Bizarre Brooklyn: Stories of the Tragic, Macabre and Ghostly

By Allison Huntington Chase

Brooklyn. The most populous borough in New York City. Birthplace of the Dodgers, Sweet'n Low, and Season 21 of "The Real World." With more than 400 years under its belt, the borough is filled with a history of both sweet and savory moments.

It's hard to imagine Brooklyn as anything other than a concrete jungle. Who would guess that that first battle of the Revolutionary War was fought here? Or that the world's oldest subway is hidden beneath the streets of Boerum Hill? Or how an airplane fell from the sky and landed in the middle of the street in Park Slope? Hundreds of people pass by the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument in Fort Greene Park everyday. Virtually no one stops to read the plaque. If they did, they would learn that it is actually a grave, holding up to 15,000 bodies.

Author Allison Huntington Chase, Brooklyn's own Madame Morbid, takes readers on a journey beyond the brownstones, to discover the hidden, macabre and bizarre throughout Brooklyn history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: Sep 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9781439676066

Allison Huntington Chase

Allison Huntington Chase grew up in Hartford, Connecticut, and has a degree in screenplay writing from the School of Visual Arts. She is the CEO of Madame Morbid Trolley Tours, which focuses on dark history and ghosts of Brooklyn. She also has her certificate on Sommelier Studies from the ICC. She enjoys history, cooking, animals, traveling and pop culture.

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Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC

www.historypress.com

Copyright © 2022 by Allison Huntington Chase

All rights reserved

First published 2022

E-Book edition 2022

ISBN 978.1.43967.606.6

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022937923

Print Edition ISBN 978.1.46715.239.6

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is dedicated to Julia Dakers.

CONTENTS

Introduction

PART I. BROOKLYN BRIDGE

1. Construction and Destruction

2. Alien Abductions

3. Deadly Scream

4. Brooklyn Bridge Boos

5. Ice Cream Fires

PART II. CLINTON HILL

6. Lefferts-Laidlaw House

PART III. COBBLE HILL

7. H.P. Lovecraft’s Brooklyn

8. Tavern in the Woods

9. Tunnel to Nowhere

PART IV. CONEY ISLAND

10. Freakshows and Frights

PART V. DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN

11. Brooklyn Theater Fire

PART VI. FLATBUSH

12. High School Haunts

13. Melrose Park

PART VII. GOWANUS

14. Bodies of Water

15. Battle of Brooklyn

PART VIII. GREEN-WOOD CEMETERY

16. Brooklyn’s Finest

PART IX. NAVY YARD

17. Navy Hospital

18. Wallabout Bay

PART X. PARK SLOPE

19. Boy Who Fell from the Sky

20. Park Slope Armory

21. Lincoln Plaza Hotel

PART XI. PROSPECT PARK

22. 123 on the Park

23. Litchfield Villa

24. Quaker Cemetery

PART XII. WILLIAMSBURG

25. Barcade

26. The Charleston

27. McCarren Park Pool

28. Most Holy Trinity Church

29. St. Mazie’s

30. Sweetwater

PART XIII. ASSORTED MORBID

31. Boos and Booze

32. Taphophobia

33. Morbid Facts

Bibliography

About the Author

I’d like to say a special thanks to Matt Zaller.

INTRODUCTION

Brooklyn—the most populous borough in New York City. Birthplace of the Dodgers, Sweet’N Low and Season 21 of The Real World. Once named the coffee capital, Brooklyn is also home to the world’s most expensive cup of Joe, which goes for eighteen dollars. Some other things to come out of Brooklyn include Twizzlers, hot dogs, air-conditioning, teddy bears, Mr. Potato Head and the credit card.

Beginning in 1636, this area was first occupied by Native tribes before it was taken over by the Dutch. Originally called Breuckelen, it was made up of small villages and farms. In 1816, Brooklyn officially became its own city. Connecting to Manhattan via the Fulton Ferry, Brooklyn was home to the world’s first commuters, thus making Brooklyn the nation’s first suburb. A New York City guidebook from 1818 warned visitors to flee the narrow, dirty and disagreeable place known as Brooklyn. Yet after the Brooklyn Bridge was constructed, millions of people fled to Brooklyn. The Industrial Revolution thrived here. Factories took over the waterfront, creating a vast number of jobs for the growing population.

Brooklyn eventually consolidated with New York City at the turn of the century, which quickly came to be known as the Great Mistake of 1898. However, if Brooklyn had never joined the city, it would be the fourth-largest city in the United States today. It’s larger than Boston; Atlanta; Washington, D.C.; and Minneapolis combined.

With more than four hundred years under its belt, Brooklyn is filled with a history of both sweet and savory moments. So many people have lived and died here, each with their own tale to tell. Both great and gruesome things have taken place here. Some are remembered, and some are forgotten. Yet by revisiting these events, we can bring them back to life. It’s through their stories that they continue to live on. After all, they were here before we were.

It’s hard to imagine Brooklyn as anything other than a concrete jungle. Who would guess that the first battle of the Revolutionary War was fought here? Literally, almost no one! Lifelong residents of Brooklyn are shocked to discover this historical event, even though it took place right in their backyards! That’s why it’s so important to keep their stories alive. There are tiny reminders all over the place—it’s just that no one knows to look. For instance, right in the middle of Forte Green Park stands the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument. Every day, people come to sit on its steps and take in the views. What they don’t know, however, is that it contains the bones of 11,500 people. The information is there on the plaque, but no one even notices it.

To quote the great Ferris Bueller, If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

PART I.

BROOKLYN BRIDGE

1

CONSTRUCTION AND DESTRUCTION

The Brooklyn Bridge, the eighth wonder of the world, is the reason Brooklyn is a part of New York City. This iconic and innovative masterpiece connects Brooklyn to Manhattan. Prior to its construction, people relied on ferries to get across the East River. These ferries were atrocious. Due to overcrowding and unsafe conditions, this mode of transportation was both unpredictable and dangerous. For years, talks of a bridge spread throughout New York. After a while, however, the buzz over the rumored bridge became more of pipe dream. Then one day, it was announced that the bridge would be built, and a German immigrant by the name of Roebling would be the one to build it.

Chief engineer John A. Roebling was tasked with designing and constructing the highly anticipated (originally named) East River and Brooklyn Bridge. Not only would this structure revolutionize life in New York City, but it would be the first of its kind. Until then, a suspension bridge of this length did not exist and was thought by some to be impossible.

On June 28, 1869, tragedy struck when Roebling was injured. While walking along the edge of the Fulton Ferry taking last-minute measurements, Roebling caught his right foot in a rope. Unable to free himself, he looked up in horror as he watched the ferry approaching the dock where he was held captive. Frantic and desperate to escape, he tried once again to bolt, but to no avail. The ferry passed by Roebling, crushing his foot along the way. Roebling was taken to the hospital, where he had two of his toes amputated. Shortly following the surgery, his wounds became infected, and he developed tetanus. Twenty-eight days later, he was dead. His thirty-two-year-old son, Washington Roebling, took over as the chief engineer.

The Brooklyn Bridge. Matt Zaller.

Washington Roebling was a capable replacement for his father. He studied closely alongside his father