Haunted Village: Part BOO!
Ghosts Are lurking about the Village, that’s for sure! It’s up to you to decide if you want to explore the haunted places… OR NOT! You choose…
We have previously reported about some of the haunted places in the Village, but we have EVEN MORE to report to you today!!! Do not be afraid… The Village has many secrets and mysteries. We challenge you to visit and explore all of the haunts that are haunted!!! AT YOUR PERIL….
By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes….
William Shakespeare
Macbeth, 4.1.
THE CHERRY LANE THEATRE
We love a theater ghost story!!! And at the Cherry Lane Theatre, several spirits are said to haunt NYC’s oldest theater. Founded by Village resident Edna St. Vincent Millay in 1924, the theater has long been rumored to have ghosts participating in the productions! Probably actors who weren’t quite ready to give up the stage!
WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK
This plot was once a burial ground for the Lenape tribe. Later, after the Revolutionary War, the city fathers of New York acquired some of this property for use as a potter’s field, a public burial ground where poor and indigent people, mostly victims of a massive yellow fever out break were laid to rest. However it is the Hangman’s Elm, a fascinating subject for historians, which has been drawing ghost hunters to the park for years. Before “executions called for the use of gallows, not trees,” many prisoners who were sentenced to death were hung from its branches. Many stories say if you walk past Washington Square Park at night, you will see ghostly apparitions still swinging from the tree.
THE EMMA LAZARUS HOUSE (18 West 10th Street)
Emma Lazarus once lived with her family in this distinguished Italianate style home. Lazarus is best known for her sonnet “The New Colossus,” lines of which are featured on the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal. Both she and her father died in this home, and her funeral was held here. Her spirit is said to linger still.
JEFFERSON MARKET LIBRARY
The Victorian Gothic Jefferson Market Library served as the City’s first night court and as a women’s court. The adjacent garden was the site of the Women’s House of Detention. Some of the ghosts of the women who died there are reported to lurk around the building.
12 GAY STREET
This Federal townhouse was once owned by Mayor Jimmy Walker and reportedly was home to a Prohibition-era speakeasy. It is allegedly inhabited by a spirit. Some say a well-dressed man in a cloak and top hat can be seen in the windows at night
CHUMLEY’S
Once a haunt of famous writers, this speakeasy was owned by Leland Chumley and passed on to his wife, Henrietta, who also served as a bartender there. After her death it was said that Henrietta could be found sitting by the fireplace where she loved to sit and drink. It is also alleged that she occasionally throws bottles off their shelves.
THE EAR INN
One of the city’s oldest drinking establishments, this Hudson Square landmark pub is said to have a “long-term” patron who likes to make his presence known, so to speak. Back in the day, sailors and longshoremen flocked here to get a drink. It seems that one of them hasn’t gone home just yet. A cheeky ghost named “Micky” is said to have had a tragic ending here. He was reportedly a sailor who got hit by a car in front of the bar and died, but he mainly makes himself known by flirting with the ladies at the bar. Might be a draw — for some.
THE EDGAR ALLAN POE HOUSE
Located at 85 West 3rd Street you will find a reconstructed façade of the house Edgar Allan Poe resided in between 1844 – 1846. During Poe’s time there he created one of his most famous works, ‘The Raven’. The original building was destroyed in 2001 by NYU to be replaced by Furman Hall. All was dismantled except for a banister, which from time to time is haunted by the ghost of Edgar himself, or at least that’s how the stories go. Poe resided in a couple of other places throughout the city, so it’s no surprise he only has time to make an occasional appearance. This Poe house also overlooks Washington Square Park, a location with its own dark history that started long before Poe’s residency.
As I said, the Village is a weird and wonderful place, but BEWARE…..!!!!!! Your visit may have VISITATIONS!!!!!!
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