The ghost of Mickey has nudged Martin on occasion. Martin is not frightened by it; most times, he simply tells the ghost, “I’m busy. Don’t bother me.” As for the patrons of the bar, newcomers who “sense a presence” sometimes ask if they can go upstairs and look around, but the regulars are not fazed by the activity at all. I asked Martin if he’s ever seen a full-body apparition. “No,” he said, “but customers, not bar staff, have reported seeing shapes or shadows, never a complete ghost.”
I asked Martin if there are any peak times for activity. Martin says he has never noticed any cyclical patterns. “It’s sporadic, probably happening more than I notice. When it’s quiet in the bar, between crowds, is when I’m more apt to feel something or experience something. When the bar is busy, I’m too distracted to notice,” he explained.
So, is Martin ready for a team of full-blown paranormal investigators to come in and conduct a formal investigation? No. He told me: “I live in a very old house, and I came from a very old house. The spirits there were not always nice. When the psychic from the BBC told me that these spirits were friendly, I was happy with that. I don’t want a team coming in here and telling me otherwise.”
I admit, I wouldn’t want a team of paranormal investigators to tell me that my business is infested with negative ghosts. Who would? But I think Martin is misunderstanding the paranormal investigator. Psychics are interested in ghosts’ emotional state of being. Paranormal investigators are more about simply proving that a ghost is or isn’t there.
As I was leaving the Ear Inn, I chatted with a customer who was waiting outside for a friend. I asked the young man if he’d ever been to the Ear Inn before. He confirmed he had, many times, and that the burgers are “awesome.” I then asked him if he had ever experienced anything paranormal. Looking shocked, he said, “You mean like ghosts?” I said, “Yes—in particular, the ghost of Mickey, who was killed out front here by a car and haunts this bar now.” He told me he’d never heard the ghost story before, but that now he was totally intrigued and would pay closer attention.
I agree with his plan and advise you to pay close attention when you visit the Ear Inn. Take pictures, and have a digital recorder running in your breast pocket or in an outer pocket of your purse. You might capture something. Enjoy a burger, and be ready for a nudge or a pinch from Mickey.
CHAPTER 4
Manhattan Bistro
LOCATED AT 129 SPRING STREET in the SoHo section of New York City is the Manhattan Bistro. The building is the oldest one on Spring Street. It’s a restaurant that serves Franco-American cuisine, including duck à l’orange and grilled salmon. The day I visited, the weather was sunny and warm, and the front window partitions had been removed so patrons could dine in the fresh air and sunshine. I’ve never been one to choose the window seat at restaurants; it makes me feel like a caged animal at the zoo with passersby watching me eat. If you are one who loves the window seat, especially sans window, this is the spot for you. Inside the Manhattan Bistro, you’ll find a cozy atmosphere and a lovely bar. Aside from wine bottles flying off the shelf or the sight of a ghostly young woman with disheveled hair and a moss-covered skirt, it’s your average bistro.
“The Ghost of Spring Street” is famous for being sighted in the immediate area of the Manhattan Bistro. It’s a fascinating story that begins in 1799.
Four years before Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr faced each other in their famous duel, they were members of a legal dream-team hired by Ezra Weeks for his brother, Levi, who had been accused of murdering Guliana Elmore Sands.
Guliana—or “Elma,” as she was called—lived on Greenwich Street in a boardinghouse owned by her aunt and uncle. On the night of December 22, 1799, she was seen departing the boardinghouse in a rented sleigh with Levi Weeks and another unidentified man. Hours later, Levi returned alone. Elma’s cousin Catherine Ring, who also resided at the boardinghouse, asked Levi if he knew Elma’s whereabouts, but he said he had no idea and had not even seen Elma that evening. Catherine was concerned—especially because her cousin had recently confided in her that she planned to marry Levi.
About a week later, two young boys playing near a well of the Manhattan Water Company saw what they thought was a scarf floating in the well. They ran and told police, who returned and conducted a thorough investigation. The object turned out to be a muff Elma had borrowed the evening she went missing. Using special hooks, police recovered Elma’s battered body from the well. On January 2, 1800, Levi was formally charged with Elma’s murder.
At the trial, attorneys Burr, Hamilton, and Livingston danced around the prosecution’s evidence. They brought in several witnesses to confirm Levi’s alibi for the night of the murder. The defense further asserted that Elma was promiscuous and that when Levi rescinded his proposal of marriage, Elma was so devastated she killed herself.
The medical examiner testified that Elma was dead before she was tossed in the well. He described bruises on her neck that resulted from being strangled. Witnesses for the prosecution said they saw Elma in Levi’s rented sleigh, and sleigh tracks found around the well. The prosecution maintained that Levi had plenty of time to murder Elma, dispose of her body in the well, and arrive at his brother’s house to form his alibi.
Additionally, Levi had approached Catherine prior to the trial and had asked her to sign an affidavit stating that he had no more interest in Elma than in any other female residing at the boardinghouse, and that, on the contrary, it was well known that Levi had an established friendship with Elma and nothing more.
The persistent arguments of the defense attorneys dragged the trial on for hours. It should be noted that the laws of the day required court cases to be argued and deliberated with no interruptions until a verdict was reached. At one point, the jury asked the judge for a “sleep break”; the request was denied. The exhausted jury members returned a “not guilty” verdict after only thirty minutes of deliberation. According to Charles J. Adams III, author of New York City Ghost Stories, the verdict outraged Catherine, and she put a curse on Hamilton, Burr, and the judge by saying, “If thee dies a natural death, I shall think there is no justice in heaven!” The curse must have worked, at least in part. Hamilton died in the famous duel with Burr. Although Burr would eventually die of a stroke, the duel destroyed his reputation. The judge simply vanished some time after the trial. Levi was so tormented by people who believed he killed Elma that he moved to Natchez, Mississippi.
Years later, there were several reports on Spring Street and near Greene Street of a ghostly young woman with long brown hair and a torn dress covered in moss. Some reports say the ghost was pointing toward the well where Elma Sands’ body was found.
I visited the Manhattan Bistro, which is at 129 Spring Street near Greene, and spoke with restaurant manager Thomas King. Thomas has worked at the Bistro for eleven years. Recently he participated in the filming of an episode of Ghost Stories for the Travel Channel. Thomas explained to me that the well where Elma Sands was found was unearthed during the excavation of the Manhattan Bistro’s basement. To his knowledge no one has ever seen a mist coming from the well, as has been reported in other books and articles. Thomas said, “The well is in the basement, not open to the public’s view. No one has seen that well since the 1800s except for us. It’s in my office; my desk is right next to it. I’ve never seen any mist.” I asked him if things ever go missing in his office or if he’s experienced any other paranormal manifestations. He said, “One time I came down to my office, and before I turned the light on, I heard a woman’s