Haunted Bay Ridge Walking Tour

Details

As the days grow shorter and the winds begin to howl, ghouls, ghosts, long-legged beasts, and other nameless wretches caught between worlds reinhabit ours and keep us from a good night’s sleep.

From a faceless woman late one night on a lonely street near a local church, to army ghosts and disembodied sounds, to the murders of an old spinster and kidnappers, to the mysteries of the neighborhood's largest park, to a secret society right in our midst, it’s time to turn up our collars, hit the streets, and beware the things that go bump in the night.

Led by James Scully — NYC historian, tour guide, podcaster, director / co-creator of the award-winning historical audio fiction soap opera, , and creator of the — our unique haunted Bay Ridge experience will focus on and include:

• Stories of M**der and mayhem, from the death of an old spinster, to the heroic actions of a member of a prominent family, we’ll find out the many motives for crime and how Bay Ridge was the perfect setting for these unfortunate events.

• The story of how a man’s late-night walk down a Brooklyn side-street led him to confront the spirit of a veiled woman with no face in front of a locally famous Basilica

• The story of how a secret society of skull worshipers in Brooklyn started, rose, peaked, and disappeared all near a famous hilltop Bay Ridge mansion

• Ghost stories from both the Fort Hamilton Army base and some of its residents

• The story of the Indian Pond, the border of Gravesend and New Utrecht, and a boy awoken from sleep in the middle of the night by a shadow being standing over his bed

• The story of a revolutionary war cemetery still inhabited by some of Bay Ridge’s most famous residents

• And more!

See you there!

* Please bring water and comfortable shoes as we’ll be doing a lot of walking. This tour will happen rain or shine, unless there is torrential rain, which then a makeup date will be announced.

** Runtime for this tour is roughly 90-120 minutes.

*** This tour begins across the street from The Gingerbread House at 29 83rd St, Brooklyn, NY 11209 and ends near Xaverian High School.

About James

James Scully is an outgoing native New Yorker who grew up in a Bensonhurst home with four generations of family. He had close relationships with both his grandparents and great-grandparents. This exposed him to an invaluable amount of local history and culture, helping him to become a passionate historian, writer, and director.

He’s a graduate of Xavier High School in Manhattan, Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, and spent over a decade working as an art director and copywriter for media companies such as Condé Nast and Hearst before becoming a writer, director, and historian. His history focus is both New York City history and US radio history.

James produces and hosts The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast (https://bayridgedigest.com) . He has also developed historical audio fiction productions, like the 2022 official Tribeca audio selection Burning Gotham, set in 1835 New York City (http://burninggotham.com).

James is a member of the Salmagundi Club, has given numerous talks and webinars on various history subjects, and is a New York City sightseeing/tour guide.

Testimonials

"Learning of incredible stories I'd never heard before." -Mary

"Guide was engaging, info was interesting" -Christine

"I liked all the historic information on or near the sites where events occurred and/ the people sited lived." -James

"The content was amazing, but even more amazing than the Content was our guide Mr. Scully. Thank you" -Debbie

"I liked James. He is friendly, extremely knowledgeable, speaks well and at the correct volume. He cares about getting the facts right." -Lawrence

"James Scully is the best guide we've ever had. Very informative, entertaining and passionate." -Carol

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