Haunted Hinsdale House Ghost Hunt, Hinsdale, New York

The Haunted Hinsdale House Ghost Hunt

Something in this house broke a priest. Something in the woods has been here for centuries.

The small white farmhouse at 3830 McMahon Road sits alone in the hills of Cattaraugus County, surrounded by forest. It was built in 1853 by the brothers Charles and David Everett, and from the beginning, the property carried a darkness that no family could outrun.

After the Everetts, the house passed to Richard and Ian Burton, two men who spent as much time in jail as they did under that roof. Local legend accused them of being the infamous stagecoach murderers who terrorized the region. No one ever proved the connection. But in recent years, a bone pile was unearthed near the pond behind the house, along with four shallow graves containing the remains of two adults and two children buried in wooden boxes.

Nobody knows who they are. Nobody knows who put them there.

The Dandy Family and the Exorcism That Failed

The house gained its national reputation in the early 1970s when the Dandy family moved in. Clara Dandy, her husband Phil, and their four children, Michael, Beth, Laura, and Mary, thought they’d found a home in the quiet hills of western New York. Within weeks, the quiet turned to something else entirely.

Lights switched on and off by themselves. Objects flew from shelves. Swarms of flies filled rooms without explanation. From the surrounding woods, the family heard chanting and drumming with no identifiable source. Clara saw a dancing apparition inside the house and a young, dark haired woman walking through the rooms. Her daughter Beth looked out of her bedroom window and saw a woman in a long, wet dress with piercing dark eyes and a pale face staring back at her. Young Mary sensed something under her bed that never left.

When the activity turned violent, the family called in Father Alphonsus Trabold from nearby St. Bonaventure University. He performed a structural exorcism on the house. It failed. The Warrens, Ed and Lorraine, were also brought in. Nothing worked. The Dandy family fled in 1974 after just four years. Every family that attempted to live in the house after them was driven out too.

Clara later wrote about the experience under her married name, Clara Miller, in the book Echoes of a Haunting.

The Spirits of Hinsdale House

The house is now owned by paranormal investigator Dan Klaes, who purchased it in 2015 and has spent years uncovering its history and documenting the activity that continues inside. The spirits that tormented the Dandy family have not left. If anything, they’ve grown bolder.

The Woman in White – The most frequently reported apparition at Hinsdale House. She appears near the pond in a long, wet dress and has been seen staring out from the upstairs bedroom window. Beth Dandy described her face as pale with wide, dark eyes. Investigators and guests have encountered her for decades.

Eric –  A five year old boy who hides in the upstairs closet of the master bedroom. Staff and visitors hear him running across the floor. He appears briefly in mirrors and vanishes the moment you turn around.

Wilhelm –  In the basement, with its dirt floor and walls of stacked stone, investigators consistently pick up the name Wilhelm. The identity behind the name remains a mystery, but the energy attached to it is unmistakable. This is where teams report the heaviest, most negative presence in the entire property.

Warren Alfred Emerson – In 1942, a sixteen year old boy was killed by a buzzsaw while chopping wood in the forest behind the house. His presence is felt on the grounds and in the tree line that borders the property.

Stephanie – A name captured repeatedly during EVP sessions in Mary’s room. Her story is unknown, but she has spoken clearly enough to be recorded by multiple independent investigation teams.

The Grounds and the Giving Tree

The land around the house is as active as the building itself. The property sits on what is believed to be the site of a Native American massacre dating to 1799, and investigators using dowsing rods have made contact with what appears to be a Seneca spirit who claims to have died on the land and remains to protect it.

A man brandishing a gun has been seen on the grounds. A ghostly boy wanders aimlessly near the tree line. Native American flute music has been heard drifting from the woods with no source ever found.

Behind the house stands the Giving Tree, draped in trinkets and offerings left by visitors to honour the spirits of the land. This is also where folklore places the Pukwudgie, a small trickster creature from Native American legend, standing two to three feet tall, believed to possess the power to lure people to their doom or conjure fire from nothing. Sightings have been reported in the area around the tree.

Inside the House

Every room in this building carries weight. The living room is where Father Trabold’s exorcism failed and where visitors have been touched by unseen hands and seen strange lights with no identifiable source. Mary’s room, upstairs, is one of the most active spaces in the house, with disturbing fly infestations and EVP captures that continue to produce new evidence. Beth’s old bedroom, where the dividing wall has been removed, now holds a collection of items including two dolls locked in a glass cabinet that survived not one but two house fires that destroyed nearly everything else around them.

Laura’s room has produced shadow figures seen moving beneath the window.

The basement is where the atmosphere changes completely. A dirt floor. Stacked stone walls. Investigators describe the most concentrated negative energy in the building down here, and this is where Wilhelm makes his presence known.

Featured On

Paranormal Lockdown (Destination America, April 2016), Paranormal Lockdown Halloween Special (TLC, October 2016), America’s Most Terrifying Places (Travel Channel, 2012), and A Haunting (Discovery Channel, 2006).

This Is Your Chance

Hinsdale House has been called the most haunted house in New York State. It broke the Dandy family. It defeated a priest. It drove out every family that tried to make it a home. The bones in the yard have never been identified. The voices in Mary’s room have never stopped.

Haunted Rooms America is bringing a limited number of investigators inside for a full night of unrestricted access. You’ll walk the grounds to the Giving Tree. You’ll investigate the basement where Wilhelm waits. You’ll stand in the living room where the exorcism failed. And you’ll have the chance to make contact with spirits that have been active here for over 170 years.

What’s Included

• Exclusive after hours access to the entire Hinsdale House property, including the basement, all bedrooms, and the surrounding grounds
• Guided walk to the Giving Tree where you can leave an offering to the spirits of the land
• Structured ghost hunting vigils in the most active areas led by experienced investigators
• Use of paranormal equipment including EMF meters, spirit boxes, trigger objects, and recording devices
• Free time to explore the house and grounds and conduct your own investigations
• Snacks and refreshments to keep you energized throughout the night
• The opportunity to investigate arguably the most famous haunted house in New York State, featured on Paranormal Lockdown, A Haunting, and America’s Most Terrifying Places

Hinsdale, New York. The woods are chanting. The Woman in White is watching from the window. And something in the basement already knows your name.