Lake House Hotel in Saylorsburg, PA: The horror isn’t just for Halloween

Lake House Hotel in Saylorsburg, PA: The horror isn’t just for Halloween

This coming Halloween season Rob Dimension, Pigamortis and myself will be helping to entertain the masses at The Hotel of Horror & Alternate Nightmares in the old Lake House Hotel located in Saylorsburg, PA.

Now when Rob, Sal and I first went up there to meet with the owners we had no idea what was in store for us. We figure it was you basic standard haunted attraction for the Halloween haunting season. How wrong I would be about this…how about dead wrong? You see in talking with the owners it turns out that the Lake House is in fact haunted and while we did not get into details of stories and experiences I did get the sense that they had some to share. I mentioned to them that I had been a paranormal investigator for well over 5 years now and was wondering if they would allow me to conduct an investigation. We talked a bit about the possibilities and then went on our ways as we figured out the logistics and involvement of our show with their attraction. Once it was all said and done we went about our ways and prepared to do some filming in September to prepare a special show based out of their attraction.

So rewind now back to September 9^th as I was on my way to have a meeting with Rob and Sal I stopped at a Barnes & Nobel to pick up some books, as I am a big into reading; especially when it involves the strange and bizarre. Now as I walked into the PA Travel section and began to thumb through a book about ghosts of the Lehigh Valley, written by Kenneth Biddle, I did not expect to see what I saw next. I thumbed through and as if by a strange force the book opened up to page 61 the chapter entitled The Lake House Hotel. I was floored and began to read, and of course I had to purchase that book right then and there. I mean how could I not?

I read about how it was considered the “place to hang yourself” as close to 15 hangings had apparently taken place in the hotel. While most of these hangings are difficult to find and proves based upon lost records and carless organization at least 3 had been confirmed. These were people who lost it all and simply checked into the hotel, went to their room & then hung themselves. As odd and harsh as this might seem, I have done some background checking and this was not an uncommon act for a man to do if he had lost everything and in other words, nothing to live for.

One story is that of a bartender who was savagely beaten and he was not mentally or physically right again, now I tell you this story in particular as you shall see later on in this article. Another story is of a injured mine worker who worked at now long gone brick factory next to the hotel, he was injured so severely that he passed away on the front porch of the hotel. In fact in a lot of the stories I have found in books and online the front porch seems to possess the most likely area for paranormal activity as hangings, deadly beatings and injured people passed away there. Just keep in mind that just because it happened on the porch does not mean that the spirits can’t go into the house and “play” as it were.

Some of the paranormal activity that takes place within the Lake House is of usual “haunting” standard or as standard as haunting can be. Things can go missing that were just laid down or other small items like rocks or caps may be thrown across the room as the walls or people. In the book it talks of a chair that appeared out of nowhere when there wasn’t one there 2 minutes earlier and everyone had been accounted for. Now there are the two things in particular that sparked my interest the most, the first being a telephone that mysteriously rings. This may not sound mysterious if it weren’t for the fact that the wires are completely cut and it’s not plugged into anything. Why did this spark my attention, well when I showed the owners the book I had found and they began to thumb through it they both stopped at the telephone and excitedly said “Look! There’s the telephone!”. So I knew there was another story to be discussed in relation to the phone.

The second thing that sparked my attention was the appearance of shadowmen/figures, now remember the story of the bartender I told you about earlier. Look at the picture below. This photo was taken I the bar next to the front porch and you can see that in the red circle there is the figure of something resembling that of a person. Now let the speculations commence, but let me fill you in with the details first. I was the only person in the room and the other people were on other floors or in other hallways. The skeleton head on the bar I thought may be casting a shadow, but if you look based off of its own reflection in the mirror, it couldn’t have been that. Could it have been the shadow of the bar tender or that of a miner or a hanging victim, who knows, but all I can say is that it’s very interesting to say the least. I know some may say”Oh you’re quick to assume” not so in my case for this reason. I actually studied this photo for a week trying to figure it out and actually sent it to some of my closest paranormal research friends who did their best to debunk it to no avail. 

I am excited to get the opportunity to investigate this location and as well I encourage everyone to come and visit. It is a slice of history where maybe the past just doesn’t want to let go fully. So remember this as you begin to walk through the haunted attractions of the Lake House Hotel; is what I am seeing part of the attraction or am I looking at the real deal? You never know.

Be safe and happy ghost hunting,
John Cannon

UFO “Experts”…how do you get a doctorate in this stuff?

UFO “Experts”…how do you get a doctorate in this stuff?

Let me first start off by saying that I am a UFO nut and would love for all these UFO conspiracies to be true as well as to get the chance to tour the real Area 51. Now with me stating that I am willing to believe in some aspect of the sense of UFOs, my concern is with these so called “experts” in the UFO community. I watch the shows on UFOs/Aliens like Ancient Aliens & UFO Hunters, heck I even own all the seasons of UFO Hunters on DVD, but how do you seriously become an “expert” on this stuff???

You watch these programs and read these books that are written by everyday normal people and people who have gotten their PHD. The every day people I am not going to look at because that’s way to easy for me to rip apart. I want to look at these people with a PHD and claiming to be experts. Now when I was going to college, and in fact I am returning back to college, at no time did I see a UFO course listed, not even as an elective. So how does one go about getting their PHD in UFOs, you don’t.  I have friends who have their doctorate in real studies and sciences and they went through years of courses/classes to get that PHD title on their name and they are proud of it and can prove what they say with real science and data. These UFO “PHD Experts” can only take the words of someone who may or may not have been involved in a “secret” government program focused around reverse engineering of a downed UFO craft or other “secret”projects. Now while these people may have bad or good intentions with making these stories up, can you really believe them if none of their stories can be backed with actual data???

One guy in the UFO community who is considered to be an “expert” says he worked at Area 51 and had high level security clearance and now that he has come out with his story the government is wiping out his physical history with college, work and even his identity. I am not going to give the gentleman’s name out because if this ever got back to him, I don’t feel like getting sued, but how can we believe this guy? These is no real evidence other than a simple paycheck stub that can easily be created using a computer and an imagination, in fact identity thieves do it all the time.  So again there is nothing to back up how this guy could and should be considered an “expert”.

Now keep in mind I am not picking apart pilots, every day normal people or wackos…I am picking apart those people who claim to an “expert” in something with no real data to back what they are saying. These “experts” listen to what a person says and instead of really investigating it they let their mind wander and run away on a tangent of how it is alien/Ufo related and then it becomes fact in their mind and forced onto the public. 

Now here is a thought…what if all these “experts” are actually working for the government in a misinformation campaign to keep the people of the world confused and focusing on something non-existent while they do something else behind the people’s backs. Think about that one you little conspiracy theorists. The government could be paying these people to lie about things they have seen or heard just in the same aspect as you would distract a baby with a shiny object or loud noise to attract their attention before the doctor gives them their shot so it hurts less…oh never thought about that one did you???

The study of UFOs should be based in fact and data, yes I feel that the government is hiding something in the aspect of UFO technology and yes I would love to see if this stuff was real, but I don’t think we will ever see that or know the truth for many many years.  So all we can do is watch the skies and talk to those people who have the same feelings and enthusiasm, but to claim yourself an “expert” on something you can’t back up is pretty weak in my opinion.

Be safe and always have fun,

John Cannon