bar and a woman’s sweater on the bar stool. At first she thought nothing of it, figuring the other bartender on duty had served a customer who might now be in the ladies’ room. A while later, the glass was still full and the sweater was still on the bar stool, so Lauren asked the other bartender what happened to that patron. The other bartender thought Lauren was the one who had served up the stout. By closing time, the drink and the sweater were still there. No one ever came to claim the sweater, and the bartender poured the beer down the drain. “It still bugs me to this day,” Lauren said. “How did that beer get to the bar? Why was the sweater there? The place wasn’t crowded at all. I can account for each person there, but not that one.” At this point in our conversation, Lauren showed me her arms. Merely retelling the experience had brought out goosebumps.
Could Fedora Man be the inspector who certified the building for occupancy back in 1957? That would explain his hat and coat and his need to inspect the place. It is also interesting that he has appeared both before and after the renovation of the kitchen area. I suggest you visit the Brooklyn Inn, belly up to the bar—toward the end by the former kitchen—and have yourself a drink. Better yet, order two drinks in case the owner of the sweater returns and wants her Guinness.
CHAPTER 3
Ear Inn
YOU WOULDN’T KNOW IT TO LOOK at the place today, but the bank of the Hudson River used to be about five feet from the Ear Inn. This Federal-style townhouse was built in 1817 for James Brown, a wealthy tobacco merchant and former aide to General George Washington. Brown sold his house in 1833. Around that time, fill dirt was brought in to expand the bank out to West Street, and new, larger piers were constructed. Thomas Cloke bought the Brown House in 1890.
Seeing all the thirsty sailors and longshoremen arriving daily at the piers, Cloke and his brother started their own brewery in the basement of the house. They sold their home-brewed beer and whiskey at the docks. However, Cloke saw the writing on the wall with the Eighteenth Amendment coming, and he sold the business in 1919.
The Brown House operated as a speakeasy during Prohibition. The upstairs rooms serving as boarding flops, a brothel, and a smuggler’s den. After Prohibition, the home was known as “the Green Door Saloon” to seafaring gents who came ashore for a drink. No women were allowed. In 1969, the Landmarks Preservation Commission deemed the Brown House a historic landmark, but by then the SoHo area was in a state of decline. Around 1973, two students who were renting rooms in the house decided to buy the building. They fixed it up as best they could with their meager funds. Using spray paint, they changed the old neon sign from “BAR” to “EAR,” thus renaming the place The Ear Inn.
Business picked up for the two young men; among its notable guests were John Lennon and Salvador Dali. In 1977, Martin Sheridan bought the Ear Inn, and he has been running it ever since.
Martin is well aware of the ghosts in his bar and is quite comfortable with them. The “headliner” is Mickey, a sailor who once lived upstairs and was hit and killed by a car in front of the bar. While I couldn’t find any obituaries to substantiate this story, I did find several ghost books that place the accident in the 1940s or 1950s. Mickey makes his presence known by giving people seated at the bar a little nudge, occasionally pinching the derrières of lady patrons. When they turn around to see who’s there, no one is. Mickey has also been blamed for disappearing pints, but Martin suspects that the absentmindedness of the customer is the more likely culprit.
Martin told me that about fifteen years ago the BBC sent over a television crew to do a documentary on the Ear Inn. They investigated and stayed in the Inn for three solid days. Their psychic concluded that three or four spirits reside at the Ear Inn. She assured Martin that they were all friendly and that he is not in any danger. However, that didn’t ease the minds of the family who were renting the rooms at the time. They were fearful, as well as extremely tired, due to beign awakened frequently by a violent shaking of their beds. The family moved out, and Martin didn’t bother to rent the space again. Now he uses the rooms for storage, and whenever waitresses go up there for supplies, they always declare that they will not go up there again. Something up there terrifies them.
The ghost of Mickey has nudged Martin on occasion. Martin is not frightened by it; most times, he simply tells the ghost, “I’m busy. Don’t bother me.” As for the patrons of the bar, newcomers who “sense a presence” sometimes ask if they can go upstairs and look around, but the regulars are not fazed by the activity at all. I asked Martin if he’s ever seen a full-body apparition. “No,” he said, “but customers, not bar staff, have reported seeing shapes or shadows, never a complete ghost.”
I asked Martin if there are any peak times for activity. Martin says he has never noticed any cyclical patterns. “It’s sporadic, probably happening more than I notice. When it’s quiet in the bar, between crowds, is when I’m more apt to feel something or experience something. When the bar is busy, I’m too distracted to notice,” he explained.
So, is Martin ready for a team of full-blown paranormal investigators to come in and conduct a formal investigation? No. He told me: “I live in a very old house, and I came from a very old house. The spirits there were not always nice. When the psychic from the BBC told me that these spirits were friendly, I was happy with that. I don’t want a team coming in here and telling me otherwise.”
I admit, I wouldn’t want a team of paranormal investigators to tell me that my business is infested with negative ghosts. Who would? But I think Martin is misunderstanding the paranormal investigator. Psychics are interested in ghosts’ emotional state of being. Paranormal investigators are more about simply proving that a ghost is or isn’t there.
As I was leaving the Ear Inn, I chatted with a customer who was waiting outside for a friend. I asked the young man if he’d ever been to the Ear Inn before. He confirmed he had, many times, and that the burgers are “awesome.” I then asked him if he had ever experienced anything paranormal. Looking shocked, he said, “You mean like ghosts?” I said, “Yes—in particular, the ghost of Mickey, who was killed out front here by a car and haunts this bar now.” He told me he’d never heard the ghost story before, but that now he was totally intrigued and would pay closer attention.
I agree with his plan and advise you to pay close attention when you visit the Ear Inn. Take pictures, and have a digital recorder running in your breast pocket or in an outer pocket of your purse. You might capture something. Enjoy a burger, and be ready for a nudge or a pinch from Mickey.
CHAPTER 4
Manhattan Bistro
LOCATED AT 129 SPRING STREET in the SoHo section of New York City is the Manhattan Bistro. The building is the oldest one on Spring Street. It’s a restaurant that serves Franco-American cuisine, including duck à l’orange and grilled salmon. The day I visited, the weather was sunny and warm, and the front window partitions had been removed so patrons could dine in the fresh air and sunshine. I’ve never been one to choose the window seat at restaurants; it makes me feel like a caged animal at the zoo with passersby watching me eat. If you are one who loves the window seat, especially sans window, this is the spot for you. Inside the Manhattan Bistro, you’ll find a cozy atmosphere and a lovely bar. Aside from wine bottles flying off the shelf or the sight of a ghostly young woman with disheveled hair and a moss-covered skirt, it’s your average bistro.
“The Ghost of Spring Street” is famous for being sighted in the immediate area of the Manhattan Bistro. It’s a fascinating story that begins in 1799.
Four
