THE STORY
Reported Haunting
The Hanging Tree in Patchogue is tied to local legends of executions and lingering spirits. Witnesses have reported ghostly apparitions, shadow figures, strange lights, and unexplained voices near the tree after sunset. The site remains one of Long Island's enduring paranormal legends.
When first walking up to the tree a group of friends and I suddenly felt a steep rise in temperature, so abnormal since if you walked a mere 2 feet away from the tree the temperature dropped back to normal. There was also a subtle but growing foreboding feeling at the tree, which eventually drove us to start to leave the clearing. As we did, I stopped short after hearing an extra set of footsteps, and as I did my friend and I both heard someone whisper in our ears. Spooked, we made our way (much quicker) out of the clearing where we heard a rustling in the bushes as if something had been thrown at us. After getting back into the car, my friend looked into the rearview mirror and swore on her life that she saw a little girl sitting in the middle of the street, but when she looked back a second later she had vanished. So thats my story of the tree. I know several people who have went and also experienced things such as hot flashes, flashlights and cell phones suddenly not working, and strange sounds.