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Last year, in the run up to Halloween, I told you about the “White Lady of Astoria,” a spectral presence which has been remarked upon by more than one resident in my corner of the neighborhood. Also described in 2013 was the historical story of the  “Blissville Banshee” nearby Newtown Creek.

Queens is full of esoteric lore and magic. At my personal blog, Newtown Pentacle, a series of bizarre finds have been discussed — whether it be my long observance of ceremonial activity at St. Michael’s Cemetery, or the occasional sidewalk encounters one has with magic altars and offerings. I’ve even photographed “orbs” at Calvary’s Almirall chapel!

Queens can be quite spooky, it would seem.

More after the jump…

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Flushing Meadow Corona Park has been long associated with UFO sightings, and outlandishly – animal mutilations are reported to have happened there back in the 1980s that match the sort of stories about cattle which were dramatized in the old X-Files TV series (take this one with a large grain of salt, Queensicans).

It’s always been kind of an odd to me that in all of New England, and most of New York State’s northern and western reaches, tales of hauntings and presences abound. Once you’re in New York City, however, there’s a paucity of ghost stories. Perhaps ghosts can barely afford to “live” here either, and the “rent is too damn high” even in the afterlife.

Actually, I’ve always attributed the paucity of ghost stories in the five boroughs to real estate concerns. It’s apparently quite a bit harder to sell a property when part of the description includes the word “haunted,” and let’s face it, this town is all about equity.

There’s actually a NY State Supreme Court decision, Stambovsky v. Ackley, 169 A.D.2d 254 (N.Y. App. Div. 1991), which compels a seller to disclose that “a house, which the owner had previously advertised to the public as haunted by ghosts, was legally haunted for the purpose of an action for rescission brought by a subsequent purchaser of the house.”

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Accordingly, Brownstoner Queens wants to hear your ghost stories, Queensicans. Moreover, I want to hear them.

Experiencing the presence of a cacodaemon in Corona? A shapeshifter in Sunnyside, a Kallikantzaroi in Astoria, a monster in Middle Village, or a hungry ghost in Flushing? We want to hear about it.

Absolute anonymity will be guaranteed – if you desire it – by emailing your tales to this address, but you’ll have to agree to letting us share them with everyone else as we approach Halloween (I’ll scrub out all identifying info but neighborhood affiliation). If you don’t mind letting it all hang out, post your ghost story in the comments section below.

It is, after all, the most wonderful time of the year.

Newtown Creek Alliance Historian Mitch Waxman lives in Astoria and blogs at Newtown Pentacle.


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