Have you ever wondered if your house was haunted, or maybe the history of your town was darker than you presumed? Scattered throughout The Island, horror-lovers have the chance to visit some places where actual mysteries took place. 

From spooky town-legends to documented murders, here are five haunted locations on Long Island you should know about:

Pilgrim Psychiatric Center (Brentwood)

Commonly recognized as one of the most ghost-populated sites on the island, Pilgrim Psychiatric Center is a series of abandoned psychiatric centers dating back to the 1930s. The primitive methods of treatment included restraint devices as well as electric shock and prefrontal lobotomies, which is why the allegations of hauntings occurred. Inspiring a Jack Nicholson film, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” the location has been victim to many sightings and experiences over the following years. Some reported seeing a woman in a straight jacket—while driving by the center, while others reported seeing a haunted entity called “the Hat Man” while visiting. 

Camp Hero (Montauk)

Labeled as a conspiracy theory, this camp designed as a secret military base in Montauk was also the site of “The Montauk Project” which presented the disappearance of two young boys; Legend has it they experimented on in an attempt to interact with another dimension. Allegedly, one of the boys managed to pull a creature from a fourth dimension—the creature being contained underground still to this day. Cases such as seeing the ghost of a U.S. soldier and the woods are said to give off a horrid vibe. The writers behind “Stranger Things” have even cited inspiration coming from this lesser-known conspiracy theory. 

Islip Pavilion Theater (Islip)

The Islip Pavilion Theater opened their doors in 1946, temporarily closing and rebranding as the Islip Cinemas and finally closing during the pandemic to never open again. The theaters have had a history of haunting encounters. Employees of the theater have reported hearing footsteps and faint, ghostly knocking when nobody is around. Some even reported hearing a disembodied gurgling and heartbeats coming within the walls. If you ever watched a movie here, the empty seat next to you might not have been be as empty as you thought.

Amityville Horror House (Amityville)

Being the subject of numerous films, documentaries and books, the Amityville Horror house has been home to multiple weird coincidences and crime scenes.  In 1974, Ronald DeFeo, Jr. murdered his parents and three of his siblings and thirteen months later, the Lutz family had moved in—leaving only 28 days later, saying they were driven out of their house by skin-crawling paranormal activity. George Lutz had been meditating and made it a habit to mention the names of demons. After this, the hauntings had begun. The Lutz family said they encountered swarms of flies, a hidden room that terrified the family dog, a priest who visited the home and heard a spirit yell “Get out!” Other paranormal experiences were a demonic pig-like creature staring down at George and his child, levitation, and the mother receiving welts on her chest. 

Despite many believing the stories are fabricated, sophomore Izzik Mercado believes. “I believe the events took place, there’s so much proof and provable research.”

Country House Restaurant (Stony Brook)

Originally built in 1710, the Country House Restaurant has undergone many changes in purposes as it began as a family home and during the Revolutionary War, it had become a safe house for British troops. The family who had lived in the house experienced a devastating tragedy as the daughter, Annette Williamson had let in a British troop without the knowledge of her parents return. Legends of the neighborhood was that townspeople pinned Annette as a spy and murdered her inside the home. She was buried in the small grave on the property but she is said to still be present. Reported sights of Annette were hearing weeping and seeing her looking forlorny out the front window. Not just the ghost of Annette Williamson was mentioned, but a range of haunting elements—varying from visible apparitions to poltergeist activity. Even with the haunting atmosphere attenders have been accompanied with, the ambiance is rather gentle, partially influenced by the presence of Annette Williamson.