Welcome to the Holiday Special! On today's episode we learn about the Christmas ghost story of Lake Jean at Ricketts Glen State Park. According to legend, a young boy testing out new skates fell through the ice, followed by his parents, all three perishing in the freezing water. Visitors still report seeing figures beneath the ice, strange lights on the lake, and whispers of strange voices in the wind. Who was this family? Did they exist? This episode seeks to find out, and along the way we learn about the Susquehannock people and the legend of the Ghost Tree.https://citegeistpod.com/ Have a ghost story you want to share? Leave a voice note or send an en email at https://citegeistpod.com/contact Podcast Instagram: http://instagram.com/citegeistpod Personal Instagram: http://instagram.com/joshua.spellman Channel illustration by GiAnna Ligammari: https://virtualgia.com/ https://www.instagram.com/virtualgia.zip Royalty Free Music: "Behind the Veil" by 8er41 Underwater sounds - loopable by carmsie -- https://freesound.org/s/329915/ -- License: Attribution 3.0Sources:“1870 United States Federal Census - AncestryLibrary.Com.” n.d. Accessed December 11, 2025. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/7163/records/10181324?tid=&pid=&queryId=3c73f99f-67b4-4fda-a69f-043fc6282ef3&_phsrc=YQL294&_phstart=successSource&_gl=1*610ph1*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTc0MDQ4MzkzNi4xNzY1NTAzMTY2*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*czYyMzU5OTRjLTkxZjktNDY0Ny1hMmZmLTVmZmFjMmJiMDg0MCRvMSRnMSR0MTc2NTUwMzE2NSRqNjAkbDAkaDA.*_ga_LMK6K2LSJH*czYyMzU5OTRjLTkxZjktNDY0Ny1hMmZmLTVmZmFjMmJiMDg0MCRvMSRnMCR0MTc2NTUwMzE2NSRqNjAkbDAkaDA.Bucior, Christine. 2019. “Ghosts and the Imagined Past.” Dissertation, Pennsylvania State University.Frazier, Jeffrey R. 2011. Ghosts of Penn’s Woods. Egg Hill Publications.Frazier, Jeffrey R. 2016. Pennsylvania Fireside Ghost Tales: Ghost Tales and Haunted Places Found in the Pennsylvania Mountains. Egg Hill Publications.“History Buffs Visit ‘Ghost Town’ of Ricketts, Where Lumbermen Used to Toil | Times Leader.” n.d. Accessed December 4, 2025. https://www.timesleader.com/features/656707/history-buffs-visit-ghost-town-of-ricketts-where-lumbermen-used-to-toil.“History of Ricketts Glen State Park.” n.d. Accessed December 5, 2025. https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/where-to-go/state-parks/find-a-park/ricketts-glen-state-park/history.Ieraci, Ron. 2011. “Ricketts Glen State Park.” Pennsylvania Haunts & History, January 30. https://hauntsandhistory.blogspot.com/2011/01/ricketts-glen-state-park.html.Lancaster Examiner and Herald (Lancaster, PA). 1849. “Fatal Occurence.” August 22.Petrillo, F. Charles. 1991. Ghost Towns of North Mountain: Ricketts, Mountain Springs, and Stull. Wyoming Historical and Geological Society. https://harveyslake.org/gtnm/gtnm_complete.pdf.Public Ledger and Daily Transcript (Philadelphia, PA). 1850a. “An Afflictive Event - Three Young Ladies Drowned.” January 23.Public Ledger and Daily Transcript (Philadelphia, PA). 1850b. “The Drowned Boys.” July 9.“Ricketts Glen State Park - Wikipedia.” n.d. Accessed December 4, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricketts_Glen_State_Park.Stevens, Ryan. n.d. “The First Annual Skate Guard Hallowe’en Spooktacular.” Skate Guard Blog. Accessed December 4, 2025. https://www.skateguardblog.com/2013/08/paranormal-skatetivity-from-haunted.html.Susquehanna National Heritage Area, dir. 2023. Native Peoples’ Stories: The Conestoga-Susquehannock. 04:01. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNrogNnyruI.“Susquehannock | Culture, History, & Facts | Britannica.” n.d. Accessed December 11, 2025. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Susquehannock.The Ghost Tree. n.d.The Scranton Truth (Scranton, PA). 1904. “Drowned in Sight of Her Brother: Sad Accident at Mud Pond.” August 1.The Tribune-Republican. 1914. “Mud Pond Death Due to Exposure.” December 31.The Village Record (West Chester, PA). 1891. “A Boy Drowned.” January 4.Village Record and Register & Examiner. 1856. “Tongue Frozen Fast.” February 5.Walker, T. n.d. “Ricketts Glen State Park.” State Parks. Accessed December 5, 2025. https://stateparks.com/ricketts_glen_state_park_in_pennsylvania.html.Wikipedia. 2025. “Lake Jean.” November 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lake_Jean&oldid=1321359934.Wilkes-Barre Daily News. 1902a. “His Last Turkey Dinner.” December 28.Wilkes-Barre Daily News. 1902b. December 28.Wilkes-Barre Semi-Weekly Record (Wilkes-Barre, PA). 1905a. “A Mysterious Drowning.” August 29.Wilkes-Barre Semi-Weekly Record (Wilkes-Barre, PA). 1905b. “In Male Attire: Police Arrest a Woman Who Was Dressed in Men’s Clothing.” November 3.Wilkes-Barre Semi-Weekly Record (Wilkes-Barre, PA). 1905c. “Mud Pond Case: Georgi and Kensey Have Been Committed to Jail.” November 3.Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, the Evening News (Wilkes-Barre, PA). 1911. “Body on Mountain Not Identified: Grass and Bushes Grew on Decapitated Man’s Body.” July 17.N.d.