Which borough is known for its haunting experiences?
A paranormal specialist recently shared insights with The Post, revealing that New York City’s “most underappreciated borough” might also be the spookiest.
Andrea Janes, the founder of Boroughs of the Dead, offers tours centered around the darker aspects of NYC’s history. According to her, if someone is genuinely interested in spirits and ghosts, Staten Island is the place to explore.
“It’s teeming with ghosts,” she emphasized, making it clear that this borough, home to Pete Davidson, is filled with haunted mansions, asylums, forts, and even fields.
A part of this eerie reputation comes from Staten Island’s role in history as a plague isolation site; Janes mentioned that the island has served variously as a quarantine colony for centuries.
“If you ask me, the whole island is the most haunted place there,” she remarked.
Quarantine History
Back in 1799, city officials aimed to keep diseases like yellow fever and smallpox away from the busy ports.
This led to the establishment of the New York Marine Hospital, grimly dubbed “The Quarantine,” which functioned until 1858, when local fears of contagious diseases erupted into protests that resulted in the hospital being set ablaze.
“Perhaps that’s why it’s so haunted,” Janes speculated.
Even after the original hospital was destroyed, Staten Island continued to be linked to quarantine efforts. In 1905, a tuberculosis facility was established on the island’s second-highest point. The Sea View Hospital opened in 1913 and was known for providing patients with fresh air, sunshine, and nutritious meals.
Yet, sadly, none of that was enough to save the patients.
The College of Staten Island
Though the hospital sites have unsettling histories, Janes pointed out one location that stands out even more — the College of Staten Island, built on the former grounds of Willowbrook State School.
“It’s too tragic for a tour,” she admitted.
Opened in 1948, Willowbrook was once the world’s largest facility for the treatment of individuals with developmental disabilities.
In 1972, journalist Geraldo Rivera exposed the appalling conditions in the institution in his award-winning documentary “Willowbrook: The Last Great Disgrace,” which revealed children subjected to egregious medical experiments, living in squalor and neglect.
The horror of Willowbrook reportedly contributed to the inspirations behind the 2012 series “American Horror Story: Asylum.” The facility closed in 1987, and in 1993, part of the land transitioned to the College of Staten Island.
While most structures have been repurposed as classrooms and offices, some underground tunnels remain, and whispers of hauntings continue to circulate.
The Billop Conference House
“There’s a strange intersection of psychic activity here on Staten Island that I can’t quite pinpoint,” said Janes while mentioning the Billop Conference House, one of the region’s oldest sites of unease.
This house, dating back to the late 17th century, was used for negotiations between American settlers and the British in late 1776, though the proposed peace talks proved fruitless, and hostilities persisted.
Legend has it that Christopher Billop, the paranoid patriarch of the house, murdered a servant girl, alongside various stories of betrayal and violence. However, there’s no historical evidence to support these claims.
Nevertheless, visitors have reported sightings of the servant girl’s ghost, as well as apparitions of British soldiers.
Interestingly, some say these apparitions might precede the structure itself. The grounds include what’s known as Burial Ridge, which is the largest pre-European Native American burial site in New York.
Fort Wadsworth
Fort Wadsworth, a 226-acre public park on Staten Island’s northeastern shore, holds the title of the longest continuously active military installation in U.S. history. But its illustrious past seems to have fostered a mysterious atmosphere.
“Something unusual is happening there,” Janes affirmed.
After converting the fort into a park in 1994, visitors have reported apparitions of fallen soldiers roaming the area and even driving vintage cars.
There have also been accounts of disembodied footsteps, gunfire, and cannon blasts, along with the inexplicable aroma of tobacco smoke or delicious cooking smells despite the lack of any kitchen on the grounds.
Kreischer Mansion
Janes identifies the Kreischer Mansion on Arthur Kill Road as Staten Island’s most haunted location.
“It’s undoubtedly haunted,” she stated.
This grand mansion was built in 1885 by German brick magnate Balthasar Kreischer for his son Edward. Tragedy struck just nine years later when Edward was discovered dead under mysterious circumstances near his father’s brick factory.
The family, unsure whether it was murder or suicide, sought the help of spiritualists and conducted séances in the house, which some believe opened portals that were better left untouched.
In 2005, the mansion became the site of a gruesome mob hit involving Bonanno crime family member Robert McKelvey, who was stabbed, strangled, dismembered, and then burned in the mansion’s furnace.
This dark history contributes to the reported paranormal activities at the site, with visitors claiming to witness apparitions in windows, furniture moving independently, and mysterious clattering sounds coming from the kitchen, plus anguished cries echoing within the home.
Boroughs of the Dead is celebrating its 13th anniversary this October. For those intrigued by the paranormal, tours can be booked online, and Janes will participate in a panel discussion titled “Haunted Brooklyn: Ghosts, Folklore and the Stories We Tell” on October 27th at the Center for Brooklyn.
