Haunted Manhattan: Washington Square Park

This time in the Haunted Manhattan series, we'll talk about a very non-creepy place and I'll do my best to ruin it forever for you. So, I'll considered a job well done if the next time you wander into a tranquil park considering where to have your picnic, you settle for a bench.

Washington Square Park came into existence in the 1820s; but before that, the land was used to entomb the yellow fever victims of the 1700s outbreak. Yep, more than 20,000 corpses still lie under the lush lawn where visitors gather to catch the sun. Digest that.

And now that you have decided to sit on the benches from now on, let me proceed with the story.

The area where the famed parked is now located has always been well liked, and 19th century New Yorkers came to watch people die. Oh yes, you read that right. Back in the 1820s, today's hot spot in popular Greenwich Village was a public gallows and execution site. And you can never be sure which trees they used...

And just because there is no better place to build a gathering site for the well-to-do than a Potter's field-turned-public-gallows, in 1826 the city leveled the ground and laid the square, turning it into the Washington Military Parade Ground. Only four years later, the streets surrounding the square became some of the most desirable areas to live (How could they not!), and the rest is history...

So, yeah, I'd think twice before telling my friends I just want to "hang" in the park.


Sweet dreams, my friends!

Haunted Manhattan: The House of Death

I thought opening the series with The House of Death was quite appropriate because of several factors. First, this is a private residence, therefore, there's no one to interview or anywhere to eat/drink to see what happens. Just a picture from the outside and a lot of stories to tell. Also because among the ghosts that purportedly inhabit the place is Mark Twain. Why would be that of any importance, you ask? Well, last night I attended Stephen King's event promoting Joyride at the Mark Twain house in Hartford. Expect a post about that experience coming soon, but in the meantime, I really felt like that was too sweet a coincidence to let it pass.

On the subject, now. The history of number 14 of West 10th Street in Greenwich Village, better known as the House of Death, is one of both mystique and horror that stretches for over 150 years. Built on the late 1850s, the mansion was home to a long list of the who-is-who of the day. Outstanding figures, such as the founder of the Metropolitan Underground Railroad and Broadway Underground Railroad, James Boorman Johnston; famous writer, Mark Twain; and the president of the North American Company, Charles W. Wetmore. 

In 1933, the house was sold to a company that quickly turned it to a ten apartment complex. By then, stories of ghostly apparitions were quietly shared among residents of the building. It was until 1957, when writer Jan Bryant Bartell moved in, that the haunting became famous. Her experiences in her apartment of the second floor would give place to the book SPINDRIFT: SPRAY FROM A MYSTIC SEA, published in 1974. In it, she recounts her many experiences in the house during the 15 years she lived there. Among the most memorable are her accounts of seeing a woman wearing a Victorian dress, and the apparition of a child. Perhaps more eerie is her story of a withered grape, constantly materializing in the center of a plate, even when no grapes were bought for weeks.

Not paranormal, but more horrifying is the story of Lisa Steinberg's death. In the morning hours of November 2, 1987, police came in the building answering a call about a child 'not breathing'. What they found in the apartment of 14 West 10th Street rocked the city to its core. Six year old Elizabeth, Lisa, Steinberg was found unconscious lying on the floor of the bathroom. An 18 month old baby boy was also found in the house, tied to his playpen with a rope to his waist. Severely beaten and neglected, Lisa slipped into a coma and later died. Lisa's adoptive mother, editor and writer of children books Hedda Nussbaum, told a story of unspeakable abuse at the hands of Joel Steinberg. Hedda, herself had several broken ribs, a shattered nose and cheekbones, and life-threatening lesions to her legs. After the first-ever televised trial, Joel Steinberg was found guilty of manslaughter. He spent 15 years in prison and was recently released. 

Many attribute the name of House of Death to this single incident. However the case, to this day, residents of the complex report hearing strange noises, seeing an elegant, ethereal lady traversing walls, and there are a few sightings of Mark Twain on the staircase. When a woman resident asked him who he was, he answered: "My name is Clemens, and I has a problem here I gotta settle."

