Oct 23rd
2019THE GHOST OF 281 STUYVESANT AVENUE (1901)

“At last Stuyvesant Heights revels in the proud possession of a genuine haunted house.”

This was back in 1901, when Stuy Heights was relatively young, the houses newish, and the ghosts scarce.

But Stuyvesant Heights had everything back then – “a Republican Club, an amateur dramatic society,” and even “several asphalt streets where bashful maidens learn to wheel at night.”

So why not a ghost?

THE HAUNTING AT NO. 281 STUYVESANT AVENUE

The Griffins, who had lived in the apartment house at the ground floor were terrorized by their electric bell ringing at 2 o’clock every afternoon.

But they also heard “hollow groans,” “creepy sidesteps on the staircase,” and “unexpected trips from room to room of pieces of furniture.”

It all got to be too much for the Griffins to handle, and so they fled.

The Griffins moved to Williamsburgh.

PERFECTLY GOOD EXPLANATIONS

Some of the other tenants blamed the wind. A young woman who lived in the second floor apartment told an Eagle reporter that everything was perfectly explainable.

“This house, you know, stands alone and the wind, when it sweeps into the vestibule, often comes hard enough to blow the whistle in the kitchen tube,” she explained.

“Then it’s a fact that the pictures do move, but that’s caused by the heatwaves from the radiators, over which they hang,” she further accounted.

And then she closed her case with: “The pipes groan and the plumbing rattles, too!”

But a ghost?

“Nonsense.”

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The Brownstone Detectives

Brownstone Detectives is an historic property research agency. Our mission is to document and save the histories of our clients’ homes. From our research, we produce our celebrated House History Books and House History Reports. Contact us today to begin discovering the history of your home.