Autumn in Saratoga Springs is something out of a movie, with fiery red leaves crunching underfoot, a brisk chill in the air, and smiling jack o'lanterns lining the sidewalks of Broadway. But this time of year comes carrying something else: Halloween. And as everyone knows, this holiday brings out the witches, vampires, and in 2019, “VSCO girl” impersonators — think Hydro Flasks, scrunchies, and puka shell necklaces.
But more than commercialized costumes and eager trick-or-treaters, Saratoga Springs’ Halloween comes alive with the town’s more eerie moments of history — the ones that excite enthused holiday-goers, and turns the usual classy track-town into one of ghost sightings and paranormal activity.
Canfield Casino
The most famous haunting site has to be Canfield Casino — a reputation well earned from the numerous paranormal reports by visitors and staff alike. Built in the late 1800s, the casino is now part of the Saratoga Springs History Museum in Congress Park, and was featured on an episode of Ghost Hunters in 2010. Jamie Parillo, museum director, has no shortage of experience with the paranormal activity that takes place in the casino.
“I’ve had a lot of things happen to me,” Parillo said. “We’ve had playful things happen where stuff will get moved around.”
Parillo says that he has seen doors move by themselves, and unfurled rugs somehow are rolled up against the door the next day, blocking anyone from entering from the hallway. One experience that particularly stood out to Parillo happened on a late afternoon when he was alone in the building.
“I had already turned the lights off upstairs, and I could hear something walking back and forth in the hallway,” Parillo said. “I’m not the only person that has heard that.”
According to Parillo, another staff member had this same experience the week before he did.
Barring one encounter where Michael Levinson, the Exhibition Curator, was pushed off of a ladder by some invisible force, Parillo says he has never felt unsafe.
“I consider it completely friendly,” Parillo said. “[The ladder incident] is the only instance where I’ve heard people say something was kind of menacing here.”
Hattie’s and Caffè Lena
According to the Upstate New York online magazine, The Free George, these side by side restaurants on Phila street are both haunted by their founders. Rumor has it that both Hattie and Lena watch over their respective restaurants in spirit form.
Sarah Criag, executive director of Caffè Lena, disagrees with this portrayal of Lena’s legacy.
“I think the way [Lena’s] spirit lives on here is the way that the music happens and the way community is still here,” Craig said about the musical cafe. “That reflects her last presence here. As far as her ghostly spirit goes, I don’t see any objects flying around the room.”
Madame Jumel’s House
Eliza Jumel is a name that fascinates many. Her somewhat-scandalous reputation and second husband, Aaron Burr, are enough to draw people in, but in recent years, it’s the hauntings that have people talking. A rumored prostitute-turned-businesswoman from the days of the Revolutionary War, Madame Jumel owned two houses in New York; one of which just happens to be located in Saratoga Springs.
The large house makes quite an impression with its columns and manicured front lawn. There have been reports of a Victorian era clad woman wandering through the rooms, or the sound of her skirt swishing as if she was walking by, according to The Free George.
The current home owner says she has not experienced any of these paranormal activities, but has had friends come over who back them up.
Skidmore College
These next ghostly whispers hit a little closer to home, as there have been reportings of metaphysical activity around the Skidmore campus throughout the years.
“This entire campus is haunted, ” says Grace Picarillo ‘23.
Picarillo says that she has seen the doors in the library mysteriously open, and believes Wilmarth Hall is haunted as well.
This last claim may have some merit. According to Haunted Colleges and Universities: Creepy Campuses, Scary Scholars, and Deadly Dorms by Tom Ogdan, students believe they have seen the spirit of a student that passed away due to a fire in that very hall years ago.
While these supernatural stories are only rumored to be true, it’s important to consider the implications these tales bring about. If Saratoga Springs is as haunted as the legends say, who knows what could happen this Halloween?