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Reported phenomena, as catalogued
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A 1909 lakefront resort in Cooperstown and former girls' boarding school, where staff report voices on the upper floors.
60 Lake Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$$
Luxury resort rates vary seasonally, typically starting well above $300 per night; see website for current pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
A historic resort hotel with elevators; grounds include lakefront paths and an 18-hole golf course.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1909 · Built 1909 by brothers Stephen Carlton and Edward Severin Clark, grandsons of Singer Manufacturing co-founder Edward Clark · Contributing building to the Cooperstown Historic District, National Register of Historic Places · Operated as the Knox School for Girls alongside hotel guests from 1920 to 1954 · Member of the Historic Hotels of America program
Stephen Carlton Clark and Edward Severin Clark built the Otesaga in 1909 on 700 feet of lakefront on the southern shore of Lake Otsego. The brothers were grandsons of Edward Clark, a co-founder of the Singer Manufacturing Company and one of Cooperstown's principal benefactors, and the hotel's name comes from the Iroquois phrase for "a place of meetings." Architect Percy Griffin designed the Federal-style building, fronted by a portico on eight 30-foot columns, and outfitted it with amenities unusual for a resort of its era: a telephone in every room and heating that guests could control individually. The Leatherstocking golf course opened on the grounds the same year.
From 1920 to 1954, part of the hotel complex operated as the Knox School for Girls, a boarding school that shared the grounds with paying guests. That dual use ended when the school relocated, and the Otesaga returned to full-time resort operation.
The hotel is a contributing building to the Cooperstown Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and belongs to the Historic Hotels of America program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It remains a 135-room resort with two restaurants, a spa, and the original golf course, drawing much of its business from visitors to the nearby National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sources
The Otesaga's reported activity clusters on the ground floor, third floor, and fifth floor. Guests on the third floor, where the Knox School for Girls once held classes and dormitories, have described hearing children running and giggling in empty hallways; others report muted conversations coming from the Glimmerglass Room, a former ballroom, when no one is inside. On the fifth floor, the most consistently reported phenomenon is quiet talking with no identifiable source.
SyFy's Ghost Hunters investigated the hotel for an episode that aired August 25, 2010. The TAPS team looked into reports of swinging doors, employees hearing their names called with no one present, and guests describing furniture dragging across the floor above them — despite being on the hotel's top level. Investigators reviewing footage from the fifth floor reported a shape moving through their equipment's laser grid and a shadow that crossed a hallway and appeared to watch them before retreating. None of the reported activity at the Otesaga is described as hostile; staff and longtime guests generally frame it as background presence rather than anything to be concerned about.
Media Appearances
The Otesaga has operated as a 135-room lakefront resort since 1909, with two on-site restaurants, a spa, and an 18-hole golf course. Guests on the third and fifth floors most often report the hotel's activity.
Two of the resort's dining rooms overlook Lake Otsego; the Glimmerglass Room, a former ballroom, is where staff most often report disembodied voices.
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