Thursday, July 31, 2014

Lake Ronkonkoma on Long Island and It's Haunted Curse

We all love a good tale around Halloween time, we all love gathering around a fireplace to tell ghost stories, but nothing is as cool as when the ghost story is surrounded by some actual historical events.
Lake Ronkonkoma on Long Island, New York is rumored to be haunted, and to have a curse on the entire lake. The story of the event which caused the curse has been changed over the years, and as of now no one knows the true story surrounding the curse, but what locals do know is that it involves love gone wrong.
Supposedly Princess Ronkonkoma (an Indian) fell in love with a European settler, however her father would not allow her to be with him, and one day while attempting to swim across the lake to be with him. She however drowned. Her lover found the body and brought her back to her father. Her father supposedly put a curse on the lake, that for every year for all eternity a young man would drown in the lake.
There are other versions of the story that include suicide where the princess tied rocks to her legs to kill herself because of her fathers disapproval. Her body however washed up in a river in Connecticut. Indians at this time believed the lake was bottomless.
No matter how the story is told, the result is the curse. Every year a young man is cursed to drown in Lake Ronkonkoma.
Records can also show that a young man does in fact drown in lake Ronkonkoma each and every year. Thus instilling the fear of the curse.
While researching the curse on Lake Ronkonkoma I found several witness accounts of men telling their stories about Lady Of The Lake, or Princess Ronkonkoma.
Supposedly she traps young men and drags them to the bottom to drown, others believe that her spirit create whirlpools that drags them down. Gulp! I'm not even a young man, and still can't see myself wanting to swim in the lake.
Seeing how Lake Ronkonkoma is the largest lake in Long Island, drowning are bound to occur, but many to this day still believe that the lake is haunted by the princess' spirit.
However if you find yourself in Long Island in Lake Ronkonkoma, I would avoid walking along the shores of her watery grave, some say they have heard her moans, and she just might reach up out of the water with her cold hand and pull you right in.
She does not even like people ice skating on her lake, and few young men have fallen through the ice and drowned when the ice broke.
I have swam in the lake a few times with an uneasy feeling that she may be right below my feet. I think it is the legend that scares people, and keeps them from remaining in the water for too long, men and woman alike. Everyone knows about the Lady Of The Lake, and everyone who is anyone knows it is best to let a curse alone and not to attempt dare devil swims in it, especially at night.
Swim/boat/ice skate at your own risk!
If you plan on taking a trip out to Long Island, avoid Lake Ronkonkoma.

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