Saratoga County, NY may be the most haunted of American counties. Desperation, first between Indian tribes, then between Indians and Europeans and finally between Gen. Burgoyne's British army and the rebelling Americans caused blood to flow for centuries. This era was followed by an influx of health seekers, desperate to regain their health at the developing mineral water springs, and on their heels came the gambling joint operators, promoters of thoroughbred horse racing, and wide open casino gambling. Fortunes were won and lost at the stumble of a horse or turn of a card. Next came Prohibition, with its gangland characters, women of easy virtue and opportunists of all stripes. Outside of the resort area lives were lost to tragedy and farm and industrial accidents. Many of those souls still haven't left Saratoga County. Following on the heels of Saratoga County Ghosts, author David J. Pitkin has compiled over 120 intriguing stories.
Biography for David J. Pitkin
Following a first experience with a ghost in 1968, retired teacher and author David J. Pitkin has sought understanding of the mysteries surrounding life and death. In the process, he has written 8 books, beginning with Saratoga County Ghosts in 1998. Fascinated with the unconscious mind and on evidence for consciousness surviving body death, he published his first metaphysical novel, The Highest Mountain, in 2007. He also has completed two books of New York State ghost stories, and one detailing over 200 tales in the northeast US and Canada. In the process, he has interviewed over 1,500 people, whose stories make up his fascinating rendition of ghost stories. "My motto is: enlighten, don't frighten," he states. He recently completed and published New England Ghosts.
Conducting investigations for thirty-five years at many reputedly haunted sites in New York State, the New England states and Canada, he has become a philosopher lecturing on death and its aftermath. A resident of Chestertown, NY, Pitkin lectures widely on parapsychology and metaphysical themes, including ghost stories.
He studied dream analysis with Dr. Montague Ullman and facilitated a dream study group for eleven years. Pitkin believes many dreams of the departed are genuine ghost or spirit contacts. He holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Social Studies Education from S.U.N.Y., Albany, and a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology from Goddard College, Plainfield, VT. He is also a professional numerologist.
