Sip Wine And Mingle With Ghosts In One Of New York's Oldest, Most Haunted Bars
By Megan Shute|Published May 10, 2019
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Megan Shute
Author
With more than 10 years of experience as a professional writer, Megan holds a degree in Mass Media from her home state of Minnesota. After college, she chose to trade in her winter boots for slippahs and moved to the beautiful island of Oahu, where she has been living for more than five years. She lives on the west side but is constantly taking mini-road trips across the island and visits the neighboring islands whenever she can getaway. She loves hiking, snorkeling, locally-grown coffee, and finding the best acai bowl on Oahu.
As one of America’s thirteen original colonies, New York’s history goes back centuries. And while we love a good history lesson and a visit to any of our state’s famous historic sites as much as the next person, sometimes we would rather experience that history for ourselves, perhaps with a cold beer in our hand? Not only is NYC’s Landmark Tavern one of the oldest bars in New York State, but it’s also one of the most haunted.
The year is 1968, and Patrick Henry Carley just opened his Irish pub on the waterfront of the Hudson River. Back then, the second and third floors were home to the Carley family, but prohibition eventually forced them to turn the third floor into a speakeasy. The modest saloon catered to thirsty dockworkers and merchant seamen in a neighborhood once populated by mostly Irish immigrants.
Not only has this popular watering hole retained its classic, old New York charm, but it is also one of the most haunted bars in the state. At least two ghosts reportedly call this bar home.
The first, a young girl rumored to have died of either cholera or typhoid fever in the 19th century who wanders throughout the building, still thinking that she’s at home — unaware of the bar around her.
The second, a Confederate soldier who was stabbed in a knife fight and stumbled upstairs, only to die in a bathtub that’s still there. Guests have reported the ghost knocking over books in the second-floor party room where he died.
Though less documented, it is also said that Hollywood tough guy George Raft haunts the Landmark Tavern. Oh, and this now-formal bar was once frequented by the Westies, a violent Hell’s Kitchen gang, in the 1980s. If only walls could talk.
Today, the Landmark Tavern is recognized as being one of the oldest, continually operating bars in New York. As soon as you walk through the doors at the Landmark Tavern, you’ll be immediately transported to another era.
No matter what you order, be sure to wash it all down with a drink: will you go for a glass of wine, a bottle of beer, whiskey, or signature cocktail? Whether you believe in ghosts or not, you'll want to visit this historic New York City haunt.
