Location: The Aldridge Mansion Museum is a historic structure now used as a museum on the northwest corner of Washington Square at 225 Waverly Place in Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York.

Description of Place: Considered New York City's oldest private home and museum, the Aldridge Mansion was built in the Nineteenth Century and was one of the elegant homes in existence in that time period. Completed in 1915, the two-story Tudor-revival mansion is lavishly furnished and meticulously maintained with interior features including mahogany paneling, beamed ceilings, a massive fireplace, crystal chandeliers and period furniture amid several donated antiques and works of art. The picturesque location includes a two-story library, drawing room and eight bedrooms.

Ghostly Manifestations: Virtually every museum landmark in the United States is believed to be haunted. From the famous Morris-Jumel Mansion on Manhattan's West Side to the William Hart Museum in Southern California, it seems tourists are often more interested in updated ghosts stories than the relics of historic personages. However, museum guides are often told not to encourage such tales, but for some reason, they still slip out, often whispered by former and bored employees in hushed whispers. The guides at the Aldridge Historic Mansion Museum are no different. The employee guide book specifically says that employees are to "gently dismiss all such rumors."

Unfortunately, the apparent spirit of Gertrude Aldridge does not go by any such guide book and generally annoys the staff by moving objects, slamming doors, screaming at weird times and revealing herself at sudden abrupt times to guides and guests. Dr. Erin Gilbert of NYAPS (New York Area Paranormal Society) once led an investigation at the Aldridge House Museum and came up with some evidence pointing to her spirit presiding here, backing up several of the personal experiences of the staff. She is thought to enjoy staying in her old room, known as the Lavender Room or Trudy's Room, located on the second floor.

"As it is...." Gilbert begins. "The staff tends to be very accommodating to Trudy's spirit, but she is totally unpredictable. Practically bipolar. They can have a few weeks where barely anything happens and then something happens to remind then Trudy isn't happy. Books will fly off shelves, windows will pop open, the sound of footsteps echoing up the stairs..." She pauses discreetly. "Someone gets inexplicably pushed down the stairs...."

Reportedly, activity in the Aldridge House goes back to the Fifties, but they actually didn't become known until the 1990s with the interest in paranormal entertainment.

"It has been reported that Trudy likes to sit on her bed, as there are impressions left on the bedspread." Gilbert adds. "Her bed is roped off so the living can't sit on it during a tour or anytime there are people in the museum.

"She is once said to have appeared in her room and explained in a kindly manner to the rather startled docents of the museum on how her furniture was originally arranged, suggesting that she would like this traditional arrangement. Since it was adjusted, she has continued to make other appearances in the house, such as on the second floor balcony of the library and watching the tours. She also likes to wander throughout the mansion, checking up on what the living are up to, and like a good hostess, will follow interesting people around her home, but she is also impatient and temperamental, hurling things off shelves and slapping people across the face. One lady in a tour used a word to call Trudy during a history of the house and felt a strong blow to her house that knocked her to her feet. A minute later, she had a large red injury on her face in the shape of a hand."

During the 1990 investigation, they reported what they considered a female presence following them down to the basement, not normally a paranormal hot spot since Trudy tries to avoid the basement, to watch what they were doing and hear what they were saying. The team reported that the basement became unbearable cold, which was odd since this was occurring during a particularly hot summer drought in the city. They tried several times to get Trudy to make herself known, asking her questions and trying to get a response on EVP, but Trudy wouldn't speak. The odd part is all through their taping that they got an odd rhythmic tapping from somewhere in the basement as if someone was impatiently tapping her foot.

Gilbert adds: "In March of 1993, during a notorious spate of occurrences, the museum was giving an unprecedented number of tours for people trying to experience something. Unfortunately, one of the staff members here was getting annoyed that the hauntings were taking precedent over the history here and went on a tirade about how ghosts don't exist and how Trudy's ghost was a load of bunk and had her necklace ripped off her neck by an unseen presence. From what I understand, it shut her up rather quickly."

Another paranormal researcher in the 1990s also documented a strong entity on the second floor landing just outside the Lavender Room, where there were no other sources that could cause the readings. The investigators had caught some sudden and sporadic EMF hits at 3.7mg and higher. At the beginning of the investigation, they also made sure that the covers were pulled tight across the bed in the Lavender Room, which was still roped off. They periodically checked on the bed through the night, but about half way through, they noticed that there was a deep impression was on the bed, like someone had been sitting there. While discovering this impression, they heard the chair next to the bed move; an audio recorder picked up the sound of it.

"In the history of examinations here," Gilbert adds. "Over 20 EVPs have been recorded of a female voice on the second floor and around the Lavender Room. Several of the EVPs were recorded on the first floor, which reveal a bitterness and hostility toward the living. When asked via recorder, "Is there anyone who likes to hang out here?" The EVP recorded a terse whisper, saying "Yes!"

"She also likes hurling insults." Gilbert stands with her head at an angle. "She's not above abruptly mentioning the B-word whenever the guide is a woman."

