Posted: 28 Oct 2011 08:21 PM PDT
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My family just finished watching tonight's episode of the showGhost Adventure that was shot on location at Letchworth Village in Haverstraw, New York. For the record it's "Have-er-straw", not "Hay-ver-straw" like it was pronounced on the show.
We were super excited when we heard that a show was filmed at Letchworth. My daughter heard that Ghost Hunters from the SyFy Channel were the ones that shot on location. We are huge Ghost Hunter fans. We have been watching the show for many years. We were disappointed to hear it wasn't Ghost Hunters but a show on the Travel Channel we have never heard of before calledGhost Adventures.
After watching the show tonightwe feel that the show did Letchworth Village a injustice. We feel like the show portrayed Letchworth Village more like theVillage of the Damned rather then what it really is – a series of beautiful, decaying buildings that might house the sad spirits of the people who once lived there. It is NOT an evil place!
My family has walked the grounds of Letworth Village many times. We never enter any of the buildings because it's against the law. You are allowed to walk the grounds during the day, but not at night. The local Police patrol the area often (and I suspect aftertonight show they will do it even more frequently). They will not hesitate to arrest trespassers. Especially considering over the past few years teens have set fires to some of the buildings.
Part of Letchworth Village was turned into a Middle School and Junior High School. It is illegal to trespass on their grounds. In fact they have gates that are closed to keep people out.
The buildings are NOT safe either. I heard there is asbestos in the buildings too. I wouldn't be surprised if they also contained lead paint since they were built long before lead paint was found to make people sick.
I know they interviewed a lady who onced worked there and a couple who have explored the grounds on numerous occasions. What they failed to do was interview people who walk the grounds regularly. Letchworth is a popular location for people to take their dogs for a walk or a leisurely morning stroll.
My family, including my husband and children, have walked the grounds of Letchworth many times and have never experienced anything "evil". We've heard strange sounds, oddly enough coming from the building the men spent the night in on the show.
We have walked close to the buildings, even peeking into windows from time to time, and have never experienced anything that would make a afraid to be there. Personally I always feel very sad when I am there. Overwhelmingly sad. I don't know if I feel sad for the residents who suffered there and who were abandoned by their families. Or I feel sad because the buildings at Letchworth are beautiful and left to rot.
I did find it amusing that the one fellow they interviewed on the show had a spirit follow him home (or at least he/she came through on his car radio). We had a spirit follow us home two years ago. In fact I mentioned that in the post I wrote about Letchworth last night BEFORE the show aired.
The spirit that followed us home was not malicious or evil. We sensed the it was a child because the things he/she would do around our home were playful. It only lasted for about three weeks then it stopped.
My family believes in ghosts and spirits. We had some unusual things happen over the years, but never anything that would make us fearful. We believe the spirits are simply beloved family members coming to pay us a visit. Our son was especially sensitive to spirits when he was a toddler. He told me that my mother (he called her Nanny) passed away about 20 minutes BEFORE I received the phone call from my father that my mom had passed away. There is more to the story (she visited him a couple of more times after she passed on… I'll leave that for another post).
My point is that we believe in ghosts and spirits and what lingers around Letchworth Village are NOT evil like the show made viewers believe they are.
Our concern is that the show is going to make people flock to Letchworth Village seeking evil spirits. If you want to come and see the beautiful architecture of the stone buildings that still remain, by all means, please do. Just please don't come to Letchworth Village thinking that you are going to stumble upon demons and evil entities.
My family has a rule when we visit Letchworth Village – RESPECT. We respect the grounds. We respect the buildings. We respect the random artifacts that we come across and most especially we respect the residents that once lived there. If you visit we hope that you will do that same. Feel free to speak to the spirits that remain. Say "hello" and wish them a good day. They were people once too, just like you and I.
We are sorry that Ghost Adventures portrayed Letchworth Village in a bad way. We understand that they needed to have drama and spooky effects to sell the show, but they could have done it in a less menacing way.
If you would like to learn more about Letchworth Village simply Google it. You'll find a lot of websites that talk about the location. Always remember to take what you read with a grain of salt. Not everything you read is the truth.
If you would like to read more about my thoughts on Letchworth Village, or look at some more photos that I took there, you are welcome to read my other post,http://www.shescribes.com/2011/10/letchworth-village-sad-decay-or-haunted-homestead.html.
FYI… if you love photography, Letchworth Village is a wonderful place to photograph. And if Ghost Hunters wants to come and do an investigation PLEASE DO! I'd love to meet you guys. 
Sent from my iMickey! 8(; - )
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