Manhattan's oldest surviving residence is said to be haunted. I toured the 18th-century mansion with ghost-hunting equipment and saw things I can't fully explain.

Talia LakritzJan 13, 2024, 00:13 IST

I went on a tour investigating paranormal activity at Morris-Jumel Mansion, Manhattan's oldest residence.Talia Lakritz/Insider ; Talia Lakritz/Insider

Built in 1765, Morris-Jumel Mansion is the oldest surviving residence in Manhattan.
I went on a tour of the house that included the use of paranormal investigative equipment.

Located just off 162nd Street in New York City's Washington Heights neighborhood, there is a historic mansion dating back to the Revolutionary War that is said to be terribly haunted.

The Morris-Jumel Mansion, now a museum, functioned as George Washington's military headquarters during the Battle of Harlem Heights. Later, former vice president Aaron Burr married its owner, Eliza Jumel, who was one of the wealthiest women in America upon her death in 1865.

Jumel is said to haunt the mansion, along with other past residents and soldiers from the War of Independence. Every year around Halloween, the museum offers ghost tours to educate the public about the house and its history of paranormal activity.

I went on a ghost-hunting tour featuring the use of paranormal investigative equipment. While I still emerged skeptical about the existence of spirits, I enjoyed learning more about the little-known historical site — and witnessed some things I can't fully explain.

Here's what it was like.

Morris-Jumel Mansion, which was built in 1765, is the oldest surviving residence in Manhattan.

Morris-Jumel Mansion.Talia Lakritz/Insider

The house is also said to be haunted.

A plaque at Morris-Jumel Mansion.Talia Lakritz/Insider

I signed up for one of the mansion's paranormal-investigation tours to see for myself.

A sign advertising a paranormal-investigation tour at Morris-Jumel Mansion.Talia Lakritz/Insider

The tour began with an introduction to the ghost-hunting equipment we'd be using, such as REM pods.

A paranormal research instrument.Talia Lakritz/Insider

Each participant also received an electromagnetic field (EMF) meter.

An EMF meter.Talia Lakritz/Insider

Another surprising tool used by paranormal researchers: motion-activated cat ball toys.

Cat balls on a mantle.Talia Lakritz/Insider

As we assembled in the entryway, Mungo began telling us about the Morris family and the history of the house. Then, the cat ball inside the Octagon Room across the hall went off.

The Octagon Room.Talia Lakritz/Insider

As we assembled in the entryway, Mungo began telling us about the Morris family and the history of the house. Then, the cat ball inside the Octagon Room across the hall went off.

The tour continued in the parlor, where Eliza Jumel married Aaron Burr in 1833.

The parlor at Morris-Jumel Mansion.Talia Lakritz/Insider

In the dining room, Mungo pointed out a clock decorated with a moon that is said to wink at handsome men.

A clock inside the dining room at Morris-Jumel Mansion.Talia Lakritz/Insider

We then headed upstairs to Jumel's bedroom, where Compton introduced dowsing rods, another ghost-hunting tool.

Karen Compton uses dousing rods to detect paranormal activity at the Morris-Jumel Mansion.Talia Lakritz/Insider

The parlor that served as George Washington's war room in 1776 seemed particularly active as Compton told us about his valet, an enslaved man named William "Billy" Lee.

My EMF meter lit up in George Washington's war room.Talia Lakritz/Insider

Compton said Aaron Burr's bedchamber, where Lin-Manuel Miranda spent time writing his hit musical "Hamilton," has featured a paranormal peculiarity known as EVP, or electronic voice phenomena.

Aaron Burr's room at the Morris-Jumel Mansion.Talia Lakritz/Insider

Compton said Aaron Burr's bedchamber, where Lin-Manuel Miranda spent time writing his hit musical "Hamilton," has featured a paranormal peculiarity known as EVP, or electronic voice phenomena.

Downstairs in the kitchen, we tried some more EVP by recording ourselves asking questions to the home's former residents and listening back to see if we got any response.

The kitchen in the basement of the Morris-Jumel Mansion.Talia Lakritz/Insider

Downstairs in the kitchen, we tried some more EVP by recording ourselves asking questions to the home's former residents and listening back to see if we got any response.

I still didn't believe in ghosts by the end of the tour, but I was surprised by how much I wanted to see or hear one during my visit.

Inside Morris-Jumel Mansion.Talia Lakritz/Insider

Mungo told me that more than anything, the goal of the ghost tours is to educate visitors about the history of the mansion and its extraordinary occupants.

Morris-Jumel Mansion.Talia Lakritz/Insider

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Manhattan's oldest surviving residence is said to be haunted. I toured the 18th-century mansion with ghost-hunting equipment and saw things I can't fully explain.

Morris-Jumel Mansion, which was built in 1765, is the oldest surviving residence in Manhattan.

The house is also said to be haunted.

I signed up for one of the mansion's paranormal-investigation tours to see for myself.

The tour began with an introduction to the ghost-hunting equipment we'd be using, such as REM pods.

Each participant also received an electromagnetic field (EMF) meter.

Another surprising tool used by paranormal researchers: motion-activated cat ball toys.

As we assembled in the entryway, Mungo began telling us about the Morris family and the history of the house. Then, the cat ball inside the Octagon Room across the hall went off.

The tour continued in the parlor, where Eliza Jumel married Aaron Burr in 1833.

In the dining room, Mungo pointed out a clock decorated with a moon that is said to wink at handsome men.

We then headed upstairs to Jumel's bedroom, where Compton introduced dowsing rods, another ghost-hunting tool.

The parlor that served as George Washington's war room in 1776 seemed particularly active as Compton told us about his valet, an enslaved man named William "Billy" Lee.

Compton said Aaron Burr's bedchamber, where Lin-Manuel Miranda spent time writing his hit musical "Hamilton," has featured a paranormal peculiarity known as EVP, or electronic voice phenomena.

Downstairs in the kitchen, we tried some more EVP by recording ourselves asking questions to the home's former residents and listening back to see if we got any response.

I still didn't believe in ghosts by the end of the tour, but I was surprised by how much I wanted to see or hear one during my visit.

Mungo told me that more than anything, the goal of the ghost tours is to educate visitors about the history of the mansion and its extraordinary occupants.