Community Corner

Weird News: Haunted Houses, Bars and Pizza Huts, Oh My

Some stories are downright strange. Here's our wrap-up from around Suffolk County.

As a local news organization, Patch covers stories of all kinds, from heartbreaking tragedies to inspiring tales of community brotherhood. But some stories are just plain weird. Here are some of the stranger headlines from the past seven days.

Ghost on Camera at Pizza Hut?

You'll have to decide for yourself if the above video of a paranormal investigation of a Centereach Pizza Hut rumored to be haunted actually caught a ghost on camera. We think it's nothing more than some dark blotches, but definitely agree that any video shot inside a public restroom is going to have some elements of horror.

'Ghost Adventures' Heads to Haunted Bar

Hit Travel Channel show "Ghost Adventures" was in Smithtown this week to see if they can prove once and for all if Katie's in Smithtown is haunted or not.

Katie's sits on the site of the former Trainor Hotel, which burned to the ground in 1909. Owner Brian Karppinen told Patch in October 2011 the bar gets visited by a "gaggle of ghosts," staff members have witnessed flying glasses, and patrons have seen ghostly images in the mirrors.

Karppinen said the ghost that hits the bar most often is a former local named Charlie Klein, who was a bootlegger and bartender in the 1920s, as well as a former owner of the hotel that burned down. After some research, Karppinen found out that Klein committed suicide in 1933 in fear of going to jail after selling a drink to an IRS man.

Katie's ghosts have been well-documented over the years on the television show 'Paranormal State' in 2007, appearing later on the Long Island Oddities website, and finally on the Long Island Paranormal Investigators website in 2008.

The bar held a party back in May 2011 for its appearance on the Biography Channel's program, My Ghost Story. The show was filmed in December 2010 and aired on May 7.

Haunted House? That's An Understatement

You know you are in for a scare when you step into a horror house and when you ask how long it will take the answer is it depends on how fast you can run.

Chamber of Horrors New York’s Trilogy of Fear, touts itself as a one-of-a-kind-live horror show equipped with live actors and “in your face” interactions for the adventurous.

The attraction opened in Hauppauge, at Matt Guiliano’s Play Like A Pro, on Oct. 4 and is running every weekend through Nov. 2. The terror starts on Fridays and Saturdays from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., and on Sundays until 10 p.m.

Brave attendees explore three horror attractions including: “Miss Fortune’s Maniac Manor,” “The Maze of Mayhem” and the “Chamber of Horrors".

Guests make their way through 10,000 square feet of pure terror and survive meeting Miss Fortune and her gang of marauding undead creatures and psychopaths.

“Our goal this year was to be more extreme than we have ever been. New location, new theme, we wanted an all-out assault on the senses but at an affordable price and we think we nailed it,” said Marty Arominski, Owner of Chamber of Horrors New York.

“We’re frequently asked, ‘how long does it take to go through all three attractions?’ Our answer is always ‘That depends on how fast you run.’”


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