July 18, 2025 • 25 mins
Welcome to Lily Dale, New York — the small Victorian town where ghosts talk back, mediums are certified, and the spirit world has a summer home. In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, host Amy takes you deep into the origins of the Spiritualist movement, the founding of Lily Dale in 1879, and the true stories behind places like Inspiration Stump, the Leolyn Hotel, and the mystical Fairy Trail. Hear chilling personal accounts, meet spirits that never checked out, and explore how this lakeside village became the epicenter of American Spiritualism. Whether you’re a believer, a skeptic, or just here for the ghost stories, you won’t want to miss this strange slice of haunted history.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, friends, Welcome back to the Strange History Podcast, where
we dust off the cobwebs of history and sometimes find
actual ghosts underneath. I'm your host, Amy, and today we're
going to a village so small, so peaceful, and so
spectral it could only be lily Dale, New York. Now
this isn't just a town with a ghost or two
in the attic. This is a town built for ghosts,
(00:23):
founded by people who not only believe the dead could talk,
they wanted them to. So grab your lavender sachet, your
most open mind, and maybe a salt pouch or two,
because we're about to take a journey into the world's
most famously haunted hamlet.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Spiritualism blooms, and so do the ghosts.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
To understand how lily Dale came to be, we have
to travel back to the mid nineteenth century, an era
of corsets, cholera, and copious grieving. It all starts in
eighteen forty eight in the quiet hamlet of Hydesville, New York,
with two teenage sisters, Margaret and Kate Fox, and a
very noisy spirit. The girls claimed to hear strange raps
(01:07):
and knocks in the night. They started asking questions and
the spirit, allegedly a murdered peddler buried in their cellar,
knocked back answers. This became known as the Hydesville Rappings.
Soon their home was the hottest ticket in town. Neighbors
came from miles around to hear the ghost knock out
(01:27):
yes no answers like a supernatural Morse code machine. The
story made headlines, and before you could say phantom telegram, Spiritualism,
the belief that the dead can communicate with the living,
was everywhere. Now, this wasn't just a passing fad. Spiritualism
took root at a time when Americans were being devastated
(01:48):
by disease, high infant mortality, and the looming Civil War.
For many, it wasn't about showmanship. It was about hope.
Losing a child, a pairentrant, a spouse, and then being
offered the possibility of speaking to them again. That was
revolutionary and comforting in a time when grief felt like
(02:10):
a permanent wound. By the eighteen fifties, there were tens
of thousands of practicing spiritualists across the US, including major intellectuals, abolitionists,
and suffragettes. Even Mary Todd Lincoln held seances in the
White House after the death of her son Willie.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
The camp that became a village.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
As the spiritualist movement grew, its followers began gathering for
summer camp meetings spiritual retreats where people could hear lectures,
witness demonstrations of mediumship, and talk about the afterlife over
tea and biscuits. In eighteen seventy nine, a group of
believers purchased twenty acres of woodland along the shore of
(02:52):
Cassadaga Lake in western New York. They called it the
Cassadaga Lake Free Association. Originally in tended as a seasonal retreat,
it quickly became something more permanent. By eighteen eighty there
were tents, lecture halls, and a healing temple. By nineteen
oh three, they were selling cottages. By nineteen oh six,
(03:14):
they renamed it lily Dale Assembly after the wild lilies
that bloomed around the lake, and just like that, lily
Dale became the epicenter of American spiritualism. The early founders,
and like George Colby, a trance medium from Florida, believed
they were divinely guided to the land. According to legend,
Colby was led to Cassadaga lake by a spirit guide
(03:38):
named Seneca, who told him the land was sacred. He
followed visions across state lines and upon arriving said, this
is the place which is kind of like house Hunters,
but with ghosts.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
A town where the dead outnumber the living.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Today lily Dale looks like a storybook village that got
a little two into crystals. Victorian cottages line the narrow streets,
each with small wooden signs like certified medium readings today
or my favorite ghosts. Welcome skeptics, we'll see You can
(04:15):
attend a lecture on reincarnation at ten am, a group
seance at two, and an aura cleansing before dinner. But
what sets lily Dale apart is this. It isn't a
tourus trap or a theme park. The people who live
here and many who visit genuinely believe and to be
a practicing medium in lily Dale you have to be
(04:36):
tested and registered. You're expected to give multiple accurate readings
to a panel often blind, and adhere to ethical and
spiritual standards. It's like American Idol, but for clairvoyance. One medium,
Reverend Janet Nohavic, once gave a reading to a woman
who had recently lost her father. She paused and said,
(04:57):
he says, tell her I left the coins the cookie jar.
The woman gasped, she just found hundreds of dollars in
quarters her father had hidden in a cookie jar no
one else knew. A skeptical school teacher from Boston, visiting
on a dare, sat for a reading. The medium said,
you sleepwalk You went outside last week in your pajamas.
