Is the Hinsdale House really haunted?

While on a recent visit in the Enchanted Mountains of Cattaraugus County, I had the opportunity to visit their two most famous haunted locations. The Haunted Hinsdale House and the Wildwood Sanitarium both offered me tours of the properties, with stories of the haunted happenings recorded throughout the years. Both are stops along the Haunted History Trail of New York with infamous local history. But is the Hinsdale House really haunted? Read these stories and then visit for yourself to find out…

The history of the Hinsdale House

Situated among the hills and mountains of Hinsdale, NY is a small, unassuming white house. Built in 1853 by the brothers Charles and David Everett, the house maintains many of its original features, with some updates over the past 170 years. After the Everetts, Richard and Ian Burton owned the home. While the pair lived in the house, they also spent a fair bit of time in jail.

At one point in time, the inhabitants of the house were accused of being the infamous stagecoach murderers. But that was debunked as no one could prove the connection to the murders by either the Everetts or the Burtons.

The Dandy family

While the house had some stories surrounding it, it didn’t gain its notoriety until the Dandy family moved there in the 1970s. Clara and her children Mike, Beth, Laura, and Mary spent the most time in the house while the father, Phil, worked long distance. It wasn’t long before the family’s dream home became a living nightmare. All of the family members had stories to share of their strange and unusual experiences, but it seems that Mary was the most affected. So much so that they invited Father Trabold from Saint Bonaventure University to come and perform an exorcism on her and a cleansing of the house.

So what did they experience in the home that was so awful? Mysterious lights seen on the property in the dark. Disembodied voices. Inexplicable shadows and figures. Swarms of flies. Chanting and drumming heard in the woods. Objects moving on their own. Beth reported seeing a woman out her bedroom window who was wearing a long, wet dress and had bugged out eyes. Young Mary had a sense of something lurking under her bed.

So startled by their experiences in the home, the Dandy family moved out in 1974, after just four years there. Since then the Misniks lived – and died – in the home. The current owner, Daniel Klaes, purchased the property in 2015.

Visiting the Hinsdale House

Today, hour-long ghost tours of the house and surrounding property are available (costing $40 per person). Tours always begin with a walk into the edge of the forest to the giving tree, where guests are asked to leave an offering to the spirits of the land. Tour guides provide tobacco for folks to sprinkle on the ground around the tree, but many people also bring their own trinkets.

The giving tree

While standing by the giving tree, our tour guide, Tiffany, pulled up a spirit box app on her cell phone to try to communicate with any lingering spirits. Unsurprisingly, the app produced a slew of words and phrases. “I’ve been here 400 years.” “Edna.” “Hazel.” “Christie.” “Pain.” “Your soul has expired.” “Teenager.” “Gloom.” “Use camera.” “Bliss.” “You are protected.”

The side yard

Our tour continued around to the side of the house, near the pond. Within the past few years, several things were discovered in the ground surrounding the house that have raised a lot of questions.

A bone pile was buried near the pond; it is unclear what type of bones were found. Four shallow graves were also found in the same area. Remains of two adults and two children were found buried in boxes. In the spring of 2025 a memorial plaque was installed honoring them.

Inside the house

When you enter the home, you’ll be in the kitchen and dining area. The doors, moulding, and stairs are filled with signatures and notes from previous guests. Most leave their names, but many also make a note about how they feel the house is truly haunted.

To the right is Michael’s former bedroom, where there are stories of things flying off the shelves. Michael was the oldest child, at 17 years old when they moved in. Upstairs are the main bedroom where Clara and Phil slept, and two small bedrooms for Laura and Mary.

Tiffany pulled up the spirit box app again in the main bedroom, just outside the closet. Again we got many responses. “Goodbye.” “Two lights.” “Adventure.” “You are compassionate.” “Bernadette.” “Blood.” “Nightmare.” “Pain.”

Back on the main floor, you can see where the wall for Beth’s bedroom was removed. Where it would have been is a shelf of books and a dresser topped with several particularly creepy dolls. Two stand out. Locked in a glass cabinet, two dolls are propped up. Above the cabinet is a story about the dolls. And how they have survived not one – but two – house fires. Fires that destroyed nearly everything else.

The adjoining living room is where the exorcism on Mary was performed back in the 1970s.

The last stop on the Hinsdale House tour is the basement. With a dirt floor and walls made of stacked stones, the atmosphere already has an eerie feel to it. it is the part of the house where ghost hunters get the most negative energy.

One more time Tiffany opened up the spirit box program. “Take picture.” “Children spirits.” “Broken.” “Martha.” “Please hear my voice.”

Paranormal Investigations at the Hinsdale House

Since Daniel Klaes purchased the home, great care has gone into unearthing the history and stories of the house. Numerous ghost hunting crews regularly come to visit and investigate for themselves. Many camera crews have also filmed on the property. In addition to the hour-long daily tours of the property, visitors can also book their own overnight paranormal investigations ($350 for up to 6 people).

Love haunted places? There are plenty of great places to visit along the Haunted History Trail of New York.

The spirits of the Hinsdale House

Although none of the former owners of the house were ever proven to be the stagecoach murderers, the stories remain. Some visitors (ghost hunters, psychics, and others) have reported seeing bodies stacked up in the dirt-floored basement.

In 1942, 16-year-old Warren Alfred Emerson was killed by a buzzsaw while chopping wood in the forest behind the house.

There are reports of a 5-year-old boy named Eric hiding in the upstairs closet of the Dandys’ bedroom. Staff and visitors hear him running across the floor or appearing for a flash in the mirror.

In the basement, people get the name “Wilhelm” but the story of who he may be is unclear. What is clear is that the presence has a negative energy to it.

And don’t forget about the women in a wet dress that Beth Dandy swore to have seen.

So is the Hinsdale House really haunted? Do you believe the folklore surrounding the property and the mysterious experiences that people have reported? Guess you’ll just have to visit and determine that for yourself.

Also, if you’d like to learn more about the Dandys’ experiences in the Hinsdale House, you’re in luck. Clara Dandy (Miller after her divorce from Phil), wrote a book, “Echoes of a Haunting Revisited.” The book is for sale on site.