Smithtown's Strange Doings

New York, 1895

A Deserted House in Which Mysterious Lights Go Bobbing About.

There is an unoccupied house on the banks of the Nissequogue river in Smithtown, which is said to be haunted. The place is owned by Miss Fannie Darling, who, for some cause, suddenly removed from the place, leaving behind her furniture. Recently a mysterious light has been seen in the house. It was surmised at first that burglars were looting the house, but an investigation disproved this theory. A man was set to guard the place. He avers that the light began to wander about the house at a certain hour. He searched from cellar to garret but found everything in its place and nothing to explain the illumination.

A few nights ago several men set out to watch the place. A light snow was falling when they went on guard. A cordon was established around the house to see that no one entered unobserved. When the light began to show they all made a rush for the place and doors and windows were watched. Another search through the house failed to explain the mystery and no traces of strange footprints were found in the snow. Many of the villagers profess to laugh at the scare, but the house is avoided after nightfall.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, Feb. 8, 1895, p. 1.