If on old building with a history of violence and death was torn down and a new structure was put in its place, would the spirits that haunted the old structure still be there? Some houses that have had reports of evil spirits tormenting the current owners were found to have been built on an old cemetery or sacred grounds. It appears that the unhappy spirits are making there presence known and that they do not appreciate this structure on top of their final resting place. Are the imprints of the spirits in the structure’s walls or floorboards; the objects that belonged to the decease; the ground the structures are built on that carry the embodied spirits, or perhaps all three? This brings me to Ground Zero, the over 16 acre area in Manhattan where the Twin Towers once stood. We all know what happened on September 11, 2001, it is forever embedded in our minds and hearts. Many innocent souls were lost in that unbelievable tragedy that unfolded in front of us either on our TV’s or live for those that were there. For me, I spent a week glued to the TV with a box of tissues in disbelief. I never got the chance to see the towers and now I never will. Ten months later in July of 2002, my family and I saw Ground Zero for ourselves. When we first got there, we walked along a long cover corridor where openings were provided in various areas to see the enormous hole that once stood the Twin Towers. You finally get to an open area were you can stare and reflect on what that moment was like for those that were there. On all four sides of the massive hole were signs of the destruction on the buildings surrounding the 16 plus acres. You saw three buildings standing with the middle one covered in what looked like a large sheet; building walls that were still destroyed from the trauma of the towers falling; windows that were still blackened from the fire and heat; and a one solid block memorial honoring those loved ones that perished in the destruction. In the very deep hole was the construction equipment that was working to fill the area so that new construction can some day be put upon this massive piece of land that will forever have a history of violence. While there, you are overwhelmed with the feeling of sadness and the terror that many must have felt. With about 3,000 lives that were lost almost eight years ago, I was wondering if the area might be haunted by some of their spirits, especially those that never knew what hit them. Will the new memorial park and buildings have paranormal activity or will those spirits finally rest in peace?
Some visitors and others that have offices near Ground Zero have reported some paranormal activity. They have reported seeing a ghost of fireman in full gear running through the area and other apparitions of those that may have worked there. An unsettling feeling, chills with hairs rising on their arms, and the feeling of dread are also reported. I have been there twice and experienced some of those feelings, especially in 2002. The memory of that day was clearer in 2002 than when I returned three years later, in 2005.
Some visitors and others that have offices near Ground Zero have reported some paranormal activity. They have reported seeing a ghost of fireman in full gear running through the area and other apparitions of those that may have worked there. An unsettling feeling, chills with hairs rising on their arms, and the feeling of dread are also reported. I have been there twice and experienced some of those feelings, especially in 2002. The memory of that day was clearer in 2002 than when I returned three years later, in 2005.
Basically, I was just wondering, if you build it, will the ghost still be there? I would love to hear your thoughts.
--Julie--
Manhattan skyline before 2001
Manhattan skyline 2005 (picture taken by my cousin)
Manhattan skyline 2005 (picture taken by my cousin)
Wow--very insightful. I can say from the property I grew up on that had seen much fighting during the Civil War that the land was itself haunted. It also contained elements that made it more likely that a memory would be imprinted there, i.e., the quartz and running stream and wellspring. However, we had no reported hauntings in the parts of the house that had been added on after the Civil War. Cemetery land, burial grounds, battlefields are all ideal locations to have issues even with new places being built there. In Chandler there was a forgotten indigent cemetery that a builder built homes all around. To this day, I believe, they have incased the cemetery until they can fight it out and be able to build on the land. I'd like to knock on the door of the folks that buy that house. Now, with regards to Ground Zero, I have a different feeling about that situation. I'm doubtful that another building built on that site would have haunting issues. It's very hard to judge this if you go by New Yorker's, because people who live in a "battle zone" tend to see and hear spirits a great deal and it's hard to tell if that isn't an after effect of having to continue living there. The elements of that area, as far as the ground are extremely weak for a good conduit for a haunting to continue. It is near water which could be a helpful element for imprinting, but the logistics of the folks dying actually up in the air above the ground makes me wonder about them being grounded to any certain site. The folks in the plane that crashed in PA could have left a haunting imprint of the geology was good there, as they died upon impact to the earth. The lack of connection to the earth during the moment of dying would make me skeptical about another building have a haunting. Although, New Yorkers will have to work in that new building and know it's on the site of the old one, so there's going to be definitely some stories about it. I'm skeptical myself about it. I'm not sure the conditions are right and I'd really rather have outsiders observe anything that might occur because I think it's hard to hold down the superstitions of folks who experienced something harrowing and then try to move on in the same place afterwards, kind of like tsunami survivors.
ReplyDeleteI was hoping that you would pop in and make a comment. You seem to have insight into questions of ghost and hauntings that I'm just learning about. I brought up this subject because I was curious to know if spirits attached themselves to solid objects or the area where they died. I particular wanted opinions about Ground Zero. I didn't think about how the water surrounding the area and the land itself would have some effect on the place being haunted or not. Your brought up a good point and time will tell. I did find it interesting on how the addons of your Civil War property did not have any paranormal activity. I still wonder if the entire building was torn down and replaced, will the hauntings stop? I hope that doesn't happen considering it's a historical place. Thanks Autumn.....
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think knowing the way that part of NY was built, it's probably mostly compacted waste and reused concrete that made that part of the island like Battery Park area. I don't think it would be anything significant enough that the water would work with it to hold the memories. I think in the aspect of Aspen Grove, they almost did tear it down when they built the condos around it, but the neighborhood fought for it and the historical society, thankfully. I would guess that given that the house was atop of a well and lots of quartz, it would still be haunted. I know we had a lot of hauntings around the grounds too and I think that was tied into the land just being an ideal conduit. I think you can have trauma in some places and no hauntings and others are just ideal. I'd love to come up with an actual formula that could tell you the likelihood of a given area having a haunting if something traumatic happened there. Guess that's my next chore. :-)
ReplyDeleteWell guys i know when i was growing up, a house burned down and a little boy died in the fire. Well the house was rebuilt, but the rock chimney was saved and put back in. Not long after the people moved back in, a figure of a little boy started to form on the chimney and then, before they knew it, you could tell it was a little boy. Well they decided to tear down the chimney and build another one, it didn't help, the figure appeared right back on the chimney. They sold the house and moved, the people who bought it just took the chimney out and put it outside and there the figure stayed on it, until they finally took it apart. Good article.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ella for your story about the little boy and the fireplace. His spirit appeared to be attached to it.
ReplyDeleteAutumn, looking forward to reading about some sort of formula of the likelihood of a haunting in a place where lots of trauma took place. This would help with my question about Ground Zero.