The Haunted Halls of Morris-Jumel Mansion

holy moly this looks like the haunted mansion this is a sweet ass house wouldn't mind shacking up in here no this is the nicest house i've ever seen that being said it is horrifying knock do three three knocks mock the holy trinity hello [Music] this week on buzzfeed unsolved we investigate the morris jamel mansion as part of our ongoing investigation into the question are ghosts real no you son of a [ __ ] the oldest standing home in manhattan played host to everyone from george washington to alexander hamilton and once was even the private residence of former vice president and infamous dueler aaron burr an occupant who some say may have never left scary he's a ghost now yes we got that it's nice to go to a nice metropolitan location rub elbows with them city folk we got some famous ghosts here we got like i said george washington alexander hamilton aaron burr yeah burr in particular what would you say to that guy if given the chance and you will have the chance i guess i'd be kind of curious to like um know what they think of like uh like the beatles or something like did you see jurassic park can you venture out over to a movie theater well i think i'd probably ask aaron burr what it's like to be a loser he's the only person i've known who in winning lost even more that's true pretty funny pretty funny and i got some fun little tricks for him let's get into it completed in 1765 this stately mansion was the summer home for british colonel roger morris and his family dubbed mount morris the estate was situated on 135 acres of land stretching between what is now the harlem and hudson rivers the morris family's time at the home would be cut short however as they were forced to vacate in 1776 upon the outbreak of the american revolutionary war and on september 14th mount morris a home named after a british colonel became the headquarters for the continental army under the leadership of none other than general george washington situated on one of the highest points in manhattan mount morris was perfect for strategizing as it provided unobstructed views of connecticut new jersey and the entirety of new york harbor i don't think i could handle being a general you're a coward well it's not that i'm a coward it's just i'm very indecisive sometimes i'll go and order something on the menu and then i'll do it i'll be like oh wait wait can i change it you are like that and i can't do that in war i can't be like wait come back boys wait no sorry [ __ ] i'm bad at this job can we get can we take a time out it was said that general washington paced the floors of his office as he charted out movements for the troops under his command in recent years carol ward the executive director of the museum now housed within the mansion was leading a tour through the home when they all heard heavy footsteps coming from upstairs even though quote no one was on the second floor end quote so this is the washington war room and as the name would suggest this is where georgie boy plotted out his plan of attack the big man himself was in here george are you in here mr president could you open one of these drawers or wiggle one of the handles george show us you're here this guy was moving already george they often say they hear footsteps in here can you walk into the room please this is what we call a spirit box oh yeah you know what this is the only time george i'm excited about the spirit box would love to introduce this little piece of [ __ ] to uh what uh you know a president no no he doesn't he said not now why not now who is this [Music] who am i speaking to are you gone now [Music] i think they're done with this yeah i don't know that they started with us well they started with this okay go ahead and mark that one down as another point for the machine i thought we got some good responses there oh yeah unfortunately by october 21st general washington was forced to retreat and mount morris fell back into british hands and for the remainder of the war became the headquarters for british and hessian armies however reports over the years implicate that one such soldier might have never left eyewitness accounts claimed that the ghost of a drunk hessian soldier can sometimes be found on the main staircase in the home there are rumors however that said hessian soldier actually died on that staircase and that the eyewitness accounts of his drunkenness are in fact more likely of a man struggling to descend a flight of stairs in the tragic final moments of his life the infamous hessian staircase one of the museum attendants said that he actually fell into his bayonet hate when that happens not ideal my name is ryan my name is shane what happened to you on this staircase can you tell us your name what did you say when you wait a second stop stop stop stop moving why say that can you say that again no need to be shy we just want to set the record straight [Music] come on what was that is there somebody here with us right now could you make your presence known can you move something [Music] what's your name on this staircase what what's your name taco what happened on this staircase what happened on this staircase were you drunk is there anybody even here with me right now i am hmm that's a beautiful spider i certainly would like to know where that spider is at all times why would you want him to come up to you where's my little friend after general washington led the continental army to victory over the british in the american revolutionary war the sprawling estate was sold in order to cover war debts then used as a tavern that once hosted a dinner by the now president george washington while there's been no reported supernatural evidence originating from that fateful night the dining room of the mansion has had its share of unexplained phenomena when a local news crew from new york toured the dining room paranormal investigator vincent carbone called out is anyone in the hallway a member of the mansion's staff distinctly heard a disembodied female voice answer no just next to her who's this carbon guy i know but he has a fun last name vincent carbone paranormal investigator you got any ghosts here not anymore because vincent carbone is coming i paint houses with ghosts just screwing on a silencer i got an emf meter and a nine millimeter anybody want to say something to me vinnie bones if you're watching this please tweet at me we're fans we know you're not a supernatural hitman that would be sick dude now this is the dining room fair amount of activity in here eliza was also notoriously a flirt and it said