Episodes

A look at some weird medieval creatures from legend and lore. Plus some stories about some recent cemetery visits in Queens, New York, including Houdini’s grave.

Highlights include:
• An ancient, impenetrable European forest
• A magical glowing bird
• A dragon with a rooster’s head

Sources consulted RE: Weird Medieval Creatures

Websites

• https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/fantastic-beasts-of-the-middle-ages/xQKCn9wmjCVVJg
• https://www.abdn.ac.uk/bestiary/ms24/f57r
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caladrius
• http://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast270.htm
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_books_of_hours
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hours,_Morgan_MS_493
  http://bestiary.ca/prisources/psdetail964.htm
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seps_(legendary_creature)
• http://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast271.htm
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scitalis
• http://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast552.htm
• http://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast417.htm
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotoplanes
• http://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast532.htm
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerasteshttp://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast422.htm
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echeneis
• https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D9%3Achapter%3D41
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remora#Mythologyhttp://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast539.htm
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercinia
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercynian_Forest
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurochs
• http://bestiary.ca/articles/anne_walshe/index.html
• https://internetpoem.com/thomas-moore/a-dream-of-antiquity-poem/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Moore
• http://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast541.htm
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichneumon_(medieval_zoology)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yolkless_egg
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockatrice
• http://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast265.htm

Don’t miss past episodes:

• The Renwick Ruin:
  • The Smallpox Hospital, aka Renwick Ruin, on Roosevelt Island, NYC – Part 1
  • The Renwick Ruin and Charity Hospital, Roosevelt Island, NYC – Part 2
• Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel: 
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 1
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 2
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 3, and the Salem Marine Society
• The Haunted Grove Park Inn, Asheville, North Carolina
• Haunted Asheville, North Carolina
• New York City Potter’s Fields
• Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York (Part 1)
• Archbishop John Hughes, aka Dagger John: Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York (Part 2)
• The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas: Part 1
• The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas: Part 2
• A Victorian Lunatic’s Fort: Fort Maxey, Blackwell’s Island, NYC
• The Roosevelt Island Lighthouse, or The Blackwell Island Light, NYC
• The General Slocum Disaster, Hell Gate, New York City
• The Haunted Hell Gate, New York City
• Haunted St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery
• The New York Crystal Palace (Part 1)

The Moore-Jackson Cemetery, a colonial-era cemetery sits in a quiet residential part of Woodside, Queens, in New York City.

Forgotten for years, and even used as a dump for construction materials and other detritus, the Moore-Jackson Cemetery recently been transformed into a beautiful community garden. Here’s the story behind the cemetery and the people buried there.

Highlights include:
• Loyalists living in Revolutionary War-era Queens, NY
• The city trying to illegally seize the cemetery at the behest of a developer
• A hot-potato cemetery

Check out the Moore-Jackson Cemetery/Garden’s website for more info and historical articles: https://www.moorejacksonnyc.org/

Pictures of the Moore-Jackson Cemetery

Moore-Jackson Cemetery in Spring 2020

Moore-Jackson Cemetery in Spring 2020

Moore-Jackson Cemetery in Spring 2020

Moore-Jackson Cemetery in Spring 2020

Moore-Jackson Cemetery in Spring 2020

From the March 18, 1997, Landmark Preservation Commission report on Moore-Jackson Cemetery

From the March 18, 1997, Landmark Preservation Commission report on Moore-Jackson Cemetery

From the March 18, 1997, Landmark Preservation Commission report on Moore-Jackson Cemetery

From the March 18, 1997, Landmark Preservation Commission report on Moore-Jackson Cemetery

Sources consulted RE: the Moore-Jackson Cemetery

Books

• “All the Real Indians Died Off”: And 20 Other Myths About Native Americans by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Dina Gilio-Whitaker
• The Graveyard Shift: A Family Historian’s Guide to New York City Cemeteries by Carolee Inskeep
• Munsell’s History of Queens County, New York, 1882
• The annals of Newtown, in Queens County, New York
  by James Riker, 1852
• History of Long Island City, New York. by J. SKelsey; Long Island Star Publishing Company, 1896
• Queens Borough, New York City, 1910-1920 by Chamber of Commerce, 1920

