Lake Ronkonkoma
photo taken from flickr.com
Located in the township of Islip, Ronkonkoma is home to the largest lake on Long Island. The lake and its shores are believed to be haunted by the ghost of an Indian princess. In one version of the story, referred to as the Troubled Spirit of the Lake, the Indian princess is sacrificed to the god Manitou. The princess had to save her people by tying concrete down to her, rowing a boat into the middle of the lake, and diving over the edge. The lover of the princess dives in after her as well since he was unable to watch her die alone. Lake Ronkonkoma is known as a kettlehole lake. This was formed by an isolated glacier around 20,000 years ago. When the glacier melted, it left behind a depression called a kettle.
Water then filled this kettle, making it a kettlehole lake. Another legend about the lake is that it is bottomless. However, this was disproved in 1952, when four skin divers went down and touched the bottom. Another version of the legend of the Indian princess is also called the Lady of the Lake.
The Lady of the Lake tells the story of the Indian princess falling in love with an English settler. The marriage between the two was forbidden and she was forced to marry someone else. Nevertheless, their love never died, and one night she went to swim across the lake to reach her lover. However, she only made it halfway across before drowning. The legend here is that the princess returns to the lake once a year looking for someone to join her under the water. She apparently lures men to her death.
The locals claim that there is at least one drowning per year and almost all are males. Police reports and newspapers back these claims. The numbers show these drownings to be accurate according to the legend. Besides the drownings, there have been reports of fog that hangs over the lake along with strange lights.
Cold fingers are said to grab swimmers who start to go out too far from the shoreline. Most reports consist of people hearing intense sobbing. The sobbing seems like its coming from every angle and is said to be heartbreaking.
(Source: Belanger, Jeff. Encyclopedia of Haunted Places. 2005.)
i live here, and its known as lake ronkonkoma by the way….i have swam in there before and i have been dragged by something even though i am a girl but yes there is always a drowning every year and its mostly always a guy. there is a car at the bottom of the lake as well and some people have claimed to here the engine.