(05:20):
The man turned pale. He'd never told a soul. He
now attends lily Dale every summer.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Ghosts, fairies and stumps.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Oh my, let's dive into some of the town's most
iconic and most haunted places. Nestled in the heart of
lily Dale, just a short walk from the iconic gates
of the spiritualist community, stands a stately and mysterious building,
the Leolin Hotel. For over a century, this Victorian era
(05:51):
structure has served as a hub for mediums, seekers, and
allegedly spirits who never checked out. But to understand why
the Leolin is so significant, you have to understand lily
Dale itself. The Leolin Hotel was built in the late
nineteenth century during the big boom in spiritualist tourism. After
(06:14):
lily Dale's founding in eighteen seventy nine, the town grew rapidly.
It wasn't just a place for lectures and seances, it
was becoming a destination. By the eighteen eighties, lily Dale
needed more than tents and cottages. It needed a proper
hotel for the wave of visitors descending on the town
each summer, people from New York City, Boston, even Europe,
(06:38):
all seeking to speak with the dead or explore metaphysical teachings.
The Leolin Hotel was built to accommodate that need. It
offered charm, quiet and convenience, and unlike some of the
rougher lodging of the era, it had a certain class
to it. Victorian in design, the hotel was surrounded by
(06:59):
trees in greenery, giving it an almost cloistered feel, like
a spiritual retreat hidden in plain sight. Though there's no
official record of the exact construction year, most sources place
the building's origin around eighteen ninety to nineteen hundred, making
it one of lily Dale's oldest and most historically significant structures.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
The Golden Age spiritual celebrities and specters.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
During the height of spiritualism in the early twentieth century,
the Leolin wasn't just a place to sleep. It was
a social hub, a sacred space, and, according to many
a portal. Famous mediums and lecturers stayed there while giving
public readings at the nearby auditorium. Guests claim to see
(07:48):
lights flickering with no cause, feel cold breezes on still
summer nights, and more than once hear soft footsteps in
empty corridors. But the most persistent legend of the Leolin
revolves around a spirit known as Miss Abigail. According to
lily Dale lore, miss Abigail was a spinster school teacher
(08:10):
and devout spiritualist who traveled to lily Dale in the
early nineteen hundreds. She returned year after year, staying in
the same corner room on the second floor. She never married,
never missed a seance, and one summer she simply didn't leave.
She died of a stroke in her sleep, they say,
peacefully in her favorite rocking chair. But ever since, guests
(08:33):
in that room have reported that the chair rocks on
its own, particularly in the early hours of the morning.
Some claim they've seen her knitting, others say they've heard humming,
and once a man reportedly woke up to find his
blanket had been neatly folded at his feet. One guest
allegedly told the front desk, your housekeeper is very kind.
(08:56):
The clerk replied, we don't have anyone on duty upstairs
this time of night.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Fire and survival.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
In nineteen ninety two, a devastating fire ripped through part
of lily Dale, destroying several nearby buildings, but the Leolin
stood firm. Locals said it was like the Spirits themselves
protected it. A few claim they saw figures in the smoke,
standing in the windows watching. Even today, when renovations are
(09:24):
done on the hotel, tools go missing, lights flicker, and
workers report strange sensations. One medium claim the building has
its own energy vortex. Not dangerous, just very crowded with
unseen residents. Today, the Leolin remains one of the few
functioning hotels within lily Dale, offering a charming and yes,
(09:45):
a bit creaky stay to visitors from around the world.
Rooms are basic, no TVs, no air conditioning, but hey,
if you're in lily Dale, you're probably not here for Netflix,
You're here for the Spirits. Guests still rep strange encounters,
cold spots, the occasional apparition of a woman in nineteen
(10:05):
hundred's clothing objects moved ever so slightly, dreams that feel
too real, but they also report a deep peace, like
the building itself is holding space for something larger than
life and death. The Leland Hotel isn't just a historic building.
It's a living artifact, or maybe a post living artifact.
(10:29):
From the height of the spiritualist movement, It's seen decades
of hope, healing, grief and connection between the worlds. Whether
or not you believe in ghosts, you'd be hard pressed
to deny the strange energy that lingers there. Some come
to rest, some come to connect. The history of inspiration
(10:49):
Stump lily Dale's most spiritual tree trunk. This isn't your
average tree stump. Tucked deep in the woods, this site
has been the epicenter of spirit communications the eighteen nineties.
Every day in summer, mediums stand and deliver messages from
the beyond to the crowd seated on benches beneath the trees.
(11:09):
In the cool shaded woods behind the Assembly Hall in
lily Dale, there's a clearing where people gather every summer,
not to hike, not to picnic, but to talk to
the dead. At the center of it all stands what
looks like a weathered old stump, and it is. But
this is no ordinary log. This is inspiration Stump, one
(11:30):
of the most sacred and mysterious sights in all of spiritualism,
where for over a century mediums have stood and spoken
with the dead, often to complete strangers sitting quietly on
wooden benches among the trees. Let's rewind to the early
eighteen nineties. Lily Dale, still in its infancy but rapidly growing,
(11:52):
was hosting more visitors every year. Spiritualists came for lectures, healing,
and most of all, messages from the spirit world. While
many demonstrations took place indoors in auditoriums and parlors, a
group of mediums began using a small wooded area as
a natural stage. This spot, set in a tranquil grove,
(12:14):
had one very prominent feature, a large tree stump left
behind after the tree had been struck by lightning. The
tree was gone, but the energy remained. Mediums began standing
on the stump to deliver public spirit messages the open air.
