HGB Ep. 575 - Haunted Wall Street

Moment in Oddity - Bog Butter

Michael Boyle is a farmer in CO Donegal, Ireland. While excavating a drainage area on his farm, something strange was sighted. The object did not look natural. They proceeded to remove the item out of the peat bog. Immediately Michael smelled what he stated was a cheesy like butter scent. As it turns out, he had just unearthed an artifact known as 'bog butter'. This is an antiquated method of preserving dairy or animal fat. Cool, oxygen-poor depths of Ireland's peat bogs proved to be an excellent way to preserve the butter. It is not unusual to find bog butter in both Scotland and Ireland. The practice dates back to the Iron Age but has even been used as recently as the 19th century. This particular chunk of bog butter may just be the largest ever found in Ireland weighing in at about 50 pounds. Paula Harvey, an archaeologist who inspected the site where the butter was found and even tasted some of it stating, "It does taste like butter, unsalted butter at that. I had a sliver and I'm still here to tell the tale". The bog butter is being analyzed by experts at the National Museum of Ireland. There is optimism that the butter will eventually be displayed locally at the Kilclooney Dolmen Center. We love butter but cannot imagine consuming something that has potentially spent hundreds of years in a peat bog. In our opinion, bog butter certainly is odd.

This Month in History - Charles Darwin Birth

In the month of February, on the 12th, in 1809, Charles Robert Darwin was born. His grandfather and father were doctors. His father's domineering  insightful medical observations taught Charles much about human psychology. As a teen, his choice of studies were not popular in the English public schools. His father considered Charles a degenerate with his only interests being game shooting. Because of this, his father sent him off to study medicine at Edinburgh University. Darwin was influenced by freethinkers at a young age which sculpted his radical views of the world. This led him to becoming the English naturalist, geologist and biologist that the world knows recognizes him as today. He is most well known for his theories on evolutionary biology. For the time, his suggestions that animals and humans shared common ancestry were shocking to the religious Victorian community. However, his beliefs were quite interesting to the growing numbers of professional scientists. At the time of Charles Darwin's death, his theories on evolution had extended throughout the world of science, literature and even politics.

Haunted Wall Street

The name "Wall Street" immediately brings images of financial markets, the stock exchange, ticker tapes and a giant bronze bull, but Wall Street was originally a wall that formed the northern boundary in the 17th century of what would become New York City. Eventually, the area near this wall would become the heart of America's financial district. Wall Street has inspired books and movies and led to probably hundreds of suicides. It's not surprising that Wall Street would have its share of haunts because not only is the Stock Market a volatile thing, but the financial district has a gory past. Join us for the history and hauntings of Wall Street.

The Financial District is located in lower Manhattan and is often referred to as FiDi. It's northern border is City Hall Park, which had been the site of public hangings in the 1800s. And even before that, during the Revolutionary War, patriots were held in two jailhouses that were here and many were starved, died of sickness or were hanged. Their bodies were buried in the park and it is thought many of those bodies still remain there. At the foot of Wall Street, near the water, a slave market had sold men, women and children into bondage in 1736 making New York, at the time, the second largest slave-owning port city. There was even a slave rebellion here in 1741 and over 100 men were captured and imprisoned in the dungeon that had been located in the basement of British City Hall, that is today known as Federal Hall National Memorial. Many of the prisoners were executed. And just steps away from the New York Stock Exchange is the famous Trinity Church, whose graveyard was founded in the 1690s. Many, many people were buried here and it got to the point where the sexton buried people on top of each other or he dug up bones and put them in the charnel house, so that he could bury a fresh body. There are probably 120,000 people buried here and quite a few are probably unhappy about being moved or covered over.

