A paranormal historian has named Staten Island the most haunted corner of New York City, citing centuries of quarantine colonies, a notorious asylum and a string of violent deaths as the sources of its ghostly reputation. Speaking to
Andrea Janes, founder of the New York tour operator Boroughs of the Dead, told
Why Staten Island is considered so haunted
Janes traces much of the lore to the borough's long history as a place of isolation. From 1799, city officials used the island to keep yellow fever and smallpox away from Manhattan's busy ports, building the New York Marine Hospital, a facility known simply as The Quarantine. It operated until 1858, when local residents, terrified of contagion, attacked the complex and burned it to the ground.
Quarantine did not end there. In 1905 the island's second-highest point became a tuberculosis isolation site, and the Sea View Hospital opened there in 1913. Wealthier patients received the standard treatment of the day: fresh air, sunlight and good food. Few survived.
Janes believes this accumulated history explains the island's reputation among those who track reported hauntings. Rankings of spooky locations have become a seasonal staple;
Willowbrook and the College of Staten Island
Not every dark chapter lends itself to a ghost tour. Janes said the one place she refuses to take visitors is the College of Staten Island, which occupies the former site of the Willowbrook State School.
Willowbrook opened in 1948 as the largest institution in the world for people with developmental disabilities. In 1972, journalist Geraldo Rivera documented its conditions in the award-winning expose Willowbrook: The Last Great Disgrace, revealing children living in filth, overcrowding and neglect, some subjected to medical experiments. The scandal is widely credited with inspiring the 2012 television series American Horror Story: Asylum.
The institution closed in 1987, and part of the grounds became the College of Staten Island in 1993. Most buildings have been converted to classrooms and offices, but underground tunnels still connect them, and reports of hauntings continue.
The Billop Conference House
Among the oldest reported sources of unease is the Billop Conference House, a late 17th century building that hosted failed peace talks between American colonists and the British in the autumn of 1776. Legend holds that the loyalist owner, Christopher Billop, murdered a servant girl, though no historical evidence substantiates the claim.
Visitors have reported apparitions of a servant girl and of British soldiers, while neighbours describe hearing a man singing or shouting and a woman screaming. The grounds also contain Burial Ridge, the largest pre-European Native American burial ground in New York, which may predate the house itself.
Fort Wadsworth and the Kreischer Mansion
Fort Wadsworth, a 226-acre public park on the island's northeastern coast, holds the record as the longest-serving active military post in United States history. Since it became a park in 1994, visitors have reported apparitions of soldiers moving through walls, disembodied footsteps, gunshots, cannon blasts and unexplained smells of tobacco smoke and cooking.
Janes named the 1885 Kreischer Mansion on Arthur Kill Road as the most haunted spot of all. The brick magnate Balthasar Kreischer built it for his son Edward, who was found shot dead behind the family factory in 1894. His grieving relatives held seances in the house, which some say opened doors better left closed. In 2005 the mansion was the scene of the mob killing of Bonanno crime family associate Robert McKelvey, who was stabbed, strangled and dismembered before his remains were burned in the furnace. Visitors report apparitions in the windows, moving furniture and a lone cry echoing through the halls.
Frequently asked questions
Which part of New York is said to be the most haunted?
Paranormal expert Andrea Janes names Staten Island, citing its history as a quarantine colony, the Willowbrook institution, colonial-era buildings and violent deaths at sites such as the Kreischer Mansion.
What was Willowbrook State School?
Opened in 1948, it was the world's largest institution for people with developmental disabilities. A 1972 expose by Geraldo Rivera revealed severe neglect and abuse, and it closed in 1987.
Can visitors tour Staten Island's haunted sites?
Several sites, including Fort Wadsworth and the Billop Conference House, are public. Tour operators such as Boroughs of the Dead run macabre history walks, though Janes excludes the College of Staten Island from her itineraries.