Websites

• https://www.moorejacksonnyc.org/
• Landmark report:
  http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/db/bb_files/1997Moore-JacksonCemetry.pdf
• Archaeological report about Maspeth from 1991: http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/arch_reports/584.pdf
• https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/moore-homestead-playground
• https://forgotten-ny.com/2017/08/maspeth-1852/
• https://archive.org/details/queensboroughnew00chamrich/page/n3/mode/2up
• https://www.shinnecocknation.com/shinnecock/
• The archeological history of New York by Parker, Arthur Caswell, 1881-1955: https://archive.org/details/archeologicalhis02parkrich/page/476/mode/2up
• General archaeological report page: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/lpc/about/archaeology.page
• “A Seventeenth-Century Fireplace at Maspeth, Long Island” Solecki: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24531641?seq=1
• https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/17/nyregion/neighborhood-report-astoria-an-aging-custodian-worries-about-a-historic-cemetery.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clement_Clarke_Moore
• https://boulevardgardens.nyc/history
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Moore_(bishop)
• https://forgotten-ny.com/2008/12/moore-jackson-cemetery/
• https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/moore-homestead-playground/history
• https://forgotten-ny.com/2013/03/state-historical-markers-in-new-york-city-part-2/
• https://forgotten-ny.com/2020/09/hellgate-ferry-road-part-2/
• https://forgotten-ny.com/2018/05/astoria-sweep/
• https://forgotten-ny.com/2018/02/woodside-1852/
• https://forgotten-ny.com/2018/07/maspeth-elmhurst-1852/
• https://forgotten-ny.com/2013/06/the-old-shell-road-elmhurst/
• https://forgotten-ny.com/2013/03/state-historical-markers-in-new-york-city-part-2/
• https://forgotten-ny.com/2010/08/woodside-tour/
• https://forgotten-ny.com/2009/01/broadway-in-queens-part-2/
• https://forgotten-ny.com/1999/01/hidden-cemeteries-dead-reckoning/
• https://sites.google.com/view/moorejacksoncemetery/home?authuser=0
• https://queenshistoricalsociety.org/moore-jackson-cemetery/
• https://sites.google.com/view/moorejacksoncemetery/home?authuser=0
• https://sites.google.com/view/moorejacksoncemetery/cemetery/historical-timeline?authuser=0
• https://sites.google.com/view/moorejacksoncemetery/cemetery/documentspublications?authuser=0#h.p_zkfUAuCmWSYE
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore-Jackson_Cemetery
• https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20171011/woodside/moore-jackson-cemetery-cleanup-queens-historical-society/
• https://www.scoutingny.com/the-cemetery-on-the-old-farm-in-queens/
• https://history.pmlib.org/longislandhistory/longislandindianhistory
• https://www.newsday.com/long-island/long-island-our-story-1.27833558

Don’t miss past episodes:

• The Renwick Ruin:
  • The Smallpox Hospital, aka Renwick Ruin, on Roosevelt Island, NYC – Part 1
  • The Renwick Ruin and Charity Hospital, Roosevelt Island, NYC – Part 2
• Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel: 
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 1
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 2
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 3, and the Salem Marine Society
• The Haunted Grove Park Inn, Asheville, North Carolina
• Haunted Asheville, North Carolina
• New York City Potter’s Fields
• Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York (Part 1)
• Archbishop John Hughes, aka Dagger John: Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York (Part 2)
• The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas: Part 1
• The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas: Part 2
• A Victorian Lunatic’s Fort: Fort Maxey, Blackwell’s Island, NYC
• The Roosevelt Island Lighthouse, or The Blackwell Island Light, NYC
• The General Slocum Disaster, Hell Gate, New York City
• The Haunted Hell Gate, New York City
• Haunted St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery
• The New York Crystal Palace (Part 1)

A look at the remarkable Riker Home and Cemetery, or the Lent-Riker-Smith Homestead and Cemetery, which one woman’s dream and grit turned into a beautiful site with a secret garden.

Highlights include:
• A unique second date
• A collection of vintage ventriloquist dummies
• Fun historic home renovation details

Note: There’s discussion of chattel slavery and being held captive against one’s will near the end of this episode.