But what the Financial District is really known for is money. The New Amsterdam settlement that was founded by the Dutch in 1624, would be anchored in the future Financial District. The main economy in the beginning was fur trading. The original name of Wall Street was Het Cingel, meaning "The Belt." The British would take over New Amsterdam in 1664 and rename it New York City. The Compromise of 1790 established Wall Street as the financial capital of the US. The Buttonwood Agreement was signed by 24 stockbrokers in 1792 and this founded the New York Stock Exchange. The first skyscrapers in New York City would be built in the Financial District and Bowling Green would become a residential section with the worst housing conditions in the city. Manhattan is set upon solid bedrock, so building huge structures here made sense. 

The first skyscraper would be the Tower Building, which stood eleven stories and was designed by Bradford Lee Gilbert. This was the first building to have a steel skeleton and was completed in 1889. And how did Gilbert come up with such a design? Well, he asked himself, why couldn't we turn a railroad bridge on its end and build further up into the sky? The Tower Building was demolished in 1914. Eventually Wall Street would become home to the New York Stock Exchange, the Federal Reserve Bank, NASDAQ, and dozens of banks, brokerage firms, insurance companies, trust companies and securities dealers. Wall Street has been a route to quick riches and devastating losses like the stock market crash of 1929. With a history like this, it isn't surprising that this section of Manhattan is crawling with ghosts.

Charging Bull and Bear Statues

Let's start with a couple of well known statues set up on Wall Street, the Charging Bull and the Bear with its threatening paw. People wait in long lines to snap a selfie with the Charging Bull bronze sculpture that sits in the heart of the financial district. We know because we did. The sculpture weighs over 7,000 pounds and was created in 1989 by sculptor Arturo DiModica. For tourists who visit at night, they might get more than they bargained for. There are claims that the bull's eyes glow green and this is an otherworldly greenish glow. There is sometimes even a low growling sound. It is said, according to legend, that the bull seems to awaken in this way when the market is bearish. And that brings us to the Bear statue a short distance from the bull. The Bear is bad luck in the Stock Market, meaning things are going down. Something described as a spectral chill eminates from the Bear statue during a downturn in the market. Even on hot summer days, people claim to feel this "financial frost." The full-bodied apparitions of two men, in business suits of an earlier period, have been seen near the statues and they seem to be in a duel with each other. In Lee Brickley's The Ghosts of Wall Street: Paranormal Activity in the Financial District He shares the experiences of seasoned trader Martin Weller who recalled looking down from his offices above the statues one night and "he noticed the figures wrestling by the statues. Startled, he watched as their struggle intensified, their translucent forms flickering in the moonlight. 'I've seen market volatility, but never like this," Weller recalls. 'I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was as if the market's struggle had taken a physical, or rather, spectral form.' A night watchman named Benjamin Strauss shared with Brickley, "The figures seemed to be absorbed by the Bull and the Bear. Their forms shimmered for a moment and then disappeared, swallowed up by the bronze beasts. It was as if the spirits of the market had become one with these symbols of financial power and uncertainty." Are the bear and bull harbingers of what is to come for the Stock Market?

Federal Hall

As we shared earlier, Federal Hall was the home of a prison during the Slave Rebellion. It is located at 26 Wall Street and was fashioned in the Greek Revival style, designed by Ithiel Town and Alexander Jackson Davis, and completed in 1842 to serve as the Custom House. Before that,  John Damen's farm had been here and he sold the land to Captain John Knight in 1685 and eventually it ended up in the hands of the Mayors of New York. The first structure built here would become City Hall and was designed by James Evetts. It served its purpose from 1699 to 1703. There was a library, firehouse and debtors' prison here as well. In 1765, the building was renovated with a third story being added. French architect Pierre Charles L'Enfant was commissioned to do another remodel to the building to make it more American after the Revolutionary War and he added Georgian styling. In 1789, the building was renamed Federal Hall to reflect that New York was the first capital of America. President George Washington took the oath of office here and the Bill of Rights was drafted in the building. This building would house New York government offices when the capital moved to Philadelphia and when the New York City Hall was completed in 1812, Federal Hall was demolished. It was replaced by the Custom House, which later became the Subtreasury, which held millions of dollars worth of gold and coins. 