that this uh grandfather clock will wink at handsome men i was just before you said that i was like did that clock yeah i don't think it did yeah i gotta say it's an attractive clock oh you're trying to butter it up no i'm just you know those people who like fall in love with like the eiffel tower and stuff if i had to fall in love with an object i think i'd kiss a clock and sort of go out on dates with it or do you want to bang this clock no but i'm saying if i had to i would so this painted face is going to wink yeah the paint on this surface will animate and it will wink this is the weirdest am i handsome how about now don't do that to the clock why not well anyway last chance give us a smooch oh maybe that's what she wants i heard footsteps anybody here with us perhaps george washington or some soldiers if there's anybody here with us can you make your presence known can you say your our name's back to us ryan or shane can you move something give it up man it's not gonna wink at you thought maybe after the tavern went out of business the mansion was purchased by wealthy merchant stefan jumel and his wife eliza stefan was from the south of france and had emigrated to the us shortly before he met eliza bowen who at the time was working as an extra at a new york theater a classic rags to riches story with a bit of a twist eliza was born the illegitimate daughter of a sex worker and reportedly pretended to be terminally ill in order to convince jamelle to marry her citing matrimony as her last dying wish you got to be kind of cracked if you're going to lie about being terminally ill that's a mean thing to do well you wouldn't recommend that no interesting thing she was like oh my goodness it's beautiful thank you well i'm feeling better let's get to weddings yeah do you think she was it a gradual thing was she like day by day just getting better like oh i'm feeling a little better today or was it actually just like she puts it on and it's like the last infinity stone for shadows after marrying in 1804 stefan would purchase mount morris six years later in 1810. eliza negotiated two thousand dollars off the asking price because rumors of the property being haunted were already rampant reportedly eliza's own adopted daughter refused to stay in the house alone and witness accounts confirm her greatest fears with compelling evidence of the supernatural coming from the one room that is situated below ground located in the basement lies what was once the morris jemele mansion's kitchen visitors have reported witnessing swaying pots in a fireplace that's been sealed for years hearing disembodied voices and unexplainable sounds as something or someone moves through the room unseen that's a little dank down here oh that's deck man now this place has said to be more active as of late is there anybody down here with us i feel like we're not alone so show yourself please [Music] we've got ryan we've got shane here one night only ready to talk to you on this god forsaken contraption he's speaking to the microphone holler do the best he can to form a single word what's the name of this place this house who do you work for [Music] what's your name [Music] can you say my name back to me ryan [Music] as for who the ghosts are that reside within this haunted mansion that is still up for debate but the answer may lie in an event that took place almost 60 years ago in front of a group of schoolchildren in 1964 a school teacher brought their students up to mount morris for a field trip the mansion's curator was running late so the school teacher let the children play on the front lawn until they arrived as the children played an old woman wearing a violet dress walked out onto the second floor balcony looked down at the children and said quote my husband is very ill you have to keep quiet end quote the children obliged and when the curator finally showed up they told her what had happened thinking the old woman in the violet dress was a reenactor from the time period and part of the tour the schoolteacher having seen the old woman as well backed up the children's version of events confused the curator told the group that the house was empty and padlocked and that no such woman existed but as the group climbed the large winding staircase just inside the mansion they passed a large portrait hanging on the wall pointing to the woman in the painting the children said quote that's her that's her stunned the curator explained that that's impossible as the woman in the painting was eliza jamelle and she had died over 100 years ago that's a ghost that's a pretty good tail right there the other thing would be cool is if we saw the painting and we were like yo that's that lady and then i was like oh what let's look around then we look back at the painting she's gone oh like she hopped out of the frame where'd she go and then from behind us we go hey boys and we turn around and go paw and she's like and then she flies away audrey braver the morris jamelle holmes museum director in the early 1980s reported that it is unlikely such an event occurred chalking it up to a planned hoax or performance at the time however she was unable to provide proof of such a hoax and despite her ongoing denial of all things supernatural raver did admit that on occasion even she had odd interactions with young child visitors in her own words quote they'll refuse to walk down the hallway they'll say no no can't go down that hall bad things down there end quote eliza i've very much been looking forward to meeting you by all accounts you're a hilarious lady there's a lot said about you and this is an opportunity for you to clear it up wouldn't it be crazy if like we looked at this long enough we hear a little whisper behind us yeah like you boys like that picture of me i never did come on we know you liked that you like when there's parties around you are a big socialite we're party guys yeah last night we went out in new york city and we painted this town with our vomit uh we didn't we were pretty responsible you're 30 now i'm trying to i'm trying to say oh yeah oh it was a scene eliza eliza i only have one question for you now will you marry me that's his question but mine is do you like to party [Music] my favorite lady i bid you ado i'll see you upstairs aaron burr aaron burr go [ __ ] you go [ __ ] yourself all right in this room our audio recorder picks up this male voice is this the voice of vice president aaron burr for eliza jamelle things would take a turn in 1832 when stefan reportedly fell off a carriage and landed on a pitchfork miraculously he survived the