Pictures of the Riker Home and Cemetery

Sources consulted RE: the Riker Home and Cemetery

Books

• The Graveyard Shift: A Family Historian’s Guide to New York City Cemeteries by Carolee Inskeep
• Munsell’s History of Queens County, New York, 1882
• The annals of Newtown, in Queens County, New York
  by James Riker, 1852
• History of Long Island City, New York. by J. SKelsey; Long Island Star Publishing Company, 1896
• Queens Borough, New York City, 1910-1920 by Chamber of Commerce, 1920

Websites

• Untapped Cities article: https://untappedcities.com/2011/12/22/the-last-riker-house/
• https://www.yelp.com/biz/lent-riker-smith-homestead-east-elmhurst
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent_Homestead_and_Cemetery
• https://www.rikerhome.com/
• https://forgotten-ny.com/2006/09/lent-riker-smith-mansion/
• http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/nycdoc/html/rispan2.html
• http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/nycdoc/html/buono.html
• http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/nycdoc/html/qnsboro2.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rikers_Island_Bridgehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rikers_Island
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronx_court_system_delayshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Island
• https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1884?amount=180000
• http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_units/html/rikersbook001.html
• http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_units/html/rikersbook002.htmlhttp://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_units/html/rikersbook004.html
• http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_units/html/rikersbook005.htmlhttp://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_units/html/rikersbook006.html
• http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_units/html/rikersbook007.html
• http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_units/html/rikersbook009.htmlhttp://genealogytrails.com/ny/queens/cem_rikers.html
• http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~ryker2/ryker_coatofarms.htm
• https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/nyregion/11farmhouse.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
• https://www.rikerhome.com/press/li-press-1968_large.htm
• https://www.rikerhome.com/press/lisj-1941_large.htm
• https://www.rikerhome.com/press/1930s.htm
• https://www.rikerhome.com/press/sunday-news-1942_large.htm
• https://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/16/realestate/postings-little-paradise.html
• https://www.rikerhome.com/press/queens_courier_mds_05-25-06.pdf
• https://www.thirteen.org/queens/map.html
• https://www.rikerhome.com/press/queens_courier_mds_06-15-06.htm
• https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/nyregion/11farmhouse.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
• https://www.rikerhome.com/press/ny-daily-news-11-7-06.htm

Don’t miss past episodes:

• The Renwick Ruin:
  • The Smallpox Hospital, aka Renwick Ruin, on Roosevelt Island, NYC – Part 1
  • The Renwick Ruin and Charity Hospital, Roosevelt Island, NYC – Part 2
• Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel: 
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 1
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 2
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 3, and the Salem Marine Society
• The Haunted Grove Park Inn, Asheville, North Carolina
• Haunted Asheville, North Carolina
• New York City Potter’s Fields
• Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York (Part 1)
• Archbishop John Hughes, aka Dagger John: Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York (Part 2)
• The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas: Part 1
• The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas: Part 2
• A Victorian Lunatic’s Fort: Fort Maxey, Blackwell’s Island, NYC
• The Roosevelt Island Lighthouse, or The Blackwell Island Light, NYC
• The General Slocum Disaster, Hell Gate, New York City
• The Haunted Hell Gate, New York City
• Haunted St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery
• The New York Crystal Palace (Part 1)

A look at the Lent-Riker-Smith Cemetery, a hidden family graveyard tucked away behind one of the oldest homes in New York City, which is still a private residence.

This is part 1 of the history of the little-known Lent-Riker-Smith Homestead and Cemetery. This episode focuses on the history of nearby Riker’s Island, as well as the Riker family, and sets the scene for next week’s deep dive into the home and cemetery’s more recent history, and what they’re like now.

Highlights include:
• Spontaneously combusting garbage
• Gatsby’s Valley of Ashes
• A grim modern-day penal colony
• Exploring an off-the-beaten-path neighborhood

Links mentioned in the episode:

Donate to the Emergency Release Fund to get high-risk people out of Rikers

Tiffany Cabán for council district 22 (Astoria): https://www.cabanforqueens.com/

The Feminine Macabre Volume 1: https://spookeats.com/femininemacabre/ 

Pictures of Lent-Riker-Smith Cemetery

Sources consulted RE: Lent-Riker-Smith Cemetery

Books

• The Graveyard Shift: A Family Historian’s Guide to New York City Cemeteries by Carolee Inskeep
• Munsell’s History of Queens County, New York, 1882
• The annals of Newtown, in Queens County, New York
  by James Riker, 1852
• History of Long Island City, New York. by J. SKelsey; Long Island Star Publishing Company, 1896
• Queens Borough, New York City, 1910-1920 by Chamber of Commerce, 1920