When the Federal Reserve Bank was opened in 1920 the Subtreasury was moved there and the building served a variety of purposes including a passport office. For the most part, much of the building was vacant and this was because nothing could be decided how to use it and most everybody was against demolishing it because of its historical value. During the New York World's Fair it held exhibits about finance and then after a fight and raising of private funds, it was decided to open the building as the National Memorial it is today. The selling of war bonds and blood drives were hosted during World War II. After 9-11, 300 members of Congress held a session here for the first time since 1790 to show support for New York City and solidarity to the country. Extensive renovations were done to the building right after that too as cracks and other long term damage were exacerbated by the collapse of the Twin Towers. The place has seen a ton of history. 

Visitors and staff claim to hear disembodied voices and they have seen full-bodied apparitions, one of whom is said to be George Washington. This could be residual as it is often seen near the spot where he took the oath of office. A security guard was locking up one night when he saw a figure out of the corner of his eye and he turned to tell the person that they needed to leave when he was astonished to see a stern looking man wearing Colonial period garb. He then watched as the figure disappeared into the shadows. Visitors feel a chill near the spot of the oath taking and near Washington's statue. They claim to feel as though they are being watched. Some people even claim to see Martha Washington hanging out with her husband. And Alexander Hamilton might be here as well. He had been the first Secretary of the Treasury after all. A janitor thought he was alone in the building when he heard loud footsteps on the marble floor approaching him. They sounded as though they were behind him and when he turned around, there was no one there. Books in the library end up on the floor and objects have been known to move around. Investigators have captured EVPs saying "I solemnly swear." Colonial attired individuals are also seen outside of the building. 

J.P. Morgan Bank Building

The mysterious J.P. Morgan Building is located at 23 Wall Street and that is what everyone calls the building, 23 Wall Street. This is a four-story building that became home to the most influential financial institution in America during the late 19th century. It started as a partnership between Anthony J. Drexel and J.P. Morgan Sr that was named Drexel, Morgan & Co. Drexel died in 1895 and his name was dropped. The bank had been housed inside the Drexel Building, which Morgan felt was too small and after much wrangling, he finally got the Drexel family to sell it to him and he demolished it, replacing it with the building that stands today. Architects Trowbridge & Livingston were hired and the cornerstone was laid in 1913 by J.P. Morgan Jr. His dad had died before the building could be started. The new bank opened on November 11, 1914. The building was damaged in the Wall Street Bombing of 1920 that killed 38 people, including a Morgan employee. This would remain the House of Morgan until 1988. The building was later owned by Africa Israel, an international investment firm, and then the China International Fund and Sonangol Group. There was fighting, lawsuits, a Blink Fitness Chain leased basement space and then a 99-year lease was signed by Jack Terzi of a holdings company who defaulted and now the building stands empty. 

The spirit that haunts the location is none other than J.P. Morgan himself. Years ago, a maintenance worker was working late at night and he was cleaning a boardroom when a strong chill came over him. He felt like something was behind him and he spun around and saw a ghost sitting at the head of the table. It seemed to be looking at a ledger. He felt the ghost looked like Morgan because it had a bushy moustache. The spirit faded away. Sounds like something residual. A security guard watched a figure stride through the entrance hall one evening. This figure was wearing a suit from an earlier time, but he still thought it was a real person, so he called out because they weren't supposed to be in the building. This man turned and looked at him and the guard had no doubt that it was the long dead Morgan. The ghost then disappeared. This crazy account was shared by Lee Brickley in his book, "A group of financial analysts working late one night. They were huddled over spreadsheets in a conference room when they heard the unmistakable sound of a gavel striking wood, echoing through the silent building. Venturing into the main hall, they were stunned to see a spectral figure, standing at the podium, presiding over an invisible audience. As they watched in disbelief, the figure turned to them, revealing the familiar countenance of J.P. Morgan. The ghostly financier then vanished." Morgan may not be the only ghost here. Other employees claim that victims of the bombing in 1920 haunt the building and have been seen in period clothing and their disembodied footsteps are heard. One female custodian claimed that something brushed her cheek one evening.

