A neighborhood rich in history is bound to have a few ghost stories. From a phantom sea captain roaming Montague Street to the spirit of abolitionist preacher Henry Ward Beecher, said to haunt Plymouth Church, there have been reports of Brooklyn Heights hauntings for decades.
Here’s some local lore.
The most famous ghost in America
At the height of his fame, Henry Ward Beecher was dubbed “the most famous man in America.” Beecher, a Protestant minister and abolitionist who preached at Plymouth Church, brought in weekly crowds of 2,500 to his sermons by the early 1850s. His statue now sits in the church’s garden courtyard on Orange Street, and another stands in Cadman Plaza near Johnson Street. In the mid-1870s, Beecher was the subject of a nationwide scandal when he was accused of having an affair with Elizabeth Tilton, the wife of his longtime friend Theodore Tilton. Beecher’s church exonerated him, though the scandal shadowed him for the rest of his life.
Beecher’s ghost reportedly showed up at a seance in 1903, demanding that publisher Isaac Funk, of Funk & Wagnalls, return two ancient coins he’d borrowed from a late friend of Beecher’s. Funk searched his office safe the next day and found them, according to a Brooklyn Public Library blog post. His ghost is also said to haunt Plymouth Church, and a 1975 New York Times article placed him in a pre-Civil War house in the Heights, though the man telling the story declined to say which one.
The secrets sealed under Atlantic Avenue
Beneath Atlantic Avenue lies a once forgotten Long Island Rail Road tunnel. The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel, also called the Cobble Hill Tunnel, was built in 1844 and sealed in 1861, after the state banned steam locomotives within Brooklyn’s city limits. For more than a century it was mostly forgotten, surviving only in legends: river pirates stashing loot, Prohibition bootleggers and at least one murder victim walled up inside. In 1979, an engineering-school dropout named Bob Diamond heard a radio claim that John Wilkes Booth had hidden his diary in a secret Brooklyn rail tunnel, and he spent more than a year hunting for it. In 1981, he crawled through a manhole at Atlantic Avenue and Court Street and found it, an experience he later said was “akin to landing on the moon.” Diamond set his sights on restoring the tunnel to its “rightful place in history,” and went on to lead tours of the stretch between Hicks and Court streets for decades.
The gateway to hell on Montague Terrace
In the 1977 occult thriller “The Sentinel,” a fashion model moves into a Brooklyn Heights brownstone, only to discover that it’s a gateway to hell. The house is real: 10 Montague Terrace, an 1875 mansion at the corner of Remsen Street, right at the entrance to the promenade. In an unusual move, the film even identifies the building by its actual address. These days it’s a 13-unit co-op and, as far as we know, the residents report no portals to the underworld.
Cadman Plaza’s deadliest night
On the evening of Dec. 5, 1876, a piece of scenery drifted into a gaslight during a performance of “The Two Orphans” at the Brooklyn Theatre, sparking a fire that killed nearly 300 people — one of the deadliest fires in U.S. history. Many of the unidentified victims were buried together at Green-Wood Cemetery, where a granite obelisk still marks their grave. Today, the theater’s former site near the Cadman Plaza post office is a stop on Boroughs of the Dead’s Haunted Brooklyn Heights tour, which promises phantoms of the fire.
A horror writer’s old haunt
H.P. Lovecraft, a horror writer so influential that a subgenre bears his name, spent a miserable 15 months in a one-room apartment at 169 Clinton St. after his marriage began to unravel. While living in the neighborhood, he wrote “The Horror at Red Hook,” a story set in the nearby waterfront district that’s largely remembered for its overt racism. Lovecraft’s ghost isn’t said to haunt Clinton Street, though it reportedly turned up in Providence in 1971, when a Brown University student renting his old apartment claimed to have seen it.
Honorable mention: The “spook” of 13 Pineapple St.
For years, neighbors assumed the shuttered wooden house at 13 Pineapple St. was deserted. Then one day in June 1934, a little girl peered into the doorway and ran off toward Columbia Heights, crying that “spooks” had come to life. Moments later, a gray-haired head popped out of a first-floor shutter and vanished. The “ghost” turned out to be Theodore Mills, a 65-year-old port captain who had lived there since 1891. “I don’t see why neighbors thought the house deserted,” he told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. “I live here.”
Halloween Happenings
Brooklyn Heights
Garden Place goes all out. The one-block street is a Heights trick-or-treating institution, packed with costumed kids and elaborately decorated stoops. Trick-or-treaters usually start arriving around 4 p.m., and it runs until dusk or until the candy runs out.