Websites

• https://www.yelp.com/biz/lent-riker-smith-homestead-east-elmhurst
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent_Homestead_and_Cemetery
• https://www.rikerhome.com/
• https://forgotten-ny.com/2006/09/lent-riker-smith-mansion/
• http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/nycdoc/html/rispan2.html
• http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/nycdoc/html/buono.html
• http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/nycdoc/html/qnsboro2.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rikers_Island_Bridgehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rikers_Island
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronx_court_system_delayshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Island
• https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1884?amount=180000
• http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_units/html/rikersbook001.html
• http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_units/html/rikersbook002.htmlhttp://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_units/html/rikersbook004.html
• http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_units/html/rikersbook005.htmlhttp://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_units/html/rikersbook006.html
• http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_units/html/rikersbook007.html
• http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/cw_units/html/rikersbook009.htmlhttp://genealogytrails.com/ny/queens/cem_rikers.html
• http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~ryker2/ryker_coatofarms.htmhttps://untappedcities.com/2011/12/22/the-last-riker-house/
• https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/nyregion/11farmhouse.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
• https://www.rikerhome.com/press/li-press-1968_large.htm
• https://www.rikerhome.com/press/lisj-1941_large.htm
• https://www.rikerhome.com/press/1930s.htm
• https://www.rikerhome.com/press/sunday-news-1942_large.htm
• https://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/16/realestate/postings-little-paradise.html
• https://www.rikerhome.com/press/queens_courier_mds_05-25-06.pdfhttps://www.thirteen.org/queens/map.html
• https://www.rikerhome.com/press/queens_courier_mds_06-15-06.htm
• https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/nyregion/11farmhouse.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
• https://www.rikerhome.com/press/ny-daily-news-11-7-06.htm

Don’t miss past episodes:

• The Renwick Ruin:
  • The Smallpox Hospital, aka Renwick Ruin, on Roosevelt Island, NYC – Part 1
  • The Renwick Ruin and Charity Hospital, Roosevelt Island, NYC – Part 2
• Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel: 
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 1
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 2
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 3, and the Salem Marine Society
• The Haunted Grove Park Inn, Asheville, North Carolina
• Haunted Asheville, North Carolina
• New York City Potter’s Fields
• Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York (Part 1)
• Archbishop John Hughes, aka Dagger John: Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York (Part 2)
• The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas: Part 1
• The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas: Part 2
• A Victorian Lunatic’s Fort: Fort Maxey, Blackwell’s Island, NYC
• The Roosevelt Island Lighthouse, or The Blackwell Island Light, NYC
• The General Slocum Disaster, Hell Gate, New York City
• The Haunted Hell Gate, New York City
• Haunted St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery
• The New York Crystal Palace (Part 1)

A look at Lawrence Family Cemetery in Astoria, NY, a small family cemetery dating from the 1600s, tucked into a residential neighborhood in New York City.

The Lawrences were an old family from Queens, New York, arriving in the area in the 1600s and buying land all over. Despite the destruction of many family cemeteries in NYC over the centuries, two Lawrence cemeteries have survived, one of which is in an Astoria man’s backyard.

The cemetery, surrounded by both a stone wall and a chain link fence, is closed to the public, though curious onlookers can peer through its iron gate and see a variety of tombstones, some of which belong to veterans of the Revolutionary war.

Highlights include:
• Forgotten cemeteries
• Accidentally scaring local cemetery owners
• A lost shoreline
• Inheriting a cemetery

Links mentioned in the episode:

Donate to the Emergency Release Fund to get high-risk people out of Rikers

Tiffany Cabán for council district 22 (Astoria): https://www.cabanforqueens.com/

Follow the podcast on instagram @buriedsecretspodcast

E-mail the podcast at buriedsecretspodcast@gmail.com. 