fall and was taken home but tragically died later that night upon his death rumors swirled that eliza had removed his bandages and let him bleed out but the gossip surrounding her involvement in stefan's death was based more on her outcast status rather than actual facts some also believed the pitchfork story was rumored as well and that stefan likely just died from an illness such as pneumonia i mean probably a good thing that pitchforks have largely gone out of fashion exactly people had to be using those things left and right to murder right well this guy got killed like he was one of the victims in a halloween film he got murdered by michael myers no you gotta really you really gotta wind up on those things huh cause it's really like a yeah he's like a team banging on a haystack he knocked my damn hat off i was murdering so hard that's why michael myers doesn't wear a hat that's right that's why michael myers doesn't wear one of these hats i bet you he was in the mirror when he was trying things on like the mask and he was like was this scary then he started doing his like no it gets in the way thinking they could get the truth from the man himself a psychic visited the home years later and claimed to have summoned the spirit of stefan jumel they reported that stefan told them he'd been murdered by his wife and buried alive this claim was challenged in 1965 when world famous ghost hunter hans halser held his own seance at the mansion and said that when he made contact with stefan all the spirit did was complain about his wife wanting answers the staff at the mansion decided to hold their own seance in eliza jumel's bedroom and even allowed a local radio station to broadcast it but quote they got such foul language that it had to be cut off the air end quote what are we doing here it's a seance i'm staring at these olives we're doing a classic seance here we're going to try and set the record straight and let's just get into it right now my name is oh hey by the way i set up the flashlight for you you have a mag light here i know you like that i do like that we're reaching out right now to eliza jumel we're sitting in your bedroom and we'd like to communicate with you that was shane whispering i didn't whisper yeah you did come on unbeknownst to us our audio recorder did in fact pick up this chilling whisper moments before eliza we really just want to set the record straight here there's a lot of misinformation out there some people think you murdered your husband if you murdered your husband uh turn the light off and i'm gonna need to see some intelligent responses for me to think that's actually you communicating with us turn the light off now if you didn't murder your husband well what is it eliza if you think aaron burr was just a real hot slice of meat yeah a tall glass of water why don't you turn off that flashlight all right now is there anybody in here with us right now [Music] can you say your name [Music] say my name ryan say it to me right now if you want to talk i think we've been bearing with you start speaking clearer [Music] you seem like you're very frustrated right now i just really want to eat some olives sadly it was eliza's choice in a second husband that would be the biggest threat to her future that man was aaron burr on july 1st 1833 just over a year after stefan's death eliza jamelle married former vice president aaron burr eliza was 58 at the time of her marriage to a then 77 year old burr and had her own vast fortune and extensive real estate holdings so why mary again because eliza's union with burr would provide the one thing she'd fought for her entire life acceptance in high society despite his checkered past aaron burr moved in the most elite circles of new york society and by marrying him she would finally be accepted and even began introducing herself as the quote vice queen of the united states end quote that's cringey as hell oh me i'm the vice queen of the united states now she doesn't have the greatest moral compass here but she is funny i'll say that honestly she seems like a good pair for burr that's true those two are kind of a match made in heaven he's like um you know a stone cold loser she's uh a bit uh sketchy match made in heaven that's true they could both be sketchy together yeah and live their sketchy live out to the end yeah a couple of skeeves it's destiny however the marriage was a disaster as burr was a chronic debtor and spent eliza's vast fortune faster than she could invest it and after a year she'd had enough and filed for divorce but the only reason one could divorce in 1834 was by proving that your partner had been unfaithful so she arranged for a servant to testify that they'd seen burr quote disporting himself with a lover end quote eliza also hired the one attorney who would be most effective against this particular opponent none other than alexander hamilton jr hey remember that guy you shot unfairly and then it ruined your life i'm gonna bring in his son and he's gonna do the divorce yeah so she is she's a twisted lady very funny yeah very very funny i do like that she married him to get ahead in life and then he just spent all their money that is very funny i admire that never one to step down from a duel burr fired back saying that eliza had been unfaithful to him with eight men eliza's claims were more believable and on september 14th 1836 the divorce finally went through the same day aaron burr died rough tuesday this guy just keeps getting wrecked over and over and over again i've never seen a man lose so many battles in a row it's kind of crazy as he lay dying a clergyman reportedly asked the former vice president about his thoughts on the afterlife forever the politician burr simply answered quote on that subject i am coy end quote indeed he is as it's still unclear where exactly aaron burr is currently spending his afterlife paranormal investigator vincent carbone says there is plenty of supernatural activity in burr's former bedroom at the morris jamel mansion that could prove the former vice president is still very much in residence well we've arrived at aaron burr's room america's notorious loser by the way this is one of the only known bus of aaron burr hello sir all right mr burr mr vice president as you probably get a stiffy when you hear that look at this did you see this little i know we have things to do but it's a little beetle that's neat i gotta get one of those for my home right now we are reaching out to aaron burr we've been doing this all night i'd love to see you i'd love to ask you what you were thinking when you shot