Trinity Church

With 120,000 bodies in the cemetery, it's no surprise that the church is said to be haunted. The church is located at the Broadway and Wall Street at 89 Broadway. Anglican services had been held in the colony's fort chapel in the late 1600s and the members wanted to have their own building, so they petitioned New York's Royal Governor and he gave them a charter. The first Trinity Church was built in 1698 and faced the Hudson River. In 1705, the church was given 215 acres and this provided room for a cemetery. The Great Fire of 1776 destroyed the church. The second church was finished in 1790 and was wider and longer and faced Wall Street. President George Washington was at the consecration ceremony. He not only attended the church, but so did Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. This church had to be demolished when heavy snow caved in the roof in 1839. British architect Richard Upjohn designed the current church in the Neo-Gothic style and it was opened in 1846. The grand steeple rises 281 feet and this made it the tallest building in the United States until 1869 and it was the tallest building in new York City until 1890. The parish has existed for over 300 years.

The church's offices are located behind the church at 68-74 Trinity Place and there is a pedestrian bridge to Trinity Church. Apparently, employees had many experiences with ghosts in their offices and many of these experiences were shared by a man named Jeremy Sierra on the church's blog. A woman named Rita saw a ghost in period clothing with a big-brimmed hat on the fourth floor in a storage room and then she saw the same ghost at a later date, peering into her office. Two other employees saw this same spirit on the 10th floor another time, peeking around a corner. In the archives, a box of note cards threw itself off of a shelf as an archivist watched. Alexander and Eliza Hamilton are buried in the cemetery and Hamilton has been seen near his grave. He also hangs out at City Hall Park. An inventor named Robert Fulton has been seen wandering around the churchyard with a model of his steamboat named The Clermont. Comedian Adam Allyn is buried here and people swear they hear laughter coming from his headstone. And why not throw in Captain Kidd who haunts everywhere. He apparently provided a winch to raise the stones for the church steeple and he wanted to be buried there. He died in London, but somehow his spirit made his way here and walks the churchyard. 

There is a Lady in White that wanders in the churchyard. She wears a colonial-era style white dress and large bonnet. The bonnet hides her face, but people can feel the sorrow coming from her. Lee Brickley shares, "John, a Wall Street banker who lives nearby, recounted his encounter with the apparition. 'I was walking my dog in the churchyard one morning, just as the sun was beginning to rise. Suddenly, I saw this woman standing by one of the gravestones. She seemed so out of place, like she had stepped out of another time. I approached her to see if she needed help, but as I got closer, she simply vanished into thin air. I was left standing there, utterly baffled.'" And a man in a military uniform has been seen. Brickley shares this, "Samantha, an executive at a nearby investment firm, had a chilling encounter with the spectral soldier. 'I was leaving the office late one night when I saw this figure standing by the churchyard wall. I thought it was a reenactor or something, but as I got closer, I realized there was something off about him. He was transparent, like a mirage. I tried to speak to him, but he didn't respond. He just stood there, staring out into the distance. Then, in the blink of an eye, he was gone. I was left there, standing in the cold, unable to shake off the eerie feeling that I had just witnessed something supernatural."

The Stock Exchange

The New York Stock Exchange started in 1792 with the Buttonwood Agreement that was signed by 24 stockbrokers. It was called Buttonwood because it was signed under a Buttonwood tree. Stock trading was informal in the early years. Deals were made in coffeehouses and taverns. A formal organization was created in 1817 and an NYSE Board was formed. A constitution was also written to govern trading. A room at 40 Wall Street was rented so the brokers had a place to gather twice a day. They had a list of 30 stocks and bonds at the time. As the United States grew, more and more bonds were added to finance infrastructure. Stocks were issued by railroads, insurance companies and banks. By 1865, there were 300 stocks and bonds and the Exchange bought a permanent home on Broad Street. Roaming the trading floor would soon follow and continues to this day. The stock ticker was introduced in 1867 and this made stock trading even easier. The opening and closing bell started in the 1870s and the original bell was a Chinese gong. 