The natural setting it felt deeply spiritual. The stump gave
(12:35):
the speaker just enough height to be seen, and somehow
messages seemed to come through stronger in that space. Before long,
the community gave it a name, Inspiration.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Stump, Public Mediumship, ghosts reporting live from the forest.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Here's how it works. Every afternoon during Lilydale's summer season,
crowds gather in the wood. Dozens, sometimes hundreds of people
sit quietly on rustic benches waiting. There's no sign up,
no ticket, no guarantee. A medium or a few walk
to the stump. They pause, they listen, and then they
(13:16):
point into the crowd and say something like.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
I have a woman here. She's showing me a red sweater.
She says, Tell Mary, I'm proud of her, and yes,
she saw the graduation.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
A woman in the third row gasps. Her mother died
five years ago. She wore a red sweater every Christmas.
Her daughter just graduated, and the whole audience gets goosebumps.
This is what the stump is all about, not theater,
not showmanship, but public, raw, unpredictable communication from the beyond.
(13:50):
Inspiration Stump is more than just a place for readings.
It has become a kind of holy site for spiritualists.
For many standing on the stump, or even visiting it
is like walking into a church. Mediums say that the
veil between worlds is thinner. There, the trees act like antennas,
the energy is pure. Some claim to see orbs, flickers
(14:14):
of light, or shadow figures flitting among the trees during services.
Others describe hearing whispers, feeling gentle touches, or experiencing overwhelming
waves of emotion, joy, grief, peace, even when no message
was directly for them. It's a space that transcends belief.
(14:35):
You don't have to be a medium to feel something.
Some of the most respected mediums in the history of
American spiritualism have given readings at Inspiration Stump. This includes
Emma Harding Britain, one of the religion's founders, and later
figures like Reverend Mavis Patilla and John White, who drew
huge crowds. In the nineteen seventies, a visiting medium reportedly
(14:58):
went into a full t trance at the stump and
began speaking in fluent Swedish, despite never having studied the language.
A woman in the audience, a Swedish immigrant, recognized the
voice and message as being from her late sister. She
collapsed in sobs the message.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
You want alone, I was with you when you cross
the sea.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Many visitors say that even when a message isn't meant
for them, it resonates as if it is. The stump
has a way of making people feel seen, even by
spirits who aren't their own. Visitors often leave small offerings
near the stump, feathers, stones, flowers, notes. It's not a
(15:41):
tourist attraction. It's hallowed ground. Talking, photography and phones are discouraged.
There's a reverence there that's palpable. The path leading to
it is called the Trail of Remembrance, lined with plaques
and memorials for spiritualists who have passed on a symbolic
journey between worlds. And yes, there's a sign that literally
(16:03):
says please do not sit or stand on the Inspiration Stump,
not because it's unstable, but because it's sacred. Only approved
mediums are allowed to stand there. It's like the pulpit
of a church, made from roots and time. Today, Inspiration
Stump remains the emotional and energetic center of lily Dale.
(16:25):
Services are still held there daily in summer. People still
gather in the woods. Mediums still walk the pine Needle
path to stand on the same ground as those who
came before and the spirits. According to many, they're still
showing up every day, whether you believe in the other
side or not. A visit to Inspiration Stump is unforgettable.
(16:47):
It's peaceful, charged, strange, comforting, and more than anything, it's alive.
A woman named Karen, who was visiting, was sitting in
the back row. A medium stepped forward and said, there's.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
A dog here, brown fur. Very loud, she says, her
name is Beans.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Karen burst into tears. Beans had passed a few months earlier,
and yes, she was very loud.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
The fairy Trail, and yes.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
There's a fairy trail. Adults and kids alike leave offerings
to woodland, spirits, crystals, toys, handwritten notes, even snapcakes. It's whimsical,
a little silly and strangely moving. Tucked at the edge
of the woods in lily Dale, past the Healing Temple,
beyond the tree lined streets of quaint Victorian cottages, and
(17:41):
not far from the legendary Inspiration Stump, there lies a
winding path that feels like it stepped straight out of
a storybook. This is the Fairy Trail, a whimsical woodland walk,
where the veil between worlds is thin. But not just
the world of the dead. Here you're stepping into something
even older, even weirder, maybe even smaller, because here fairies
(18:06):
are real if you believe hard enough, and in lily Dale,
a town built on belief, that's more than enough.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
The magical meets the metaphysical.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
The exact year the fairy Trail became an official feature
of lily Dale is a bit fuzzy, like many things
in this town. It likely started organically in the early
two thousands, when residents and spiritualist visitors began noticing a
growing interest in nature, spirits, elementals, and earth energy. In
traditional spiritualist practice, most communication is with human spirits, but
(18:41):
as the movement evolved, blending with New Age philosophies, environmentalism,
and global folklore, interest in non human entities grew gnomes
three spirits, guardians of the natural world, and yes, fairies.
