Tag: Fairytales

Is Lake Ronkonkoma Haunted?

The legend of the Lady of the Lake has captivated the attention of Long Island locals for decades. Nestled just outside of the bustling city, the tranquil waters of Lake Ronkonkoma hide a dark and haunting legend. For centuries, rumors have circulated of a ghostly woman who haunts the lake, luring unsuspecting victims to their watery graves. Whether the legend is true or not, the Lady of the Lake remains a pervasive presence on the shores of the lake, a reminder of the power of the paranormal to captivate and intrigue. In this article, we will explore the legend of the Lady of the Lake and its enduring impact on the local community.

An Introduction to Lake Ronkonkoma

Lake Ronkonkoma is a large freshwater body located on Long Island, New York. Nestled just outside of the bustling city, the lake is a serene escape for those seeking solitude. Its tranquil waters and peaceful atmosphere have made it a beloved hidden gem for many decades.

Visitors to Lake Ronkonkoma are drawn to its natural beauty and tranquility. The lake is a popular destination for New Yorkers seeking a peaceful atmosphere, and it has remained a hidden gem beloved by locals for many decades.

Despite its idyllic appearance, the lake is shrouded in mystery and folklore. Some say dangerous whirlpools lurk beneath its surface, while others claim that it is connected to a network of underwater tunnels leading to Connecticut.

“I was walking along the shore of Lake Ronkonkoma when I saw this strange whirlpool in the water. It was swirling and churning, and there was a strange orb near the surface. I’ve never seen anything like it before. It was really eerie. Before I could pull my phone out, it was gone!”

Richard Angelo

Perhaps the most enduring legend is that of the Lady of the Lake, a ghostly woman said to haunt the waters of the lake. Whether these tales are rooted in fact or merely local legend, one thing is certain: the Lady of the Lake continues to haunt the imagination of those who hear her story.

At the turn of the century, a quaint lakeside resort was built, attracting wealthy tourists and catching the attention of William Vanderbilt, who eventually built his own private road leading from the heart of Manhattan right the shores of Ronkonkoma.

Another group of people are fond of the lake, for quite a different reason. In the 1970s, Suffolk County ghost hunters, intrigued by the whisperings of their community about a ghost upon the lake, began pilgrimaging to the shores of Lake Ronkonkoma in the hopes of catching a glimpse of what was said to be a female apparition with siren-like qualities.

Lake Ronkonkoma Whirlpools

There have always been strange rumors circulating about this lake. Though it is fairly normal in appearance, many believe without a shadow of a doubt that there are dangerous whirlpools in its depths. Others are convinced it is attached to a series of labyrinthian underwater tunnels leading to a river in the state of Connecticut.

None of these beliefs have much scientific bearing, as far as we know. They are likely nothing more than local folklore, passed along from parents to their children as warnings to stay away from the murky depths.

Nevertheless, they have contributed to a much more terrifying legend that refuses to go away…

The Lady of the Lake

The story of the ghastly woman of the lake has a tremendously long history. Indeed, murmurs of a grief-stricken ghostly woman in a long dress circling the lake could possibly go back further than the Declaration of Independence itself.

It is said that in the 1600s, when the first settlers were beginning to colonize the Americas, a native princess fell in love with a European settler. Forbidden to see each other by the princess’ overprotective father, they rebelled against cultural norms and tense race relations, and ultimately drowned together in misery. Though his spirit moved on, hers continues to linger, centuries on, tormenting the souls of young male visitors to the lake.

Desperately and fiercely in love, the two lovers developed a plan. Unable to spend time together physically, they figured out that they could keep in touch by passing messages across the lake and occasionally speak to one another from the shores.

There are a variety of different endings to the story, and it seems that no one can agree on exactly what happened. Some say the princess, driven mad with the force of her obsessive love, attempted to cross the lake and drowned. Others believe her lover died first in his efforts to reach her, and the pain of this terrible loss compelled her to take her own life.

A decrepit rowboat is an eerie fixture in some of the tales. In others, the mystery of the romance is centralized around the lover’s letters, cast across the slow-moving waters. Wails of mourning can be heard late at night, along with visions of the Lady pacing along the shore and unexplainable lights in the sky above the lake.

In any good old-fashioned ghost story, details matter. And this one is vivid.

If all of this sounds wildly familiar to you, you can be forgiven. It’s a tale almost as told as time, with remarkably similar tones to the classic Romeo and Juliet story of two star-crossed lovers. It’s also admittedly a beautiful and romantic story of a beautiful princess, said to be from the Setauket tribe of indigenous Americans, who refused to conform to societal expectations and as a result inevitably died for love.

It might be easy to dismiss this particular legend as a romantic fabrication derived from many similar lovelorn tales of woe, if not for the fact that a fairly persistent rumor remains to this day.

Many say with absolutely certainty that one man a year drowns in the lake.

Male Deaths at Lake Ronkonkoma

Though Suffolk County Police have never officially confirmed this, it is plausible. After all, unintentional drowning claims a startlingly high number of lives annually. Statistics indicate that drowning accidents claim about ten lives each day in the United States. Boating has been a popular activity since the lake’s heyday in the early 1900s.

There’s also another factor. The Lady’s victims of choice all fit a particularly narrow profile: young males. When you take into consideration the propensity of young men to engage in reckless, dangerous behavior, it doesn’t seem at all unreasonable that at least one man a year dies in this quiet, sleepy lake outside of New York City.

It’s a disturbing thought. The death of a young person is always tragic. But the Lady of the Lake seems to take absurd, sadistic pleasure in her killings. Resentful of young men in the prime of their lives, living on in flesh and blood while she is doomed to remain in a purgatorial state for centuries, she calls to these young men. In any case, the men fall under her hypnotic spell and wade into the water where they drown in the undertow.

“The legend of the Lady of the Lake is a classic example of the motif of the femme fatale in folklore. In this tale, the ghostly woman is said to lust for the blood of men, luring them to their watery graves with her siren-like song. This characterization is consistent with the portrayal of women as dangerous, seductive beings in many folktales and myths throughout history.”

Anthony Long, founder Brooklyn Paranormal Society

BKPS Investigates Lake Ronkonkoma

The Brooklyn Paranormal Society braved the eerie waters of Lake Ronkonkoma on Saturday, June 23rd, 2018, in search of answers to the legend of the Lady of the Lake. Armed with professional psychic Mary Amy and James the “Astroshaman,” the team set out to investigate the lake and its mysterious past. Despite initial uncertainty, the team was determined to uncover the truth behind the legend and any paranormal activity at the lake.

The results were chilling. During the course of their investigation, the team captured numerous pieces of evidence of paranormal activity at the lake.

One of the most compelling pieces of evidence was an audio clip of faint female voices, believed to be the ghostly Lady of the Lake. The team also captured several pictures of orbs, which are often associated with paranormal activity. These orbs were seen hovering over the lake, adding to the eerie atmosphere of the location.

In addition to these pieces of evidence, the team also reported feeling a strong sense of unease and malevolence during their investigation. Some members even reported feeling as though they were being watched or followed by an unseen presence.

While the team is still analyzing the evidence collected during the investigation, it is clear that the legend of the Lady of the Lake is more than just a local folklore. The evidence captured by the Brooklyn Paranormal Society points to the existence of truly paranormal activity at Lake Ronkonkoma.