Telephones came to the Market in 1878 and by 1886, trading volume hit 1 million shares. The NYSE moved to a new building with a bigger trading floor in 1903 that was designed by George B. Post. This is located at 18 Broad Street and features a Beaux Arts style with large colonnades holding up a pediment featuring commerce and industry. The interior was grand with large windows, Georgian marble walls and gilded ceiling. The gong was replaced with a brass bell at that time too. This was the first air-conditioned building in North America. There also was this new fandangled pneumatic tube system. October 24, 1929 brought the market crash that led the nation into the Great depression. The Exchange and Market recovered post World War II and during the war, women worked on the trading floor for the first time. Technology throughout the decades has improved the Stock Exchange. An additional stock trading floor is located at 11 Wall Street and is called The Garage.

Traders and employees have reported unexplained sounds and shadowy figures. There are employees who have reported seeing a group of traders dressed in period clothing gathered around what probably was ticker tape, talking excitedly. A ghostly figure has been seen near the "Bell Podium," wearing a suit from the early 1900s, looking very sad. When approached, it disappeared. A maintenance worker was fixing an electronic ticker one night when he was startled by a hand touching him on the shoulder. He turned around wondering who else was in the empty building and saw that it was a man in a period suit standing there. The man pointed at the ticker machine and then evaporated. The machine began working instantly. And speaking of a ticker tape machine, there was one that would turn itself on at night and started spewing tape even though it was unplugged and hadn't been used for a couple years. This happened several times and even crazier, the numbers on the tape were clearly from a bygone era. And the spirit of a janitor has been seen in the building and it is believed the ghost belongs to a janitor who hanged himself in the building during the Great Depression.

The Hamilton Custom House 

The Hamilton Custom House is today the National Museum of the American Indian located at 1 Bowling Green. This is a gorgeous seven-story building in the Beaux-Arts style that was decorated by 12 artists with Corinthian colonnades, sculptures and nautical motifs. The four sculptures that grace the entrance were designed by Daniel Chester French and are titled Four Continents, representing Asia, America, Europe and Africa. At the top of the main entrance is a keystone that depicts the head of Columbia. The columns are topped with carved heads of Hermes and there are twelve statues that personify seafaring nations. There is a ton of symbology around this building! The interior has murals by Reginald Marsh, Multicolored mosaics, bronze gates leading to a passageway to the Great Hall and there is a large rotunda. There is marble everywhere.

The main spirit seen here dates back to the early 20th century and is thought to be a customs officer based on the uniform he wears. The full-bodied apparition is seen walking in the corridors as if on patrol. A female employee told Brickley, "I was alone in one of the galleries one evening when I saw a man in an old-fashioned uniform walking towards me, I was startled but assumed he was part of a historical reenactment. I began to ask him about his uniform, but before I could finish my question, he vanished. It was as if he walked right into a wall." A legend claims that a customs officer was accused of embezzling and he subsequently killed himself. A visitor claims to have heard a voice whisper in her ear, "I didn't do it." Is this his ghost? There are also people who claim to not only see individuals in the building late at night when they look from outside, but guards claim to hear the bustling noises of business even though the place is empty. The people looking in from outside know its strange because the employees inside are all wearing period clothing.