Parade on the promenade. The Brooklyn Heights Association’s Halloween parade starts at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31 at the north end of the promenade, at the top of the ramp by Orange Street and Columbia Heights.
Got a killer recipe for monster cookies? The BHA is holding a bake sale before the parade, and bakers can drop off treats from 10 to 10:30 a.m. at the Remsen Street entrance to the promenade. Sign up here.
Montero’s Halloween costume contest is back. The Atlantic Avenue bar is judging costumes on Mischief Night, Friday, Oct. 30, and again on Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31. The top three each win a Montero hat plus a gift card worth $100, $50 or $25, good at Montero and other Crew locations. Beloved karaoke host Amethyst Valentino is also hosting “Scare-aoke” Thursday through Saturday.
Trick-or-Streets in Willowtown. The Willowtown Association is closing two blocks to cars on Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31: Columbia Place between State and Joralemon streets from noon to 8 p.m., and Joralemon Street between Furman and Hicks streets from 4 to 8 p.m. They’re part of the city’s Trick-or-Streets program, which has more than 180 car-free events this year, its biggest yet. Check out the full map here.
“Jennifer’s Body” at Elsa. The Atlantic Avenue bar is screening the cult horror comedy on its backyard patio at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, with free popcorn.
Leftover candy? Brooklyn-based volunteer group the Service Collective is collecting candy donations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, at the side door of St. Ann & the Holy Trinity at 157 Montague St. The candy will go to the Vinegar Hill food pantry and St. Ann’s food pantry. You can also sign up to help collect and package the candy here.
Penny in her Scottish Highland cow costume. Congrats to the costumed pups! Strawberry took the top prize at Montague Diner’s dog costume contest last weekend as a three-headed dog. Cooper, a one-eyed pirate, was the runner-up, and Penny won “most stylish” as a Scottish Highland cow.
Cobble Hill
“Rocky Horror” at June. The Court Street wine bar is screening “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” in its courtyard at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, with dinner and wine on offer. Costumes encouraged.
Cobble Hill’s Halloween parade. Music starts in Cobble Hill Park at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, and at 4 p.m. sharp the Brass Queens will lead the parade on a loop around the neighborhood. It’s rain or shine, and police will close the surrounding streets, so drivers should plan around it.
A haunted house at the Cobble Hill Health Center. The health center at 380 Henry Street will be hosting a free haunted house today from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Costumes welcome!
Halloween in Cobble Hill Park. The Cobble Hill Association is partnering with Red Hook Art Project for spooky arts and crafts for kids. Stop by anytime between 9 and 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31.
Dumbo
“Dumboween” lineup. Dumbo is going all out on Saturday, Oct. 31. Here’s the schedule of events:
Nickelodeon pop-up, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Photo ops with PAW Patrol and SpongeBob in the Dumbo Archway, plus games, giveaways and candy.
Dog costume contest, 2 p.m.: On Washington Street at Front Street, with prizes for most original, best owner-pet duo and best in show.
March to the Arch, 3 p.m.: It gathers on Washington between Front and Water streets and parades through Brooklyn Bridge Park behind a brass band and puppets.
Archway party, 3:30 to 6 p.m.: Crafts, a free photo booth, live music and candy, plus drinks for sale.
Trick-or-treating, 3 to 7 p.m.: More than 60 local businesses will hand out candy while it lasts. Look for the pumpkin sign in the window.
Trick-or-Streets in Dumbo. Two Dumbo blocks will go car-free on Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31: Washington Street between Front and Water streets from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Pearl Street Plaza between Anchorage Place and Water Street from 3 to 10 p.m.
Also this weekend
Adam Yauch Park cleanup. Volunteers will pick up trash and plant 50 donated daffodil bulbs at the park, named for the late Beastie Boys member, from 2 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1. Gloves and trash grabbers are provided, and it’s family-friendly. The cleanup is part of the city’s It’s My Park program. RSVP here.
Last call for the Showhouse. This is the final weekend to tour the Brooklyn Heights Association’s 2026 Designer Showhouse, where 19 design firms have transformed the landmark mansion at 1 Monroe Place. It closes Sunday, Nov. 1. Tickets here, and BHA members save $10.
Día de los Muertos at Titán. The restaurant at 5 Front St. is marking Día de los Muertos, the Mexican holiday honoring loved ones who have died, with a family-friendly festival from 2 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1. Expect a DJ, food and drink specials, and the launch of the restaurant’s new carne asada series.
Excellent round-up! So much going on this weekend.