NYC: The Haunted Pt. 2

Photos by: David Y.

Every time i enter Washington Square park i enter on the West side (West 4th St.), and somehow i always exit through the arch. The beautiful thing about Washington Square Park is the live shows you can watch for free. There is always something going on out there, music, skating, singing, poetry, dancing, and sometimes hula hooping. My favorite thing is to go and lay in the grass and take in the day. What most people don't know is that Washington Square Park is the burial ground to almost 20,000 people. The park was the old hanging grounds to many of the criminals in town, in fact the picture to the right (photo by: Wikipedia) is supposedly the old hanging elm which is still situated in the park (on the Northwest side). During the 1800's there was a Yellow Fever epidemic which took the lives of many New Yorkers, and WSP was the burial place for most of the bodies as a safe spot far from the city. The park has such an illustrious history and is worth taking some time to read about. i read that most of the bodies were buried right under or near the Arch. So needless to say the park is haunted by the ghost's of the past.

The next and last stop is the Bridge Cafe, located on 279 Water Street down in the South Street Seaport. This is a wonderful little bar/cafe, and has been the such since it was open in 1794. The building has a haunted past of pirates, and was home to a brothel for a while. In fact the building used to be a major stopping point for the fish market and pirates that seemed to come through. There is a story of folklore of a 6ft tall woman that used to bounce there named "Gallus Mag". This woman was one of the most feared female by both scoundrels and police. Legend has it she used to beat men over the head with a club, and drag them out of the restaurant by their ear, and if they protested she would bite it off and place it in a jar of alcohol which she kept behind the bar. The Bridge Cafe is now haunted by the ghost of Gallus mag...

i hope that you have enjoyed this ride as much as i have enjoyed writing, and telling you about it. It is always fun to dive into a bit of NYC history, and pass it on to someone else. If you are ever in the area and want to see these places please feel free to email me and i will surely share their position. Have a safe and haunted Halloween....as well as safe ride!