If you’re looking for possible haunted sites within Rochester, New York, I’ve compiled a complete list of parks, buildings, cemeteries and miscellaneous roads and fields that are known to be haunted. Don’t forget that for some of these, you may need permission to investigate. If you happen across anything paranormal, I’d love to hear about it!
Parks
Durand Eastman is home to the White Lady of Rochester. The legend begins with a mother and daughter. The daughter was fond of walks along the beach (Lake Ontario shoreline) and one day went missing. The police never found the girl, so the mother continued her search, accompanied by her two dogs. One day, convinced she’d never see her daughter again, she jumped off a cliff. Visitors say they have seen the mother and her two dogs roaming the beach at night.
Boughton Hill Park located in Victor (just south of Rochester). As the legend goes, a witch was buried outside the park, on the north side. Visitors have spotted her ghostly presence in and around the park, on many occasions.
Powder Mills Park located in Pittsford, just before Victor. This park is supposedly haunted by many spirits, particularly one man that roams about the park in period dress.
Webster Park located in the northern suburb of Webster, right along the lakeshore of Lake Ontario. Hunters of the paranormal have caught many disturbing and unexplainable aberrations on film.
Mendon Ponds Park located in Mendon, just south of Rochester. It is the largest park in Monroe County at 2500 acres. Usually, people come to bird watch, but on occasion, one can, apparently, spot ghosts as well.
Ellison Park in Rochester. This one is interesting because this park exists directly on top of a city that no longer exists – Tryon City.
Roseland Park in Canandaigua. Roseland was an amusement park for many years. A few years ago, before it was torn down, the park claimed many lives, both of adults and children, due to antiquated equipment. Since then everything, including a monument to the dead, has been torn down.
Buildings
Geva Theater in Rochester. A place for professionally produced plays, social gatherings… and the occasional spirit…
Powers Farm Market in Pittsford. It sits directly across the street from White Haven Cemetery – no big surprise that some spirits might wend their way toward it.
Green Lantern Inn in Fairport. Supposedly, there is a woman that haunts this building, turning on lights and closing doors. My husband and I held our wedding reception in this building. I do remember seeing lights turn on unexplainably and doors closing, but that might have been me having too much to drink…
University of Rochester Library in Rochester. In 1929, a workman fell during construction of the library. He is said to be haunting the old stacks. Many sightings have been reported and documented by the campus paper.
Gates Chili High School, located to the southwest of Rochester. The high school is supposedly haunted by a young boy who died while drunk driving. Legend goes he is looking for his girlfriend, who was pregnant with their baby. Sometimes, people see him speeding his car around the school.
Aquinas Institute, located in Rochester. A girl named Victoria had the lead role in a musical. She did in a car wreck on opening night. People think she haunts the costume room in the attic (otherwise known as “Heaven”). Sometimes the tech crew hear a door or window slam, or footsteps, but they know nobody is in the attic at the time.
Cemeteries
Holy Sepulchre in the city of Rochester. Ghostly apparitions are seen – one of a woman in black, as well as white, smoky figures in the children’s section. Intriguing…
Mt. Hope in the city of Rochester. This cemetery is the oldest Victorian in the entire U.S., and it covers 196 acres of land. 370,000 people (approximately) are buried there. Many local covens and cults call this cemetery home.
Honeoye Falls on Route 65, just south of Rochester. Many have experienced curious spirits within this cemetery. Photographs have been captured of these spirits by ghost hunters.
Miscellaneous
Frontier Field in downtown Rochester. Frontier Field is a sport stadium built in 1996 that many paranormal groups in Rochester believe to be haunted. These claims were featured on a Sports Center Halloween special in 2005.
Ancient Grounds of Lima, located about 45 minutes south of Rochester. An ancient Indian burial ground is rumored to be located somewhere within Lima. On occasion, artifacts will be unearthed while new homes are being constructed. By law, builders are required to stop construction to allow archeologists to search for more evidence.
New Michigan Road in Victor. Legend has it that a newly married couple were fatally injured in a carriage ride along this road. During the full moon, people have spotted a lady in white roaming the road, supposedly, they think, searching for her “new” husband.
