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1/ Merchant’s House Museum
A short walk from Washington Square Park, the Merchant’s House is an old 19th century house now turned into a museum. Here you can discover life in New York at the time, with a host of objects and paintings.
And maybe you will meet Gertrude Tredwell: the last occupant of the house still likes to walk around her old home. A detail if you ever see her: Gertrude Tredwell died in 1933 at the age of 93.
Address : 29 East 4th Street.
Subway : Astor Place.
2/ St. Paul’s chapel
In the heart of the financial district, the cemetery of St. Paul’s Chapel should give you goosebumps. And you’ll tremble all the more when you know the cemetery is haunted by the ghost of British actor George Frederick Cooke. This colorful figure had found an original way to pay the money he owed his doctors: when he died in 1812, his head was bequeathed to science while the body was buried in the cemetery. A market not so peaceful for his soul: it is said that the body wakes up at night in search of its head …
Address : 209 Broadway.
Subway : Fulton St.
3/ St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery
This austere East Village church, surrounded by a small cemetery, was built in 1795 and is listed as a National Historic Landmark. But the church occupies the site of one of the first chapels built by Dutch settlers, in 1660. And then governor Peter Stuyvesant would continue to haunt the place. You can see his grave near the church.
Legend has it that other ghosts occupy the church, including a woman who appears discreetly at the back of the church during sermons. Who is she ? No one knows it, but several parishioners will be able to tell you about it!
Address : 131 East 10th Street.
Subway : Astor Place.
4 / Chelsea Hotel
Think twice before booking your stay at this hotel… The Chelsea Hotel indeed has the particularity of housing two ghosts. The first is Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, who used to stay at the Chelsea Hotel during his stays in New York. In 1953, the poet died at the nearby St. Vincent’s Hospital but it is said that he rode near his room, number 206.
The second ghost is called Nancy Spungen. This is the girlfriend of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious. This one would have killed her during a violent argument, while he was in need of drugs. Since then, Nancy would continue to walk the corridors …
Address : 222 West 23rd Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues.
Subway : 23 St.
5/ The House of Death
The old building at 14 West 10th Street is apparently not much different from the other brick houses on this peaceful Manhattan street. Yet the house has earned the nickname “House of Death”, the house of death.
The house would indeed house no less than 22 ghosts, including that of the American writer Mark Twain, who lived here for a year, from 1900 to 1901. The New York Post also tells that the actress Jan Bryant Bartell and her husband felt a strange presence, when he had just moved into these places. The actress even made it a bestselling book. Ghosts sell!
Address : 14 West 10th Street.
Subway : 9th Street.
6/ The Ear Inn
New York has several Irish pubs, such as the Triple Crown Ale House and the Dublin House. But here is an ad that is only for the bravest among you. Located in SoHo, not far from the Hudson, The Ear Inn is housed in a 200-year-old building. Above all, the bar is the haunt of Mickey, a sailor who died in the 1960s after being hit by a car just outside the pub. But Mickey is a ghost of the quiet kind: you’ll know he’s there when, suddenly, the fire is lit.
Address : 326 Spring Street.
Subway : Canal St.
7/ Billop House
It’s not only in Manhattan that you can meet ghosts! Head to the far south of Staten Island to discover Billop House, the former residence of British Colonel Christopher Billop during the American Revolution. The house is best known for having served as the setting for a failed conference between British representatives and American revolutionaries. The house has also gone down in history for a murder. In 1779, Colonel Billop killed a 15-year-old maid accused of spying on behalf of the American rebels. The ghost of the young girl would continue to haunt the place …
Address : 298 Satterlee Street, Staten Island.
Subway : Tottenville.
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