Weird News of Week: Mangy Fox and Haunted Lake Spooks Locals

As a local news organization, Patch covers stories of all kinds, from heartbreaking tragedies to inspiring tales of community brotherhood. But some stories are just plain weird. Here are some of the stranger headlines from the past seven days.

Mangy Fox Spotted in Miller Place

By mangy we don't mean sly, troublesome or nefarious. A fox stricken with real mange was spotted this week in the Miller Place-Rocky Point area, confusing some locals who were unsure if they were looking at some wild animal or a monster in the flesh.

But the state's Department of Environmental Conservation said a recent spike in fox population has led to a spread of mange, a condition that usually makes the fox's hair fall out. It's a phenomenon that the DEC said could have been responsibe for an alleged jaguar sighting in the Hamptons.

Who knew that a hairless fox would look so alien-like?

Legend of the Lake Revisited

One of our Patch bloggers this week took a look at one of the region's most widely known ghost stories: The Lady of the Lake.

Kerriann Flanagan Brosky, author of Ghosts of Long Island; Stories of the Paranormal andGhosts of Long Island II; More Stories of the Paranormal, recounts the string of legends tied to Lake Ronkonkoma that have led people to think the lake is haunted.

In one version, a Native American princess took her life and vanished into the water, though other versions say perhaps it was a man from the tribe who committed suicide because he was not allowed to marry his love.

Either way, locals still report strange sounds coming from the lake and cast a supernatural suspicion on any drownings there.

Read her whole post here.