Pictures of Lawrence Family Cemetery

Sources consulted RE: Lawrence Family Cemetery

Books

• The Graveyard Shift: A Family Historian’s Guide to New York City Cemeteries by Carolee Inskeep
• Munsell’s History of Queens County, New York, 1882
• The annals of Newtown, in Queens County, New York
  by James Riker, 1852
• History of Long Island City, New York. by J. SKelsey; Long Island Star Publishing Company, 1896
• Queens Borough, New York City, 1910-1920 by Chamber of Commerce, 1920

Articles

• Brooklyn Times Union (Brooklyn, New York) · Thu, Jul 2, 1903 · Page 10
• Brooklyn Times Union (Brooklyn, New York) · Thu, Nov 3, 1870 · Page 3

Websites

• https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/1966907/lawrence-cemetery
• https://forgotten-ny.com/2010/10/bowery-baynorth-astoria-queens/
• https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/nyregion/nyc-news-rikers-island.html
• https://qns.com/2021/03/mayor-signs-queens-councilman-renewable-rikers-act-into-law/
• https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-rikers-covid-ruling-20210219-56juh2eccvb4jg7hxwxdfvnv34-story.html
• https://qns.com/2021/03/mayor-signs-queens-councilman-renewable-rikers-act-into-law/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rikers_Island#COVID-19_crisis
• https://newtownpentacle.com/tag/bowery-bay/
• https://rihs.us/2020/09/09/wednesday-september-9-2020-wpa-architecture-found-in-unlikely-place/
• https://www.qchron.com/editions/western/landmark-cemetery-owner-s-call-for-help-is-heeded-in-astoria/article_fd09df4b-c4cd-51ae-bf6b-c9905004501e.html
• https://forgotten-ny.com/2012/01/north-astoria-queens/
• https://forgotten-ny.com/2012/01/north-astoria-queens-part-2/
• https://www.huffpost.com/entry/astoria-characters-the-ca_2_b_915833
• Lawrence Cemetery Google maps: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lawrence+Cemetery/@40.7775676,-73.9056275,3a,75y,161.24h,99.51t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sCZw8qzAceYKfel0pAPXHsA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c25f643d061421:0xe5447ac8f6f12426!8m2!3d40.7773027!4d-73.9056237?hl=en
• https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=162550
• https://www.givemeastoria.com/2020/10/28/astoria-man-breathes-life-into-forgotten-family-cemetery/
• https://www.brownstoner.com/history/a-look-at-lawrence-cemetery-astoria/
• https://forgotten-ny.com/2020/10/lawrence-family-cemetery-astoria/
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/emilio_guerra/5326285917/
• http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/db/bb_files/66—LAWRENCE-FAMILY-GRAVEYARD.pdf

Don’t miss past episodes:

• The Renwick Ruin:
  • The Smallpox Hospital, aka Renwick Ruin, on Roosevelt Island, NYC – Part 1
  • The Renwick Ruin and Charity Hospital, Roosevelt Island, NYC – Part 2
• Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel: 
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 1
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 2
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 3, and the Salem Marine Society
• The Haunted Grove Park Inn, Asheville, North Carolina
• Haunted Asheville, North Carolina
• New York City Potter’s Fields
• Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York (Part 1)
• Archbishop John Hughes, aka Dagger John: Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York (Part 2)
• The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas: Part 1
• The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas: Part 2
• A Victorian Lunatic’s Fort: Fort Maxey, Blackwell’s Island, NYC
• The Roosevelt Island Lighthouse, or The Blackwell Island Light, NYC
• The General Slocum Disaster, Hell Gate, New York City
• The Haunted Hell Gate, New York City
• Haunted St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery
• The New York Crystal Palace (Part 1)

Two tiny, forgotten cemeteries sit near each other in old Astoria: one was a burying ground for the wealthy families who ran the town, and the other was for Irish immigrants who fled the famine.

Here’s a look at the history behind the graveyards, as well as a puzzling mystery about a nearby churchyard that may or may not be a burial site.

Highlights include:
• Robbers hiding their loot in a church tower
• The mystery of a man with two graves
• The discovery of human remains during a construction project

Follow the podcast on instagram @buriedsecretspodcast

E-mail the podcast at buriedsecretspodcast@gmail.com. 

