10/30/2026 Haunted Locations: The Haunted Hinsdale House in Hinsdale, New York
Happy Friday! Today's haunted location is one of New York's most infamous haunted locations/houses! Enjoy the lore, there's quite a lot to be had!
The Hinsdale House
Tucked away in Western New York, the Hinsdale House has earned a reputation as one of the state's most haunted locations. Its history contains stories of apparitions, poltergeist, a failed cleansing, unexplained illnesses, equipment malfunctions, and creepy a creepy past associated with the surrounding land.
The house became notorious after the Dandy family moved there in the early 1970s. Since then, paranormal investigators, psychics, television crews, and visitors continue to report unsettling experiences on the property.
It began when Clara and Phil Dandy moved into the house with their children in the early 1970s. For about four years the family claimed to experience frequent activity that increased how often it would happen and how much worse the activity was.
Their experiences included:
Apparitions appearing around the house, both inside and outside
Lights switching on and off with no explanation
Objects moving by themselves
Unusual smells with no source of where it was coming from
Chanting and strange sounds coming from the woods
Threatening whispers and the sound of children screaming
Physical disturbances that allegedly became violent
The Dandy’s eventually placed an advertisement in a local newspaper looking for information about the house's past. Rather than receiving the answers they wanted, the family reportedly faced ridicule from members of the community.
One of the best known stories from the Dandy’s time in the house surrounds an Ouija board session in the living room. According to reports of the incident, the Dandy children witnessed a candle levitate and a doll fly across the room.
The doll associated with that story reportedly remains inside the house. Paranormal investigators have since focused considerable attention on it, with at least one team claiming that an electromagnetic-field meter produced an unusually strong reading when placed near it.
The living room would later become the site of a religious cleansing and many paranormal experiments.
As the reported activity intensified, the Dandy’s contacted a priest. He reportedly performed what has been described as a structural exorcism or cleansing of the house in 1974.
The current owner, Dan Klaes, has made claims that the house began shaking during the ritual and that crying or screaming sounds appeared to come through the windows. The ceremony reportedly failed to stop the activity.
Psychic Alex Tanous also has visited the property with a priest. He allegedly sensed a dark presence and claimed that seven murders had taken place there. Another cleansing was attempted, but the family's situation allegedly continued to deteriorate.
The Dandy’s eventually left the house. Other families reportedly attempted to live there afterward, but none of them stayed for very long.
Several rooms and spaces have become focal points in stories about the haunting…
Mary's room is frequently described as the epicenter of the activity. Reports associated with it include:
Sudden infestations of flies, sometimes during winter
Difficulty breathing
Apparitions and shadow figures
Intense uneasiness
Unexplained temperature changes
The Dandy family reportedly found the room so disturbing that they boarded it up. Klaes has also acknowledged feeling uneasy when entering it.
Michael's former bedroom is associated with reports of largescale poltergeist activity. During later investigations, people claimed that a bed shook without explanation, batteries died almost immediately, and the temperature dropped fast and furious.
Investigators have also reported strange movements around them and electronic voice phenomena that appeared to contain threatening words.
The basement and crawl space are often described as having an especially oppressive atmosphere. The Dandy family was reportedly VERY afraid of the basement.
One account claims that an individual saw bodies stacked like firewood. Another story says the family once heard scratching noises and later discovered that bricks from the basement fireplace had been removed and restacked.
Some visitors believe the crawl space may be a central source of the property's negative vibes. These claims remain part of the house's paranormal lore rather than historical fact.
It’s been suggested that the surrounding property may hold more residual energy than the structure itself. Stories associated with the land include alleged violence, unexplained deaths, and Indigenous activity dating back centuries.
One legend places an Indigenous massacre on or near the property in 1799. Mary Ball, who has conducted tours at the house, has recounted an experience involving her son. According to Ball, he looked outside and asked about an "angry Indian" staring at his father, despite allegedly having no prior knowledge of the story.
There are also accounts of a former Hanging Tree on the original property and reports of apparitions near the pond behind the house.
Another disturbing story concerns two brothers who allegedly lived on the property during the 1800s. According to local legend, the Everett brothers targeted passing stagecoaches, robbed and murdered travelers, and buried their victims in the cellar or surrounding hills.
Some versions of the story include even more gruesome allegations. Human remains have also reportedly been found on the property.
Laura Dandy, one of Clara and Phil's children, was deeply affected by the family's experiences. According to stories shared at the house, she later died by suicide after the family moved away.
Some visitors believe they have photographed or encountered an apparition associated with Laura.
Numerous paranormal teams have investigated the Hinsdale House. Their methods have included Ouija boards, electromagnetic field meters, radio frequency scanners, environmental sensors, trigger objects, specialized flashlights, and devices designed to convert environmental readings into words.
Investigators have reported:
Shadow figures and apparitions
Screams, gurgling, and wet footsteps
Touching, poking, pushing, and punching sensations
Headaches, blurred vision, and breathing difficulties
Nightmares and sleep paralysis
Rapid temperature drops
Flickering or broken lights
Dead batteries and corrupted memory cards
Equipment failures during attempted communication
Electronic voice phenomena, including apparently threatening phrases
One visiting investigator, identified as Nikki, experienced especially intense symptoms. She developed severe headaches and blurred vision and eventually had to leave the house.
She later described feeling as though something touched the back of her head, poked her, or held her back. In Mary's room, she reportedly struggled to breathe. She also claimed to see shadow figures and witnessed flies appear unexpectedly during winter.
Investigators have attempted several forms of alleged spirit communication inside the house. One device reportedly malfunctioned when a session began, briefly worked outside or near the house, and then failed again.
Another team used a flashlight in the hope that a spirit would manipulate it. A word generating environmental device allegedly produced the words "scared" and "storm" while a storm was occurring outside.
One of the most controversial investigations involved a team performing blood offerings on the living room Ouija board and at the Giving Tree in the woods.
Soon afterward, the team reported several happenings:
A light broke
A memory card became corrupted
A flashlight's batteries died
Other equipment behaved oddly
During the Ouija board session, the planchette reportedly moved and produced disturbing words before moving to "goodbye." An investigator claimed he was physically touched.
The team later recorded alleged electronic voice phenomena interpreted as saying "kill," "I'm evil," and "the devil." Another investigator experienced a dangerous drop in blood sugar. The group also reported a shaking bed, circular sensations around their bodies, and a sudden temperature decline.
Before leaving, the investigators reportedly declared that whatever was present did not have permission to follow them home. They said they had no intention of returning.
The Hinsdale House is now owned by paranormal investigator Dan Klaes, co-founder of the Greater WNY Paranormal Society. He operates the property as a paranormal research location and has continued investigating its history.
The house received national attention through the following shows:
Paranormal Lockdown on Destination America in April 2016
Paranormal Lockdown Halloween special on TLC in October 2016
So, tell me. Have you heard of this location before? Have you been there? Would you go? Let me know in the comments. And as always, if you do decide to visit here or any haunted location, respect the property, respect the owners, respect the residents... living or dead.
For more details about this story, how you can visit, and links to the shows, podcasts, documentaries, and resources used for this post can all be found below.
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