Creepy, Abandoned Places All But Forgotten in New York State
There are several places in New York (and beyond), that were once beautiful and now sit abandoned and crumbling down. Some are even said to be haunted. Here's six creepy spots all but forgotten.
Abandoned Dundas Castle
In the early 1900s, Ralph Wurts-Dundas bought property in the Catskill Mountains, with plans to convert the lodge into a castle, modeled after Dundas castle in Scotland. He died in 1921 before it was finished. A year later his wife Josephine was committed to a sanitarium, according to Atlas Obscura. Their only daughter, Muriel was also committed years later. No Dundas even lived in the castle.
There are several legends surrounding the castle, saying it's cursed. The three heart-shaped ponds are said to fill up with blood on a full moon, and rumors are a ghost roams the halls, according to BradfordLeeGilbert.com.
In 2018 the property was purchased and is now privately owned. The castle is boarded up and there are cameras around the entire property.
Abandoned Dundas Castle
Abandoned Thousand Island Mansion
A crumbling castle on Carleton Island in Cape Vincent, New York, was built in 1895 for William Wyckoff, the president of Remington Arms and Typewriter Company. Wyckoff never got to enjoy his home. He died of a heart attack the night he moved in, according to Thousands Island Life. His wife is said to have passed away about a month before the mansion was finished.
The home was handed down to Wyckoff's youngest son Clarence and was used until around 1927. Now it sits abandoned on an island of 6.9 acres surrounded by almost a thousand feet of waterfront on the St Lawrence River.
Haunted Thousand Island Mansion
Girl Scout Camp
In Beechwood State Park there sits abandoned Girl Scout Camp. Founded in 1928, the camp was used until the 90s, when money problems forced the camp to close.
There were talks of restoring the camp in 2016, but it remains untouched.
Take a hike in Sodus, on an almost 2 mile loop along the shores of Lake Ontario and it'll lead you right to the creepy looking camp.
Herkimer School
The Herkimer Elementary School was built in 1878. It sat on North Washington Street and was replaced by the North school in 1923, according to 'Herkimer County Valley Towns.'
The school was renamed in 1956 for Loraine W Bills, the superintendent for 20 years. It closed in 1991 and has sat abandoned every since.
Abandoned Herkimer Elementary School
Fort Orange Paper Company
Remember the Fort Orange Paper Company in Castleton, outside Albany New York? It's been abandoned for over two decades.
The paper mill opened in 1856. It was sold 1881 and renamed the Fort Orange Paper Company where production of post cards, bank books, colored paper, pads, and tablets increased to about 16 tons per day. By 1895 about 200 men were employed at the mill.
The mill closed in 2000 but was taken over by Rensselaer County for back taxes. The county had plans to redevelop the site in 2014, but funding for the $250 million project couldn't be secured, according to the Times Union.
Abandoned Fort Orange Paper Company
Abandoned Fairytale Gingerbread Castle
Once upon a time in 1930, in the village of Hamburg, New Jersey, sat a Gingerbread Castle. It was the centerpiece to a theme park that featured fairy tale characters.
The park and castle closed in 1978. It re-opened in 1989 but closed again a few years later.
The park has been designated a historic district but efforts continue for rehabilitation from Preservation New Jersey.