The Hinsdale House is one of Fr. Trabold's most famous paranormal cases. The Dandy's moved into the house in 1970. During the four years that they lived there, they experienced many unexplainable paranormal events. Some of these events included apparitions of multiple people, movement of objects, unexplainable scents, and unexplained sounds. The family asked Fr. Trabold for help in blessing the house. When the events became unbearable, the family approved the publishing of an article about them in the local Olean Times Herald to try to find more information about the history of the house. However, the article was received with ridicule at the family's expense. Famous psychic, Alex Tanous, came with Fr. Trabold to read the energy of the house and claimed that there were 7 murders in the house. Later, he revisited the house with students and tried to cleanse the house with Fr. Trabold. These attempts met with no avail, and the family left the house shortly after.

There has been a lot of investigation into the stories behind the Dandy’s haunting. However, much of what actually happened has been misconstrued. One of the biggest misconceptions is that Fr. Trabold performed an exorcism on the house in 1974. There was a cleansing, but not an exorcism, which are two different rites. Furthermore, Fr. Trabold stated that an exorcism is performed on a person, where a cleansing is performed on a place. In her book, Clara Miller (Dandy) says that Fr. Trabold said the exorcism rite in a prayer in an attempt to rid the house of the spirits; however, a full exorcism was never performed.

Another misconception is that the house was built on an Indian burial ground or mound. However, Cassidy Nicholas, proves through extensive research that there is no mound or burial ground in the area of the house. A third very important misconception is that the house was used as an inn where people were murdered. In the history of the house, there is no evidence that the house was ever used as a stage coach inn. However, one of the McMahon family members claims that his grandfather told stories that the road went past the house and this is where stagecoaches travelled.

Another misconception is that a tree, known as the “hanging tree”, which is near the Dandy House was used for hanging--most famously a pregnant woman. While some claim to have documentation that there was a woman named Elizabeth who was hanged there, there is no evidence that this is true. The last great misconception is that there was a boy that was killed in a buzz saw accident on the property. The boy in mention was killed on a farm nearby and was laid to rest in Cuba, NY. He was not killed on the property of the McMahon/Dandy house.

The purpose of pointing out these myths is to help set the record straight, not only for the Dandy/Miller family, which has suffered greatly because of the misconstrued story, but also to preserve Fr. Trabold’s legacy. It is important to us, here at the St. Bonaventure Archives, to provide accurate information concerning our collections, especially when dealing with such cases as the Hinsdale House. 

You can read more about the Hinsdale House in Clara Miller's (Dandy) book, Echoes of a Haunting. You can read Nicholas' full article here.