Take one extremely infectious disease and a small trusting community and for reasons unknown to man try and understand how it virtually wiped out half of a population in the blink of an eye without an ounce of remorse. This is precisely what happened in the area of Saranac Lake as it was once the destination where people riddled with the deadly disease flocked to in hopes of an answer and hopefully a cure. Unfortunately many of them lost their battle to the disease and succumbed to the bitter violent attacks inflicted upon their fragile bodies. The small urban village of Saranac Lake is fondly known as “The Little City in the Adirondacks” simply because it is located in the middle of the 6 million-acre Adirondack Park. From the late 1800’s to the mid 1900’s Saranac Lake was considered the world renowned center for the treatment of tuberculosis after word spread like wildfire and found its way to desperate patients inflicted with the disease in hopes for a cure using the treatment that involved maximum doses of fresh air and complete bed-rest.
The healing powers of Saranac Lake was originally discovered by Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau as the optimal treatment location, who himself was seriously ill with tuberculosis, eventually relocated to the Adirondacks in 1873, after noticing a marked improvement in his health that could only come from the fresh mountain climate. He set up a laboratory, built a winter home and founded the Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium, a peaceful sanctuary for the poor working class to get well. Saranac Lake was fast gaining a reputation as “The City of the Sick” and anyone who had the will to get better flocked to the area known for its unique “Wilderness Cure” that offered affordable services to anyone who needed them. The fresh crisp air flowing from the mountains was abundant and Saranac Lake village just happened to be the ideal location for relaxation with the Adirondack Park and Lake Placid both nearby.
Cure cottages were erected and designed to afford comfort to sickly and distressed patients suffering from the disease caused by various strains of mycobacterium that affects close to one third of our entire population with bouts of lung infections, chest pains, coughing often followed with bloody sputum, and a combination of antibiotics that often resist are one of the main treatments used to reduce the risk of bacteria and eventually get the disease under control. Tuberculosis, TB or the “White Plague” has been found to be typically spread from person to person by breathing infected air from bodily sputum during close contact. The close contact and spread of the disease usually results in the sufferer feeling fatigued and fevered with bouts of coughing, night sweats and weight loss.
According to the National Register of Historic Places, sixty-three of the original cure cottages found around the area of Saranac Lake include North Elba, St. Armand and Harrietstown are now on the list of structures that have been found worthy of preservation. Many of these cottages have been reported by several different sources as being haunted by both children and adult spirits who have obviously never found the peaceful ending they were entitled to as they departed from a life filled with sickness, pain and anguish. Animal Planet recently featured one of the cure cottages in a series dubbed “The Haunted” by taking you through a virtual tour of one of the cure cottages owned by Mike and Jennifer Todd that has been revamped into an apartment building. Unfortunately the now deceased residents that once dwelled in the cure cottage clearly had no intentions of ever leaving it perhaps because it was the only safe haven that offered them the small bit of peace they were seeking.
The couple’s dogs Lily and Jasmine were disturbed by presences and eventually tenants and the owners themselves were met with the obvious. The place was haunted by many different entities and these spirits were beginning to get irritated by all of the renovations taking place. Everything from floating manifestations to a faceless little girl peering through a window was happening. Jennifer had actually been touched along her spine while investigating an issue with the hot water heater in the basement, and the spirits easily communicated with paranormal investigators. For whatever reason the entities were at home in Mike and Jennifer’s new abode and they showed no signs of leaving. Afraid of what the publicity would do to their only source of income, Mike and Jennifer looked to the Ohio Researchers of Banded Spirits also known as O.R.B. S. for an answer to their dilemma.
The paranormal investigators came fully equipped with a soul sensor, radiation detectors, a night-vision camera, EMF detectors, infrared imaging, digital thermometer and digital voice recorders, leaving no area untouched and preparing themselves for a full investigation of the grand antique apartment building while bracing themselves for the worst. Cracker Jacks and crayons were used to entice ghost children to come out and talk while questions concerning TB and how they passed on were asked of any adult entity willing to communicate. Death loomed in the air and was easily sensed by the investigators as was the details of the hundreds of people who had met their fate within the building. The spirits answered each question with relative ease considering their status, but their cat like high pitched voices were simply unnerving. The feeling of being watched was overpowering as was the thick air that made it almost impossible to breathe.
The owners of the haunted apartment building located on Cliff Road in Saranac Lake, Franklin County as well as the members of O.R.B.S. felt strongly that affirmation had been proven and that a cleansing along with a blessing of the house along with the small village was needed to help guide the spirits along to where they needed to be. In an effort to allow the thousands of spirits that lost their battle with tuberculosis to finally be given acknowledgement of their suffering and to be granted the peace and rest that any soul deserves, the town’s people pulled together and held a candlelight service with prayer and well wishes for those that had suffered such an ill fate. After the completion of the blessings much of the town has noticed a severe drop in paranormal activity in the entire area, especially within the cure cottages and more noticeably at the home and apartment building belonging to Mike and Jennifer Todd.
Facts on Tuberculosis Today
According to the National Institutes of Health, approximately one-third of the world’s population is infected with the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium thought to cause TB. Unfortunately the majority of the population has no obvious symptoms because the bacterium is inactive, however individuals with symptoms of active TB disease can in fact infect others. One known fact about the disease is that properly covering one’s mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing is vital to stopping the spread of the infectious disease to others. Dr. David Woodland, President and Director of the Trudeau Institute and Chief Scientific Officer with Keystone Symposia states that the need for public awareness of TB is the key to one day eliminating it altogether. The history of past health issues in Saranac Lake brings the need for recognition, remembrance, and the seriousness of the Tuberculosis public health threat in the United States. Progress and the need for public awareness has brought the city to new heights that include taking part in the World Tuberculosis Day, which takes place each year on March 24. http://www.worldtbday.org/
Sources:
http://www.bandedspirits.com/animalplanetthehaunted/saranaclakecase.html
http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/page/content.detail/id/512013.html?nav=5008
http://pressrepublican.com/0100_news/x69913457/Saranac-Lake-cure-cottage-featured-in-The-Haunted
http://www.bionity.com/en/encyclopedia/Cure_Cottages_of_Saranac_Lake.html
http://www.livingplaces.com/NY/Franklin_County/Saranac_Lake_Village/Cottage_Row_Historic_District.html
http://www.adirondackhistory.org/newtb/four.html
http://paranormalsocieties.com/view_society.cfm?id=816
http://www.bionity.com/en/encyclopedia/Cure_Cottages_of_Saranac_Lake.html
http://www.medicinenet.com/tuberculosis/article.htm
http://historicsaranaclake.org/Saranac%20Laboratory/lab_history.html