So someone or perhaps many someonees began to transform a
(19:04):
quiet path in the woods into a magical garden trail,
and like a fairy ring, it grew. Today it's one
of lily Dale's most popular attractions, especially for those who
come seeking a lighter kind of magic. What you'll see
and feel the Fairy Trail is not grand or flashy.
(19:26):
It's subtle, as fairies tend to be. Along the trail,
you'll find tiny fairy houses handmade by visitors and residents,
painted stones with uplifting messages, little bridges made from twigs,
tree stumps turned into thrones, glitter ribbons, crystals, wind chimes, feathers,
(19:47):
and the occasional plastic dinosaur. They're inclusive, apparently. At the
entrance is a sign that reads, Welcome to the Faery Trail.
Please walk with love and respect. The spirits here are
shy but kind. It's not just for kids. Adults leave
offerings too, notes, shiny objects, snacks, flowers, and many say
(20:10):
they feel something shift the moment they step onto the trail.
The air changes, time slows. It feels lighter, playful, but
not silly. One visitor, a retired marine named Walt, left
a candy bar for the fairies that night. He swears
something brushed his cheek as he fell asleep in his cabin.
(20:32):
He said it felt like a wing, or a feather,
or maybe just peace. A woman named Linda, a retired
schoolteacher from Ohio, visited lily Dale grieving the death of
her son. She wandered onto the fairy trail just to
clear her head, but felt a sudden breeze and a
tiny voice in her mind said, he is laughing now.
(20:54):
She burst into tears. Later that night, she had a
dream of her son as a child, surrounded by glowing lights.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Belief and the elemental realm.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
Spiritualists who believe in fairies often describe them not as
the winged creatures from cartoons, but as interdimensional nature spirits,
elementals that exist just outside our sensory range. They are
said to guard forests, rivers, stones, and animals. They're mischievous, yes,
(21:26):
but also ancient, wise and deeply connected to the health
of the planet. Some mediums in lily Dale even claimed
to communicate with fairies, describing them as curious, high vibration
beings that respond best to joy, music and genuine wonder.
In twenty sixteen, a visiting healer claimed she saw a
(21:48):
swirl of glowing orbs hovering in the trees along the trail.
She called them light elementals. A skeptic next to her,
a businessman from Rochester, reportedly said, well, damn, I saw
them too. Another frequent visitor, a man named Terry, leaves
offerings of honey and coins. He swears that every time
(22:10):
he returns they're gone. Animals don't eat quarters, he says.
The Fairy Trail has become more than just a path.
It's a ritual space, a quiet sanctuary where people come
to let go, to smile, to feel something pure and
playful in a world that often forgets to be either.
(22:31):
Some come to reconnect with their inner child. Others come
hoping to feel a brush of wings or hear laughter
on the breeze. Some leave changed. It's not loud, it's
not dramatic, but something about that little stretch of woods
is deeply, strangely sacred. Today and beyond, the Fairy Trail
continues to evolve, maintained by volunteers, lovingly updated by guests,
(22:56):
and watched over many believe by more than just squirrels.
Workshops are sometimes held nearby on connecting with elemental spirits,
nature based mediumship, and even fairy photography. Some visitors swear
they've caught tiny glowing figures in their pictures. Others are
content just to walk and feel at peace in a
(23:18):
town known for death. The Fairy Trail is a celebration
of life, magic and lightness, a reminder that the world
is still full of mystery, wonder and beings we might
not fully understand, and sometimes that's exactly the kind of
magic we need.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
The town today, where the veil stays thin.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
Lily Dale has grown from twenty acres and a few
tents to a vibrant, seasonal community. Every year, twenty thousand
plus visitors pass through its gates. Some come for closure,
some for curiosity, others for healing. Despite its mystical atmosphere,
lily Dale has endured real world struggles, fires, floods, internal
(24:03):
division among spiritualist denominations, But through it all, it has
remained a rare and thriving community where people can speak
their truth and maybe hear from someone who's already moved on.
In nineteen ninety two, a fire destroyed the Maplewood Hotel
and several cottages. No one was injured. The next day,
(24:24):
residents gathered at the ruins. One woman swore she saw
a glowing figure in the smoke. She said, it whispered,
we rebuild with light, and they did.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Stranger than fiction.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
So what is lily Dale really? It's a village of believers,
a sanctuary for the grieving, a town where history is alive,
sometimes literally, and where the veil between worlds isn't just thin,
it's practically a front porch screen. Thanks for walking with
me through the forests, fairies, and flickering shadows of lily Dale.
