10+ Haunted Brooklyn Places & Spooky Stories

Haunted Brooklyn places terrifyingly thrill us in October when Halloween ghost stories abound and Brooklyn ghost stories are an allure as you vividly imagine the gruesome events that make some of these spots haunted Brooklyn places.

What Brooklyn ghost stories do you know of?

The spectres on Brooklyn Bridge, footsteps in an abandoned sanatorium or eerie night voices? There’s more…

Travel vicariously through colonial Brooklyn to the 20th century for Halloween ghost stories and if you’re a stoic soul, you will learn some history from these interesting Brooklyn ghost stories.

This haunted Brooklyn places list is best read with a hot cuppa, a pair of fuzzy socks and a vivid imagination.

 

#Navy Yard: Haunted Brooklyn Places

Brooklyn Navy Yard is currently a hub of startups and manufacturing enterprises but it has a dark history. It was established in 1801 as America’s premier naval shipbuilding yard with an interesting history of all the wars the U.S. has been involved in uptil the 20th century.

Wallabout Bay is the old name for the Navy Yard

Since we’re interested in Brooklyn ghost stories, what spooky tales are tied to the Navy Yard?

During the Revolutionary War, the British imprisoned American POWs in horrid conditions aboard 25 prison ships on Wallabout Bay, the most infamous of these prison ships being HMS Jersey, where disease and violence ran rampant and death rates were high.

Approx. 11,500 prisoners perished in captivity, their bodies unceremoniously tossed into the water or laid out on the street to rot at the end of the war. It is said that their spirits still wander the area till this day and is one of the haunted Brooklyn places that send thrills down residents’ spines.

The Prison Ship Martyr’s Monument in Fort Greene honours the memory of these American prisoners.

#Brooklyn Naval Hospital: Halloween Ghost Stories

Located in the vicinity of the Navy Yard, this abandoned hospital has a spooky past.

DYK that anaesthesia was invented at this Naval Hospital?

Yes. A young naval surgeon perfects ether (anaesthesia) at the Naval Hospital and in 1857, he sets up his own pharma company nearby. Guess what this surgeon’s name is? E.R. Squibb! Of Bristol-Myers Squibb pharma fame! Yeah.

Anyhoo, wounded Confederate soldiers were treated here and remember that this was the era before anaesthesia was created, so soldiers’ sedatives during surgery was probably a piece of hard wood between their teeth to bite down on and a guttural “man up!” smack on the back to ginger them. Horrid! They undoubtedly met horrible ends here and their spirits allegedly wander the hospital.

The Naval Hospital is now a revamped Steiner Studios with no word of spooky spectres but the Navy Yard and its historic buildings are one of the many haunted Brooklyn places in New York City.

 

#Gowanus: Brooklyn Ghost Stories

Every Brooklynite knows that Gowanus Canal is full of bodies dumped by the mafia in their heyday, in addition to heavy metals and sewage pollution…

… but do you know of an historic event here that has its own spooky story?

• 1776 Battle of Brooklyn: This is said to be the significant battle of the American Revolution where 400 Maryland soldiers (Maryland 400) went against 2,000 British soldiers at Old Stone House, resulting in over 200 deaths, mostly from the Maryland side. It is said that the bodies lie in a mass grave under the Staples on 4th Ave/3rd St.

Remember this when you venture to this Staples branch for batteries and you catch a whiff of sulphur…

#Brooklyn Bridge Ghosts: Halloween Ghost Stories

Brooklyn Bridge is home to many Brooklyn ghost stories and every October, it features in random lists of haunted Brooklyn places and Halloween ghost stories for morbid souls.

Dogs Afloat: People report seeing strange objects float atop the bridge at night and in the 90s, dogs allegedly floated in the air and poof! they disappear and are never seen again. You may attribute that to “pharmaceutical” based hallucination, sleep deprivation, or whatever…

Ghostly Figures: The ghostly silhouettes of a headless man and a transparent blonde woman have been seen by several people; the headless man is said to be a fatal casualty of the erection of Brooklyn Bridge. Now, one sighting, I am doubtful…but several sightings…hmmmn. I love ghost stories and I cannot imagine what people must have thought seeing these figures walk the bridge.

