I was born on Long Island, New York. I love New York and I love history. As I started to think about the next book I wanted to write, I thought to myself, why not bring my two loves together. In this book, you will find cool, interesting and sometimes strange facts about the New York and Long Island area. All these facts and stories are all true. Dive into the world of Ghosts, early New York History, strange tales about some of the founders of New York and more. And most of all a traveler's guide!

This book is a travel guide of sorts to New York's local legends and best kept secrets, filled with crazy characters, cursed roads, abandoned sites, and bizarre roadside attractions that the author feels reflect the shared modern folklore of our time.

John and Laura Leita delve in to the oddities that make Long Island unique and it may be more odd than you thought possible! Long Island's history is well known, but often overlooked are the island's unique and bizarre stories and treasures--the most interesting locations and darkest legends. From hidden haunts and legends like the Indian Princess of Lake Ronkonkoma to well-known events like the Amityville Horror House murders, this collection chronicles the tales of restless spirits, unrequited loves and otherworldly visits that riddle the island. There is much to be seen along the roadside, too, including the beloved Big Duck, the Riverhead Indian and even the grave site of Nixon's dog, Checkers. Through history, pictures and the personal experiences of a ten-year endeavor, authors John and Laura Leita brings to life Long Island's abandoned structures, including psychiatric hospitals and other ruins waiting to be rediscovered. Join the Leitas as they go in search of the delightfully quirky side of Long Island.

Take a ghostly journey through Long Island’s history—photos included! Ghosts lurk at the Execution Rocks Lighthouse, where Revolutionary War Patriots were brutally tortured and killed by the British during the Battle of Long Island. Popular gathering places have otherworldly tenants, including Bayport’s Grey Horse Tavern and the Cutchogue Village Green, where several old buildings—and their former inhabitants—are preserved. Long Island’s history, dating all the way back to its Native American legends, is unearthed and preserved through its ghost stories and the spirits that have made their presence known. Through extensive research, interviews, and investigations, award-winning author and historian Kerriann Flanagan Brosky, alongside medium and paranormal investigator Joe Giaquinto, uncovers Long Island's eerie history.

Are there alligators under New York City? Did the military take the lessons learned in the so-called “Philadelphia Experiment” of 1943 and apply the same technology at Montauk—to develop a weapon that would literally drive the enemy insane? Just who was the homeless man who walked a 365-mile route every thirty-four days, dressed in heavy leather? From the Lake Champlain monster to the friendly ghost hostess of Skene Manor, New York Myths and Legends makes history fun and pulls back the curtain on some of the Empire State’s most fascinating stories.

"Long Island's history is filled with fascinating firsts, magnificent mansions and fascinating characters. From Glenn Curtiss, the first pilot to fly a plane on the island, to Earle Ovington, who carried the country's first airmail, the area has been known as the cradle of aviation. Millionaire William K. Vanderbilt's Long Island Motor Parkway, remnants of which still remain, was the nation's first highway. The desolate ruins of an exiled Albanian king's estate lie in the midst of the woods of the Muttontown Preserve. Captain William Kidd, pirate chaser turned pirate, is rumored to have buried treasure on the island. Richard Panchyk reveals the rapidly vanishing traces of Long Island's intriguing history"--Publisher description.

Was Goody Garlick of East Hampton…a witch? Did Captain Kidd actually bury treasure here? Is there truly a curse on Lake Ronkonkoma? What role did a clothesline play in the American Revolution? And why on earth is there a statue of a bull in Smithtown? Much like the vast variety of goods found in a 19th century general store, this collection of entertaining and compelling stories - as told by a master storyteller- features a calico assortment of tales and characters: pirates and patriots, heroes and villains, and, yes, even a ghost or two! This unique book is written not from merely a historical perspective, but with the insight of an author who has worked nearly ten years as a storyteller in a public history museum. Because it is written in the storyteller's voice, it is just as easy to curl up in a comfy chair to read this book alone as it is to read aloud to the family after dinner. This book tells not only the tales, lore and legends of Long Island's past, but links the stories in each grouping together with the little bits of pragmatics – the geography, sociology, ecology, environmental science, culture, standards and livelihood of Long Islanders from 1640 through 1899 – that will allow the reader, young or old, history buff or not, to glean a greater understanding of Long Island's surprisingly ancient history. Ranging across the Island, west to east, South Shore to North Fork, these centuries-old tales reveal Long Island's unique, colorful (and sometimes exaggerated) past. From the brave men and women of Washington's spy ring to sagas of lost romance, from astonishing animals to “things that went bump in the night”, these stories reveal an intriguing and often humorous legacy of a Long Island that few today ever knew existed!