Post by Graveyardbride on Aug 19, 2015 11:42:38 GMT -5
Does Rudolph Valentino Haunt Town Hall?
Almost everyone in Broome County is aware of the Castle on the Hill – the main building of the original New York State Inebriate Asylum. But there’s another castle, arguably one of the most unique structures in the area and now part of the Conklin Town Hall, and it has a long, interesting and haunted history.
Around 1900, local farmer and artist Alpheus Corby decided to build a house for himself outside the busy and noisy streets of Binghamton, where he had lived for several years, and he wanted his home to make a statement. Apparently, a few years prior, Corby had visited relatives in England and while there, became intrigued by the many castles dotting Great Britain’s landscape. Accordingly, when he decided to build his house, he was determined to bring the flavor of England to Broome County. He purchased land on Conklin Road in the Town of Conklin for his residence, however, the finished product wasn’t merely a house, it was an edifice constructed of large building blocks with a central tower and crenelation, giving it a castle-like appearance. “He and his wife Anna, they became enamored with the castles of Europe,” says Conklin Town Clerk Sherrie Jacobs, “So he built a castle for his wife when he came back to Conklin.”
Unfortunately, while the home was well-built and would last for generations, Alpheus Corby did not. He died in 1918 and several family members disputed his will. Eventually, the castle went to Fred Pratt, a nephew, but Pratt did not stay in the house for long. During the next 20 years, a variety of uses for the grand building were proposed and rejected and it was rented to various tenants. One of the more unusual residents was Carol McKinstry, who operated a spiritualist “church” from the site in the 1920s. McKinstry claimed that every night, a ghost would appear to her. And who was this spirit who brought words of wisdom? It was none other than Rudolph Valentino, who died suddenly in 1926. She claimed the “Sheik” came to the Corby house each night at 11, would remain until 1 a.m., and then return to the spirit world.
While the legendary lover of the silver screen and star of The Sheik was visiting, he began dictating a movie script that he called The Warning from out of the Ages. Eventually, McKinstry, along with her ectoplasmic “visitor,” created an 80,000-word film treatment, which she renamed The Return of Rudolph Valentino. She traveled to Hollywood and attempted to market the script and even had her picture taken at Falcon’s Lair (Valentino’s home) standing in front of a portrait of the dead movie star. But she didn’t have much luck in her endeavor. Too bad there aren’t any transcripts of her conversation with movie producers wherein she attempted to convince them Valentino had written the script as the Twilight Zone theme plays in the background. Nonetheless, McKinstry became known as the Crusading Spiritualist after she started the Valentino Memorial Church of Psychic Fellowship. She remained confident her script was the work of Valentino himself and after leaving Broome County, published a 193-page book entitled The Return of Rudolph Valentino in 1952.
Corby’s “castle” caught the interest of George F. Johnson in the 1940s and he purchased the building and turned it into a facility for disadvantaged youths. This experiment, however, was short-lived and in 1948, Johnson deeded the extravagant edifice to the Town of Conklin, with the stipulation that it be used as a community center. As the years passed, the town turned the structure into the town hall. Recently, a new annex was added and the Corby home is slowly being converted into museum space.
Unfortunately, the building is closed at night so no one knows if the Sheik still makes his 11 o’clock appearances.
Sources: Gerald Smith, The Press & Sun-Bulletin, August 18, 2015; The Town of Conklin, New York; and Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino by Emily W. Leider.
See “August 23, 1926: The Death and Return of Rudolph Valentino.”
