Mummified Armies of the Dead
According to a 1958 newspaper report, the native people and the early Europeans who lived near Seneca Lake shared the belief that the bodies of those who drowned in the lake never decomposed, remaining on the lake’s bottom in a petrified state due to the actions of the lake’s icy waters. These mummified drowning victims, which included both Europeans and native people, were called “armies of the dead.”
The Spectre Boatman
Back in 1874, one news account described reports of a “spirit boatman” who appeared on moonlight nights around dusk in the area of the “Painted Rocks” near Watkins Glen. Witnesses claimed to have seen a spectral boatman who would appear as if he was trying to flee, but would remain oddly motionless.
The last recorded sighting of the spirit boatman was on June 13, 1949. That evening, between dusk and nightfall, two witnesses claimed that they’d seen a boat carrying two people capsize along the western shore just north of Watkins Glen, where the water is not deep. Members of the Watkins Glen Fire Department searched for the spectral boat, conducting a grappling operation for a night and two days. No boat or bodies were found.
The Mystery Aircraft and the Floating Fish
Around 10:45am on the morning of August 28, 1918, Captain Fred Rosa was fishing in his motorboat along the east shore by Geneva when he heard an unusual, muffled sound coming from the water. When Rosa looked out across the lake, he saw a swell and what appeared to be smoke on the surface.
Rosa thought little of the strange occurrence until his attention was drawn to a humming sound overhead. He looked up and watched a passing aircraft flying north to south at around 1000 feet.
Suddenly, dozens of fish floated to the surface of the water. Rosa managed to pick up about 20 trout, which then regained consciousness and swam away. Large numbers of carp were found dead on the surface, while residents along the east shore took advantage of the situation and gathered up fish for themselves.
Ghosts of the Castle
About a mile south of the City of Geneva on the western shore of Seneca Lake lies Belhurst Castle. The mansion, built in the late 1880s, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1987. It has been a private residence, a speakeasy, and a casino, and now houses a hotel, winery, spa and two restaurants.
For years, guests and employees have reported numerous strange occurrences*, including:
- Showers turning on and off by themselves
- A woman’s voice heard singing lullabies in a room that was formerly the nanny’s quarters
- Sounds of children playing at night in a room that was formerly a nursery
- Complaints by guests of furniture being loudly moved around upstairs at night in a room that was formerly the casino, where the roulette wheel and gaming tables were often moved at closing time
- Bottles and glasses flying off shelves in the bar areas
- After setting up a banquet room for an event, wait staff arrived the next morning to find
Belhurst Castle also has its own “Woman in white” legend. Isabella was an opera singer who fled to America with her lover, Spanish Don, where they built a house with secret tunnel. When the authorities came for them, they tried to escape through an underground tunnel to a boat, but the tunnel collapsed on Isabella. She is said to walk the shores, grieving for her lost love. Witnesses also claim to have seen Isabella at night, standing in the middle of the lawn, or flying through windows.