Boroughs Of The Dead Come To Life With Tours By Andrea Janes

Whether you’ve had the eerie sensation of an icy presence that suddenly joins you in an empty room, or just have a soft spot for the macabre, author and Boroughs of the Dead tour guide Andrea Janes is the perfect source when it comes to New York City tales of things that go bump in the night.

We recently caught up with the South Slope writer to learn more about her penchant for the supernatural, and to get an inside look at Boroughs of the Dead.

SSN: First of all, tell us a bit about yourself. How long have you lived in South Slope?

AJ: I’ve lived in South Slope for four years. Before that I lived in Sunset Park for two years. Prior to that I lived variously in Astoria, Staten Island, Harlem, and Morningside Hts. South Slope is definitely my favorite out of all these places, because it feels like a small town in the middle of the city. I find it restful!

When did you first become interested in the supernatural?

I’ve been interested in the supernatural ever since I was a little girl. I used to go into my basement with a flashlight hunting for ghosts!

What are some of your favorite ghost stories from our neighborhood?

Incredibly, I haven’t heard many South Slope ghost stories. I’m not sure why this is. It may have something to do with how dominant the cemetery is in our neck of the woods. Cemeteries are not actually very haunted places.

But I’m definitely always on the lookout for good local ghost stories. Actually, one of my secret goals is to compile an oral history of New Yorker’s personal ghost stories. I imagine that if I collected enough stories from several people who have lived in the same place — say, two decade’s worth of anecdotes from renters in a specific building — we’d begin to see some patterns. I absolutely welcome anyone to get in touch with me if they have a story to share. I’d love to hear it.

Living so close to Green-Wood must be great inspiration. Do you visit the cemetery often?

Absolutely! I walk in the cemetery at least once a week, and I love how I still don’t know everything about it. Every time I go, I discover something new. It’s an endless source of inspiration.

I often stroll there when I’m working out the plots and problems of stories I’m writing, and I am not above plucking a name off a tombstone to use in one of my tales. In fact, the fictional town in my forthcoming young adult novel is named after a headstone in Green-Wood, and the protagonist of a thriller I’m working on was directly inspired by another. I actually got the name first and loved it so much I created a whole character around her.

Then of course there are the literal stories associated with the many fascinating people buried there, some of which I share on my tours of the place.

Have you ever had an encounter with a ghost?

Yes. There are two houses in Manhattan that I feel are absolutely haunted. In one, I felt a very definite presence telling me to leave. In the other, I have felt the repeated sensation of not being alone, and once felt something cold brush my arm, just like a person brushing past me, but invisible. Needless to say, there were no drafts in the house at the time — there were, however, audible footsteps coming from the second floor bedroom, which was empty at the time… You can find out which houses these are, and hear more stories about them, on my Ultimate Greenwich Village Ghost Tour!

What can people expect from one of your tours?

Think of my tours as “dark histories.” Expect historical accuracy and insight, with a pretty high body count! Think murders, executions, revolutions, epidemics, grave robbing and scandalous levels of human folly.

Expect haunting tales of the uncanny and inexplicable. I strive to infuse the stories with dark humor and drama, while avoiding coming off as cheesy or overly exploitative in areas where it is not appropriate. I don’t wear a costume, except at Halloween, but I do sometimes, on ghost tours, carry a lantern. I just really like a lantern for some reason!

On a ghost tour, I might also ask guests about their own paranormal experiences. I love to listen to people’s personal ghost stories on the walking bits between tour stops. Sometimes, if the mood is right, I may ask guests share their ghost stories with the group, which can be really fun.

One caveat: Unfortunately, unless you’re fairly easily frightened, you probably can’t expect to actually be terrified. I conduct my ghost tours without the benefit of scary music cues or special effects, on the streets of a city that is always busy and bustling. You may get a shiver or an eerie feeling if you’re sensitive, but I can’t offer the same scares as a horror movie or a haunted house.

What are the different tours that you offer?

Some are straight historical tours, like “Murder, Scandal, and Vice: Crime and Corruption in 19th Century New York” and “Green-Wood Cemetery: Off the Map.” These tours are still macabre in nature, but do not deal with the paranormal.

Others do deal with the paranormal, like “The Ultimate Greenwich Village Ghost Tour,” where I’ll not only tell you some of the city’s eeriest ghost stories, but I’ll also break down the parapsychological elements behind the hauntings. This includes discussions of things like EVPs (electronic voice phenomena), EMFs (electromagnetic fields), and residual versus intelligent haunting. This isn’t intended to prove or disprove anything, merely to provide a richer knowledge of the stories and take the ghost tour to a level beyond what you’ll get on the typical NYC ghost walk.

Some of my tours have elements of both history and the paranormal, like “The Haunted City: Ghosts of Lower Manhattan,” in which the ghosts are both literal and metaphorical. While not every stop on that tour has a ghost story, all of the stories have a corpse in there somewhere. In general, the rule of thumb on a Boroughs of the Dead walking tour is that every story has a corpse in it….

In addition, I also offer an Edgar Allan Poe tour in October and January, a Titanic Ghosts tour every April, and starting in September, I’ll be offering tours for kids! And I am always happy to provide customized private tours upon request.

If someone wanted to explore the sordid history of their home (because most of these old buildings are bound to be bursting with secrets), how would you recommend they go about doing that?

First off, you’d want to go to the Office of the City Register and look through the property records to find out who lived there and when. You might also want to look into the King’s County Archives to see if you can find the census records for your home. You may need to draw on the services of a professional genealogist or historian who might then be able to connect those names to any significant events that occurred in the house. Maybe try the Brooklyn Historical Society for something like that. It might even come down to tracking down the former residents and interviewing them about their experiences.

Finally, you could employ a reputable medium or parapsychologist to conduct some spiritual research. The American Society for Psychical Research will help you find someone who is legitimate. Don’t underestimate your own intuition, either. If you’re feeling a presence in a house, that’s a sign that you’re already attuned to your own psychic abilities. You can actually develop these abilities and it may help guide your search in the right direction. If this feels flaky to you, remember that police detectives often rely on “hunches.” There’s no shame in listening to your “little man” like Edward G. Robinson in Double Indemnity. Do your research and trust your gut.

Anything else that I didn’t mention that you’d like the world (well, at least South Slope) to know about?

I have a book of short stories, also called Boroughs of the Dead, available for sale on Amazon and on my website. The stories are a mix of horror and dark historical fiction. And in 2014 I’ll be publishing a young adult novel, GLAMOUR, with World Weaver Press.

Andrea’s next Boroughs of the Dead tour, The Haunted City: Ghosts of Lower Manhattan, is scheduled for June 20 at 8:30pm. Tickets are $25. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit the Borough of the Dead website.

Photo via Andrea Janes

Know a South Slope neighbor we should write about? Tell us at editor@bklyner.com!