(24:58):
If this episode gave you t chills, comfort, or just
a case of the spiritual giggles, please like subscribe and
leave a five star review. It helps the Strange History
podcast grow, and maybe, just maybe it gets us in
good with the ghost algorithms. Make sure you subscribe so
(25:19):
you never miss an episode. We've got more haunted histories,
cursed places, and curious tales coming your way. Until next time,
I'm Amy reminding you that in history, as in life,
sometimes the strangest parts are the most real
Hey, friends, Welcome back to the Strange History Podcast, where
we dust off the cobwebs of history and sometimes find
actual ghosts underneath. I'm your host, Amy, and today we're
going to a village so small, so peaceful, and so
spectral it could only be lily Dale, New York. Now
this isn't just a town with a ghost or two
in the attic. This is a town built for ghosts,
(00:23):
founded by people who not only believe the dead could talk,
they wanted them to. So grab your lavender sachet, your
most open mind, and maybe a salt pouch or two,
because we're about to take a journey into the world's
most famously haunted hamlet.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Spiritualism blooms, and so do the ghosts.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
To understand how lily Dale came to be, we have
to travel back to the mid nineteenth century, an era
of corsets, cholera, and copious grieving. It all starts in
eighteen forty eight in the quiet hamlet of Hydesville, New York,
with two teenage sisters, Margaret and Kate Fox, and a
very noisy spirit. The girls claimed to hear strange raps
(01:07):
and knocks in the night. They started asking questions and
the spirit, allegedly a murdered peddler buried in their cellar,
knocked back answers. This became known as the Hydesville Rappings.
Soon their home was the hottest ticket in town. Neighbors
came from miles around to hear the ghost knock out
(01:27):
yes no answers like a supernatural Morse code machine. The
story made headlines, and before you could say phantom telegram, Spiritualism,
the belief that the dead can communicate with the living,
was everywhere. Now, this wasn't just a passing fad. Spiritualism
took root at a time when Americans were being devastated
(01:48):
by disease, high infant mortality, and the looming Civil War.
For many, it wasn't about showmanship. It was about hope.
Losing a child, a pairentrant, a spouse, and then being
offered the possibility of speaking to them again. That was
revolutionary and comforting in a time when grief felt like
(02:10):
a permanent wound. By the eighteen fifties, there were tens
of thousands of practicing spiritualists across the US, including major intellectuals, abolitionists,
and suffragettes. Even Mary Todd Lincoln held seances in the
White House after the death of her son Willie.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
The camp that became a village.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
As the spiritualist movement grew, its followers began gathering for
summer camp meetings spiritual retreats where people could hear lectures,
witness demonstrations of mediumship, and talk about the afterlife over
tea and biscuits. In eighteen seventy nine, a group of
believers purchased twenty acres of woodland along the shore of
(02:52):
Cassadaga Lake in western New York. They called it the
Cassadaga Lake Free Association. Originally in tended as a seasonal retreat,
it quickly became something more permanent. By eighteen eighty there
were tents, lecture halls, and a healing temple. By nineteen
oh three, they were selling cottages. By nineteen oh six,
(03:14):
they renamed it lily Dale Assembly after the wild lilies
that bloomed around the lake, and just like that, lily
Dale became the epicenter of American spiritualism. The early founders,
and like George Colby, a trance medium from Florida, believed
they were divinely guided to the land. According to legend,
Colby was led to Cassadaga lake by a spirit guide
(03:38):
named Seneca, who told him the land was sacred. He
followed visions across state lines and upon arriving said, this
is the place which is kind of like house Hunters,
but with ghosts.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
A town where the dead outnumber the living.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Today lily Dale looks like a storybook village that got
a little two into crystals. Victorian cottages line the narrow streets,
each with small wooden signs like certified medium readings today
or my favorite ghosts. Welcome skeptics, we'll see You can
(04:15):
attend a lecture on reincarnation at ten am, a group
seance at two, and an aura cleansing before dinner. But
what sets lily Dale apart is this. It isn't a
tourus trap or a theme park. The people who live
here and many who visit genuinely believe and to be
a practicing medium in lily Dale you have to be
(04:36):
tested and registered. You're expected to give multiple accurate readings
to a panel often blind, and adhere to ethical and
spiritual standards. It's like American Idol, but for clairvoyance. One medium,
Reverend Janet Nohavic, once gave a reading to a woman
who had recently lost her father. She paused and said,
(04:57):
he says, tell her I left the coins the cookie jar.
The woman gasped, she just found hundreds of dollars in
quarters her father had hidden in a cookie jar no
one else knew. A skeptical school teacher from Boston, visiting
on a dare, sat for a reading. The medium said,
you sleepwalk You went outside last week in your pajamas.
(05:20):
The man turned pale. He'd never told a soul. He
now attends lily Dale every summer.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Ghosts, fairies and stumps.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Oh my, let's dive into some of the town's most
iconic and most haunted places. Nestled in the heart of
lily Dale, just a short walk from the iconic gates
of the spiritualist community, stands a stately and mysterious building,
the Leolin Hotel. For over a century, this Victorian era
(05:51):
structure has served as a hub for mediums, seekers, and
allegedly spirits who never checked out. But to understand why
the Leolin is so significant, you have to understand lily
Dale itself. The Leolin Hotel was built in the late
nineteenth century during the big boom in spiritualist tourism. After
(06:14):
lily Dale's founding in eighteen seventy nine, the town grew rapidly.
