Real Haunted House

Betty Lane House

Long Island, New York

In 1972, the foundation for this house was being dug, when an old navy duffel bag was found. It was reported to have belonged to Captain Tomas VerPlange, whose house was on the property during the mid 1700’s. The bag contained faded photo albums, wooden navigation tools, and a pipe. Since that time, a knocking sound has been heard many nights on the door of a bedroom on the lower level. One, a occupant of the room went outside after the knocking, only to see a ghostly figure walking away.

13 comments on this haunted house. Share your story »

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13 Comments

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Mandala says:

November 17, 2005, 1:43 pm

PHotography only dates from mid 1800s not 1700s…
Mandela

Skid Love says:

December 31, 2005, 4:02 am

Actually there was a form of photography that came around in the 1500’s.There was a camera that could be carried by the 1700’s. Artist and scientists used them for photographing so it is possible that there where photos in the bag. They used portable obscuras cameras.

Sarah says:

January 4, 2006, 5:47 pm

Skid Love is correct…however, the chances of a duffel bag surviving buried for around 200 years would be roughly somewhere between slim and none. Ditto on the contents. We’re talking about New York…plenty of moisture and fairly acidic soil lead to relatively quick decomposition.

To quote the Cowardly Lion, “I DO believe in spooks!” But not this particular story.

Alexis says:

February 15, 2006, 4:09 pm

Does anyone have any info on who owns this house?

leah says:

March 12, 2006, 12:01 pm

i would lov3 to s33 a pictur3!!

LivSk8Di says:

April 5, 2006, 2:31 pm

There is no way photos graphs can last 200 years and be faded especially when they are under the dirt no way. Why would a ghost be banging on the door for no reason he didn’t have a reason there is nothing in the bag that support that he had something to hammer with. Ghost have reasons for what they do there is always something linked to the reason they are here and doing what they do.

angel says:

August 9, 2006, 6:45 pm

this figure was his late wife mary anne anderson who wanted to pay a visit.
she died from electricution when fixing a plug.
Then when she died he committed suicide coz he felt he had done something wrong.Now she and the man walk the house searching for each other.

angel says:

August 9, 2006, 6:47 pm

jane mathermoore owns the house my paranormal sence tells me she may turn the house into a mueseam

MARYJANE says:

September 24, 2006, 9:45 am

THIS IS GAYAYAYAYA

mari says:

September 27, 2006, 2:23 pm

Where on Long Island is this house located?

nick says:

January 20, 2007, 10:09 pm

Hey everybody, how are you doing?

John says:

March 12, 2007, 12:49 pm

Sorry, folks. While the technique was known before that time (actually as early as 1724), such photographs inevitably faded within a few months. It has been claimed that a form of photography was used as early as the 16th century, but this has been disputed by historians and in any case, did not result in photographs as we know them. The first permanent photograph was produced in 1826 and required eight hours of exposure (it was a landscape taken by Nicéphore Niépce). Early pictures of this type tend to be very fragile; Niépce’s photo is one of the few surviving examples.

Ergo, there is simply no way that photos from the 1700s could have survived in such an environment (Niépce’s photo has been carefully preserved and well-cared for over the years and is still considered very fragile). Likewise, a cloth duffel bag (the type commonly employed in those days) would almost certainly have disintegrated in the intervening time.

Further evidence against this story is the claim of wooden navigational tools. By the mid 17th century, almost every competent navigator was using metal tools (notably, the sextant). Even on an older vessel, a metal astrolabe was more likely than wooden instruments. Wood also does not preserve well unless specially prepared, making it unlikely that they would have survived burial for 200 years.

LivSk8Di:
Not all ghosts have reasons for doing things. Phantoms and apparitions, in particular, may replay a scene of their last moments, seemingly without notice of people or things around them.

Angel:
Does your paranormal sense also tell you how to spell correctly?

Taylor says:

August 15, 2008, 8:33 am

Well according to the story it says there were faded picture albums but who said there were pictures IN the albums.. They could have been empty albums..

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