Did you know New York City is the most haunted city in America?  New York is a state rich with history and thus, rich with paranormal activity. In this episode of Haunted History, we explore four very haunted places in New York.

We first visit the home of Gertrude Treadwell, the Merchant’s House.  Gertrude was born and raised there by a father who was very conservative.  Gertrude fell in love with a man named Lewis Walton, whom her father turned away.  She never married, but continued to live in her house until she died in 1933 in the same bed she was born in.  After her death, the house was turned into a museum and strange things started happening.  Footsteps on the stairs, ghostly images of a woman seen in Gertrude’s bedroom, and faint piano playing when no one was at the keys.  Gertrude lived in that house her entire life, but did she ever leave it after death?

The Sullivan brothers served together on the USS Juno.  The oldest brother George was the only one to survive the attack at Guadalcanal, only to be devoured by a shark before rescue.  The USS The Sullivans was christened after these 5 brothers and now is docked permanently in Buffalo, New York.  Strange happenings started in 1969.

Locks and bulkheads get opened after closing, a sailor reported a paint can being whipped across his face, and another sailor reported seeing a bloody face down below while doing a routine inspection.  Maybe George still wanders the ship, unlocking doors, still searching for the brothers he swore to protect.

Our next stop is Beardslee Castle located in the beautiful Mohawk Valley.  The castle was owned by the Beardslee family until the Christiansons bought the castle and turned it into a restaurant.  When Mr. Christianson died, hauntings started happening.  In one instance, a worker and her friends were closing up and ran out when they heard something terrible, described as “something between a growl and a scream”.  In the 1980s, a new owner renovated it and kept it a restaurant, but blessed the building.  There is still paranormal activity but it seems more calm now.

The Bilop House in Staten Island, otherwise known as the Conference House (it was used for the Peace Conference of 1776), was home to Mr. Bilop, a general for Britain in the Revolutionary War.  He was cruel and very disrespectful to those below his class.  After being kidnapped twice by the Americans, he figured out a servant girl was somehow letting the rebels know he was home.  He killed her in a fit of rage.  The house was restored in 1920 as a museum and soon plants started swinging on their own, lights flickered, and the ghostly image of the servant girl was seen on the stairs.  Is the house haunted by the girl and her murder?

Ever since I was a child, I’ve been interested in the paranormal and this show really piqued my curiosity. It was fantastic to learn about haunted New York.