Alien Abduction: On Nov 30, 1989, Linda Napolitano is seen rising towards a beam of light from her apartment building, accompanied by three figures into a waiting UFO. Several witnesses – including a famous political leader – corroborate this sighting. The UFO zooms in the direction of Brooklyn Bridge and there begins this popular Brooklyn alien abduction story.

Since this time, there have been numerous skeptics of the incident and several dissections of Linda’s story devolving into CIA agents, hoax, and misleading research that cause pause on this fantastical abduction event. Everyone loves a good alien story, after all, whether true or not.

#Lefferts-Laidlaw House: Haunted Brooklyn Places

136 Clinton Avenue is allegedly haunted and has been since an infamous event in which a poltergeist rattled the house and threw a brick at policemen. Settle in, folks…

In the winter of 1878, Edward Smith hears vigorous banging, kicking & rattling on his rear doors, which he proceeds to open. When he does so, there is no one…so he shuts the door. The kerfuffle resumes, he goes to open the door, nothing. This continues until he decides to call the cops, thinking it is mischievous neighbourhood lads.

The police arrive, surround the property inside and out, and keep watch for the culprits…but they too are stunned by a brick smashing through the window when the property is empty. Word spreads that this property is haunted and poor Mr. Smith has an attack of nerves and declines to speak to reporters.

Extra: Lefferts-Laidlaw is a National Historic Landmark and if you have a spare $3.4m hanging about, it is up for sale.

 

 

#Cobble Hill: Brooklyn Ghost Stories

In the 1820s, Red Hook Lane in Cobble Hill is considered the most haunted spot in Brooklyn because of violent spirits near Cobbleshill Fort, which has been haunted for over two centuries. It doesn’t help that strange events always occur on this narrow lane and as such, Cobble Hill villagers literally avoid it like the plague…

… until a spooky event transpires with a poor lad named Boerum that strikes horror into the hearts of the villagers. The tale goes that Boerum is drinking at a tavern which runs out of brandy deep into the night. The route for a replacement keg goes by Red Hook Lane and no man – even in his drunken state – volunteers to make this keg run.

Poor Boerum, full of brandy and bravado, volunteers for the task and is bid farewell … for the last time. His body, with a grotesque expression upon it, is discovered by his brandy buddies on Red Hook Lane after a no-show. He is taken to hospital and dies days later without ever uttering a word on what he saw.

How’s that for an eerie Halloween ghost story, eh? Cobble Hill was too haunted to walk through back in the day and today, it is a prized and expensive Brooklyn nabe people give their eye teeth to live in.

Extra: Red Hook Lane is now bordered on both sides by municipal buildings in downtown Brooklyn.

 

#1876 Theatre Fire: Haunted Brooklyn Places

The Great Brooklyn Theatre Fire of 1876 is considered the third worst theatre fire in America because of the number of souls lost. On this fateful day, The Two Orphans play is showing to upper class clientele when one of the props catches fire and in the process of being put out, the fire spreads quickly.

The audience rushes to escape the double doors but they are locked in. Little do these poor souls know that the doors open inwards, not push outwards – and so many bodies are burnt beyond recognition and hundreds more melded with building debris. They are buried in a mass grave in Green-wood Cemetery.

A new theatre is built on the exact same spot by the owners despite reservations from the community, alas, this new theatre doesn’t bring in upper class clientele like before because of ghost sightings that have begun to spread.

Employees see ghostly actors saying lines from The Two Orphans play long after the audience leaves, and even worse, several patrons see ghostly forms occupying seats while waiting for plays to begin. This so disconcerts the community that the replacement theatre is abandoned and torn down.

Extra: The site of the Brooklyn Theatre fire is now Cadman Plaza, a park in downtown Brooklyn, near Brooklyn Bridge.

 

#Atlantic Avenue Tunnel: Haunted Brooklyn Places

Beneath Atlantic Avenue is an abandoned railroad tunnel from the 1800s that lay hidden until it is discovered in 1980 by Bob Diamond, who gave tours on it till 2010. Rumour has it that the Irish immigrants that build the tunnel, kill the British contractor that tells them to miss Mass for work on Sunday. They stash his body in the tunnel wall and seal it up, where it remains till today… allegedly.

