Seneca Hill Ghost

In the spring of 1898, William Cooper returned to his home in Fulton village late one night after drinking. 

He and his young wife argued over their farm property. Cooper picked up his gun and shot at his wife.

His wife now terrified, grabbed their young daughter, and ran panic-stricken to a neighbor’s farm. 

Cooper tracked her down and cruelly shot the neighbors, Charles Smedley and his wife but failed to kill his wife.

He then committed suicide.

This tragedy was reported in the New York Times on June 25, 1898.

Some believe this tragedy is the reason why for over a century multiple witnesses have seen a frightened female apparition running in the vicinity of Seneca Hill near Oswego, New York.

Seneca Hill is a small community that sits between Oswego and Fulton.

Witnesses state this ghost appears terrified as they watched her fleeing with a girl around the age of 6 in tow.

They describe her and the little girl as barefoot, both wearing white 19th-century nightgowns. Others state she wears a white cap—possibly a nightcap. 

What they have seen fits the tragic Cooper scene for his wife and daughter were terrified as they fled for their lives.

One male witness states as he was driving along this road, a barefoot woman, came out of nowhere and stopped right in front of his car. She was wearing a nightgown, and she appeared to be in a panic.

He watched as this woman ran up on the porch of a nearby house, she then vanished right through the door. He asked his wife, who sat next to him if she had seen that? She stated she had not.

Sightings of this frightened woman most often occur in July, October, and November. Many occur during November.

Railroad tracks.

Her ghost has been seen along Kingdom road and Dutch Ridge road. Her apparition has also been spotted on Route 481, along the railroad tracks, Route 57, along the shore and Route 45 near Minetto.

These sightings are so prolific that people who have never seen this ghost believe in her.