About 80 miles (nearly 130 km) north of New York City is John Lawson House, a quaint 150+ year old house located inside the quaint village of New Hamburg. Known for life-size mannequins that mysteriously appear on the porch, this house is also rumored to have mannequins on the porch that have been haunted by ghosts from tragic events Carpets of the 19th century take place nearby hauntingly.
For about a decade, eerie images of mannequins have been recorded, with pictures of them wearing wigs and antique costumes. Local legend holds that these dummies can change their own body positions, clothes and hairstyles.
Is the mystery of the John Lawson house just a local legend? Or is something supernatural happening?
Two mannequins in front of John Lawson’s house in period costumes and wigs.
John Lawson House Origins
The Lawsons were the first to settle in the town of New Hamburg, which became a busy river port in the mid-1800s – when the entire Hudson River Valley area flourished with activity. economic movement. Accordingly, the wealthy residents of New York City began to move north along the river to build bungalows so they could spend the summer, and this also spurred businesses. The locality becomes more developed.
John Lawson, a descendant of one of the first families in the area, built this house in New Hamburg’s Main Street Historic District in 1845.
One of the town’s oldest surviving residences today, it is described as “the house in the center with a diagonal gable in the middle, a prominent lintel, a conical chimney, and an upper arched window.” peak” on the list nominated to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
The John Lawson house, seen in October 2021, is devoid of the infamous effigy on the front porch.
Historical Tragedy Around the House of John Lawson
In the 1870s, John Lawson House was the scene of two separate tragedies, six years apart.
On the cold winter evening of February 6, 1871, a 25-car freight train sailed south from the Albany area south toward New Hamburg on the Hudson River Railroad.
Meanwhile, another train carrying passengers departed from New York City heading north to Albany.
After the freight train passed through a tunnel near New Hamburg, a station attendant noticed a broken shaft underneath a middle oil wagon. Eventually, the axle broke off, causing the oil wagon to derail and overturn on the northbound track as the passenger train approached.
The passenger train engineer saw the warning light and tried to slow down to stop, but it ended up hitting the freight train’s tanker, causing a massive explosion just a few feet from John’s house. Lawson about 200 feet (60 m).
Several survivors were pulled from the rubble, but 22 people lost their lives.
Six years later, a large fire broke out in the riverside village around 9 p.m. on May 3, 1877, and destroyed seven structures around John Lawson House.
It was Frank Luyster who discovered a fire when it appeared in an alley between Madison House and a store he owned.
Luyster tried to put out the fire but to no avail, it then spread to the store and set the kerosene room on fire. Suddenly there was a violent explosion! Uncontrollable flames spread throughout the building. Then the fire sirens began to ring.
The townspeople brought buckets of water to put out the flames, but they only spread the flames. The men then rode off to notify the fire department in a village near Wappingers Falls, two miles away. Meanwhile, the fire began to consume the surrounding structures.
By 9:45 p.m., the fire was completely out of control. The area continued to smolder throughout the night. However, somehow, John Lawson House is still safe after the fire.
The Mystery of the Mannequins
When mannequins started appearing on the porch of John Lawson’s house, it was still unknown who owned the house. These effigies are lifelike and it is rumored that they will change positions the next day, it is rumored that they sometimes change positions and direct their gaze in the direction of the 1871 train crash.
Mannequins are even rumored to be possessed by the spirits of the dead, especially those caused by a train accident and fire in 1877. What’s more, they’re always worn on. She dresses in a classic style and with accessories like a hat and long white gloves.
They are sometimes posed holding certain items, including books and an empty birdcage. In bad weather, the mannequins will disappear for a short time before reappearing.
Then, one day in 2016, the mannequins in this house suddenly disappeared.
To this day, no one knows for sure why the mannequins sat on the front porch or why their appearance changed – or whether they ever made their way back to the front porch of John Lawson’s house. or not.
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