After a battle with cancer a few years ago, Candy Burson emerged from the ordeal with a new outlook on life.
After you go through a life-changing event like a cancer diagnosis, you realize how important it is to live every moment to its fullest, said Burson, 55, a grandmother who is back in school, studying art at Finger Lakes Community College.
“When you have death knocking at your door, you begin to do things differently,” she said.
Her husband, Pat, who installs commercial drywall, felt the urgency as well to make the most of passing time and he told her he wanted them to buy that house in the country they had dreamed of.
What they hadn’t bargained for when they moved from Fairport to Farmington was sharing their dream house with what they believe is a ghost. Almost from the moment they moved into the 1805 federal style home on Sheldon Road, they heard and saw mysterious happenings.
“I see kids staring over the staircase. I saw the form of a little baby, a silhouette ... I see something walking by all the time ... If you stayed here at night you’d understand,” said Pat.
The home’s history is well documented, and Candy said piecing together the stories with sounds and images they experience in the house is chilling.
There is the story of Cassie Waters, who is documented to have lived in the house in the Civil War era and killed her child, perhaps to save the child from being sold into slavery.
Candy said along with unexplained sounds of doors slamming, voices, and what sometimes sounds like violin music, there is the reoccurring image of a baby. While Candy and Pat have both experienced the ongoing, strange happenings, it was the experiences of their grandson, Anthony, 4, that prompted them to call on The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS), the paranormal investigation group from the SyFy Channel “Ghost Hunters” series.
Their grandson has been traumatized on several occasions, said Candy. One time he ran out of a room yelling, “don’t let that man touch me!” Another time, he ran out calling, “Look at that baby!”
During a recent visit in the Finger Lakes region, which included investigating a ghost at the Naples Hotel, TAPS explored the Bursonss’ 17-room house and its mysterious presence.
The SyFy Channel Feb. 15 episode of “Ghost Hunters” will feature the house and its happenings. Candy said TAPS brought new insight into what is happening in their home. The previous owner warned about such a spirit, she said, adding, now it is much more clear.