Legend says 22 unnamed people died in the house, among them a murder/suicide in the 1900s, which isn't an incredibly high number when one considers the scores of people that have lived in it. There's also the fact that many of its residents were famous Victorians and Edwardians who customarily received medical care in-home, rather than attending hospitals.

This city landmark is not only beautiful, but steep in history. I recommend to everyone strolling through the city to pay it a visit.

Most Famous Haunted Houses

As a great introduction to wednesday's official kick off of the Coffin Hop 2012, I decided to set the mood with ghost stories of the real kind. Is there anything better than a real haunted house for Halloween? Well, here I put together a few of the most famous, but you have to promise to be back and check out my Coffin Hop giveaway! There are books to be given and plenty scary stories to be told. Don't miss it!! Now, back to our regularly scheduled program...

The world of the death is truly one that intrigues us. Through time, there is no other question that has bothered us more than what happens after we're gone. Generation after generation, fear of the unknown, curiosity, and grieve have tangled a convoluted web resulting in ghost sightings and haunted houses that plague us to this date. Of course no one can absolutely refute every sighting, every picture, every story, and that's how the afterworld has engrained itself on our brains with the most tantalizing stories.

It is in this spirit that I present here a list of ten of the most haunted houses in the US. Weather you believe their stories or not is entirely up to you. As for me, I always found Marquise du Deffand's posture to be an intelligent one. As she famously said, "Do I believe in ghosts? No, but I'm still afraid of them."

The Sorrel-Weed House

Located in Savannah, Georgia, the Sorrel-Weed House was formerly owned by G. Moxley Sorrel, a brigadier general for the Confederacy during the Civil War. After Sorrel left for Virginia, the house was bought by Henry D. Weed, hence the peculiar name the house bears today. The present owners of the house report hearing voices, clinking of glassware, music, and many others sounds associated to a party that can never be found when investigated. There are also reports of war sounds, like soldiers marching and guns being fired, but the most famous resident ghosts are those of two women who died in the property under very distressing circumstances. Mr. Sorrel was found having an affair with one of the slaves, Molly, upsetting Mrs. Sorrel so much that she jumped to her death from the second floor porch. Just two weeks later, Molly's body was found hanging from the neck in the carriage house. Suicide or murder? The jury is still out there, as are the tortured souls of both women.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorrel_Weed_House

The Moore House

In 1912, the quaint and booming town of Villisca, Iowa was shook to its core when the brutal murder of eight people occurred during the night without attracting the attention of any of the neighbors. On the morning of June 10, 1912, Mary Peckham realized his neighbors, the well-respected Moore Family, hadn't started their day as usual. Worried, Mrs. Peckham decided to go check on them. When no one answered the door, she tried peaking through the windows, but it was too dark. She then tried opening the door but found it to be closed from the inside. Finally, a few hours later Mrs. Peckham decided to call Mr. Moore's brother, who came in and opened the door with his own set of keys, finding everyone in the house dead. J.B. and Sarah Moore, along with their four kids and the two daughters of a friend who had been invited to spend the night there, had been slaughter beyond recognition with an axe. The murders were never solved and remain surrounded by mystery to this day. The sounds of children voices, objects moving without reason, and sightings of a dark, menacing shadow said to be that of the killer are a common occurrence in the residence.

http://www.prairieghosts.com/villisca.html

The Landon House 

Originally constructed in 1754 on the banks of the Rappahannock River in Virginia, the Landon house was dismantled in 1840 and moved to its present location in Urbana, Maryland. Its rich history tells us of the many roles it has served through time. First used as an academy for girls, transformed into a military school short time afterward, and finally serving as a military hospital during the civil war, it is its present reputation that brings it to this list. There have been reports of all kinds of paranormal activity in the house, from heavy feelings to apparitions of dead Civil War soldiers. Care to stop by for tea?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landon_House