It wasn't just a place for lectures and seances, it
was becoming a destination. By the eighteen eighties, lily Dale
needed more than tents and cottages. It needed a proper
hotel for the wave of visitors descending on the town
each summer, people from New York City, Boston, even Europe,
(06:38):
all seeking to speak with the dead or explore metaphysical teachings.
The Leolin Hotel was built to accommodate that need. It
offered charm, quiet and convenience, and unlike some of the
rougher lodging of the era, it had a certain class
to it. Victorian in design, the hotel was surrounded by
(06:59):
trees in greenery, giving it an almost cloistered feel, like
a spiritual retreat hidden in plain sight. Though there's no
official record of the exact construction year, most sources place
the building's origin around eighteen ninety to nineteen hundred, making
it one of lily Dale's oldest and most historically significant structures.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
The Golden Age spiritual celebrities and specters.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
During the height of spiritualism in the early twentieth century,
the Leolin wasn't just a place to sleep. It was
a social hub, a sacred space, and, according to many
a portal. Famous mediums and lecturers stayed there while giving
public readings at the nearby auditorium. Guests claim to see
(07:48):
lights flickering with no cause, feel cold breezes on still
summer nights, and more than once hear soft footsteps in
empty corridors. But the most persistent legend of the Leolin
revolves around a spirit known as Miss Abigail. According to
lily Dale lore, miss Abigail was a spinster school teacher
(08:10):
and devout spiritualist who traveled to lily Dale in the
early nineteen hundreds. She returned year after year, staying in
the same corner room on the second floor. She never married,
never missed a seance, and one summer she simply didn't leave.
She died of a stroke in her sleep, they say,
peacefully in her favorite rocking chair. But ever since, guests
(08:33):
in that room have reported that the chair rocks on
its own, particularly in the early hours of the morning.
Some claim they've seen her knitting, others say they've heard humming,
and once a man reportedly woke up to find his
blanket had been neatly folded at his feet. One guest
allegedly told the front desk, your housekeeper is very kind.
(08:56):
The clerk replied, we don't have anyone on duty upstairs
this time of night.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Fire and survival.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
In nineteen ninety two, a devastating fire ripped through part
of lily Dale, destroying several nearby buildings, but the Leolin
stood firm. Locals said it was like the Spirits themselves
protected it. A few claim they saw figures in the smoke,
standing in the windows watching. Even today, when renovations are
(09:24):
done on the hotel, tools go missing, lights flicker, and
workers report strange sensations. One medium claim the building has
its own energy vortex. Not dangerous, just very crowded with
unseen residents. Today, the Leolin remains one of the few
functioning hotels within lily Dale, offering a charming and yes,
(09:45):
a bit creaky stay to visitors from around the world.
Rooms are basic, no TVs, no air conditioning, but hey,
if you're in lily Dale, you're probably not here for Netflix,
You're here for the Spirits. Guests still rep strange encounters,
cold spots, the occasional apparition of a woman in nineteen
(10:05):
hundred's clothing objects moved ever so slightly, dreams that feel
too real, but they also report a deep peace, like
the building itself is holding space for something larger than
life and death. The Leland Hotel isn't just a historic building.
It's a living artifact, or maybe a post living artifact.
(10:29):
From the height of the spiritualist movement, It's seen decades
of hope, healing, grief and connection between the worlds. Whether
or not you believe in ghosts, you'd be hard pressed
to deny the strange energy that lingers there. Some come
to rest, some come to connect. The history of inspiration
(10:49):
Stump lily Dale's most spiritual tree trunk. This isn't your
average tree stump. Tucked deep in the woods, this site
has been the epicenter of spirit communications the eighteen nineties.
Every day in summer, mediums stand and deliver messages from
the beyond to the crowd seated on benches beneath the trees.
(11:09):
In the cool shaded woods behind the Assembly Hall in
lily Dale, there's a clearing where people gather every summer,
not to hike, not to picnic, but to talk to
the dead. At the center of it all stands what
looks like a weathered old stump, and it is. But
this is no ordinary log. This is inspiration Stump, one
(11:30):
of the most sacred and mysterious sights in all of spiritualism,
where for over a century mediums have stood and spoken
with the dead, often to complete strangers sitting quietly on
wooden benches among the trees. Let's rewind to the early
eighteen nineties. Lily Dale, still in its infancy but rapidly growing,
(11:52):
was hosting more visitors every year. Spiritualists came for lectures, healing,
and most of all, messages from the spirit world. While
many demonstrations took place indoors in auditoriums and parlors, a
group of mediums began using a small wooded area as
a natural stage. This spot, set in a tranquil grove,
(12:14):
had one very prominent feature, a large tree stump left
behind after the tree had been struck by lightning. The
tree was gone, but the energy remained. Mediums began standing
on the stump to deliver public spirit messages the open air.
