Next Stop: Devil's Hole

Hello, everybody, it's been too long. Summer is in bloom in Middleport, New York, and it's lovely. I hope everyone is doing well. We most certainly are. It's been a busy 2016, and we're setting up our next paranormal investigation. We're ready to investigate Devil's Hole in Niagara Falls, New York!

For those of you not familiar, Devil's Hole is a cave that overlooks the Niagara Gorge. The stories of supernatural activity date back to when the Seneca Nation were the main inhabitants of New York state. Devil's Hole has reportedly always held great spiritual and supernatural significance to the Seneca people.

According to Greg Newkirk of www.roadtrippers.com, in 1936 Niagara Falls historian Edward T. Williams recounted the legend of Devil's Hole. He spoke of Robert Cavalier de LaSalle, who was one of the first white men to set foot on what was to be Niagara County soil. LaSalle and his guide happened to come upon the cave which is now Devil's Hole. His guide was not so sure about exploring the cave. He said to LaSalle, "Such is the tradition of our race...judge then, my white brother, whether you could disturb the Evil Spirit of this abode and not suffer the penalty." A few days later, ignoring his guide, LaSalle crept into the cave. The "Evil Spirit" made contact with LaSalle and whispered in his ear, "Return to your home in Canada, and wealth, honors and long life of usefulness shall be yours, and when death comes, generations of your descendants shall follow you to your grave, history shall transmit your name in posterity as the successful founder of a great empire." The Evil Spirit continued, "Proceed to the west and although gleams of hope may at times shine in your path, ingratitude and disappointment will be sure to meet and follow you until treacherous murder shall end your days, remote from human habitation, without the shelter of even a wigwam of a friendly red man. The eagles of the desert shall strip the flesh from your bones which shall lay bleaching under the tropical sun, unburied and unprotected by the cross you now so devotely cherish." Soon after the encounter with the Spirit, LaSalle did in fact venture out west to start a colony in Louisiana territory, where he was murdered by his own men and his body was abandoned in the Mississippi River.

According to www.historiclewiston.org, in the 1700s, the early European settlers utilized the area that is now Devil's Hole as a passage to transport goods on trade routes. The Senecas were not pleased with their land being used for the Europeans' gain. On September 14th, 1763, the Seneca people had had enough and decided to retaliate. The Senecas ambushed a wagon train that was transporting goods. They killed dozens of troops that accompanied the wagon train and drove the oxen and carts over the cliff into the Niagara River. More European soldiers were sent to aid, and they were also murdered by the Senecas upon arrival. This clash of cultures became known as the Devil's Hole Massacre.

And now on to our investigation. We are going to investigate Devil's Hole as well as the State Park surrounding it. We will be relying heavily on photography. The roar of Niagara Falls will drown out most, if not all, audiorecording. No pun intended. Please check our Facebook (www.facebook.com/nopwny) and the website for updates following the investigation. Thanks for reading!

References:

www.historiclewiston.org

www.roadtrippers.com/stories/curse-of-the-evil-spirit-the-sinister-history-of-niagara-falls-secret-cave?lat=40.809