From the still unsolved murder of Joseph Skinner of Cushetunk to the bizarre killing of George Markert on the stone arch bridge in Kenoza Lake and that of Laura Darling Kahl at the Western Hotel in Callicoon, there are any number of fascinating incidents in Sullivan County’s rich and colorful history that have led to the proliferation of ghost stories.

And, for obvious reasons, October is the time of year in which these stories get discussed the most. This year is no exception.

In keeping with the spirit of the upcoming Halloween season, this columnist, your Sullivan County Historian, will be leading two Halloween themed history hikes this week that will explore the historical events that have led to purported ghost sightings at a couple of the county’s most popular haunted places.

At 5:30 p.m. this evening, Friday, October 24, the Sullivan O&W Rail Trail Alliance hosts the 4th annual HO&WL Haunted Trail Walk on the Hurleyville segment of the Sullivan O&W Rail Trail, meeting at the trailhead located at 212 Main Street in Hurleyville. Participants are encouraged to wear Halloween costumes and to bring their friends, family, and leashed dog. A costume contest will be held this year with photos posted on Facebook for voting after the event. A prize will be awarded to two winners with the most votes: one human and one dog.

The hike will follow the Milk Train Trail toward South Fallsburg, with narration about the history of the railroad and the trail, about some of the natural features found along the way, and about the paranormal activity often reported to take place at certain points.

It is likely that the historical incident prompting that paranormal activity was that which took place on a frigid afternoon in February of 1907, when a passenger train about to stop at the Luzon Station just a few hundred yards away, was suddenly rocked by a devastating explosion. The boiler on the train blew up, and three crew men were gruesomely killed. Twelve passengers and crew were injured in the ensuing derailment.

Initial reports were that dynamite had deliberately been mixed in with the coal used to feed the boiler, and was the cause of the explosion. Although the railroad quickly debunked the story, rumors persist that it was in fact accurate, and many doubt the alternative explanation provided by officials that the feed lines to the boiler had frozen, causing it to run low on water and overheat.

Reports of strange sightings and unexplained phenomenon began to circulate shortly after the wreckage had been cleared, and continue to this day.

The Hurleyville HO&WL Hike is free and open to the public. Participants may wish to bring their own flashlights as the hike will likely finish after dark.

At 2 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday, October 25, the non-profit history education group, The Delaware Company and Sullivan County Parks & Recreation will sponsor a Halloween history hike at the Minisink Battleground Park in Barryville. During the approximately 90-minute long saunter along the moss covered trails there, information will be presented to hikers on a number of topics related to the Battleground—the establishment of the first permanent European settlement in the Upper Delaware, the role of timber rafting in the success of that settlement, the impact the Revolutionary War had on the settlement, fracturing it to the point that residents from the settlement fought on both sides during the Battle of Minisink, and especially the many reported incidents of paranormal activity at the Battleground.

Over the years, people have related all sorts of strange occurrences from several different parts of the Battleground, but most notably from the area adjacent to Hospital Rock, an unusual rock outcropping where Lt. Colonel Benjamin Tusten and 17 wounded men under his care were murdered by the Mohawk Joseph Brant and his men, who had been tasked by the British to attack the colonial settlements along the frontier, particularly those where the population of Patriots was predominant.

Since Cushetunk was largely a Loyalist stronghold during the war, it was spared, but some of its residents were not. Men like Oliver Calkin, Bezaleel Tyler III and Moses Thomas II were members of the founding families of the settlement, but when the Revolutionary War broke out, they found it unsafe to remain in their homes. Nonetheless, they ended up in battle at Minisink, where their former neighbors, the Loyalists Bryant Kane and Joseph Ross—and possibly others-- were fighting alongside Brant.

Tyler and Thomas were both killed at Minisink.

What makes the Battle of Minisink so significant, and the stories of the spirits of the fallen roaming the Battleground so believable, is the fact the remains of the men killed that day were never afforded a proper burial. They were left to molder on that hilltop for 43 years before anyone attempted to retrieve them.

To hear more of the heart wrenching story, you’ll have to participate in the Highland Halloween History Hike at the Battleground Park, located at 58 County Road 168 in Barryville beginning at 2 p.m. tomorrow. The hike is open to the public and pre-registration is not required. Dogs are welcome, as long as they are leashed and cleaned up after.

John Conway is the Sullivan County Historian and a founder and president of The Delaware Company. Email him at jconway52@hotmail.com.