In addition to strange voices, something tends to set off motion detectors in the mansion at night. Police have responded here several times to find the structure locked up tight and none of the windows disturbed. The curator always has to show up to let police do a walk through, but nothing is ever amiss. Despite her nocturnal activities, she has been known to show herself. Witnesses over the years have seen the full apparition of Gertrude attired in a 1800s style, ante-bellum gown; she has been seen by the security guards, students and museum staff floating around many parts of the old mansion, going about her business, checking up on the living, making sure things are in place and are being taken care of properly. Apparently, she feels the urge to supervise the living and keep watch concerning her home.

In 1999, a guide doing a final walk-through at closing was walking down a hallway one evening after an event, and who should she see face to face but the apparition of Gertrude dressed in a elegant evening gown passing her on the landing. This surprisingly is not uncommon. Over the years, Gertrude has appeared several times in a full, solid form and told a museum guide that the furniture in one of the bedrooms were not arranged correctly or that she was offended by the placement of modern devices as cell phones or fast food left on the antiques.

As Gilbert adds, "She a mouthy little diva."

Guests have also reported hearing the faint sound of an old Victrola record player from somewhere in the structure. The odd thing about this occurrence is that it usually happens to only one or two people at a time, even when there's a crowd presence. While this might be indications of wishful thinking, every witness has described the exact same 1890s tune, note for note. Guides randomly experience the same phenomenon and have traced it to an old bedroom in the basement where an old Victrola does exist, but the winding mechanism is broken.

Gareth Graham, the recent superintendent of the manor, has come out saying he doesn't believe Gertrude is alone in the structure. He has claimed to have heard two separate different sets of footsteps, which point to two distinct entities.

"One is kind of light, as one would expect from a woman," He reveals. "But the other is a bit more pronounced, like a man marching up the back stairway to the bedrooms. I know the stories of the hauntings have been very good in attracting guests trying to see or experience something, but I'm not convinced we have just one presence here. Yet, the official account is that Gertrude is the only ghost at the Aldridge."

Graham also notes that doors to the manor that have been locked and shut tight at closing time are often found later to be wide open in the morning, when no one in this world should be in the building. He has also pulled history on the structure that shows that all along the upstairs and downstairs corridors, psychic-sensitive people have felt chills or cold, clammy sensations. Back in the 60s when the edifice was used as a home to a New York University professor, both Hans Holzer and medium, Ethel Johnson Meyers, visited as guests of the university president and discovered that the main center of the hauntings was in the area of the basement that had been sealed up several years prior. Through the trance of Mrs. Meyers, Holzer made contact with two ghosts. One of the restless spirits was Gertrude Aldridge who told Holzer that she was very angry that so many people had been living in the house without her permission and crankily told him, through the mouth of Mrs. Meyers in a trance, several times in an ungracious manner to leave and get off her property. The other presence Meyers described was a Hessian soldier from the Revolutionary War who wasn't connected to the house but to a graveyard that once existed on adjacent property. He didn't seem to be aware what year it was or that he was dead, but he did commiserate that his bones were buried so far from home. Although this incident occurs several years before Graham's experience, it's evidence that at least one other ghost may or may not still be making its presence known in the mansion.

Although Graham has come to accept Gertrude's existence at the Aldridge, he confesses he's not entirely made his peace with them. Although the creaks and noises don't bother him, he's terrified of actually seeing her.

"After I started here," He confesses. "All the regular guides and housekeepers started telling me their stories and experiences. One housekeeper who no longer works here said she was heading upstairs to vacuum the top landing and as she turned the corner to the hallway she came face to face with Gertrude right in front of her. She described her as tall and thin with white skin and wearing an old period dress, but the most disturbing thing was that she had no eyes, just black empty darkness where her eyes were supposed to be. The description kind of unnerved me enough that one morning after I came in and found the doors open again, I stood and said out loud to the empty room, "Gertrude, do what you want here, but for the love of God, please never show yourself to me because I don't think I could handle it.""

The following week, Graham had ended a tour and was getting ready to go for the day when he heard a noise came from the basement as if someone was coming up the stairs. He turned to the entrance door to leave, but the door knob was inexplicably red hot to the touch. He then turned to depart through the drawing room, but somehow in his panic he found himself heading into the basement.

"I think I was in a daze or some sort of trance." He adds. "I really have no idea what I was doing, but I do know I was trying to get out of this place."

As he opened the door, he realized Gertrude was coming up the stairs to meet him.

"I don't recall what happened next." Graham concludes. "I think I screamed, maybe, but all I know is I woke up in the ambulance the following morning heading to the hospital. All I know is that Gertrude doesn't play fair."

It was Graham's experience that first attracted NYAPS to the location. Fresh off being added to the Ghostbusters Paranormal Network through the New York Paranormal Society, Dr. Erin Gilbert and her colleague, Drs. Abby Yates, joined by Dr. Jillian Holtzmann made plans to inspect the location for a daytime examination

"I think Gertrude prefers the company of men because judging by our arrival, she was not very excited to see us." Gilbert reveals. "We had a limited range of the location and we noted many of the doors were locked up tight, but after being here a few minutes, I noticed the basement door was open. It was our initial theory that Gertrude was welcoming us so we started down there. Big mistake. We're barely on the bottom landing when this loud piercing shriek goes through our sound gear and splits our heads, frying our battery packs as well which we later discovered. Racing outside, I swear I noticed Gertrude very proudly standing in the parlor and grinning ear to ear after putting us in our place. We've never had an experience like this in any other location we've ever visited."  