The natural setting it felt deeply spiritual. The stump gave
(12:35):
the speaker just enough height to be seen, and somehow
messages seemed to come through stronger in that space. Before long,
the community gave it a name, Inspiration.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Stump, Public Mediumship, ghosts reporting live from the forest.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Here's how it works. Every afternoon during Lilydale's summer season,
crowds gather in the wood. Dozens, sometimes hundreds of people
sit quietly on rustic benches waiting. There's no sign up,
no ticket, no guarantee. A medium or a few walk
to the stump. They pause, they listen, and then they
(13:16):
point into the crowd and say something like.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
I have a woman here. She's showing me a red sweater.
She says, Tell Mary, I'm proud of her, and yes,
she saw the graduation.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
A woman in the third row gasps. Her mother died
five years ago. She wore a red sweater every Christmas.
Her daughter just graduated, and the whole audience gets goosebumps.
This is what the stump is all about, not theater,
not showmanship, but public, raw, unpredictable communication from the beyond.
(13:50):
Inspiration Stump is more than just a place for readings.
It has become a kind of holy site for spiritualists.
For many standing on the stump, or even visiting it
is like walking into a church. Mediums say that the
veil between worlds is thinner. There, the trees act like antennas,
the energy is pure. Some claim to see orbs, flickers
(14:14):
of light, or shadow figures flitting among the trees during services.
Others describe hearing whispers, feeling gentle touches, or experiencing overwhelming
waves of emotion, joy, grief, peace, even when no message
was directly for them. It's a space that transcends belief.
(14:35):
You don't have to be a medium to feel something.
Some of the most respected mediums in the history of
American spiritualism have given readings at Inspiration Stump. This includes
Emma Harding Britain, one of the religion's founders, and later
figures like Reverend Mavis Patilla and John White, who drew
huge crowds. In the nineteen seventies, a visiting medium reportedly
(14:58):
went into a full t trance at the stump and
began speaking in fluent Swedish, despite never having studied the language.
A woman in the audience, a Swedish immigrant, recognized the
voice and message as being from her late sister. She
collapsed in sobs the message.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
You want alone, I was with you when you cross
the sea.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Many visitors say that even when a message isn't meant
for them, it resonates as if it is. The stump
has a way of making people feel seen, even by
spirits who aren't their own. Visitors often leave small offerings
near the stump, feathers, stones, flowers, notes. It's not a
(15:41):
tourist attraction. It's hallowed ground. Talking, photography and phones are discouraged.
There's a reverence there that's palpable. The path leading to
it is called the Trail of Remembrance, lined with plaques
and memorials for spiritualists who have passed on a symbolic
journey between worlds. And yes, there's a sign that literally
(16:03):
says please do not sit or stand on the Inspiration Stump,
not because it's unstable, but because it's sacred. Only approved
mediums are allowed to stand there. It's like the pulpit
of a church, made from roots and time. Today, Inspiration
Stump remains the emotional and energetic center of lily Dale.
(16:25):
Services are still held there daily in summer. People still
gather in the woods. Mediums still walk the pine Needle
path to stand on the same ground as those who
came before and the spirits. According to many, they're still
showing up every day, whether you believe in the other
side or not. A visit to Inspiration Stump is unforgettable.
(16:47):
It's peaceful, charged, strange, comforting, and more than anything, it's alive.
A woman named Karen, who was visiting, was sitting in
the back row. A medium stepped forward and said, there's.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
A dog here, brown fur. Very loud, she says, her
name is Beans.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Karen burst into tears. Beans had passed a few months earlier,
and yes, she was very loud.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
The fairy Trail, and yes.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
There's a fairy trail. Adults and kids alike leave offerings
to woodland, spirits, crystals, toys, handwritten notes, even snapcakes. It's whimsical,
a little silly and strangely moving. Tucked at the edge
of the woods in lily Dale, past the Healing Temple,
beyond the tree lined streets of quaint Victorian cottages, and
(17:41):
not far from the legendary Inspiration Stump, there lies a
winding path that feels like it stepped straight out of
a storybook. This is the Fairy Trail, a whimsical woodland walk,
where the veil between worlds is thin. But not just
the world of the dead. Here you're stepping into something
even older, even weirder, maybe even smaller, because here fairies
(18:06):
are real if you believe hard enough, and in lily Dale,
a town built on belief, that's more than enough.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
The magical meets the metaphysical.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
The exact year the fairy Trail became an official feature
of lily Dale is a bit fuzzy, like many things
in this town. It likely started organically in the early
two thousands, when residents and spiritualist visitors began noticing a
growing interest in nature, spirits, elementals, and earth energy. In
traditional spiritualist practice, most communication is with human spirits, but
(18:41):
as the movement evolved, blending with New Age philosophies, environmentalism,
and global folklore, interest in non human entities grew gnomes
three spirits, guardians of the natural world, and yes, fairies.
