SKIP TO:
hotels & inns restaurants roads & bridges taverns theaters tourist spots
HAUNTED JERSEY HOTELS AND INNS
Ocean
City - Flanders Hotel
Located on the
boardwalk, this hotel is a piece of local history. Emily, as the staff has
dubbed her, is a ghost, wearing a long white gown and no shoes, who walks about
the hotel. Many people have caught glimpses of the brown haired apparition
- so numerous that an artist was commissioned to paint her likeness for the
hotel. Guests report that there are self locking doors and chandeliers whose
bulbs unscrew themselves.
Ocean
City - Somewhere Inn Time Mansion
416 Central Ave
The third floor and honeymoon suite are
said to be haunted in this B&B. Phantom footsteps and shaking chandeliers are
reported by guests and staff in this restored Victorian mansion. (609)399-8383
Surf
City, NJ - Surf City Hotel
Formerly the "Mansion of Health", this 3 story hotel boasts a very macabre history. In 1854, 300 Germans died along the jersey shore after the Powhatan sunk. The caretaker of the Mansion of Health was also the person responsible for reporting shipwrecks in the city. The bodies that floated ashore were pillaged and robbed by this Mr. Edward Jennings, who later reported to authorities that none of the valuables were located.
A few months later, when a pile of leather money belts were found, split open and empty, Jennings reputation was ruined and he was basically chased out of town. He was killed in a barroom fight.
The screams of the passengers can still be
heard, some visitors have said. A ghostly mother holding a baby is also
seen peering from a window.
Bay Head - The
Grenville Hotel & Restaurant
This enormous pink Victorian building has had reports of ghosts for years,
locals say. Phenomena includes fading apparitions in the halls, the sound of
children playing (and one sighting of little ghosts) in the deserted lobby,
furniture that moves itself, and the sounds of laughing children running down
the hallways at night.
HAUNTED JERSEY TOURIST ATTRACTIONS
Lakehurst,
NJ - Naval Air Warfare Center
- Hangar One, where 36 people perished during
the fiery crash of the hydrogen airship Hindenburg, is now home to a few ghosts,
some sailors report. The clinic area is haunted by a gray haired woman in
a white gown, and a caught - in - time airman waves "good morning" to modern day
soldiers on occasion. Muffled voices are heard shouting "Away the lines,
away the lines! She's afire!" on the tarmac.
The naval base does give tours, but you have to write them at least 2 months in
advance to visit. See the
for
details.
Port
Monmouth, NJ - The Spy House Museum
Well known and extensively studied by paranormal investigators, this historical New Jersey home was named one of the top three most haunted places in the US by US News And World Reports magazine. It's varied hauntings and long history can be read about here. Open weekends, call for hours 119 Port Monmouth Rd (908) 787-1807
Cape
May - Cape May County Historical Museum
Haunted by a male apparition with a deep voice.
Clinton - Red
Mill Museum Village
The mill, built in 1810, is said to be haunted by a little girl who rings a
bell; "typewriter" noises have also been reported. This museum offers a wicked
looking haunted house around Halloween time, by the way - more info
here.
Mt. Holly -
Historic Burlington County Prison Museum
Convicted murderer Joel Clough spent his last night here in the 1830's - and was
said to have appeared to staff in 2000. Clough murdered a young woman on the
staircase of a boarding house in 1833. This building was also temporarily home
to "The Boston Strangler" Albert DeSalvo. Other reported phenomena includes
"floating cigarettes", balls of light, and random apparitions.
Morristown -
National Park Museum
Reports of phantom soldiers haunt the old military hospital here.
Union - The
Caldwell Parsonage
The former mistress of the house was shot by British soldiers in her parlor; she
is said to still haunt this historical home. 909 Caldwell Ave.
2-4 p.m. 3rd Sunday (closed Dec. & Jan.) or by appointment
Atco - Multiplex
Cinema #12
the sounds of unexplained voices and hands scarping the walls are reported here.
178 White Horse Pike
Boonton - Darress
Theater
The sounds of phantom singing, voices, and footsteps, as well as
self-moving chairs are reported at this children's theater/cinema
Glassboro -
Wilson Music Building at Rowan University
A workman who died during construction is said to re-appear during performances.
Oaklyn - The Ritz
Theater
There have been reports of spook lights in this building.
Union - Wilkins
Theater at Kean University
Actors report that a ghost named "George" haunts
Wayne - Clearview
Cinema 
This movie theater is haunted by a pasty, smiling man with "big teeth" who
appears in the stalls of the ladies' room. He is said to appear in the mirror
facing the stall, while the customers have their back to him while they use the
sink. Locals say that they have felt someone kiss them.
