Spooked in Staten Island

By Linda Tancs

It seems fitting that an allegedly haunted mansion in Staten Island, New York, should be located on Arthur Kill Road, particularly considering that the house was an actual murder scene. The property in question is what remains of Kreischer Mansion, a wood-frame house in the American Queen Anne style built by German immigrant and brick magnate Balthasar Kreischer circa 1885. The home’s ghostly vibe could be attributed to one or more unfortunate events taking place there: a suicide of one of Kreischer’s sons in the late 1800s and a killing for hire in 2005. The eeriness lends itself to an annual horror fest around Halloween as well as haunt tours.