The Spooks of New York City

The Spooks of New York City

Inspiration sometimes comes from unexpected places.... During a trip with the gang to nyc, i told a mini ghost story on the way through Washington Square Park in the Village. This page is for ricky... he does believe in spooks. he does, he does.

There are several ghosts and spirits who haunt New York City, so if you are ever in the neighborhood, expecially in Greenwich Village, a popular spirit hangout, check them out. These are the famous spooks, and there are lots of not-so-famous, garden variety hauntings. The locals can fill you in on that.

There are guided evening ghost walks to take if you have the time. Some of these are stories I was told as a child growing up in the area, some I've read about

Washington Square Park's hauntings - My favorite - originate from its use as a hanging ground,in the days before DVD's and video games. For cheap entertainment on a Sunday afternoon, you could go for a stroll and catch a hanging. People swung from trees that still stand today. Though I wish they would mark them so that I can find them. The bodies were just dumped into a mass grave after the afternoon's festivities. Later on, the Park also served as an "official" cemetery, and still has more than 15,000 bodies buried under the lawns and paths. I had also read that poor folks and influenza victims who didn't have the cash or relatives to take care of funeral arrangements, were also dumped in there.

The Morris-Jumel Mansion, 65 Jumel Terrace (uptown,between West 160th and 162nd Streets), the oldest home in Manhattan, is said to be haunted by at least three separate spirits. Eliza Jumel, the wife of Aaron Burr and former mistress of the mansion, is said to wander through the house in a purple dress, rapping on walls and windows. The servants quarters are frequented by the apparition of a young servant girl who supposedly committed suicide by jumping out of a window. A soldier who served in the American Revolution is said to come alive on occasion.

Aaron Burr seems to have attracted spooks - Greenwich Village - One If By Land, Two If By Sea Restaurant - Once a carriage house owned and operated by Aaron Burr, the place is supposedly haunted by Burr's daughter Theodosia Burr Alston, who vanished off the coast of North Carolina while on her way to visit her father in New York. Apparitions of Theodosia and various other spirits have actually been seen and several women sitting at the bar have had their earrings pulled off by Theodosia. She'd go wild over our glowing earrings.

Downtown at 14 West 10th Street (near Fifth Avenue), is a house haunted by ghosts of the more than 22 people who have died there. Mark Twain, who lived in the house from 1900 to 1901, is said to haunt the building's stairwell. In recent years, Joel Steinberg lived here in 1987, when he was accused of beating his daughter, 6-year-old Lisa Steinberg, to death.

The burial ground at St. Paul's Chapel is reportedly frequented by the ghost of George Frederick Cooke, who was buried headless, having pledged his head to science in order to pay doctor's bills (and whose skull was used in multiple performances of "Hamlet" on Broadway). Nowadays,HMO's want your blood, not your silly head. Cooke's spirit roams through the churchyard in an endless search for his detached head

White Horse Tavern (567 Hudson Street at West 11th Street) is the site of the poet Dylan Thomas' collapse and death, after drinking 18, count 'em, 18 shots of scotch in 1953. It is said that his ghost returns to the scene from time to time to rotate his favorite corner table, as Thomas used to do when he was alive. Sounds like a Table 5 story to me.

New Amsterdam Theatre - haunted by a Ziegfeld Follies chorus girl, Olive Thomas, who killed herself. She has been seen on the stage and in one of the dressing rooms by workmen that were doing repairs on the theatre. She holds a blue glass bottle (reportedly that held the poison that killed her)

Brittany Hotel - Corner of East 10th and Broadway - Phantom music and lights, people hearing unknown footsteps in the rooms and feeling a presence "watching" them