Boroughs of the Dead

06/20/2024

Happy summer! What’s your favorite part of summer? Ours is… well, you’ve got three guesses 📚
In honor of our nerdy love of summer reads, we’re starting Boroughs of the Dead’s first-ever book club! Each month we’ll read a spooky NYC-themed book that touches on the themes of our tours. Meetings will feature book discussion and live Q&As with the authors!
First meeting 8/13/24 - Mortimer and the Witches by Marie Carter
2nd meeting 10/8/24 - A Mystery of Mysteries by Mark Dawidziak
3rd meeting 11/19/24 - Madame Restell by Jen Ashley Wright
Details for further meetings to be revealed... stay tuned!
Virtual event. Event is free but registration is required. Register via link in comments.

06/12/2024

Did you know? 2024 marks the 400th anniversary of New Amsterdam / New York City (1624 - 2024). NYC celebrates with little fanfare this year, as times are turbulent and people seem to have overlooked this important date. But not us! We know that times have always been turbulent, and we find there’s nothing like historic perspective to help make sense of our present era.

Join us this Saturday, June 15 as we unearth the dark and secret histories of our city. Lower Manhattan is where it all began, and our signature “Forgotten Dark Histories of Lower Manhattan” tour begins at Bowling Green and moves chronologically and temporally through space and time northward to City Hall Park, and from the 17th century to the 19th century, delving deeply into the first 200 years of New York City history.

We spend a lot of time in Dutch and British colonial New York on this tour, which certainly is a wealth of ghastly, gory hidden stories. Discover the overlooked histories of Kieft's War, the Revolutionary War, gaze upon colonial era, graves, learn about the Doctor’s Riot of 1788, and more…

This Saturday we are doing a rare “daylight tour”, all the better to go into some sacred cemeteries and ancient burial grounds and get up close and personal with the monuments there. This will be our last daytime tour until the fall so don’t miss it!

Tickets and info via link in bio 🎟️

06/11/2024

Stay cool, only come out at night 🦇 Spend the summer with us and take 15% off all ghost tours between June 23 and August 18. No code needed. Tickets and info = link in bio.

06/04/2024

Fox Sisters’ headstone in Cypress Hills Cemetery, Queens.

06/03/2024

Oh man... so, in the past I've sometimes felt a bit like a scold or a schoolmarm because I am so pedantic about NOT touching monuments in cemeteries. THIS is why. Please don't touch, climb, lean on, sit on, or do rubbings on gravestones. This not only wears down the stone, but can seriously injure you, as we see here. Don't feel bad if you didn't know this: I didn't know either until I started working for a cemetery. But now you know. Sympathies to this poor guy, and well-intentioned warnings to you all.

06/02/2024

Sunday …

05/31/2024

Join BotD founder .author and the next Friday June 7 for a virtual program: Can a Building Drive People MAD?
Dan, Lee, and Matilda are joined by Andrea Janes, co-author of A Haunted History of Invisible Women, to explore whether buildings themselves can “drive their inhabitants crazy.” Using the particular case of a building in NYC’s West Village, we’ll discuss energy and vibrational patterns (or actual possessions) of structures that might impact the actions and mental states of those who live in them.

05/17/2024

To fade from living memory is to die a second death. We keep the Merchant's House Museum alive through preservation now, but if it disappears and is forgotten by future generations, Gertrude et al will have truly died a second, irrevocable death. And, I might add, needless. Because we do not need another office building, truly.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission recently approved a project that includes construction of a 7-story office building directly adjacent to the Merchant’s

05/16/2024

"Of course, its history has had a dark side, too."

Thank you for finally acknowledging our "Forgotten Dark Histories of Lower Manhattan" tour, The New York Times! ;)

Gotham’s 400th birthday calls for a celebration worthy of the great metropolis it is.

05/11/2024

"She asked a stranger to accompany her on a ghost tour. Then they fell in love." Awwwwww....

Amelia Showalter and Lucas Demaria crossed paths at a whisky bar in Scotland. A spontaneous ghost tour led to a second date in Peru and an unexpected romance.

05/09/2024

Join us! BotD founder Andrea will be there at 12pm on Saturday with copies of "A Haunted History of Invisible Women" for sale!

This Saturday, join us for the anticipated grand reopening of the Morbid Anatomy Library in Brooklyn!

🔗 Registration is free at lnk.bio/s/morbidanatomy/MorbidReopening.

Visit our new and accessible library and shop expanded gift shop! Morbid Anatomy founder Joanna Ebenstein will be on hand all day and the following authors will be available for book signing and meet-and-greet:

Andrea Janes 12-1 pm
A Haunted History of Invisible Women: True Stories of America’s Ghosts

Marc Hartzman 1-2 pm
We Are Not Alone: The Extraordinary History of UFOs and Aliens Invading Our Hopes, Fears, and Fantasies

Leila Taylor 2-3 pm
Darkly: Black History and America’s Gothic Soul

Colin Dickey 3-4 pm
Under the Eye of Power: How Fear of Secret Societies Shapes American Democracy

Laetitia Barbier 4-5 pm
Tarot and Divination Cards: A Visual Archive

Plus, enjoy a glass of complimentary wine courtesy of JNSQ Wines.