hamilton at this moment our producer hears whistling coming from somewhere in the house where it where was it coming from where could that be coming from [Music] who's down here whistling you're not supposed to be here anybody down here this is the basement [Music] mother of pearl that actually got used to jump a little bit too [ __ ] me that scared the [ __ ] out of me after the investigation we reviewed an audio recorder and camera left in the basement what we found is perhaps one of the clearest pieces of evidence we've ever captured [Music] also found in our evidence review was more whistling coming from other parts of the house specifically in the very room we returned to aaron burr's bedroom is this the whistling of former vice president aaron burr my thought is i think it's a person whistling so you think somebody broke into the house no i think someone may have been idly whistling and not paid attention to it i know lauren was down there doing dit stuff it's possible he could have whistled this is often the skeptic's argument when the evidence is too strong they'll just say well obviously it's made up or someone's lying i go to the most logical thing which is i think someone was whistling it's possible someone was whistling i think we can chop it up to human error and someone being like i don't think i was whistling no i wasn't whistling or there could have been someone outside we had cars going by i heard the radio a few times from outside this happens too yeah but with that this is carry is the thing this happened throughout the entire shoot this this is only two of the questions maybe someone was going on a walk outside past the block a couple years right someone went on a five-hour walk did a circle around the morris your mail mansion i've whistled before without even thinking about it so i'm gonna assume someone whistled so official explanation just so i can make that clear after all the [ __ ] so i was whistling someone whistled we said hey is that you whistling they said no well if that was by accident please don't whistle anymore and they went got it what time is it oh 11 pm let's keep going until 12 a.m you know what why don't i keep whistling till two o'clock in the morning because i love whistling and claiming i'm not whistling right well i think you've dug yourself enough of a hole there i think this ghost aaron burr do you regret shooting alexander hamilton if you need a refresher does uh did he regret it i don't think he did that's him right there his name is on our money because he's a very very famous and successful and decorated man where's your dollar bill they actually made a play about this man it's called hamilton i don't want to spoil it for you but you don't have the greatest part in this play do you think you have an unfair reputation mr burr vice president burr can you say my name back to me that's ryan so let me know you want to communicate [Music] are you happy with your life aaron let me see that 10 bill is he like okay it's funny it's a funny bit classic bit but i'm also it's not a bit okay where are we headed an audio recorder left in aaron burr's room picked up these voices [Music] is this the voice of former vice president aaron burr to find out we'll investigate his room and the second floor individually get up there and find some ghosts okay you just holler when it's time for me to come back down okay it's time for another solo investigation this is when i the person who doesn't believe in ghosts walk around a bunch of dark rooms that i say a bunch of dumb [ __ ] uh to fill the time i just want to admire some of the finer pieces in here look at this a little vanity it's the same story every time we yuck it up in the house and i feel very uh safe and then i'm left to my own devices and i lose my mind it's it's honestly hilariously clockwork-like at this point i might be the only ghost hunter who doesn't want to see a ghost any ghosts around look at holy [ __ ] [Music] look at this clock let's appreciate this is that a thing of beauty or what i thought we'd already seen the two sexiest clocks in the house but boy was i wrong god damn i'm sure the big guy's having a blast up there honestly he's pretty tired right now i bet you he's just laying down and sleeping you have fun up there yeah there's a lot to admire up there a lot of history yeah well so just some nice pieces well let's just get this over with i passed this to my brethren and ghoul hunting all right get on up there yay by the way it was really really scary oh yeah said she said it everything it was really scary oh i'm sure it was pal i'm gonna have nightmares about it yeah yeah yeah yeah my bed is gonna be wet oh this is awful per uge well well well look who it is me yeah boy this is your chance to grab glory and murder the internet's favorite ghost hunter in cold blood i hope you take advantage of it but if my baseline is not generally scared of these places this was like 10 steps below that it's just a really nice house it was nice to walk around up there and look at nice things it's a nice change of pace from uh you know the [ __ ] holes we usually go to my hair's standing up but i think it's just because i'm [ __ ] scared wow this is rather horrifying mr burr i was talking a lot of trash earlier and this is the time to really stick it to me show yourself all right folks you leave me no choice my name is ryan can you say ryan back to me to show me you want to talk eliza are you in here i'm sure ryan's being very thorough up there asking the spirit box for clarifying statements which it never once has given him staphon did your wife murder you yes or no no anybody with me down here boy do i hate these say my name ryan if you want to communicate no how was it up there real scary i didn't enjoy it but i never enjoy it so no you know when do i ever get what i want did you did you hear anything uh not really to be honest oh let's walk on out of here let's get out of here yeah i'd like to leave adios uh georgie all the other dudes and the lady and her kids stefan oh wait apparently if you don't say goodbye to eliza she will follow you home so oh goodbye eliza it's been nice thanks for having us over uh follow me on instagram or something it's a gorgeous house can't wait to see it never again the impressive history of the morris jamel mansion is undeniable a living piece of american history that hosted a veritable who's who of our founding fathers as well as the extraordinary self-made woman who owned the sprawling estate but whether eliza and aaron burr still roam these hallowed halls will remain unsolved [Music] you