Pictures of hidden cemeteries in Astoria

St. George’s Church Cemetery

The Irish Famine Cemetery

Sources consulted RE: cemeteries in Astoria

Books

• The Graveyard Shift: A Family Historian’s Guide to New York City Cemeteries by Carolee Inskeep
• Munsell’s History of Queens County, New York, 1882
• The annals of Newtown, in Queens County, New York
  by James Riker, 1852
• History of Long Island City, New York. by J. SKelsey; Long Island Star Publishing Company, 1896
• Queens Borough, New York City, 1910-1920 by Chamber of Commerce, 1920

Articles

• The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, New York) · Sun, Feb 19, 1899 · Page 11
• Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Year: 1870; Census Place: Astoria, Queens, New York; Roll: M593_1080; Page: 201A; Family History Library Film: 552579
• Brooklyn Times Union (Brooklyn, New York) · Sat, May 7, 1904 · Page 11 https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/555908491
• Brooklyn Times Union (Brooklyn, New York) · Fri, Jun 17, 1887 · Page 1 https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/556863449
• Brooklyn Times Union (Brooklyn, New York) · Sat, Jun 21, 1902 · Page 4 https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/555932624
• Brooklyn Times Union (Brooklyn, New York) · Wed, Dec 28, 1887 · Page 1 https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/556996064
• The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, New York) · Sun, Apr 9, 1899 · Page 10 https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/50420388
• The Sun (New York, New York) · Sun, Feb 19, 1899 · Page 4 https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/79105618
• Brooklyn Times Union (Brooklyn, New York) · Mon, Nov 10, 1902 · Page 9 https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/555907855
• Brooklyn Evening Star (Brooklyn, New York) · Wed, Aug 13, 1862 · Page 3 https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/118125760
• Brooklyn Times Union (Brooklyn, New York) · Thu, Oct 15, 1903 · Page 11 https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/555909576
• The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, New York) · Fri, Oct 5, 1900 · Page 8 https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/50360004
• Brooklyn Times Union (Brooklyn, New York) · Mon, Dec 5, 1887 · Page 1 https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/556995547
• Brooklyn Times Union (Brooklyn, New York) · Thu, Jan 29, 1891 · Page 5 https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/557824177
• New York Daily Herald (New York, New York) · Sat, Feb 21, 1863 · Page 5 https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/329273622
• Brooklyn Times Union (Brooklyn, New York) · Sat, Dec 26, 1903 · Page 14 https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/555934521
• The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, New York) · Fri, Apr 15, 1910 · Page 6 https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/58335087
• Brooklyn Times Union (Brooklyn, New York) · Mon, Jul 25, 1887 · Page 1 https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/556992361
• Historical Archaeology of Religious Sites and Cemeteries
  Author(s): Richard F. Veit, Sherene B. Baugher and Gerard P. Scharfenberger Source: Historical Archaeology , 2009, Vol. 43, No. 1, Historical Archaeology of Religious
  Sites and Cemeteries (2009), pp. 1-11 Published by: Springer Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25617539
• The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, New York) · Tue, Jan 11, 1910 · Page 8 https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/55520065

