See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Matthew Perlman
Brooklyn Daily
This is not your grandmother’s walk in the Heights.
A spooky haunted walking tour hits the streets of Brooklyn Heights Oct. 24, just in time for Halloween. The history-centric jaunt will lead walkers to the sites of Kings County apparitions while a guide explains the ghostly tales behind the hair-raising landmarks. The tour’s founder said walkers will not have worry about being too scared during the trek, but they might have trouble sleeping later that night.
“It’s not terrifying in a way that would make you wet your pants,” said Andrea Janes, who has also authored a book of short horror stories titled “Boroughs of the Dead: New York City Ghost Stories.” “But sometimes the stories creep up on you.”
Janes’s “Boroughs of the Dead” tours began last year with routes on the distant island of Manhattan and in Green-Wood Cemetery. This will be her first foray onto the streets of Brooklyn, and she said the Heights seemed like a perfect place to start.
“Aesthetically, the neighborhood’s very pleasing,” she said. “Which helps create a good atmosphere.”
The tour actually begins in Cobble Hill, near the former site of a Revolutionary War fort. Janes will tell the story of a sailor who was drinking at a nearby tavern and was sent to fetch more booze when the watering hole ran out. He never came back, and when his friends went searching for him, they found him in front of the abandoned fort, apparently in shock and unable to talk. He died two days later, Janes said.
“Murdered by a ghost? Had a stroke? You decide,” she said.
Other stops on the creepy crawl include the former home of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, and the Montague Street entrance to the Promenade, where the ghost of an old sea captain is sometimes supposedly seen.
All the stories have at least some basis in reality, Janes said. She got the idea to start her scary schleps while doing research for her book, which incorporates historical elements. Janes figured she could share the terrifying tales with others, and bone up on her story-telling technique at the same time.
“They were too cool to keep to myself,” she said. “Besides, it’s fun to tell stories to a live audience. It’s great practice for a writer.”
Boroughs of the Dead Haunted Brooklyn Heights walking tour [140 Court St. between Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street in Cobble Hill, www.boroughsofthedead.com]. Oct. 24 at 7 pm and 9 pm, Oct. 25 at 3 pm and 7 pm, Oct. 31 at 7 pm and 9 pm. $25 ($20 advance).