By: Lorraine Arnold
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 23 Oct 1901, page 6. What would Halloween be without a haunted house story? How about one that is over 100 years old? In 1901 the Griffin family was frightened away from 281 Stuyvesant Avenue in Brooklyn by ringing bells and moving furniture - occurrences both frightening and, as the family claimed, simply annoying. Despite the Griffins’ annoyance and the inconvenience of moving, the neighborhood of Stuyvesant Heights was more than happy to now include a “genuine haunted house.” It was such an attraction that tour guides would point out the house as having a residential ghost. The ghost didn’t have a name, nor did it have a past which could be explained, but nevertheless it was a resident at the turn of the 20th century.
GHOSTLY BEGINNINGS
The ghost showed itself for the first time to the newly married Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Griffin who were living on the first floor. At precisely 2 o’clock in the afternoon, the vestibule bell would ring. At first the Griffins thought that it was the result of young pranksters, and Mr. Griffin decided to surprise them by catching them in the act. One afternoon at 2 p.m., Joseph stepped out into the vestibule only to find it empty. At that precise moment the bell rang inside his home. While he was not completely scared, it did concern him. The ghost must be rather fiendish as it had broken away from the normal wind whistling, strange shadowed shapes on the wall, and other scary antics typically attributed to ghosts. The ringing bell wasn’t its only original ghostly trick though. It eventually succeeded in removing the couple after exhibiting hollow groans, creepy noises on the staircase, and what the Griffin’s described as “unexpected trips from room to room by articles of furniture.”
GHOSTLY NONSENSE
Not everyone was spooked into believing that a ghost haunted the house. A young woman who also lived in the house claimed that all the noises and frightening occurrences could be explained, though she didn’t know how to resolve the ringing bells. At the time the house stood as a single building with no construction on either side, so of course the wind will sweep through the vestibule and, at times, would blow hard enough to whistle through the hollow tubes in the kitchen, she justified. Explaining moving pictures which hung above radiators, the woman said that it was the heat waves. Pipes groan and the plumbing rattles as part of the normal movement of water through the heating system. Though her husband claimed that it was the spookiest house he ever lived in, she claimed that the idea of a ghost was “nonsense!”
GHOSTLY BEGINNINGS
The ghost showed itself for the first time to the newly married Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Griffin who were living on the first floor. At precisely 2 o’clock in the afternoon, the vestibule bell would ring. At first the Griffins thought that it was the result of young pranksters, and Mr. Griffin decided to surprise them by catching them in the act. One afternoon at 2 p.m., Joseph stepped out into the vestibule only to find it empty. At that precise moment the bell rang inside his home. While he was not completely scared, it did concern him. The ghost must be rather fiendish as it had broken away from the normal wind whistling, strange shadowed shapes on the wall, and other scary antics typically attributed to ghosts. The ringing bell wasn’t its only original ghostly trick though. It eventually succeeded in removing the couple after exhibiting hollow groans, creepy noises on the staircase, and what the Griffin’s described as “unexpected trips from room to room by articles of furniture.”
GHOSTLY NONSENSE
Not everyone was spooked into believing that a ghost haunted the house. A young woman who also lived in the house claimed that all the noises and frightening occurrences could be explained, though she didn’t know how to resolve the ringing bells. At the time the house stood as a single building with no construction on either side, so of course the wind will sweep through the vestibule and, at times, would blow hard enough to whistle through the hollow tubes in the kitchen, she justified. Explaining moving pictures which hung above radiators, the woman said that it was the heat waves. Pipes groan and the plumbing rattles as part of the normal movement of water through the heating system. Though her husband claimed that it was the spookiest house he ever lived in, she claimed that the idea of a ghost was “nonsense!”
281 Stuyvesant - building #4 - to the right of Grace Presbyterian Church, G.W.Bromley map, 1907. GHOSTLY PERMANENCE
The creepiness had been enough to scare away the Griffins though, and they even checked to see if the ghost had followed them to their new home. When reporters asked the janitor’s wife at the Griffins’ new residence, 602 Bedford Avenue, whether there were ghostly happenings, she said there were no spooks on the premises there. Stuyvesant Heights was very happy to hear; the ghostly residence of 281 Stuyvesant was one of their claims to fame. After all, not every neighborhood can claim to have such a famous occupant.
Does 281 Stuyvesant Avenue still have ghostly happenings? Can anyone - or - any spirit answer?
The creepiness had been enough to scare away the Griffins though, and they even checked to see if the ghost had followed them to their new home. When reporters asked the janitor’s wife at the Griffins’ new residence, 602 Bedford Avenue, whether there were ghostly happenings, she said there were no spooks on the premises there. Stuyvesant Heights was very happy to hear; the ghostly residence of 281 Stuyvesant was one of their claims to fame. After all, not every neighborhood can claim to have such a famous occupant.
Does 281 Stuyvesant Avenue still have ghostly happenings? Can anyone - or - any spirit answer?
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