We are part of the Industry City complex, which is just 20 minutes from Manhattan, located on the Brooklyn waterfront. Enter at 254 36th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11232. Immediately turn right, and ascend one flight of stairs, or use elevators to floor 2. Find us in 2-C248.

05/03/2024

“I start with the assumption that people of past generations were just as intelligent as we are.”

This quote, from Rhode Island folklorist Michael Bell, really speaks to us. One of our pet peeves is when modern folks take what we call the "Point-and-Laugh" view of history, chuckling at the foibles of, say, those wacky Victorians (or medievals, or any other historic grouping of humans).

Yesterday's arsenic face powder is today's Ozempic. We live in a constant state of experimentation, sporadic progress, mistakes, failure, learning, trials, and mistrials.

Memento mori, yes, but also memento historia: you are future history.

04/05/2024

Solar eclipse got you feeling woo? Keep that energy going with our post-tour Tarot Salon on 6/22.

On June 22 2024, we're offering a special Summer Solstice edition of our Witches of Old New York tour, followed by a post-tour Tarot Salon at a private residence in SoHo!

Psychic mediums Terry Iacuzzo and Frank Andrews invite you into their curio-filled home for two hours of tarot readings, demonstrations, and whatever spirits decide to join us.

Option valid for the JUNE 22 Summer Solstice Edition of this tour ONLY.

Please select the "Tarot Salon Add-On" ticket option at checkout (tarot salon tickets cannot be purchased separately). Salon location is a private residence; address will be revealed to ticket-holders during the tour.

03/21/2024

April is just around the corner and around here that means only one thing: it's time to embark on a Ghosts of the Titanic tour!

03/20/2024

We talk a lot about phony ghost lore on our tours. Does it matter to you whether a story is true or not? Some feel it doesn't lessen the charm of a story, others prefer to know historical "fact" as much as possible. Where do you stand?

03/08/2024

Looking for a way to be spooky and support women owned businesses AND a local museum? Look no further! Order our book at the Morbid Anatomy online shop and spend the rest of the day knowing you did good.

03/01/2024

Figured we'd drop this here. You support our woman-owned business all year long so thank you! Happy Women's History Month!

02/27/2024

Tickets to our GHOSTS OF THE SEAPORT tour are on sale now!

02/22/2024

We're excited to announce a BRAND NEW walking tour! Ghosts of the Seaport launches this April. Tickets on sale 2/27. This is the city's ONLY seaport ghost tour and we couldn't be more thrilled to finally be doing justice to our city's nautical ghosts!

02/07/2024

Boroughs of the Dead gift certificates make the perfect gift for that special spooky someone! Gift certificates are transferable and, like true love, they never expire. Scoop them up now:

https://boroughsofthedead.com/gift-certificate/

01/17/2024

NEW TOUR! Saturday, March 30th, 2024. "Mortimer and the Witches: Fraud and Fortune Telling in 19th Century New York ," released in conjunction with the book MORTIMER AND THE WITCHES, takes us through the bustling and elegant historically-rich streets of Union Square, Stuyvesant Square, and Gramercy Park.

Mortimer Thomson, the journalist who wrote under the pseudonym, Q.K. Phlander Doesticks, P.B. went undercover in 1857 to investigate and report on the fortune tellers of New York City’s tenements and slums. When his articles were published in book form in 1858, they catalyzed a series of arrests that both scandalized and delighted the public.

Tour designed and led by Boroughs of the Dead guide and author Marie Carter to celebrate the release of her new book, Mortimer and the Witches, available from Fordham University Press in March 2024. Marie will be available to sign copies of the book after the tour.

Tickets here: https://boroughsofthedead.com/mortimer-and-the-witches-walking-tour/

01/08/2024

ONE NIGHT ONLY! A special Valentine’s Day ghost tour from Boroughs of the Dead! Tickets on sale now:
https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/boroughsofthedead/items/503009/calendar/2024/02/?full-items=yes

12/08/2023

Boroughs of the Dead gift certificates make the perfect stocking stuffer for that special spooky someone!

Gift certificates are transferable and they never expire. Scoop them up now, on our website.

https://boroughsofthedead.com/gift-certificate/

Happy Holidays!

11/02/2023

Up next: A Ghost Tour for Christmas! This year we've added a "Spooky Kid" ticket option for children 8 and up. Parental discretion is still advised!

https://boroughsofthedead.com/ghosts-of-christmas-past/

10/31/2023

Need last-minute Halloween plans? Spend tonight with us on our
Forgotten Dark Histories of Lower Manhattan tour!
https://boroughsofthedead.com/the-forgotten-dark-histories-of-lower-manhattan/

10/18/2023

Born , Poe's BFF (hahaha!) Elizabeth Ellet. If you don't know the whole story of Poe and Mrs. Ellet, take my Poe tour on Nov. 11th, for the love of God!

10/07/2023

When Uncle Jack from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia does a Cameo for your 10th anniversary, it's noteworthy!

10/03/2023

Ghostly Women of Greenwich Village! October 28th and 29th. Tickets here: www.boroughsofthedead.com

10/02/2023

It's our 10-year anniversary! Celebrate with us!

Use offer code 10YEARS for 10% off any of our regular Manhattan ghost tours this month! (Except Saturday nights and Halloween) Hurry, sale ends at midnight on October 7th!