Following their experience and suspicions, Dr. Ray Stantz of New York Paranormal invited William Collins of the CGS and paranormal blogger Daniel Elliott Wiig to join him on a night-time examination on October 13, 2016 of the Aldridge Mansion. It was a joint project with the Manhattan Area Paranormal Society (MAPS) on a daytime examination on the same date. Both MAPS and the CGS are members of the Ghostbusters Paranormal Network with NYAPS and around 500 other paranormal groups. While MAPS was able to record seven occurrences ranging from EVPs to unidentified ambient auditory phenomenon,  it was Stantz and his guests who received the biggest surprise.

"What I love about William...." Stantz grins amusingly. "...Is that he's not afraid to go to bizarre means to get results." He pauses. "It's kind of reckless to tell you the truth, but it's always interesting. I mean, here we are... three guys with common interests, sitting alone in the dark, huddled over the light of this computer screen, listening to this distant pathetic crying from a microphone set up on a basement bedroom only as far as a staircase away. I mean, it's the only way we can hear it. I mean, if we try getting closer, nine times out of ten, it will go away. It always does. Here we are listening to this crying and wondering what else could possibly be causing it when suddenly William belts out, "Gertrude, this is your father! Stop that bawling at once!" We could have killed him. Here we are getting one of the best EVPs we've had in all of our careers... I mean, it's not enough to prove ghosts exist, but thanks to his outburst, it stopped. Nothing. Nothing but dead air... but then while we're trying to figure out why he did that, suddenly we hear this...."

Stantz hits the button on his computer storing more than a hundred and fifty hours of EVPs collected from more than three hundred paranormal groups at him and abroad. The file is named "Aldridge101316." From out of the loud silence comes one word from the voice of a woman who has been dead for almost 120 years.

"Daddy??"

History: The Aldridge Mansion was originally built in 1888 as a residence for James Michael Tuttle, a local judge and elected official well-liked in the New York Judicial System. Plans were drawn up in 1885, and construction was completed in 1890 at a cost of more than $500,000. At the time, it was built on what was one of the most affluent residential neighborhoods near Tribeca Square, a series of grand homes on a cobblestone road lined with streetlights, but in 1890, his political rival, Raymond Hamilton, ruled over an inheritance case that would have the structure across the street demolished with a warehouse built on the site. His idyllic dream destroyed, Tuttle instead purchased a grand mansion out in the country and sold the Waverly Place residence to his close friend, Sir Lionel Aldridge, a British nobleman and investor known for donating money to the construction of the Statue of Liberty. He lived in the house for twenty years, willing it to his daughter, Prudence, who willed it to New York University in 1926. From then until 1967, the mansion was used as the home of New York University's presidents, getting added to the National List of Historic Places in 1985.

Identity of Ghosts: Gertrude Aldridge was one of three daughters of Sir Lionel Aldridge born in the United States. However, according to rumors in the local social elite, she was known to be especially spoiled and incorrigible, turning down suitors for ridiculous reasons (telling one suitor to come back when he grew to a proper height) and striking a servant who blocked her view of President Grover Cleveland going down their street in an open carriage. Her father often ignored complaints about his daughters, Gertrude the worst of them. She doted heavily on her father for indulging her expensive habits and often drew into fits of rage when he was distracted by business clients or by staff inquiring over household affairs. However, in 1894, she mysteriously vanished from public view.

In January 1965, New York University President Daniel Alcott Murray decided it was time to restore the decaying edifice and raised a two-million dollar restoration project from investors and former alumni. As the basement was being cleared out, a secret door with a hatch in it was discovered hidden behind a large armoire. Opening it up, Gertrude's remains were found sitting up in a preserved state in a rocking chair in the basement bedroom. The horrifying discovery of her remains were kept out of the newspaper as much as possible, but even surviving descendants of the Aldridges were shocked by the realization that "great-grandpa had finally had enough and had imprisoned her away from the world." Even more shocking was that on October 25, 1894, Sir Aldridge had reportedly suddenly hired an all-new household staff without explaining how the last staff had vanished. Family rumors claimed that in a final fit to get her father's full attention that Gertrude had hacked up all the servants in their sleep, and that her father had hushed it all up to avoid embarrassment. Just how much of this is true is uncertain. Since then, Gertrude's ghost still reportedly wanders the house, attacking guests in her home and pining for her father to let her out of the basement.

Source/Comments: Ghostbusters (2016) - Location and history based on the Woodruff-Fontaine house in Memphis, Tennessee, the Belmont House in Nashville, Tennessee, Ringwood Manor in Saddle River, New Jersey and Liberty Hall in Frankfort, Kentucky.

MAIN PAGE

Other Hauntings