Haunted New Jersey Spy House Ghosts
U.S. News & World Report - It’s #1 of the 3 Most Haunted in the USA
Oct 31, 2009
The Spy House, on the shore of the Raritan Bay, dates back to pre-Revolutionary War days. The asparagus field that was on its property then is now covered by its waters.
The building was named for Colonial spies who, under General George Washington’s command, used owner’s Lt. Col. Seabrook’s home as a base of operations. Some believe it’s the hostelry featured in Thomas Fleming’s Liberty Tavern, dubbed the Gone with the Wind of the Revolution.
The building has been called Shoal Harbor Museum and the Seabrook-Wilson House. It operates as a folk museum and learning hub, under the auspices of the Monmouth County Park System.
Haunters of the Spy House
Since the 1950s, there have been more than thirty ghosts and over seventy sightings reported. These include:
- The most frequently encountered ghost is that of Abigail Samuelson, wife of a Revolutionary War sea officer clothed in Colonial attire, who’s been sighted staring seaward, perhaps looking for her husband’s ship in the distance.
- Former Spy House owner Thomas Whitlock’s specter who announces his presence by the aroma of his pipe tobacco and is blamed for stealing cigarette packs from the staff and then putting them back. This ghost is notorious for following visitors to their homes. One skeptical guest invited Tom’s phantasm to come to his house. The man saw a shadowy form in is bedroom which was accompanied by an icy cold spot and called the museum’s staff for help in getting the wraith to leave.
- The phantom of Reverend William Wilson, another owner of the house, has been spotted holding a bible while conducting a funeral service in the front bedroom.
- Peter’s shade has been seen wearing an English-style shirt and knickers. He interferes with cameras by moving their buttons to the off position as photographers try to take pictures in the museum. Penelope Stout, a former Spy House resident has been seen as a ghostly denizen in what was the front bedroom.
- Buccaneer Captain Morgan and his first mate, Robert, are other identified haunters.
- An unidentified female wraith, attired in colonial dress, walks from a fireplace to another section of the room to tend to her chores’ leaving a chilly temperature in her wake.
- A stern sea captain’s specter has been seen looking through a telescope aimed at the Atlantic before he vanishes.
- There’s the 18th century ghost who likes women as evidenced by his pinching them on their derrieres.
Cancelled Spy House Investigation
Locals found many old sterling silver dining pieces on the banks of the Spy House’s grounds through the years. Allegedly, the ghost of first mate Robert revealed there were underground tunnels with buried treasure and other pirates’ loot under the Spy House.
An archeological dig was planned after sonar readings conducted by Rutgers University indicated the possibility of the tunnels' existence. This was abandoned after tests indicated the water table and ecological surface could collapse caused by the digging. Maybe the mystery of the tunnels will never be solved, but the documentation of the Spy House ghosts remains.
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Source:
- Haunted Places, Dennis William Hauck, (Penguin Books, 2002).
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