So someone or perhaps many someonees began to transform a
(19:04):
quiet path in the woods into a magical garden trail,
and like a fairy ring, it grew. Today it's one
of lily Dale's most popular attractions, especially for those who
come seeking a lighter kind of magic. What you'll see
and feel the Fairy Trail is not grand or flashy.
(19:26):
It's subtle, as fairies tend to be. Along the trail,
you'll find tiny fairy houses handmade by visitors and residents,
painted stones with uplifting messages, little bridges made from twigs,
tree stumps turned into thrones, glitter ribbons, crystals, wind chimes, feathers,
(19:47):
and the occasional plastic dinosaur. They're inclusive, apparently. At the
entrance is a sign that reads, Welcome to the Faery Trail.
Please walk with love and respect. The spirits here are
shy but kind. It's not just for kids. Adults leave
offerings too, notes, shiny objects, snacks, flowers, and many say
(20:10):
they feel something shift the moment they step onto the trail.
The air changes, time slows. It feels lighter, playful, but
not silly. One visitor, a retired marine named Walt, left
a candy bar for the fairies that night. He swears
something brushed his cheek as he fell asleep in his cabin.
(20:32):
He said it felt like a wing, or a feather,
or maybe just peace. A woman named Linda, a retired
schoolteacher from Ohio, visited lily Dale grieving the death of
her son. She wandered onto the fairy trail just to
clear her head, but felt a sudden breeze and a
tiny voice in her mind said, he is laughing now.
(20:54):
She burst into tears. Later that night, she had a
dream of her son as a child, surrounded by glowing lights.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Belief and the elemental realm.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
Spiritualists who believe in fairies often describe them not as
the winged creatures from cartoons, but as interdimensional nature spirits,
elementals that exist just outside our sensory range. They are
said to guard forests, rivers, stones, and animals. They're mischievous, yes,
(21:26):
but also ancient, wise and deeply connected to the health
of the planet. Some mediums in lily Dale even claimed
to communicate with fairies, describing them as curious, high vibration
beings that respond best to joy, music and genuine wonder.
In twenty sixteen, a visiting healer claimed she saw a
(21:48):
swirl of glowing orbs hovering in the trees along the trail.
She called them light elementals. A skeptic next to her,
a businessman from Rochester, reportedly said, well, damn, I saw
them too. Another frequent visitor, a man named Terry, leaves
offerings of honey and coins. He swears that every time
(22:10):
he returns they're gone. Animals don't eat quarters, he says.
The Fairy Trail has become more than just a path.
It's a ritual space, a quiet sanctuary where people come
to let go, to smile, to feel something pure and
playful in a world that often forgets to be either.
(22:31):
Some come to reconnect with their inner child. Others come
hoping to feel a brush of wings or hear laughter
on the breeze. Some leave changed. It's not loud, it's
not dramatic, but something about that little stretch of woods
is deeply, strangely sacred. Today and beyond, the Fairy Trail
continues to evolve, maintained by volunteers, lovingly updated by guests,
(22:56):
and watched over many believe by more than just squirrels.
Workshops are sometimes held nearby on connecting with elemental spirits,
nature based mediumship, and even fairy photography. Some visitors swear
they've caught tiny glowing figures in their pictures. Others are
content just to walk and feel at peace in a
(23:18):
town known for death. The Fairy Trail is a celebration
of life, magic and lightness, a reminder that the world
is still full of mystery, wonder and beings we might
not fully understand, and sometimes that's exactly the kind of
magic we need.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
The town today, where the veil stays thin.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
Lily Dale has grown from twenty acres and a few
tents to a vibrant, seasonal community. Every year, twenty thousand
plus visitors pass through its gates. Some come for closure,
some for curiosity, others for healing. Despite its mystical atmosphere,
lily Dale has endured real world struggles, fires, floods, internal
(24:03):
division among spiritualist denominations, But through it all, it has
remained a rare and thriving community where people can speak
their truth and maybe hear from someone who's already moved on.
In nineteen ninety two, a fire destroyed the Maplewood Hotel
and several cottages. No one was injured. The next day,
(24:24):
residents gathered at the ruins. One woman swore she saw
a glowing figure in the smoke. She said, it whispered,
we rebuild with light, and they did.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Stranger than fiction.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
So what is lily Dale really? It's a village of believers,
a sanctuary for the grieving, a town where history is alive,
sometimes literally, and where the veil between worlds isn't just thin,
it's practically a front porch screen. Thanks for walking with
me through the forests, fairies, and flickering shadows of lily Dale.
(24:58):
If this episode gave you t chills, comfort, or just
a case of the spiritual giggles, please like subscribe and
leave a five star review. It helps the Strange History
podcast grow, and maybe, just maybe it gets us in
good with the ghost algorithms. Make sure you subscribe so
(25:19):
you never miss an episode. We've got more haunted histories,
cursed places, and curious tales coming your way. Until next time,
I'm Amy reminding you that in history, as in life,
sometimes the strangest parts are the most real
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