For those looking to tempt the paranormal, one eerie seat in Upstate New York is said to be a portal to another era.
Filled with manicured gardens and historic Victorian sculptures and spring fountains, visitors to Congress Park in Saratoga Springs may not notice the plain L-shaped stone tucked among the trees.
Here, atop a hill in Southeast corner of the park sits the Congress Park “Devil’s Chair.”
Legend says this large stone shaped like a chair was intended to be the cornerstone for a church to be built nearby.
According to Joe Haedrich, who runs Haunted Saratoga Tours, those plans were said to have been abandoned when prize fighter, former Congressman, and gambling entrepreneur John Morrissey built a gentleman’s clubhouse, complete with gambling parlor.
Many believed gambling was the work of the devil and the cornerstone was left behind.
Lore says if you sit on the Devil’s Chair, you’ll travel through time back to the turn of the 20th century. Others say it will only work if you are a teenage girl and you sit on it after midnight.
The Devil’s Chair has even made it into literature in “Derby Girl: The Story of the Saratoga Sweetheart.”
Saratoga’s Devil’s Chair is just one of many haunted seats across the nation. However, its location in a public park sets it apart, as these ominous pieces of furniture are typically found in graveyards, meant for mourners to rest but often becoming the subject of macabre tales.
The chair is not the only spot in the park said to be haunted. After Morrissey’s death, his clubhouse was purchased by Richard Canfield and is now known as the Canfield Casino. The Casino, now home to the Saratoga Springs History Museum, is considered one of the most haunted buildings in the area.
It has been visited by many paranormal explorers over the years, including SyFy Network’s “Ghost Hunters.”
Jamie Parillo, Executive Director of the Saratoga Springs History Museum said, according to Haunted History Trail of New York State, while unusual events had taken place sporadically in the building in recent years, they accelerated after the opening of an exhibition of antique clothing. The collection was once owned and worn by members of some of Saratoga Springs most prominent first families, now all deceased.
The Casino was also named in the Travel Channel’s top 10 list of America’s Most Terrifying Places in 2019.