Websites

• https://www.brownstoner.com/history/st-george-church-astoria-village/
• https://forgotten-ny.com/2020/03/van-alst-avenue-long-island-city/
• https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/irish-famine-cemetery
• https://sorabji.com/cemeteries/index/category/119-the_graveyard_of_our_lady_of_mt_carmel_church_famine_cemetery_astoria
• https://sites.rootsweb.com/~nyqueen2/cemeteries/
• https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/1981308/our-lady-of-mount-carmel-catholic-cemetery
• http://www.nycago.org/Organs/Qns/html/OurLadyMtCarmel.html
• https://www.brownstoner.com/architecture/st-george-church-astoria-village/amp/
• https://www.archives.nyc/blog/2018/7/20/for-lo-these-many-years-forgotten-cemeteries-of-queens
• http://longislandgenealogy.com/QueensCem.pdf
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141870056/cornelius-rapelye-trafford
• https://www.macaulay.cuny.edu/seminars/rosenberg09/articles/t/h/e/The_Film_Industry_in_Astoria_9fd9.html
• https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?locations=Astoria%20Studios,%20Astoria,%20Queens,%20New%20York%20City,%20New%20York,%20USA
• https://qns.com/2020/10/spider-man-comes-home-as-filming-begins-in-astoria/
• https://www.movie-locations.com/movies/s/Spider-Man-Homecoming.php
• https://forgotten-ny.com/1999/05/astoria-village-part-1-queens/
• http://www.preserve.org/gahs/histlic.htm
• https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g29837-d13998743-r574218462-St_George_s_Episcopal_Church_of_Astoria-Astoria_Queens_New_York.html
• https://www.historic-stgeorge-astoria.org/index.php/history
• http://www.interment.net/data/us/ny/queens/first-presbyterian-church-newtown.htm
• https://stmary-lic.org/
• https://www.brownstoner.com/history/queenswalk-st-marys-roman-catholic-church-in-hunters-point/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Island_Bridge
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravenswood_Generating_Station
• https://rihs.us/2020/11/12/thursday-november-12-2020-lets-explain-what-is-happening-in-ravenswood/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astoria,_Queens#Ravenswood
• https://gothamist.com/news/the-push-to-turn-nycs-polluting-peaker-plants-into-publicly-owned-solar-power
• https://www.mountcarmelastoria.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=7
• https://www.mountcarmelastoria.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31&Itemid=35
• http://www.pefagan.com/gen/queens/qmp_hal1840.htm
• https://sorabji.com/cemeteries/index/category/119-the_graveyard_of_our_lady_of_mt_carmel_church_famine_cemetery_astoria
• http://www.pefagan.com/gen/astoria/mtcarm/mtcminsc.htm
• https://newtownpentacle.com/2021/02/26/neglected-orchard/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS_General_Slocum
• https://forgotten-ny.com/2016/05/irish-famine-cemetery-astoria-village/
• https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/irish-famine-cemetery
• https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/1981308/our-lady-of-mount-carmel-catholic-cemetery

Don’t miss past episodes:

• The Renwick Ruin:
  • The Smallpox Hospital, aka Renwick Ruin, on Roosevelt Island, NYC – Part 1
  • The Renwick Ruin and Charity Hospital, Roosevelt Island, NYC – Part 2
• Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel: 
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 1
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 2
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 3, and the Salem Marine Society
• The Haunted Grove Park Inn, Asheville, North Carolina
• Haunted Asheville, North Carolina
• New York City Potter’s Fields
• Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York (Part 1)
• Archbishop John Hughes, aka Dagger John: Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York (Part 2)
• The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas: Part 1
• The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas: Part 2
• A Victorian Lunatic’s Fort: Fort Maxey, Blackwell’s Island, NYC
• The Roosevelt Island Lighthouse, or The Blackwell Island Light, NYC
• The General Slocum Disaster, Hell Gate, New York City
• The Haunted Hell Gate, New York City
• Haunted St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery
• The New York Crystal Palace (Part 1)

When a woman sells her home and doesn’t disclose that friendly ghosts haunt it, the subsequent court case leads to the New York Supreme Court officially declaring the house haunted.

In 1989, Helen Ackley sold the 18-room Victorian mansion that she’d lived in for 24 years. Located at 1 Laveta Place in Nyack, New York, overlooking the Hudson River, and lovingly restored by Helen and her late husband when they first purchased it in the 1960s, it was the perfect home for the Stambovskys, a Wall Street Trader and his wife, who purchased it. Except for one thing–the house was haunted.

Helen Ackley was proud of her ghosts, and seemed to consider them close friends.

When a local architect mentioned the house’s paranormal reputation to the new buyer, Stambovsky immediately sued to get his down payment back, and refused to move into the home. That led to a court case, widely known as the Ghostbusters Ruling, that went to the New York Supreme Court–twice–and cumulated with a pun-filled ruling that quoted the ghost from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, as well as the hit 1984 movie Ghostbusters. The judge had spoken: “as a matter of law, the house is haunted.”

Highlights include:
• Fun facts about haunted houses
• The ghost of a Revolutionary War naval officer
• A fixer-upper with ghosts
• A spirit-approved paint job

Follow the podcast on instagram @buriedsecretspodcast

E-mail the podcast at buriedsecretspodcast@gmail.com. 

