Home » Travel » New York City » Spooky New York

Spooky New York

© Jeanne-Michele Vigna

New York City was, and still is, the world's most impressive collection of crazies. And on Halloween, past and present, crazies litter the street. If you don't believe me, all you have to do is show up for the infamous Greenwich Village parade. If visiting New York this October, why not drag the holiday out by exploring a spooky New York.

Since the days of Dutch colonization, Manhattan has been filled with evil, but in this humble scribe's opinion the pinnacle of evil was reached in 1870 when one Albert Fish was discharged from his mother's malevolent womb. When Fish was born, little did New Amsterdam (or even Fish himself) know what fright lay in store. At age 49, Fish's masochist side was triggered when his wife left him and his sons behind.

As the story goes, Fish handled the situation by asking his son's to literally punish him in strange and bizarre ways. But when self-punishment didn't seem like enough, Fish turned to the innocent and defenseless - children. Reportedly, Fish molested and attacked over 200 of Manhattan's young, but he is most known for a crime that made him the original "Boogie Man."

In 1928, he invited family friends' daughter, 12-year-old Gracie Budd, to attend a birthday party of his niece. Gracie disappeared after the party to her parent's bewilderment and dismay. Not until six years later would they know what happened, when Fish wrote them a letter detailing the stripping and dismembering of their daughter. He then allegedly turned the girl into a stew, which he seasoned with peas, carrots and onions, and delightfully consumed. The letter led to Fish and eventually his execution in Sing Sing on January 16, 1936. Right before being electrocuted, it is said Fish happily claimed, "The supreme thrill, the only one I haven't tried." Though known to be buried in New York City, Fish's plot remains a mystery.

You might not be able to find Fish's plot but there are plenty of cemeteries in the five boroughs to search for New York's evil dead. What better way to pay homage to all Hallows Eve then hiking through New York graveyards.

Woodlawn Cemetery occupies more than 400 acres in the Bronx and is the site of ornate mausoleums and monuments. Many of America's early Industrialists rest in Woodlawn, including F.W. Woolworth, H. Westinghouse, and H.D. Armour. As well as several famous artists including Miles Davis, Oscar Hammerstein and Joseph Stella, Irving Berlin and Duke Ellington.

The copyright of the article Spooky New York in New York City is owned by . Permission to republish Spooky New York in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.