The tunnel has been the focus of ghost stories of the era, from vampires roaming its length to an intact locomotive 10ft beneath it.

 

#Park Slope Crash: Brooklyn Ghost Stories

Not many young New Yorkers know of the December 16, 1960 plane crash in Park Slope, Brooklyn, involving two planes…let alone the ghost story that comes with it.

Eleven year old Stephen Baltz is initially the sole survivor but he passes the next day from pneumonia. Subsequently, residents begin seeing the spectre of a boy walking the streets asking about his luggage, and this spectre is believed to be young Stephen.

The spectre is usually seen sitting on the steps of 78th Precinct and psychics have communicated with him and relayed details that correspond with his journey on that fateful day, such as, waiting for his mum to pick him up from the airport, being a Boy Scout, et al.

Sure, these details were known after the crash and I can feel your skepticism, but what if the communication was real and he is still restlessly wandering Park Slope 60 years later?? Either way, check out this 2 hour NYC ghost and paranormal tour that will raise your hackles…

 

#Most Holy Trinity Church: Halloween Ghost Stories

Do you picture a church as the site of a possible haunting? It makes sense, what with on-site cemeteries going back centuries. However, this Williamsburg church haunting is not from cemetery ghosts but from two church workers who died here.

In 1872, the pastor dies in a 2nd floor bedroom and in 1897, George Steltz, a lay worker, is murdered while protecting the offerings from theft. Rumour abounds that strange sounds and footsteps are still heard and a bloody hand print is visible on the banister leading to the bell tower.

In addition, the church was built on land that was a working cemetery and for erection to begin, bodies were exhumed. It is believed that not all the bodies were removed and that the spirits of those remaining still haunt the church till today. The bells ring of their own accord and ghostly footsteps are still heard by church workers today.

#Prospect Park: Haunted Brooklyn Places

Overlooking Prospect Park on one of its many avenues is an apartment building that was once the Caledonian Hospital. It was in operation for a century till it closed, was sold, and and renovated in the mid-2010s.

Almost immediately, workers began experiencing ghostly voices, footsteps, flickering lights…and early in its opening, worker turnout was very high. A doorman at the building mentioned to a fellow doorman at the next building that “it is a messed up place to work because it’s haunted.”

 

#Barcade Bar: Brooklyn Ghost Stories

This Williamsburg game bar is on the site of a former Old Methodist Burying Ground where thirty thousand bodies rested until they were exhumed and transferred. Rumour has it that thousands of bodies remain and souls still linger here after the burial ground was built over for development in the 1850s.

Would you dare have a pint at this bar?

 

#Litchfield Villa: Halloween Ghost Stories

Litchfield Villa is in Prospect Park West and is the focus of a chilling Brooklyn ghost story of its day in 1864.

Legend goes that Margaret Cahill holds a seance to communicate with the spirit of her dead son killed in the just concluded Civil War. Clearly, no one informed the grieving mother that spiritual portals open up when you play with an ouija board or similar type spirit conjuring kit.

Days after the seance, gargoyles are seen on the top floor of the mansion and four of the participants of the seance die within one year, including Mrs. Cahill. One man that was part of the seance went missing and was never heard from again.

Litchfield Villa is purportedly demonically possessed and is currently home to the Prospect Park Alliance and NYC Department of Parks. It is alleged that residents in the area still hold seances and when they do, demons are activated and their shadows seen in the top floor windows of Litchfield Villa…

These Brooklyn spooky stories are from a past Madam Morbid’s Ghost Trolley Tour experience from Williamsburg through Dumbo.

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How’s that for spooky ghost stories that make you wonder of the hauntings and disappearances you’ve just read?

If you’re anything like me, your overactive imagination takes flight and you fall into a deep rabbit hole of ghostly research of these fascinating stories.

Which one of these Brooklyn ghost stories intrigues you just in time for Hallowe’en … or whatever season you’re reading this in?

Don’t forget to comment and pin/share these historical ghost stories to add to your New York City list when you visit.

See you on the social streets! xoxo

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