About an hour north of New York City is a mysterious house located in the town of New Hamburg, New York. No one is quite sure if anyone actually lives there, but everyday something odd happens on the front porch.
It’s called the John Lawson House, and everyday instead of people reclining and enjoying the weather on the front porch, there are two or three life-sized female mannequins dressed in turn of the century clothing.
No one is quite sure who dresses and puts the mannequins out there. The neighbors have never caught anyone in the act. In fact nobody has ever been seen at the house.
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As you might imagine rumors have circulated for years about the true purpose of the mannequins, though no one has been able to unravel the mystery.
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Some believe the mannequins are trying to point out the answer some long lost riddle. Other believe that their positioning everyday is very deliberate, and has something to do with local history.
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They’re also always holding some object. Sometimes it’s something mundane like a book. Other times though, it’s something bizarre like an overflowing cup of potpourri, or a birdcage.
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Could the books that the mannequins are “reading,” hold the key to unraveling the mystery?
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The neighbors have sometimes reported seeing a faint light in the kitchen at night, and there is a vegetable garden out back. The mannequins also disappear on rainy days. So it would seem like someone lives at the house.
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Whatever the real reason for the mannequins, it appears their owner (or master?) prefers to remain anonymous, at least for the time being.
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Via: Atlas Obscura
Looks like I need to pay a visit to upstate New York. What makes this house extra creepy is that it’s right near the local train station.
In 1871, a train crashed barely 200 feet from the John Lawson House and killed 22 people. Could that tragedy be part of the solution to this mannequin mystery?
