Beecher Scarlett entered the field of media sales in 2001, not long after he earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from Denison University in Ohio. He started as a sales planner at CNBC International before he moved on to work at Univision Networks, 20th Century Fox, and NBC Universal. Beecher Scarlett lives in the New York City suburb of Pelham, a small town in southern Westchester County just 14 miles north of mid-town Manhattan.

Like much of the region around New York City, Pelham is steeped in history. In addition to reporting on notable events in the town’s past, Pelham’s town historian records several tales rooted as much in the paranormal as in history.

For instance, there’s the story of Andrew Parker, who worked in the gunpowder industry in the Pelham area. It wasn’t an industrial accident that killed him, though the actual cause of his sudden death in September 1885 is shrouded in mystery. Just after Halloween of that year, reports of Parker’s ghost, sometimes waving a lantern, began to appear in local newspapers. The first sighting occurred in the doorway to his home, and then at various places throughout the town; sightings have continued to the this day.

Another tale involves the capture of a British gunship by Colonial troops off Pelham’s shores in 1777. Low on firewood, the ship’s captain sent most of its sailors ashore to scavenge for wood. The token force aboard the ship was unable to repel the Colonials, and the ship was quickly captured and sailed off into Long Island Sound. It hasn’t been seen since.

Sailors on the Sound, though, have reported seeing a small British warship sailing the waters, manned by a ghostly crew in 18th century naval attire. Another seaborne spirit is called the Ghost Ship Palantine, so named because it’s said to be the immortal remains of a ship full of Dutch immigrants deliberately shipwrecked in Long Island Sound.