Ghostly Events Raise Spooky Suspicions at Cortlandt Doll Store
Sometimes the unexplainable can be chalked up to coincidences or hallucinations. Or, especially at this time of year, ghosts.
At Enchanted Doll Forest off Route 202 in Cortlandt, the spirits are alive, according to co-owner Suzanne Kraus-Mancuso, who has kept a diary of many strange occurrences since she set up shop March 10, 2012, entries that exceed 800 and are still growing.
“I couldn’t make up stuff like this,” she said. “It happens daily, weekly, monthly. It happens to other people also. It’s just bizarre, just baffling.”
Kraus-Mancuso, 44, who holds the distinction of painting the world’s largest Virgin Mary in folk art, said the first sign she and her partner Eleanor McBride of Yorktown were not alone was on opening day when they were posing for a picture inside and the front door flew open, without the help of any wind from Mother Nature.
“I love a ghost story. I wouldn’t know what to characterize this as,” said Kraus-Mancuso, who resides in Putnam Valley. “Most people think I’m nuts until they’re standing here.”
Some of the semi-regular, seemingly mindboggling events that Kraus-Mancuso has documented include the radio turning on and off, a white mist floating through the store and objects flying across the room. However, the center of attention appears to be some of the dolls.
“It has its favorites,” Kraus-Mancuso said. “I think something is attached to the dolls. The same dolls are always messed with. I let everyone draw their own conclusions.”
Specifically, Kraus-Mancuso has found a Hungarian doll in different places throughout the store, and a small President Ulysses S. Grant doll, face down in the same spot on the floor, after it has been left in a locked cabinet.
Two area paranormal teams have visited the Enchanted Doll Forest to investigate the claims and Kraus-Mancuso said one detected the presence of a ghost with the voice of a woman.
Meanwhile, the ghost stories have also piqued the curiosity of the cable show Haunted Collector on the Sci-Fi Channel, which plans to feature the store during the 2013 season.
Advertising a free ghost with every purchase, some customers have paid a visit to see for themselves if the building, which dates back to the 1950s and was once a storage quarters for a barn, is haunted. Bob, a ghost enthusiast from Sleepy Hollow who didn’t want to give his last name, came armed recently with a camera, hoping to capture something mysterious.
“I heard about it and I wanted to check it out,” he said. “When I first walked in I felt kind of spooked.”
Property owner Richard Garb, a longtime antiques dealer, is somewhat skeptical about the premises having a freeloading tenant.
“You have to believe in that stuff,” he said. “You have to wonder if things happen for a reason.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
