every single one of them.

On this episode of the Our Strange Skies podcast, I present you with some of the stories that I grew up with. Some of our spirits dwell in the lakes, and some in the mountains. In many ways they are tied to the landscape more than they are any home. Perhaps that’s what makes the Adirondacks unique. Please enjoy some of our favorite spirits.

Sources:

1932 Winter Olympics - Wikipedia

Mabel Smith Douglas - Rutgers University

Death of the Dean - Writing.com

Lady in the lake mystery lingers 83 years later - Inside Ottawa Valley

A Lady in the Lake by George Christian Ortloff

Adirondack Ghosts by Lynda Lee Macken

Haunted Houses by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Haunted Lake Placid by Lynda Lee Macken

Haunted Northern New York: True, Chilling Tales of Ghosts in the North Country by Cheri Revai (Farnsworth)

Murder in the Adirondacks: An American Tragedy Revisited by Craig Brandon

Grace Brown Letters