themselves? Why are they here? These are just a few of the questions I have been asking. No doubt, you have been asking the same questions.
The books in the America’s Haunted Road Trip series can help you find the answers to your questions about ghosts. We’ve gathered together some of America’s top ghost writers (no pun intended) and researchers and asked them to write about their states’ favorite haunts. Each location they write about is open to the public, so you can visit them for yourself and try out your ghosthunting skills. In addition to telling you about their often hair-raising adventures, the writers have included maps and travel directions so that you can take your own haunted road trip.
People may think that New York City is all glittering lights, tall buildings, and nasty cab drivers, but L’Aura Hladik’s Ghosthunting New York City proves that the fascinating metropolis is also home to shadowy entities that are seen only for an instant before they disappear into the rush of humanity that is New York City. This book is a spine-tingling trip through the city’s various boroughs with stops at taverns and bars, theaters and parks, churches, historic sites, and cemeteries, all of them haunted. Ride shotgun with L’Aura Hladik as she seeks out soldier ghosts at Fort Wadsworth and the spirits of poor, sick immigrants who died at Ellis Island while seeking new lives in America. Travel with her to the White Horse Tavern, where the ghost of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas may buy you a drink, or sit for a spell in the Old Bermuda Inn and watch for the ghostly Martha to greet you from the staircase. And who is the rude spirit that calls out to visitors at the Morris-Jumel House in Manhattan, warning them to leave at once? Hang on tight; Ghosthunting New York City is a scary ride.
But once you’ve finished reading this book, don’t unbuckle your seatbelt. There are still forty-nine states left for your haunted road trip! See you on the road!
John Kachuba
Editor, America’s Haunted Road Trip
Introduction
“I want to be a part of it! New York! New York!”
—lyricist Fred Ebb in Sinatra’s signature song, “New York, New York”
NEW YORK CITY! What more can I say? This is the international travel destination. It’s immortalized in songs, movies, plays, and stand-up comedy routines. It’s fascinating, captivating, and exhilarating. It’s no wonder the city is haunted. What ghost wouldn’t want to hang around this town? Just as iPhone ads claim, “There’s an app for that,” New York City can say, “There’s a ghost for that.” Whether you enjoy theaters, parks, comfortable bars, or fine restaurants, you’re in luck in New York City if your other hobby is ghosthunting.
I should warn you that not all the destinations in this book permit full-blown paranormal investigations. So, for example, don’t arrive at the New Amsterdam Theater to see Mary Poppins with your night-vision goggles, laptop computer, and DVR system, because most theaters do not allow recording devices of any kind. At such places, you’ll have to go “old school,” which in the ghosthunting field means operating covertly. Instead of taking pictures or video recordings (especially taboo while the show is in progress), keep a digital audio recorder in your breast pocket or purse, and excuse yourself to the restroom after the performance starts. Once outside the auditorium, you can take some readings with your EMF meter or attempt to record some EVPs with your digital recorder, but take care not to call attention to yourself. Also, be mindful of the staggering price audience members have paid to see the show, and do not trek back and forth repeatedly between your seat and the lobby.
Other venues such as bars and restaurants may be more receptive than theaters to paranormal investigations. However, what’s permitted or not permitted is entirely at the management’s discretion. Please do not show up demanding to investigate a place because you read about it in this book. Instead, fly below the radar. Have a drink at the bar, or dinner at the restaurant. Then when you take a few pictures, no one will suspect you are ghosthunting (unless they notice that you’re aiming the camera at the ceiling and not at your dinner guests). Going “old school” has its advantages: Relying on your senses will make you a better observer of subtleties that an EMF detector would miss, and it will sharpen your powers of deduction as you draw conclusions from information you have gathered.
If, however, you want to decloak and conduct a paranormal investigation, ask respectfully for permission. I can’t stress this enough: You aren’t entitled to bulldoze your way into an investigation just because a location is mentioned in this book. Use finesse: Strike up a conversation about the ghosts with the bartender or waitress, and, if you are polite and pleasant, you might be able to work your way up to the manager and get permission for an after-hours investigation. Just be aware that at restaurants and bars, “after hours” might mean 4:00 A.M.
Some New York City locations, such as public parks and Times Square, are so noisy and crowded that it’s difficult to record audio or video. Still, if you can find a spot that’s sheltered from the noise of traffic and the nonstop flow of pedestrians, try to collect some EVPs. Ghosts in New York City are probably brazen enough to get close to the microphone and speak!
I enjoyed visiting and investigating the locations in this book primarily because of the people I met. There’s a stereotype attached to New Yorkers that says they are detached, aloof, or unconcerned with what’s going on around them. It’s true that they have an edge and an attitude that is unmistakably New York, but for the most part, New Yorkers are affable people. And they’re often fascinating. Barbara, a docent I met at the Morris- Jumel Mansion, knew that place inside and out. She engaged young visitors with a quiz, and she was right at home talking about the ghosts of the mansion. Kenneth Leslie, a security guard at the Public Theater, was an amazing historian—I could not believe how much information he stored in his cranium. He was intrigued by the ghosts of the theater, but dead set against working late at night.
I love the old mansions where you’re allowed to wander at your own pace. My visit to Van Cortlandt House was a ghosthunter’s coup in that my team leader and I had the whole place to ourselves. Of course, we were there on a Wednesday, but if you can take a vacation day mid-week, it’s well worth it. Plus, the Van Cortlandt house offers free admission on Wednesdays.
By the way, if you’re driving in New York City, make sure you do not enter a “grid” (an intersection) unless you can get through before the light changes. Causing gridlock is a ticketable offense. Right turns on red are not allowed given the large numbers of pedestrians, and there is no speed limit given the huge amount of traffic. Cabbies know this, hence their amazing ability to go fifty feet at a speed of fifty miles an hour.
You can plan your ghosthunting trip by topic or by geographical area. For instance, you might visit SoHo and the Village one day, then spend the next day on Staten Island or in the Bronx. Or set up a paranormal pub crawl to McSorley’s, the Ear Inn, and the Bridge Café. Ghosthunting New York City puts in your hands a wealth of historical and haunted information about key sites around this wonderful city. You’re sure to discover even more.
Happy hunting!
CHAPTER 1
The Bridge Café
THE BRIDGE CAFÉ, located at 279 Water Street just below the Brooklyn Bridge on the Manhattan side, is the oldest wooden building in New York City. In 2005, New York Magazine included Bridge Café in its list of “Top Five Historic Bars in New York City.” The building has seen many incarnations, ranging from a grocery store to a brothel. In fact, the Census of 1860 listed the residents of this address as “six Irish prostitutes.” Yet Bridge Café has managed to sell liquor and food
