Cherry Hill Estate — the murder house of Albany, New York

Cherry Hill Estate in southern Albany, New York, is a late 18th-century farm manor house that was home to four generations of the Van Rensselaer and Rankin families from 1787 to 1963. The house gained notoriety in 1827 when Elsie Lansing conspired with her lover, Jesse Strang, to murder her husband, John Whipple. Strang shot Whipple through a window of the house, and both Elsie and Jesse were arrested. Strang was publicly hanged — the last public execution in Albany — while Elsie was quietly released after serving time. The house has been a museum since 1964, and staff and visitors have reported paranormal activity since its opening. The most frequently described phenomenon occurs near the window where Whipple was shot — visitors describe hearing a gunshot and seeing a flash of light. The sound of a woman crying has been reported in the upstairs rooms, and some visitors have described the feeling of being watched from behind. Objects in the museum have been found moved from their display positions, and some staff members have reported seeing a figure in 19th-century clothing on the staircase. The murder house of Cherry Hill stands as a reminder that some tragedies leave marks that no amount of time can erase.