The Woolworth Building

The Woolworth Building is an iconic building located at 233 Broadway. The architect was Cass Gilbert and the architectural style is Neo-Gothic and because it looks like a cathedral, it was nicknamed "The Cathedral of Commerce." Some of the decor was inspired by the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. The first four stories are surfaced in limestone and the rest of the building has limestone-colored and glazed terracotta panels in shades of blue, green, sienna and rose. The structure rises 792 feet into the air and was the tallest building in the world until the Chrylser Building was completed in 1930. The interior features a glorious lobby with ceiling mosaics, veined marble from the Greek island of Skyros, gold-leaf decorations and grotesques. The basement features a pool. The Otis Elevator Company supplied the elevators, capable of traveling 700 feet per minute. The Woolworth Building is named for F. W. Woolworth who immigrated to the US in 1886.Everyone is familiar with what made him a success: The Five and Dime! Woolworth made a deal with banks to get financing. He contributed $1 million and the bank put in $500,000 and signed a 25-year lease for several floors of the building. Construction was completed in 1913 and a grand opening dinner was held. Woolworth died in 1920 and his heirs sold the building in 1924. The 1970s brought extensive renovations and today the building has both commercial leases and residential condominiums. The penthouse is going for $79 million. 

Ghost stories have haunted the Woolworth Building since its opening. The elevators moved between floors without riders. The lights flickered or turned themselves on and off. A female ghost in a period dress is seen in the lobby. She seems to be full of melancholy and is probably residual since it doesn't interact with people. A ghostly maintenance worker has been seen for decades and seems to be going about his duties and usually has a toolbox with him. And a former boardroom seems to host ghostly gatherings. An employee heard the faint sounds of laughing and music coming from down the hall and when she got near the boardroom, she was sure there was a group of people in there, but when she opened it , the room was empty. And there's this weird account from Brickley, "Another intriguing account comes from Jonathan, a security guard who had a close encounter with the building's spectral tenants. Late one night, while making his rounds, he saw a light flicker on in one of the upper-level offices. Upon investigating, he found an elderly man, dressed in an early 20th-century business suit, engrossed in examining a set of blueprints spread out on the office desk. Startled, Jonathan challenged the man, only to see him disappear right before his eyes. The blueprints, however, remained on the desk, tangible proof of the spectral visitation. The blueprints were, in fact, original plans of the Woolworth Building, kept secure in the building's archives."

The Federal Reserve 

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is located at 33 Liberty Street and rises fourteen stories, but also has five stories going underneath the ground. Architects York and Sawyer designed the building to resemble Italian Renaissance palaces and Samuel Yellin constructed the decorative ironwork. The facade is made from limestone and sandstone. The interior has vaulted ceilings covered in Guastavino tile. The basement houses the massive three-story gold vault that sits right on top of Manhattan's bedrock. There is 6,331 metric tons of monetary-gold reserve in that vault. There are six other vaults in the basement full of money and securities. Construction began in 1919 and was completed in 1924. The building was expanded in 1935. The Federal Reserve Bank in New York is one of twelve in the country created when the Federal Reserve Act was passed in 1913. The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. 

The labyrinth of corridors within this large bank plays home to a phantom banker. Many employees have seen this banker wearing a early 20th century suit. He likes the old vaults according to a security guard named Marcus. Marcus told Lee Brickley, ""I was doing my rounds late one night when I saw him. He was standing near the old vaults, looking as real as you or me. But when I approached him, he simply vanished." There is also a female ghost that weeps. Employees hear soft sobbing and sometimes see this ghost wearing an early 20th century dress. Nobody knows who this woman could be or why she is crying inside the Federal Reserve.

Battery Park

We visited this park on our visit in 2020, so that we could get a picture of the Statue of liberty, which can be seen from the park. This is the gateway to Ellis Island and the Statue. The Lenape and Munsee tribes used the Battery area for hunting and fishing. Eventually Fort George would be located at The Battery and it remained until it was destroyed in 1790. It was decided to change the grounds into a public promenade. But the threat from Britain wasn't gone so in 1807 Castle Clinton was built at the Battery as a circular sandstone fort. This still stands today and is now a National Monument. The fort never saw any battle and was converted into a 6,000 seat entertainment venue and the name was changed to Castle Garden. In 1855, it became an immigrant processing depot. By 1896, this became the first New York Aquarium and remained that until 1941. The fort was renovated and reopened in 1975 and since 1985 it has served as a visitor center and launching point for ferries to the Statue of Liberty.

