Weathering the Storm: The Spy House Still Stands

Call it fate, irony, or a little bit of both, but the Spy House still stands in Port Monmouth, New Jersey, not being the victim of any apparent damage, at least not that I could see from the pier parking lot, as I could not get any closer yesterday due to the property being roped off. As I was passing through the area with a friend, I just could not help but ask him to take the drive down to see if the house was still there. Sure enough, just as I knew in my gut (call me crazy, but I don’t think the spirits there would allow for its destruction), the 262 year old establishment also known as the Seabrook-Wilson House and Bayshore Waterfront Activity Center was still standing tall, in the middle of an area that was completely leveled. To my amazement, though located about fifty feet from the beach, it did not appear to even have a broken window. This is obviously great news for history buffs and paranormal enthusiasts, as the house in rich in both history, lore, legends, and hauntings. I guess it is safe to say that the house is going to be here for a while longer, its survival being a testament to how great construction was back then.

Weathering the Storm: A Brief Message After Hurricane Sandy

A photo I took yesterday, at the harbor of Atlantic Highlands. Boats now rest on what used to be Sissy’s, a popular waterfront diner.

Now that the power is back on and my hiatus from blogging is over, I just wanted to let everyone know that my family and I are fine, and I also want to express my deepest sympathies for those in nearby towns that were affected by Hurricane Sandy, as I will elaborate on later. The atmosphere surrounding this event is surreal, and the area is completely devastated. For that reason, I wanted to share this Facebook movement that my friend, actor Fred Griffith, created, to begin to get the wheels in motion on a charity event for hurricane relief of the east coast. I was asked to contribute my thoughts, and I sent him this brief message:

Another Informative and Worthwhile Trip to the Spy House

It seems the majestic lure of the Spy House in Port Monmouth keeps bringing me back time again, and I always bring different people when I go, hoping to give them an experience. We parked across the street and got out, and as we walked towards the main gate of the fence, we heard a lady ask, “Looking for ghosts?”

I turned around and responded, “Yes.” It turns out, she, along with her husband, are the owners of Jersey Joe’s, a restaurant across the street, which we used their lot for parking. The building itself had been there a hundred years, and turned into a well known eatery by her late father-in-law. The other lady that was with the couple was standing by the fence trying to take pictures, but for some reason, the camera was not working.

As we were trying to figure it out, and waiting for the easily triggered motion-sensor lights to turn on, they told us stories of what had happened to them earlier in the day.

That afternoon, a lady had walked into their restaurant with what she referred to as a “Ghost Box”. Unable to get technical, I described to them what it might have been, which is what Jeff had told me about months earlier. If you take a digital radio and remove a certain piece from the inside so that it constantly scans for stations, it creates white noise, which can then be used to talk voice-to-voice with spirits.

Upon this lady’s entrance with the box turned on, all of a sudden they heard a voice come on and say, “My place!’. The husband was startled because it sounded like his late father, who built Jersey Joe’s. Random voices then started talking, including one that could not have been a coincidence.

The word “cancer” was then yelled,which was strange because  a member of their family had just been recently diagnosed with cancer. Then later they heard, “Seven”, which is the number of their house.

It seems that the entire area, and not just the Spy House is haunted. I have never eaten at this restaurant, but I hear it’s good and will have to try it soon in the day time.

She also told us the story of “Abigail’s Window”, which is a window on the front of the Spy House where the spirit of a former resident, Abigail, can be seen sitting. There was also another tale which I never heard before, and that is of a little boy who plays in the surrounding yard, pulling on the hair of visitors, most often little kids.

What they also noted as being strange is the fact that the new owners of the Spy House spent the last year (and lots of money) fixing the place up only to have it closed to the public. This seems like what Jeff and I feel is the case, and that is someone getting hurt inside by a spirit of some kind.

The history of the house also extends far past spies and pirates, but to a more recent time. The house was used for rum-running during Prohibition, and when you see its proximity to the beach behind it, you will know why.

In getting to the pirate, there was something else heard from the ghost box, and they were the words “Captain Tom”. They were not of any significance to anybody there, but could that be the name of the pirate who used the house as a station in the early 1700′s?

This was just a quick little write-up, but I would like to return with more questions for some of the locals to see if we can get more information.

Greg Caggiano and Jeff Huber are the founders of Franklin and Heard Paranormal.

Return to Spy House Confirms Sighting from Previous Visit

Jeff and I returned to the Spy House for the second time in less than a week, mainly because we got something on camera that was unexplainable. If you look at this picture closely, you will notice something in the bottom, right window, next to the door. Before I explain what I think it is, look for yourself and make a decision, because the power of suggestion can make people see things that they would not normally see. Please click on photo to enlarge.

Now that you have seen for yourself, I will explain what we think it is. It caught my eye the first time I reviewed it on the computer, and after maximizing the size and zooming in as best as I could, I can say, almost without a doubt, that it looks like a head half in shadows. If you look closely at the left side of the head, the side in shadow, you can see something protruding outward, like a nose. Because this is seen sticking out of the shadow, that means that whatever it is, is not a flat object.

Here is a closer look at it, after zooming in and cutting it out of the original photo. It’s gets blurry, but it is still noticeable.

When we returning to the house last night, our goal was to take pictures of every window individually, because again, we saw shadows moving by them on the side that is not adjacent to the road. We did not really notice anything, but after Jeff takes a closer look at them, we may find something.

But to confirm this head in the window, I took a shot of the house last night, from almost the exact same spot. It was as close to where I was originally that I could get. Notice how the same light is in the window, but this time, there is no object.

Whatever the object is, it’s not a permanent fixture, and since no one is allowed in the house (not even workers at this point) no one could have possibly moved anything around to make that object visible to the camera lens. We are not quick to call something a paranormal sighting, because so many things can contribute to playing around with the mind.

But this object is clearly visible, and as of right now, all things considered, we still do not have an explanation for it.

Jeff will be trying in the next few weeks to make an effort to actually get us in the house to investigate. That will be easier said than done, considering all the stories we have heard about why the house closed down, such as people getting pushed down the stairs and seriously injured.

What is even more eerie, though, is the fact that there are no signs for the house, and no official website. For a house that is famous for it’s hauntings and has been covered by establishments such as Weird New Jersey, it is so strange that the people in charge are acting like they do not want anyone to know it exists.

If we were to get in, though, it would definitely be worth our while. After doing some research on the house, we have learned that a pirate who used this as a station in the early 1700′s used to store the dead bodies of all the people he killed in the basement. It may be because of that why such an evil and cold presence can be felt when standing on the property.

We got the feeling the first time, and we got it again last night; a ghost being in the house is one thing, but it becomes entirely more personal when you realize that the ghost knew we were there, and he wanted us to go away.

We are going to stick to short, twenty minutes bursts when investigating the house, especially after I found out that spirits can latch onto a person, and follow you home. After which they leave whenever they see fit. Most of the times it is not for long, but there have been instances where priests had to be called in to do an exorcism of the house.

There is something enigmatic about this house, that will inevitably call upon our return there again in the next few days. Because of this sighting of what we think is a head, I want more pictures of that window from every angle possible, to see if that object appears again. If it does not, then we will confirm it as a sighting with 100% confidence. Currently, I am at about 95% sure.

Greg Caggiano and Jeff Huber are the founders of FRANKLIN AND HEARD PARANORMAL. Please visit their website here.