Preakness Shopping C
Morristown
- Jimmy's Steak and Seafood Grill
There's quite a story behind this one. When this old structure was a home in the early 1800's, a West Indian farm hand slaughtered the owner, his family, and a servant girl with a shovel and an axe within it's walls. He took their valuables and fled, only to be caught and hung in the town green. The rather morbid townsfolk had him skinned and his skin tanned and made into wallets, book covers and purses to fund the execution and burial.
A restaurant on and off since 1946, the remainder of the old house - which has been remodeled and enlarged after a fire - is haunted by the ghost of the servant girl Phoebe, who was axed to death. Her bedroom, now part of the dining room, is perpetually cold. Wait staff claims to have caught her reflection in a mirror on the wall. Other former employees say that their belongings have turned up missing for no apparent reason. One former owner said a punchbowl cracked in half for no obvious reason during his grand opening gala, dumping punch everywhere. 217 South Street
Flemington -
The Union Hotel Restaurant and Bar
This former hotel housed the media during the infamous Charles Lindbergh Baby
kidnapping/murder trial in the 1930's. Bruno Richard Hauptmann was found guilty
and executed - today many think he was framed. Little Charles Lindbergh Jr.,
whose mostly decomposed and eaten 2 year old corpse was found in the woods near
the family home, is said to make appearances at the Union. One bouncer, after
going to the door when it flung open by itself, claimed that he saw a little
pair of black baby shoes walking up the steps toward him - as the story goes he
fled in terror and called the remaining staff from a payphone to tell them to
get out of there. Others say that bar stools spin around by themselves, report
cold spots, say that entities squeeze down on you making it hard to breathe, and
ghostly children's singing has been heard to staff. 76 Main St
Nutley - Park Pub
Restaurant
Staff reports seeing a ghostly couple dance on the dance floor after closing.
Lambertville -
Inn Of The Hawke
Ghosts in this restaurant/pub are known to throw pots around, as well as pull
pictures from the walls. 74 S Union St
Hoboken -
Arthur's Tavern
This local steakhouse is haunted, they say, by three ghosts who flip lights on
and off, open doors, whisper, pull patron's hair, and throw objects about.
Hoboken - The
Brass Rail Restaurant
This upscale eatery has had terrified staff who have seen a phantom wedding
party that walks down the spiral staircase late at night.
Franklinville -
Jake's On Iona Lake
A vanishing "man in black" has been spotted in this very old building
611 Taylor Road
Columbus - Olde
Columbus Inne
This antebellum building has had numerous reports of odd phenomena, including a
Native American who's ghost appears on a particular barstool, and the ghosts of
a 19th century orphan girl who worked there, as well as a woman who tormented
the orphan girl in life. A connection with the "Jersey Devil" has also been
reported of this place. A paranormal investigation pinpointed odd phenomena near
an old jail cell in the basement, as well as the upstairs ladies' room and
dining room. New York Ave
Cape May -
Spiaggi
The upper floors and cupola are reportedly haunted by a "baby girl". Staff
reports noises from these areas, and the proprietors have an odd photograph they
say captured the infant's ghost. Beach & Decatur streets
HAUNTED JERSEY BARS AND TAVERNS
Neshanic Station
- Murphy's Crocodile Inn
The basement is said to be haunted, and the lights turn themselves on and off,
patrons say. 102 Wood Fern Road
Nutley - Old
Canal Inn
This tavern is said to have a cursed bar stool on which two separate customers
dropped dead while sitting upon. 2 East Passaic Avenue
Bayonne - Robbins
Reef Yacht Club
As local legend states, a man hung himself in an upstairs bedroom here; patrons
report cold spots and bottles at the bar that fling themselves from the shelves
and do not break - then fling themselves off again if replaced in the same spot.
11 Pavonia CT
Wharton - Knotty
Pine Pub
Moving objects, footsteps and other strange noises are blamed on the owner's
dead mother.
HAUNTED JERSEY ROADS, BRIDGES AND PARKS
Leeds
Point and The Pine Barrens - The Jersey (Leeds) Devil
The
legend of the Jersey Devil is almost as old and hazy as the woods that it
originated in. The Pine Barrens is an area that encompasses 2000 square miles of
southeastern New Jersey. Since the 18th century, tales of a dragon-like
creature, with "the head of a horse, large wings and claws" and a "serpentine
body" have haunted locals and visitors here. To spot the Devil, it is believed,
is to foresee a bad omen in your future.
The origins of the legend smack of eastern European werewolf folklore. As the
story goes, a poor woman named Mrs. Leeds gave birth to an unwanted 13th child.
