House of Death

 

West 10th street in Greenwich Village is perhaps the most beautiful street in all of Manhattan.  Before the Civil War, the townhomes around Washington Square Park were a fashionable place to live.  In 1857, a Greek Revival townhome was built at 14 W. 10th St.  According to New York lore, it is the site of more than 22 deaths and the most haunted location in Manhattan.

26 years ago today, on November 1, 1987, Joel Steinberg, a prominent criminal attorney, bludgeoned his 6 year old daughter Lisa to death on the second floor in one of the most shocking crimes in New York history.  According to Court records, Lisa endured 6 years of physical and psychological abuse from Mr. Steinberg's sadomasochistic fantasies until one night he took it too far.  The trial became a national news sensation with the house being dubbed the House of Death.

But the history of the House of Death goes back much farther.  Mark Twain lived here from 1900-1901 and allegedly called the house his most beloved residence.  He lived here when he was 65, but threw lavish parties here.  Reports have indicated that he still haunts the parlor floor of the house.  When Broadway actress Jan Bryant Bartell moved in the 1950s, she felt and saw abnormal presences - saw ghosts, heard noises, felt paranormal activity.  She was so convinced by what she saw that she changed her views on the paranormal and even published a book about her experiences in the home called Spindrift: Spray from a Psychic Sea.



In it, Bartell recounts that the paranormal activity she felt caused her so much concern that she spoke with the long time superintendent about whether he had any complaints.  According to the superintendent, a mother and daughter in the 1930s reported visiting the home when night before the lamps were lit and seeing Mark Twain, wild white hair and all, on the parlor floor.  Apparently he told them, "My name is Clemens and I got problems here I gotta settle."