Local Myths and Legends: What Have You Seen?

Western Morris County and Eastern Warren County is an area drenched in historical significance and full of tall tales of the improbable. As we stretch into October and the cold wind sends spinning twists of leaves across the our lawns we here at Patch are looking for your brushes with the unknown.

To get you started, here are some of the more prevalent spooky tales from our area.

Main Street, Chester

There are many unconfirmed stories of other-worldly activities coming from Chester. One centers upon the ghost of a young girl in a white dress haunting the ClinCon Research building. Others include stories of a presence felt in the Publick House. And Once Upon a Table owner Charles Wasser once shared with us unexplained activity from within his store.

Have any of you encountered a spirit on the streets of Chester?

Hackettstown

Our newest Patch is home to some of the more disturbing ghost stories. Swirling mists have been reported at Hackettstown High School on the stage and a young woman in white is seen walking from Union Cemetery towards town. But the most infamous of the reported spectres have to do with Tillie Smith, a maid who was raped and murdered at Centenary College in 1886.

A maintenance worker named James Titus was convicted of the crime, but the tale didn't end there. To this day faculty, staff and students have reported seeing Smith.

Long Valley

Perhaps the most famous urban legend in the area is that of the Hookerman (and no, we don't mean the user who posts on our sites). The tale centers around the train tracks that cut through the land, and the story goes that a ghostly lantern and man are seen at night walking along the tracks searching for the arm he lost in a train accident (the details vary depending on who tells the story, but there is always a light and it is always by the train tracks). 

Mendham

From the very vague to the overly specific. On the edge of town in Jockey Hollow, there have been reports of troop sightings from the Revolutionary War in the wooded areas, as well as a woman in a long white dress.

And on Combs Hollow Road there is a story of a man who appears before drivers just after midnight. His is supposedly the ghost of a man who committed suicide after running down a woman jogging on the road.

So do you have a spooky tale of your own to share? They can be centered around the many myths and legends of the area or beyond (heck, who around here HASN'T gone to Great Meadows and Shades of Death Road). 

We just want to hear your spooky tales. Sound off in the comments below! This post is on Hackettstown, Long Valley, and Mendham-Chester Patch sites.