Mysterious Paintings A Curiosity At Spencer Crest

Spencer Crest Nature Center, part of Corning Community College, has a mystery on their hands. On the inside walls of an old milk house are more than a dozen small paintings, all undated and unsigned. All of the paintings depict a full moon.

Corning, NY - Near Amelia Pond, sits an old milk house (photos of a few paintings can be seen on the link) which is a reminder of times long past. Now, the structure has become an informal art gallery even though the building is in much needed repair. The paintings are all done on small pieces of wood that have been screwed onto the walls inside the milk house. It is unknown whether these pieces were done by a single person or several. As well, it's not clear whether they were put there all at the same time or over a period of time.

"The paintings are simple and rather abstract, but I read them all as paintings of the full moon with various cloud conditions. I have no idea who has been placing the paintings inside there, or why," said David Higgins, senior art faculty instructor at the college. "The milk house -- what some of my art students refer to as the 'moon house' -- has become a bit of an urban legend at CCC."

Students have reported that there has been some strangeness going on, some of which Higgins tells he has experienced himself.

"I brought my Drawing I class to Spencer Crest last April to draw landscapes along the nature trails, and in their explorations two students separately found small oil paintings of autumn leaves, unsigned and quite meticulously painted, sealed in a clear plastic bag and placed along the trail as if they had been left for someone to find," he said.

These painting are different in style according to Higgins. The land, including the old milk house was donated by the late Arthur A. Houghton Jr. For some time, the structure served as the original nature center before the current 8,000-square-foot building was built and dedicated in 1981. Because of the degraded state of the building, there has been some thought given to razing it, however many people want to leave the building there, citing that it's 'nostalgic'. So, for now the building will remain there, along with the collection of paintings by unknown artists. Move over Blair Witch Project...another urban legend has been born!