Port Monmouth, New Jersey: The Spy House
Historic tavern with pirate connections, and also supposedly one of the most haunted buildings in America.
Seabrook Wilson House
- Address:
- 719 Port Monmouth Rd, Port Monmouth, NJ
- Directions:
- Seabrook Wilson House. On the waterfront side of Port Monmouth Rd at its intersection with Wilson Ave.
- Hours:
- May-Oct. Su 1-4 Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Admission:
- Donation
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One of the most haunted houses in America is the Spy House, built in 1648, added on to and moved to its present day site. As a tavern during the Revolutionary war, it was frequented by British troops. The tavern owner would tell the Colonial troops about British plans of attack. For many years it was open to the public as a historical museum, but just a couple of years ago it was closed to the public.
Quite simply, it is one of the most haunted houses in the country with not one but up to five different spirits haunting it. A female spirit dressed in white has been seen walking from room to room looking for her crying baby. A full bearded old sea captain is also known to roam the grounds and halls, and a small ghost of a boy has been seen peering out of windows. Even the infamous pirate Captain Morgan was known to hide treasure in the houses's basement and conduct sordid business and tortures in the old house. He's been seen in a ghostly form threatening children and others who visited the museum. This ghostly activity has been going on for years.
I went down to visit the house and its grounds this past September before going on an annual fluke fishing trip. In one photo I too of a window, it looks like something is staring back out at me. The entire museum is empty. Each room seems larger than it did when it had furniture and artifacts in it. Even though it was a sunny beautiful day, I still got a creepy vibe. It was very quiet and still around the grounds. As I looked into the old glass windows, I noticed the rippling effect in the window pane glass that may cause the window image to look distorted. You still get the feeling that someone is watching you from inside the house.
[Mike Vlkovic, 12/15/2004]Nearby Offbeat Places



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The Spy House once touted 22 active ghosts. Longtime volunteer curator Gertrude Needlinger would show videos of the seances! In October, 1993, Neidlinger was locked out of the museum after a dispute with the Spy House Museum Corp. The board claimed she continued to lead ghost tours through the house, with visitors carrying lit candles and posing a fire hazard. We toured in 1992, while it was still an antique-cluttered, spirit-infested treasure of the Jersey bayshore... 13 nights of ghost tours drew about 1,800 people.