The Occult Section

Yes, it’s shameless self-promotion time again, but this time, I’m taking a few friends along with me. With September almost halfway over, those of us with paranormal leanings are finding our attention becoming more and more focused on the Halloween season. And Halloween season means lots of ghost tours of haunted locations and other fun activities. So today I’m going to outline a few of the events that my group, the New York Paranormal Society will be a part of, along with our friends at SCARED! and the Staten Island Paranormal Society. All of these events take place at Snug Harbor on Staten Island, NY. Last month, TAPS was at Snug Harbor to film an upcoming episode of Ghost Hunters, which will be airing on October 26th on the SyFy Channel. These events are great opportunities to get into an awesome haunted location before the secret is out!

• Paranormal Meet & Greet - September 16th: In preparation for the Haunted Historical Tours beginning on October 28th, the three-in house teams at Sailor’s Snug Harbor on Staten Island, NY will be holding a Meet & Greet. We will be discussing the history of Snug Harbor, sharing some of our ghostly stories and strange experiences at Snug Harbor, discussing other paranormal investigations we have done, and wrap up by answering questions from the audience. As an added bonus, participants can buy tickets that let them accompany us on an investigation after the Q&A session. Tickets are $10 pre-registration, $15 at the door, and only an addition $2 for the investigation portion.

• Premiere of Haunted Snug Harbor - October 21st: Join the SCARED! Crew as they present their latest film, Haunted Snug Harbor, which not only details the history of Snug harbor, but also the reports of hauntings in many of its buildings, including the Governor’s House, the Matron’s House (or Matron’s Cottage, as it’s sometimes called), the Music Hall, Cottage B, C Hall, and more. As SIPS and NYPS were both graciously asked to be a part of the documentary, both groups will be represented at the premiere as well. A lot of work went into this documentary, a lot of which I witnessed first hand. Don’t miss this.

• Historical Hauntings Tours – October 28th: The granddaddy of them all! October 28th begins two full weekends of tours of the Snug Harbor grounds, taking visitors into the most haunted buildings at Snug Harbor: the Governor’s House, the Matron’s Cottage, C Hall, the Music Hall, and Cottage B. representatives from each of our three teams will be at each building to tell the haunted history and maybe even do a bit of investigating, Last year’s event was a huge success, and many of the participants on the tours had personal experiences. This year looks to be even more fun, but book your tickets now, as they will go fast once the Ghost Hunters episode airs.  (NOTE: Other paranormal groups and paranormally-themed vendors can also rent tables at the fair that will be happening every night while the tours are conducted. Interested parties should contact Kim Pinto, Education Coordinator: kpinto@snug-harbor.org or at 718-425-3556.)

And finally, I must point out that while Snug Harbor is a wonderful place to visit, rich in history and (from what we have been able to experience) very active with paranormal activity, the best part of these events is the groups. In this day and age, most paranormal groups can barely stand to be in the same city with other ghost hunters, much less run events together. So to have our three groups not only get along, but to actually be friends says a lot about these guys and gals. We’ve all been working very closely together for over a year now, and know each other even longer than that. The tours will be interesting, informative and maybe even a bit scary, but also a lot of fun, since each person in these groups is funnier than the next. If you’re looking to hear some great ghost stories this Halloween, but also have a lot of laughs, then Snug Harbor is the place to be.