The Warrens of “The Conjuring” & “Amityville Horror” Fame Visit 1 Lincoln Street Ghost at St. Lawrence University In 1979
Long before they were the subject of The Conjuring film universe in 2013, Ed and Lorraine Warren made a visit in search of the 1 Lincoln Street ghost at St. Lawrence University in 1979. The couple, described as “ghost-hunters” with Ed also being a demonologist and Lorraine a clairvoyant, had already established themselves having been amongst the first investigators of the Amityville haunting which spurned the “The Amityville Horror.”
The Warrens had made plans to visit St. Lawrence University for a lecture which was announced in December of 1978. Held at the E. J. Noble University Center on January 8th, the lecture was, unsurprisingly, about the supernatural and free to the public.
In addition, plans were made to investigate the long-rumored ghost haunting 1 Lincoln Street which had been part of the University dating back to 1860. It was at this point when it was sold by George S. Winslow and Chauncey Thayer in 1860 to the first president of St. Lawrence University’s College of Letters and Science, John Stebbins Lee, for $300 (the house’s origins date back to at least 1838.)
It was believed that Lee’s daughter Florence haunts the house having died a tragic death at an early age. Florence, in fact, went on to marry “a Cambridge man named Whitman and became a trustee of St. Lawrence for several years,” according to Heather Morrison’s article in The Hill News, published May 9, 1985, which also notes Whitman Hall is named in her honor.
The ghost legend apparently dates back to 1919, rumored to have started by Sigma Alpha Epsilon while hearing creaks and noises in the attic. SAE reportedly later vacated the house and built their own.
In 1984, after apparently dormant activity, sightings started up again. According to The Hill’s article—
The ghost is female and can be seen springing around corners of the house in a long, flowing white garment and a red petticoat.
Seances have been held where one girl, in 1971, supposedly contacted the spirit who led her to a grave in the Canton cemetery. And in 1979, during Winterterm, demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren of Amityville Horror fame arrived on campus in an attempt to contact the spirit.
The focus Warrens’ lecture, according to the Watertown Daily Times was the well-known events elsewhere in New York—
In their multi-media program on Monday evening, the Warrens will take a look at the family of George and Kathy Lutz and their 28 days of terror at 112 Ocean Ave., Amityville, Long Island.
The house, which is the subject of Jan Anson’s book “The Amityville Horror,” was the focus of a series of supernatural events which drew national attention in the media.
In addition to the lecture, students had the option of signing up to attend the 1 Lincoln Street ghost investigation by signing up in advance. As The Times reported on January 10, 1979, the investigation quickly dismissed the rumors of who the ghost was.
Scuttlebutt has it, that the Lincoln Street ghost is really Florence Lee, daughter of Dr. John Stebbins Lee, first president of St. Lawrence.
However, Mr. Warren and his ghost-hunting wife, Lorraine, put the brakes to that theory Tuesday night. There is indeed a spirit cruising the hallowed halls of academe but it’s not Florence Lee.
Credentials count in the specter prospecting field and the Warrens have got the goods. Thirty two years on the job. They were the folks who investigated “The Amityville Horror,” a Long Island haunting episode to curl the very pages of ghost hunting annals.
The Times further noted that the Warrens had no knowledge of the 1 Lincoln Street ghost or the house prior to entering it. Moving from room to room, floor to floor and with a gaggle of students, a Times reporter and photographer in tow, Lorraine, a “light transmedium,” came to a room that reportedly was visited by the ghost in the past. There she fell silent a moment before speaking.
“I see one lady, honey,” she said to her husband.
“Who do you see?” asked Mr. Warren.
“Um. Late fifties. A woman in her late fifties. She is a maiden lady.”
“What do you mean: maiden lady, Lorraine?”
“I mean unmarried. When I came down the stair I could make out an aura. It was there. She seemed to be. Her. She. It seemed to be that a smaller woman. her dress comes down to here.” Mrs. Warren held one hand at boot top level and her voice sunk back into silence.
“What are you seeing now, Lorraine?”
“Her general appearance, Ed, is not one of any intellect. It is very hard to believe that she is the daughter of any college president.”
“She is of a later period than Florence Lee. I see a stable behind me. With cars in it. Yes cars. Her aura shows me in spirit as she was. It is a narrow light. She has the desire to pass over.”
At this point, the ghost-hunt was just about over as the Warrens, and the students, reporter and photographer, found themselves in the lobby. That’s when Lorraine pointed out–
“Oh look, Ed, that lady is standing right over there. She is looking right this way. Toward us.”
“Can you go over to her Lorraine. Can you talk with her?”
A few names slipped off Mrs. Warren’s tongue. Ware? Then Mary and Lee, she said gesturing to the apparition hovering about a foot off the radiator.
“It started with a buzzing in my ears,” Mrs. Warren continued, “The aura is the same. Her experiences have been pleasant.”
“There’s nothing to be frightened of in this house. No tragedy at all in this building. It’s a peaceful feeling here.”
The Times reporter noted “Anyone skeptical of the Warrens’ findings, might consider this” as the events drew to a close.
In years since, the location has been used as a haunted house on Halloween. Today, 1 Lincoln Street is the home to The Hub, the University’s center for sharing with the community “all forms of electronic entertainment, from gaming-oriented events to showings of cult movies and television.”
One is left to wonder whether any of those cult movies include haunted houses.
1 Reviews on “1 Lincoln Street Ghost: The Warrens At St. Lawrence University Dorm – 1979”
I have a photo of a ghost standing at the front door of my grandmother’s cottage home. I believe it’s my grandmother because the step in the front caused her death.