Long Island Oddities: Curious Locales, Unusual Occurrences and Unlikely Urban Adventures

by John Leita, Laura Leita

John and Laura Leita delve in to the oddities that make Long Island unique and it may be more odd than you thought possible!
Long Island's history is well known, but often overlooked are the island's unique and bizarre stories and treasures--the most interesting locations and darkest legends. From hidden haunts and legends like the Indian Princess of Lake Ronkonkoma to well-known events like the Amityville Horror House murders, this collection chronicles the tales of restless spirits, unrequited loves and otherworldly visits that riddle the island. There is much to be seen along the roadside, too, including the beloved Big Duck, the Riverhead Indian and even the grave site of Nixon's dog, Checkers. Through history, pictures and the personal experiences of a ten-year endeavor, authors John and Laura Leita brings to life Long Island's abandoned structures, including psychiatric hospitals and other ruins waiting to be rediscovered. Join the Leitas as they go in search of the delightfully quirky side of Long Island.

Genres: Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published May 10, 2013

Reviews

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Congrats Big Duck on making the cover! 🪿

[Carolyn Bunkley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched, well presented.

[Foxglow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun insight into quirky history.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long Island Oddities was insightful of Long Island’s history, hidden haunts, legends and events. The book is grouped into roadside oddities (Barrel House, Big Duck, Pirate House, Riverhead Indian, Smithtown Bull, Satan House, Stargazer, Stony Brook Hercules, Pine World, Yaphank Gas Station, Mr Millenium, Sphinx, Paradise, Mansion McDonald’s, Witch’s Hat), oddly abandoned (Bulova Watchcase Factory, Cedar Point Lighthouse, Sanitariums, Republic Aircraft Factory, Patchogue Duck House, Great Gull Island, Asylums, Edgewood, Kings Park Psychiatric Center, Central Islip State Hospital), ghosts among us (haunted asylums, amityville horror house, Stony Brook country house, East Marion lifesaving station, haunted lighthouses, Islip fire department, Montauk Manor, Murph’s Tavern, Katie’s Pub, Old Bethpage village restoration, Pirate Jones, Popper the poltergeist, Raynham Hall, Sagtikos Manor, Reid ice cream, Whitney Tower, Fire Island land Pirate: Jeremiah Smith), close encounters of the odd kind (UFO crash of Southaven, Camp Hero Project), phantastic legends (Heather’s wall, Lake Ronkonkoma, Mary Hatchet, Mary’s grave, Mount misery/Sweet Hollow Road, Jason’s Rock, hermitage of the red owl), grave difference (green bunn and Brewster burial grounds, Home Depot Cemetery, Lakeview Cemetery, Nixon’s dog, Indian field burial ground, union cemetery).

This book was informative and interesting. They gave descriptive stories and places. They researched the places and stories by meeting or interviewing people involved in the stories and they went to all the places to experience and see what the legends told. I enjoyed reading the history and legends of places I’ve been to and learning of places I haven’t been to. There are many creepy places on Long Island with ghosts. I’ll definitely be on the lookout if I’m at these places and be curious

[E · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a winner, either in subject matter, text, or presentation. There were buckets of typos and grammatical errors to complement the middle school-level text. It very much reads like the former blog entries of which it is composed: poorly edited, overly casual. That said, there are plenty of interesting tidbits to be gleaned here for fans of Long Island. (Speaking of, are there any in the world besides me?) I enjoyed the breadth of stories, although I wish there had been further details available on many of them -- please don't tell me about an interesting locale without telling me where, exactly, it is. Compounding the problem, attention is not lavished equally: so many pages are devoted to purported paranormal incidents, for example, that the roadside attractions chapter suffers from a lack of attention in comparison. Related, the title doesn't really make clear just how much of this book is silliness about UFOs and the paranormal. It's not especially what I was hoping to be reading about when I checked it out.

Overall: possibly worth a read, especially if you don't find the lack of verified facts and well-written prose off-putting, but otherwise, it may not be worth your time.

[Noreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Growing up on Long Island I had heard many of these stories. It was great to see the pictures that go along with them.

[Chanel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read. I did know a lot of these places already but learned a lot.