Starving and unable to care for the other 12 as it was, when she realized she
was pregnant, she angrily exclaimed, "I don't want any more children; let it be
a devil!" The resulting pregnancy, as the story goes, produced a horribly
deformed infant who crawled from it's mother's womb and up the chimney to the
woods, where it existed by eating local children and farmers' livestock. There
are variants on the legend, such as Mrs. Leeds pissed off a local priest, Mrs.
Leeds pissed off a gypsy that happened to wander through, Mrs. Leeds was a
practitioner of the Black Arts and God was punishing her, etc., etc.
In 1909 a plethora of sightings took place, numbering in the thousands. People
reported loud screeching noises from the woods, hissing sounds, mutilated animal
remains, and cloven hoof prints in the ground with some seeing a brief glimpse
of the "beast". Later sightings took place in 1927, then several again in 1951.
(1,2,3)
"Leed's Point", the legendary home of the unfortunately
fertile Mrs. Leeds and her Devil spawn, is a tiny village in southeastern New
Jersey. Consult Mapquest
to locate it. FYI: A wonderful movie named "The
Last Broadcast" was made about this area and the Jersey Devil legend. It was
an excellent film, and obviously the poor guys who made it were horribly ripped
off by a much more widely known and hugely successful film just a year or two
after they released it. But I don't want to spoil it for you by saying too much.
Check it out - it's a great flick for paranormal hounds like you and me...
You can join the Jersey Devil "Mailing List"
here.
Totowa (Passaic
County) - Annie's Road (Totowa Road)
Annie
has quite a few stories about her. And none of 'em are very pretty. Local legend
says that a young girl was killed along this road, either in the 1950's or
1980's, depending on who you talk to. The stories vary, but most involve her
prom night: one version says she was decapitated in an accident afterward, one
says she got drunk after her date stood her up and was walking along there when
she was hit by a carload of her drunken classmates, and yet another says she was
waiting for her date along the road when a truck driver nailed her.
Either way, Annie's dead now. Said to be buried along this road, Annie has been
known to make appearances. Described as "short" and dressed in white, her
fleeting image has been spotted near the I 80 overpass and all along the road.
Some say she appears at 2 AM, and you should drive down the road with your
headlights off to see her. Others say to drive the road at midnight while
playing "oldies" music on the radio. People have reported odd flickering lights,
and others say that Annie's crazed father paints a nearby guardrail red every
year on the anniversary of her death. Yet others say that a blood stain can be
seen on the road certain nights.
The most bizarre stories of all, however, involve the sightings of wood chopping
dwarves along this road (at midnight!) - which could be explained by a nearby
settlement of dwarves who built their homes at a small scale.
Totowa is near Patterson, NJ. This area is heavily
patrolled. The locals have been tormented by random assholes in the past
because of these stories. Please do not be the next random asshole to land in
jail.
Garden
State Parkway, near exit 82
Belleville/Newark
- Branch Brook Park
Suspiciously like the Annie's Road story (see above), this park is home to local
legend of a girl who was killed on her prom night, her date's car skidding off
of the rainy road and hitting a tree. Another version from further back says
that it was a bride and groom on the way to their honeymoon who crashed into the
tree, ejecting the woman (still in her bridal gown) and killing both. Either
way, locals say that this pissed off lady in white can be seen (some say in a
blood soaked wedding gown) next to a tree that is painted white - usually on
foggy and rainy nights.
west
of Flanders, near Chester - old railroad track path
Though the railroad tracks are gone, this area is home to a story that seems to
be a popular one in every state - a phantom lantern of a railroad worker or
ghost train. The locals call theirs the "Hookerman", and say that the light not
only appears, but the sound of railroad whistles are sometimes present. One
observer says that a sighting caused everyone in his group to have accidents in
the months following the incident.
(Disclaimer: it is upon the reader of this site to use good judgment in frequenting the places listed herein; it is not the responsibility of the proprietor of ghosttraveller.com if a reader commits an illegal act, such as trespassing, based upon what he or she reads here. It is the reader's responsibility to research the given areas discussed in this forum prior to visiting, and to ensure that it is not illegal to visit said place prior to visiting, or to obtain permission from the owner prior to visiting)
Bibliography
The Shadowlands : an invaluable resource on the net for ghost hunters !!
Far Shores Paranormal Search Engine
Weird Travels, The Travel Channel
Travel Channel Secrets, The Travel Channel
http://www.njhm.com/wedgewood.htm
http://www.weirdnj.com/
http://psisnj.com/jake's_on_iona_lake.html
http://southjerseyghostresearch.org/cases/02020.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,55161,00.html
http://www.paranormalmysteries.com/viewpost_391531.asp
http://www.burlco.lib.nj.us/county/PrisonMuseum.html
http://www.nhc.rtp.nc.us:8080/ideasv41/halttun4.htm
http://www.strangemag.com/jerseydevil1.html
