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Halloween at the Point
By: Paul Melnyk
Surfrats.com Weekly Editorial #3

Montauk has a jaded past. Shipwrecks, murder and monsters have graced our shores. It is common knowledge that Points, Islands and Peninsulas attract more than their fair share of lunatics and schizoids. There have been more than a few reports about strange goings on in our burg around All Saint’s Day. I for one, have been privy to more than a few strange occurrences.

One of the more regular tales reported are sightings of the phantom of the Light. This creature has been spotted standing under the bluff at the base of the light house. It is said to be a man-shaped entity dressed all in black, with a black cape. These reports have him staring with a longing gaze, at casters under the late October full moon. Often these sightings are associated with a plaintiff moaning. Spooky stuff, indeed.

Reports of a giant serpent slithering across Montauk Highway had been made as late as the 1930’s. This snake was said to be a giant Anaconda that was a pet and familiar to the Montauk Indian Shaman who inhabited Star Island in the 19th century. The wizard is said to have traded a magic love elixir to a sailor from the Sag Harbor whaling fleet for the four foot snake. Growing to an unimaginable proportion, the beast apparently constricted and ate the witch doctor after it became impossible to satiate the beast’s gigantic appetite. Last report has the local preacher running over a log on the highway on a dark harvest night. In his rear view mirror, the reverend saw this tree trunk slither away into Hither Woods.

The hullabaloo concerning the Montauk Experiment is another Montauk myth. According to the reports, during World War II, there was a secret laboratory at Camp Hero in 1944 where experiments with time travel, teleportation and temporal dimensions caused a group of soldiers to disappear into the ether from one of the many bunkers that existed there. A great generator was built to supply the energy for this device. I have seen the power station and high voltage cables that ran from the plant to these bunkers. It is very impressive in a Frankenstien-esque sort of way. Odd capacitors and insulators hang like wounded birds from thick wires. This power station was left to rot in the ‘70’s, even though it was said to be able to produce enough power to light the town of East Hampton. I heard this quoted to me directly, from an Airman who was stationed there in the late sixties.

As inquisitive kids, my buddies and I would venture into the ruins of the deep bunkers buried into the hills of Camp Hero. Great guns of 16 inch bore were stationed as centennials against the Axis powers. During these expeditions, usually in the dead of the night, I had been as deep as 6 stories below the Montauk bluffs. Warrens of bunkers are reminders of a bellicose past. On one of my trips I came upon a room which looked surprisingly new and modern. A thick steel screen door stood in the vestibule of this corridor. Emblazoned on the door was the uniquely distinctive symbol of three clustered triangles…Radioactivity! I didn’t linger.

There is no doubt that the tip of our island was once fortified to an astounding degree. There is still a low frequency transmitter stationed on Startop Hill off of East Lake Drive. This station is said to be capable of communicating with the ICBM Submarine fleet anywhere in the world by transmitting it’s low frequency signal directly through the center of the earth. You can still see it set upon the hill. A forest of 100 ft poles stands sentry against the disbanded Warsaw Pact.

Then there is the Devil’s footprint. This icon was on display at Second House Museum for many years and now resides at the Brooklyn Indian Museum. Legend has it that the great Chief of the Montauketts had a fierce contest of will and strength with the devil on the beach at the Waterfence. Having lost the recontre, the beast from hell is said to have stomped a boulder with his fiery toes, imbedding the likeness of his stride for all eternity. I have seen this stone. It is truly awesome. It looks like a fresh footprint in the mud, only this mud is solid stone…..

Giant fish, mermaids and all sorts of denizens of the deep surface in our little fishing community. Many of which can be verified, such as the monster Great White shark that is mounted and hangs in Salavar’s Restaurant. Giant sturgeon have been captured in Fort Pond Bay, during this cold season. Wild screaming voices are heard in Hither Woods during the dead of the night in the vicinity of hidden pond. There have been reports of a two hundred pound snapping turtle in this deep watery hole.

Hauntings abound in our town, due to the age of the community and it’s nefarious past. One of the old Carl Fisher homes is said to be inhabited by the souls of game which were shot, mounted and hung on the walls of the great room. This home was the retreat of a notorious bootlegger, who made his mark supplying the Hamptons with booze and broads during prohibition. Ferocious and moldering, the disemboweled heads hang from dank, tobacco stained walls. The creatures stare into eternity from the gabled chamber. This room exists. I have been there.

The Manor is said to have a haunted room that is in high demand at the end of October. Filled with eerie squeaks and things that squeal, the room is chilled and incapable of heating properly. Strange shadows appear in the corners. This chamber is thought to be inhabited by the ghost of a slaughtered Indian chief. The land that the Manor is built on was the scene of a great battle between the Montaukett Indians and the Narragansetts. Many artifacts and skeletons have been unearthed in the vicinity. The Fort Hill Cemetery was the final resting place of the fallen braves of this battle, long before the round eyes were interred there. This is exactly why the area is known “Fort Hill”. Remnants of this Indian fortress may be seen surrounding the Manor grounds, among tangled briars and hidden kettle hole swamps

The Gardner estate in East Hampton was once the scene of a grizzly murder. It seems that a member of the clan had removed the head of his gay lover sometime during the 19th century. The corpse was only discovered by the staff after the smell set in… Caught and prosecuted, the murderer was summarily hung…

Yes, readers, all sorts of pirates, ghosts, monsters, goulies and phantoms abound in our pleasant little village. If you are lucky, you may meet up with one of these characters in the small hours of the night……….

 
(c)Paul Melnyk 2007, written exclusively for Surfrats.com

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