FAIR HAVEN - “Haunted” is not the word Chris and Linda Drogi would use to describe the spiritual presence rumored to occupy the Anchor Resort and Marina bed and breakfast they own.
Jill Connor / The CitizenLinda Drogi, the owner of the Anchor Resort and Marina in Fair Haven, straightens a picture that she often finds crooked in the Hat Room in their main house, which has a history of being called a haunted house.
For years, the late 19th century triple-brick Fair Haven home, converted to a bed and breakfast in the late 1970s, has been speculated to house specters in addition to the 4,000 flesh-and-blood guests it welcomes every season.
The Drogis have seen their share of phenomena to merit the mythologizing. Dolls sit on the sill of an arched window over the front door frame, but they often fall to the floor without explanation. One of the house's four bedrooms for guests features a ceiling light that frequently disobeys the commands of its wall switch. And Linda sometimes straightens mirrors or picture frames throughout the house, only to walk by a little later and notice them crooked again.
“Whether it's spirits or just sliding along the nail, I don't know,” she said. “But I tend to think it's spirits. There's this sense of someone being there and this feeling comes over you. And in a house this old, a lot of people's spirits have been here.”
Guests at Anchor Resort and Marina also notice the unusual atmosphere. Some have refused to stay in particular rooms and others have told the Drogis they sensed a spiritual presence within. A Syracuse Herald-American article about the house by former Fair Haven historian Erwin Fineout is placed in the house for patrons to read, so most are familiar with the myth by the time they spend their first night there.
By now it's difficult for the Drogis to not view these disturbances through the lens of the paranormal. Chris believes he, Linda and their guests are inclined to see anything unusual in the house as affirming the suggestion that it's haunted. Were they unaware of that suggestion, such phenomena might be chalked up to more mundane circumstances.
“There's this whole mental or psychological aspect to it,” Chris said. “Do you really see or hear something, or does your mind think you see or hear something?”
Some would scare at the idea of sharing a house with spirits. But the Drogis feel any such presence fits in with the friendly atmosphere of Anchor Resort, which also features nine bayside cabins, a playground, a small beach area and wide stretches of grass for guests to walk their dogs or play with their children.
“I really think the spirits send good vibes,” Linda said. “We're trying to make (Anchor Resort and Marina) into something nice and I think they're happy about that.”
Chris added, “There's probably an age in your life where you become more welcoming to spirits and you're not as apprehensive or afraid. They're like angels. If you believe in them, you have to believe in ghosts.”
Rumors of the haunting sprang from reports by sailors entering Little Sodus Bay that they saw spirits or strange lights in the house's cupola, a third floor lookout structure that has since been removed. The Drogis note that the closest room to the former stairway to the cupola is the bedroom with a misbehaving ceiling light.
Fineout's story also mentions parties of people on horses and wagons that would stroll by the house in hopes of seeing strange activity there. Former owner Richard Darling claimed to see a red-haired ghost wearing an ankle-length yellow dress and a white dusting hat - a description strikingly similar to that of the matriarch of the VanValkenberg family, the original owners.
The source of the house's spiritual inhabitation has been speculated to be a body buried in its cellar before the floor was covered by concrete. Fineout also notes the possibility that the property was once an American Indian village or camp ground.
Strengthening the house's otherworldly aura is the nearby River Styx. Named after the mythic Greek channel souls would cross while journeying to Hades, this stream along the Anchor Resort and Marina property was once crossed by Cayuga County residents venturing to a Wayne County bar.
The Drogis are entertaining the thought of welcoming a clairvoyant to their bed and breakfast to peer into any paranormal world within the house. But whatever they find, the couple is perfectly content with the prospect of sharing the space with an invisible guest or two.
“There's more to life than what we know here on earth,” Chris said. “And you have to accept that it's not a bad thing.”
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
If you go
What: Haunted House History with the Sterling Historical Society
When: 6 p.m. Monday, July 28
Where: Anchor Resort and Marina, 14380 W. Bay Road, Fair Haven
Special note: Bring your own drinks, table setting and a dish to pass; hot dogs and hamburgers provided
To learn more: Call 947-6461
The Drogis have seen their share of phenomena to merit the mythologizing. Dolls sit on the sill of an arched window over the front door frame, but they often fall to the floor without explanation. One of the house's four bedrooms for guests features a ceiling light that frequently disobeys the commands of its wall switch. And Linda sometimes straightens mirrors or picture frames throughout the house, only to walk by a little later and notice them crooked again.
“Whether it's spirits or just sliding along the nail, I don't know,” she said. “But I tend to think it's spirits. There's this sense of someone being there and this feeling comes over you. And in a house this old, a lot of people's spirits have been here.”
Guests at Anchor Resort and Marina also notice the unusual atmosphere. Some have refused to stay in particular rooms and others have told the Drogis they sensed a spiritual presence within. A Syracuse Herald-American article about the house by former Fair Haven historian Erwin Fineout is placed in the house for patrons to read, so most are familiar with the myth by the time they spend their first night there.
By now it's difficult for the Drogis to not view these disturbances through the lens of the paranormal. Chris believes he, Linda and their guests are inclined to see anything unusual in the house as affirming the suggestion that it's haunted. Were they unaware of that suggestion, such phenomena might be chalked up to more mundane circumstances.
“There's this whole mental or psychological aspect to it,” Chris said. “Do you really see or hear something, or does your mind think you see or hear something?”
Some would scare at the idea of sharing a house with spirits. But the Drogis feel any such presence fits in with the friendly atmosphere of Anchor Resort, which also features nine bayside cabins, a playground, a small beach area and wide stretches of grass for guests to walk their dogs or play with their children.
“I really think the spirits send good vibes,” Linda said. “We're trying to make (Anchor Resort and Marina) into something nice and I think they're happy about that.”
Chris added, “There's probably an age in your life where you become more welcoming to spirits and you're not as apprehensive or afraid. They're like angels. If you believe in them, you have to believe in ghosts.”
Rumors of the haunting sprang from reports by sailors entering Little Sodus Bay that they saw spirits or strange lights in the house's cupola, a third floor lookout structure that has since been removed. The Drogis note that the closest room to the former stairway to the cupola is the bedroom with a misbehaving ceiling light.
Fineout's story also mentions parties of people on horses and wagons that would stroll by the house in hopes of seeing strange activity there. Former owner Richard Darling claimed to see a red-haired ghost wearing an ankle-length yellow dress and a white dusting hat - a description strikingly similar to that of the matriarch of the VanValkenberg family, the original owners.
The source of the house's spiritual inhabitation has been speculated to be a body buried in its cellar before the floor was covered by concrete. Fineout also notes the possibility that the property was once an American Indian village or camp ground.
Strengthening the house's otherworldly aura is the nearby River Styx. Named after the mythic Greek channel souls would cross while journeying to Hades, this stream along the Anchor Resort and Marina property was once crossed by Cayuga County residents venturing to a Wayne County bar.
The Drogis are entertaining the thought of welcoming a clairvoyant to their bed and breakfast to peer into any paranormal world within the house. But whatever they find, the couple is perfectly content with the prospect of sharing the space with an invisible guest or two.
“There's more to life than what we know here on earth,” Chris said. “And you have to accept that it's not a bad thing.”
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
If you go
What: Haunted House History with the Sterling Historical Society
When: 6 p.m. Monday, July 28
Where: Anchor Resort and Marina, 14380 W. Bay Road, Fair Haven
Special note: Bring your own drinks, table setting and a dish to pass; hot dogs and hamburgers provided
To learn more: Call 947-6461
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