The McRaven House

Located in Vicksburg, Mississipi, it was originally built in 1797 and changed hands a few times in ordinary circumstances. However, it is in 1849 under John H. Bobb's ownership that the McRaven House is at the center of a tragic situation that would determine its fate as a haunted location. The house served as a Civil War Hospital during the siege of Vicksburg and withstood severe damage by gun and cannon fire. Bobb was so angry that he attacked a sergeant with a brink, who ordered him arrested, taken to the back of the house, and shot. His ghost, as those of fallen soldiers are said to roam the house.

http://www.mcraventourhome.com/Ghosts.asp

The Amitiville Horror House 

This one, we all know. The infamous house on 112 Ocean Ave. in Amitiville, NY is undoubtedly one of the most famous and controversial haunted houses in America. It all began when in 1974 Ronald DeFeo slaughtered his whole family, consisting of both parents and four siblings. After a year of abandonment, the Lutz's bought the house and lived in it for twenty-eight days. Windows opening and closing, telephones ringing in the middle of the night, black goo coming out of facets and walls, and the sightings of a pig with red eyes are among the many experiences reported by the Lutz's. The also infamous couple, Lorraine and Ed Warren were involved in the following investigation and supposedly got rid of the ghosts, reason why the current family lives there happily. Except for the hordes of morbid tourists showing at their doors, that is.

http://www.amityvillefiles.com/haunting/

The Riddle House

West Palm Beach, Florida may not be the first location to come to mind when you think about ghosts, but it has a thing or two to scare the pants out of you. Take The Riddle House for example. Built as a gatekeeper's cottage for cemetery workers keeping an eye out for grave-robbers, the paranormal activity surrounding this house scared its former resident, Karl Riddle, out of the house. It all seems to be centered around the death of a previous worker who killed himself in the attic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riddle_House

The Hanna House 

Built in 1858, this Indianapolis, Indiana mansion was utilized as a passage for the Underground Railroad. One eventful evening, a group of slaves fell asleep on the straw-covered basement never to wake up again. While the group slept, an oil lantern was accidentally turned over, setting the basement ablaze. After the fact, and in order to keep his involvement in the Underground Railroad a secret, Alexander Hanna buried the human remains in the basement. There have sightings of ghostly black males, the sounds of hushed up conversations in the basement, chandeliers swinging with no apparent reason, and sad laments that echo through the house.

http://thehannahmansion.org

Ashmore State

Is there anything creepier than an abandoned insane asylum? Ashmore State in Illinois is a 'living' prove that our fascination for the macabre can never be quenched. The fact that the decaying building isn't open to the public hasn't stopped paranormal investigators from documenting the hordes of ghosts reputedly residing there. From 1916 to 1956, the building housed indigents and people with mental disabilities. More that two hundred death were reported and from 1956 to 1976 it housed the "mentally impaired." The building remained in use until 1987 when it closed due to lack of funding. Many stories about residents that refuse to move out of the building circulate, but there have also been exposés where a group claims to have invented a ghost with a story to go and afterwards read claims of people seeing said ghost. Still, real or not, abandoned insane asylums have number one of my list of scariest places to ever be trapped...

http://www.ashmoreestates.net/history.html

LaLaurie House 

Known as the most haunted house of the French Quarter in New Orleans, the LaLaurie horror history is not one for the faint of heart. In 1832 Delphine LaLaurie, a woman of high prominence in European society, decided to buy a second house in New Orleans that she managed herself. Soon the family gained fame as one of great wealth and education, and it was considered an honor to be invited to one of the lavish parties the LaLaurie's gave. Though rumors ran rampant of the mistreatment of saves by Madame LaLaurie, it all came to a head on April 10, 1984 when firefighters attending a call on the residence uncovered a grisly family secret. Inside a secret room in the attic, many bodies in different state of mutilation but still alive were discovered. Nobody knows for sure just how many slaves died at the hands of the cruel Madame, but the bones of at least two more bodies, one of them a child, were found centuries later during a renovation, and a neighbor witnessed a fourteen-year-old girl jump to her death from the ceiling with Delphine, whip in hand, in hot pursue. Apparitions of black males with chains on their necks that become violent, cries and screams of pain breaking the silence of night, unseeing hands pushing people off balconies or stairs are all common occurrences.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphine_LaLaurie

Well, there you have. Hope you've come across a couple of stories that you didn't know before and that will keep you awake tonight. Happy Halloween y'all!!

