By Thomas D’Agostino

Residual haunts are not intelligent haunts or ghosts, they are a moment in time that has been recorded or taped somehow by the earth much like a DVD or CD and replayed at random. There are many theories as to how this happens. Famous author and researcher Paul Eno has studied and applied the laws of quantum physics to many cases where this occurrence has been prevalent. His theories and findings have helped propel the paranormal field into a higher level of scientific approach, one definitely worth studying. 

In the case of Lake Morey, history seems to be mixed with a very strange haunt that seems to be more than just a residual but a powerful recant of one’s anger over the feeling that his idea may have been, according to his purports, stolen.

   Samuel Morey (October 23, 1762-April 17, 1843) of Fairlee, Vermont, patented several inventions that involved steam power, one in particular, being a steamboat. Between 1790 and 1793, he worked on this project with undaunted enthusiasm. On a Sunday in 1792, he made the first successful steamboat run in one of his inventions, a waterwheel steamboat with the wheel situated in the prow of the vessel. Legend says that he chose Sunday morning because the townsfolk were all in church, this way he could avoid embarrassment should the voyage result in failure. His several mile run at an astounding four miles an hour on the Connecticut River was sure to usher in a new age of transportation. He built three known boats during these experiments.

By 1797, Morey improved his boats for commercial use and sought financial backers to help build a fleet. Unfortunately, this business venture would never come to fruition. He did make more improvements on the steam engine as evident in his 1799, 1800 and 1803 patents. In the meantime, a man named Robert Fulton was also very interested in the steamboat and in 1807, launched the first commercial passenger steamer, which ran from New York City to Albany. When Fulton and his financier, Chancellor Robert Livingston, were hailed as the inventors of the steamboat, Morey was outraged, claiming that they stole his ideas to create their boat. There is record of Livingston riding on Morey’s steamboat a few years before. Morey also rode on Fulton’s boat and made it known he was not happy that Fulton reaped the benefits of his hard work.

   According to local legend, Morey was so disgusted with the situation that he took his boat, the Aunt Sally, to the middle of the lake and sunk it. The lake was later named in his honor, as he resided in Fairlee until his death in 1843. He is buried in Orford, New Hampshire, but that has not kept his spirit from wandering to his former home.

   It is recounted among the citizens of this quaint town that when the moon shines bright upon the earth, the calm plane of the lake is disrupted by the rising of the Aunt Sally. The phantom vessel then floats across the lake, creating no sound or ripple in its wake. Even more eerie, is the visage of a figure that is spied watching the ghostly craft from the shore. It is none other than the countenance of Captain Samuel Morey himself summoning up his steamer to once again roll along the waters of the haunted lake. 

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Thomas D’Agostino and his wife Arlene Nicholson are seasoned paranormal investigators, authors, and co-organizers of Paranormal United Research Society. You can find out more about them by visiting www.tomdagostino.com