Channel: BuzzFeed Unsolved Network

Views: 4,502,615

Keywords: SffZ, The Haunted Halls of Morris-Jumel Mansion, buzzfeed, buzzfeed unsolved, buzzfeed unsolved network, buzzfeed unsolved supernatural, buzzfeedunsolved, creepy, investigative, morris jumel mansion, morris jumel mansion history, scary, supernatural buzzfeed unsolved, true crime, unsolved case

Id: 96BhTy93MN0

Length: 35min 23sec (2123 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 05 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/HoobyHooby]

Ryan: "Hold on. Stop moving."

Shane: Turns complete circle.

[u/AlwaysDragons]

Imagine trying to get into high society and calling yourself vice queen of the united states, and some dude centuries later calls you cringey.

[u/Bxwitched161]

This was the creepiest episode imo. It doesn't help that i live so close to this place. I do not want to be in the room where the whistling happened, Aaron. No, thank you.

[u/TheIrishninjas]

Honestly with them catching footsteps throughout the house, something only really associated with Washington (and with some of them sounding distinctly like they were made by old-fashioned split-sole boots), I'm thinking if there's anything paranormal going on here it's ol' Georgie following them around. Maybe he whistled while he paced back when the mansion was used as a base of operations?

[u/eXodus91]

They got some pretty good audio recordings. Sounds completely different than the usual audio that is picked up. It actually sounded and felt like a whisper.

[u/CutToTheChase56]

The audio recordings here are PHENOMENAL. The boys captured some amazing stuff and that whistle tops it all off.

[u/letstalkaboutyrhair]

my bed is gonna be wet

[u/HopeAuq101]

Holy fuck some of those audio recordings are CLEAR the whistle and then "somebodys here" and "Eliza" are crystal

[u/damnyoutuesday]

High quality whistles and somewhat decent voices. Best evidence in a long while