My Own, Very Real, Ghost Story

Ok, I've gotten into all these Halloween blog hops, I've declared high an low how much I love the season, now it's time I tell you one of the reasons behind all this love.

In all honesty, I really don't know why horror stories and ghosts are so appealing to me; all I know is that from my earliest memories, I've always felt attracted to them like a moth to the light. My own culture probably helped a lot. In Mexico the dead are very much a part of our every day life; don't get me wrong, we're, for the most part, modern, advanced people who revere computers, use cars to go to work, and will believe someone broke in when there's a bump in the house, instead of chucking it all to supernatural events.

On the other hand, we're a sui generis mix of two very different, very old cultures that make us unique in our believes and customs. Catholicism is BIG in Mexico and through the conquering process, the Spaniards gave birth to a huge amount of legends that 'main-streamed' deities of our Aztec past. That's where the dead mix in.

'The Crying Lady' (La Llorona) is probably one, if not the most famous ghost of old. People, to this day, believe she exists and that you can hear her crying in some lonely nights far away from the cities, calling for her dead kids. We have one very famous small town where real witches live and will prepare specific mixes or 'works' for you for a prearranged amount of money. I actually know people who has gone there to get 'cleansed'. Now, this kinds of stories always impacted me and left me wondering what was out there. I could tell you a hundred different stories, from the beautiful legends that are a central part of our folklore, to the very personal ones, passing from the experiences with my own, very eclectic, family.

I guess I'll start with a cute story that had a great impact in my sister's life.

My sister was born prematurely, two months early, and for that reason she was very small and fragile. The worst was that her esophagus and stomach were so immature that she couldn't hold any food. My mom would feed her for an hour only to see her regurgitate most of it half and hour later, so my mom was anchored to this child and my little sister was in a serious conundrum.

My oldest uncle from my mother side is a doctor and he'd come visit my sister almost daily; he'd always have spirited words for my mom but with my other uncles and aunts (my mom has five brothers and four sisters) he'd reveal the very dire situation. Fact was, he didn't think my sister was gonna make it.

Now,  my mom was an orphan; his father had died when the oldest of the children were only eleven or twelve, and my grandma died when they were nineteen or twenty. Back those days, there was no one who would step in and force the kids into relative's houses or to be adopted. The ten of them held their ground and stayed together, the older raising the younger as best they could.

When my sister was born, my parents decided to stay in my other grandma's house, with my father's parents, so they could help with me while my father was working. Since the baby was so small and could not heat herself, the bed where both, my mom and her, slept had the headrest inside a closet and they had a small lamp always on and pointed to the baby, to generate more warmth. Of course, windows were almost barricaded, and the door was always closed.

One day, my mom was sleeping next to my sister, trying to catch some rest before the next feeding time. My grandparents had taken me to buy groceries and my dad was working, so my mom was alone in the house. Then she heard the steps of two people coming up stairs, towards her room. She though we had come back and tried to open her eyes but she couldn't, and she was unable to move. Scared now, she heard the door to the bedroom open and close and felt two bodies standing right next to her.

"She's so cute and little" Said one of the voices. It was feminine and my mother recognized it immediately. It was her mom.

"Yes, she is. But she'll grow up to be a healthy kid" He laughed. It was her dad's voice.

"Are you sure, Ramiro? Will she make it?"

"Oh, yes. She'll be fine"

And the next thing my mom felt was the air brushing by her as if someone was extending her/his arm to reach the child who was between my mom and the wall. After that, the door opened again and the steps echoed outside the room. My mom opened her eyes in a hurry, trying to see them, to talk to them. Above her, the cloths hanging on the closet were swinging lightly. She darted outside but there was nobody.

My sister indeed recovered, after six very hard months she mended and nobody ever told my mom, until years later, that everyone was sure the baby would die.