There’s no better place to connect with the paranormal than Manhattan’s “most haunted house,” the Merchant’s House Museum. This October they’ve got a full roster of events to channel the otherworldly into the historic home. From ghost tours to an evening with literary legend Edgar Allan Poe, there’s an event for everybody to get into the spooky spirit. Make sure to buy your tickets now, as these events usually sell out!
Killing an Evening with Edgar Allan Poe: Murder at the Merchant’s House Museum: Join the incredibly talented John Kevin Jones at the Museum for a night of live performances of some of Poe’s most notable works. The dramatized showings of stories such as The Tell-Tale Heart and The Raven, among other classics, are shown the way Poe himself would have performed them in Antabellum New York’s literary salons. The show runs through November 3rd, with two performances on Halloween. Learn more here.
Candlelight Ghost Tours of Manhattan’s Most Haunted House: Eight family members died in the house, and their wakes and funerals were held in the building’s parlor. Take special candle-lit tours through the premises, including the fourth-floor servant’s quarters. During the tour, you’ll hear about the chilling encounters and unsettling occurences that happened in the building. Candle-lit tours run through October 30th, buy tickets here.
At the Stroke of Midnight: Led by Dan Sturges, a paranormal investigator who has worked in the Merchant’s House for over a decade, this one-of-a-kind tour will begin at midnight on Saturday, October 19th and Saturday October 26th. As he leads you through candle-lit rooms, Sturges will speak about the hauntings and history of the museum and provide special insight into methodologies and techniques of the field. Find the details here.
“Sacred to the Memory:” From Parlor to Grave. An 1865 Funeral Reenactment and Cemetery Procession: In the 19th Century, funerals happened in the home. Join the museum as they recreate the 1865 funeral of family patriarch Seabury Treadwell. Pay respects at his deathbed, speak with his mourning widow, Eliza, portayed by a costumed intrepreter. After the funeral, take your own postmortem photographs inside the coffin. Then join the cemetery procession to the New York City Marble Cemetery, rarely open to the public, for a graveside talk. Find details about this unmissable event here.
If you can’t make one of these events, you can still get in the Halloween spirit, the current exhibit “Death, Mourning, and the Hereafter in Mid-19th Century New York” is on display and included during regular admission to the museum.