Spectral soldiers are seen here and unexplained lights appear. Glowing orbs have been photographed. The soldiers usually appear in the park at night and are dressed in Revolutionary War uniforms. The group of soldiers seems to be residual as they follow the same route. Brickley shares the experience of a Wall Street trader named Robert, ""I was strolling through the park, lost in thought. Suddenly, the air grew cold, and I heard a faint sound of drumming, growing steadily louder. It was as though an invisible army was marching towards me. Then, out of the mist, a group of soldiers appeared. They were translucent, almost ethereal, and were marching in formation. I could see the pain and determination in their eyes as they passed through me, leaving me chilled to the bone. They disappeared as suddenly as they had appeared, leaving nothing but the echo of their spectral march in their wake." A female in period clothing from the Victorian era has been dubbed the Phantom Picnicker and she has been seen by security guards and visitors sitting on a park bench. She has the scent of lavender perfume around her. And the park has a ghost dog has been seen playing and barking and then disappearing.

Fraunces Tavern

Fraunces Tavern is said to be one of the most haunted bars in NYC. The original structure was built by the DeLancy family in 1719 at 54 Pearl Street and was either their private residence or a rental property. A man named Samuel Fraunces bought the building in 1762 and opened its as a tavern named Queen's Head Tavern. During the Revolutionary War, Fraunces left the tavern to his Loyalist son-in-law to run while the British had control of New York. Later, this place became popular with patriots like the Founding Fathers and George Washington set it up as a pseudo headquarters. As a matter of fact, George Washington gathered a group of his officers here on December 4, 1783 to thank them for their service in the recent defeat of the British. He then bid them farewell as he headed home. The museum above the still working bar has a first-hand account of this farewell and has many tributes to Washington and the Founders. The Department of Foreign Affairs worked out of the building from 1785 to 1788 and then it became a tavern again. The tavern became a boarding house in 1798 and ballerina Anna Gardie and her husband lived there and both were stabbed to death in what was ruled a murder-suicide. Serious fires almost destroyed the building three times. In 1900, the building was almost demolished, but the Daughters of the American Revolution saved it. They restored it to its 18th century appearance. It reopened in 1907 as a museum and restaurant. In 1975, four people were killed here in a bombing. In 2019, the building celebrated 300 years of existence. 

The place just has to be crawling with spirits then, right? A bartender tells the story of a woman who worked at the bar and was closing up when evening and she passed out. When she came to, she claimed that a man appeared out of nowhere and walked up to her and then her lights went out. When the CCTV camera was checked, she had been alone in the bar. A night porter heard what sounded like a party going on, with clinking glasses and chattering. Staff members have reported hearing voices and unexplained temperature changes. The spirit of an elderly woman in colonial garb is sometimes seen. And Brickley reports in his book, "Perhaps the most infamous spectral resident of Fraunces Tavern is a gentleman known only as the "Dandy." Dressed in late 18th-century fashion, complete with a powdered wig and a tricorn hat, the Dandy is known for his flirtatious interactions with female staff and patrons. He is often seen winking or tipping his hat before vanishing into thin air. The Dandy's flirtations aren't limited to visual encounters. Several women have reported feeling a light touch on their shoulders or a whisper in their ear, only to turn around and find no one there. Over the years, the Dandy has become something of a spectral celebrity, his antics adding an element of playful mystery to the tavern's ghostly lore. One unforgettable encounter with the Dandy was experienced by Sarah, a server at Fraunces Tavern. One busy Friday evening, as she was carrying a tray of drinks to a table, she felt a distinct tap on her shoulder. Assuming it was a customer trying to get her attention, she turned around, but found no one behind her. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure in colonial attire standing by the bar. He winked at her and lifted his hat in a courteous greeting before dissolving into the bustling crowd. Sarah was left standing in awe, her tray of drinks momentarily forgotten."

Clearly, Wall Street isn't just a place that is home to lots of money. Are there spirits hanging around in the Financial District? Is Wall Street haunted? That is for you to decide!