Long Island Oddities: Curious Locales, Unusual Occurrences and Unlikely Urban Adventures (NY)
John Leita started the "Long Island Oddities" blog in 2003. Through this blog, he shares his love of Long Island history and folklore. His writings on this subject were also published in theLong Island Pulsemagazine. John has a passion for taking pictures of historic abandoned places and ruins. Realizing some of these places may not be around much longer, he began taking video and collecting historic photos of them. This led him to produce five documentaries to accompany his blog. His newest documentary,Scary Long Island, investigates the most reputedly haunted locations of Long Island. After performing many hours of research, he started lecturing at libraries, historical societies and schools. His lectures are always well attended and often receive praise from the attendees. In 2008, he started another blog called "Long Island Ruins," which interprets local history through abandoned and reused structures. His plans for the future include further sharing his love for what makes Long Island a unique place.Laura Leita has a long-held interest in anything paranormal and has been reading up on the subject for most of her life. She co-runs "Long Island Oddities" with her husband and thoroughly enjoys exploring the island's most interesting and haunted places. She co-runs LIOPS, a local paranormal society. She has given presentations and taught classes on Long Island history and folklore at many locations and has had her photos and poetry featured in a gallery at the Oceanside Library. Her photographs have also been utilized by newspapers, as well as theLong Island Pulse.