Sources consulted RE: The Ghostbusters Ruling

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stambovsky_v._Ackley
• http://www.ghosttheory.com/2015/09/03/the-haunted-house-on-the-hudson
• http://www.ktransit.com/Kavanagh/Ghost/ghost-update.htm
• https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/20/nyregion/phones-ringing-eerily-for-nyack-spook-home.html
• http://www.ktransit.com/Kavanagh/Ghost/ghost-background.htm
• https://nwsidebar.wsba.org/2013/10/31/halloween-law-lawyers/
• https://loweringthebar.net/2008/09/case-law-hall-o.html
• https://io9.gizmodo.com/this-new-york-mansion-is-legally-haunted-1788327098
• https://www.coasttocoastam.com/article/legally-haunted-mansion-for-sale/
• https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2019/10/legally-haunted-mansion-up-for-sale-in-new-york/
• https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/new-york/legally-haunted-house-ny/
• https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-ghost-of-nyack-nyack-new-york
• 18 Rms. Riv Vu. Ghosts. Sullivan, Ronald.New York Times, Late Edition (East Coast); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]16 Mar 1990: B.3.
• Buyer fears ghost of resale future but judge won’t slime the deal: [METRO Edition] Star Tribune; Minneapolis, Minn. [Minneapolis, Minn]31 Mar 1990: 01R.
• The Realities of Real Estate: Buying a haunted house
  McWILLIAMS, BOB; McWILLIAMS, DONNA.Capital; Annapolis [Annapolis]27 Oct 2013: C.14.
  “Let Buyer Beware? Indeed!” New York Times, 19 July 1991. New York State Newspapers,
• https://link-gale-com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/apps/doc/A175292062/SPN.SP01?u=nypl&sid=SPN.SP01&xid=0ad920f8. Accessed 11 Apr. 2020.
• Anderson, Susan Heller, and James Barron. “CHRONICLE.” New York Times, 9 Apr. 1990. New York State Newspapers, https://link-gale-com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/apps/doc/A175484954/SPN.SP01?u=nypl&sid=SPN.SP01&xid=b2b6f33c. Accessed 11 Apr. 2020.
• Barron, James. “Phones Ringing (Eerily?) For Nyack Spook Home.” New York Times, 20 Mar. 1990. New York State Newspapers, https://link-gale-com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/apps/doc/A175445997/SPN.SP01?u=nypl&sid=SPN.SP01&xid=409f4992. Accessed 11 Apr. 2020.
• “‘Must home sellers disclose that a home is haunted?’.” Washingtonpost.com, 30 Oct. 2015. Gale OneFile: News, https://link-gale-com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/apps/doc/A433186038/STND?u=nypl&sid=STND&xid=7110d7be. Accessed 11 Apr. 2020.
• Tinning, Andrea. “Four ways to avoid having a ‘deadbeat’ roommate.” UWIRE Text, 31 Oct. 2017, p. 1. Gale OneFile: News, https://link-gale-com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/apps/doc/A523809066/STND?u=nypl&sid=STND&xid=97a701c3. Accessed 11 Apr. 2020.
• https://www.realtor.com/homemade/haunted-house-survey/
• https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/millennials-more-likely-to-buy-haunted-houses/
• https://news.move.com/2018-10-23-Millennials-Most-Likely-to-Purchase-a-Haunted-Home-for-Something-Extra
• https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/haunted-house/
• https://www.villagevoice.com/2015/10/20/how-a-quintuple-murder-and-a-dream-house-on-the-hudson-brought-the-paranormal-into-our-legal-system/
• https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-ghost-of-nyack-nyack-new-york
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kreskin
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghFzI9zq-WY
• https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-28-mn-274-story.html
• https://nypost.com/2019/09/19/legally-haunted-new-york-manor-is-for-sale-again/?utm_campaign=iosapp
• Stambovsky v. Ackley, 169 A.D.2d 254 (N.Y. App. Div. 1991) (https://casetext.com/case/stambovsky-v-ackley)
• “‘HAUNTED’ HOUSES HAVE BECOME TRENDY.” Cincinnati Post [Cincinnati, OH], 29 Oct. 1996, p. 3C. Gale OneFile: News, https://link-gale-com.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/apps/doc/A72811237/STND?u=nypl&sid=STND&xid=accdb265. Accessed 11 Apr. 2020.
  https://books.google.com/books?id=ehWLF6yYepYC&pg=PA72&lpg=PA72&dq=ackley+reader%27s+digest&source=bl&ots=oQ2WJZwoXb&sig=ACfU3U1F4I7-9nuZGO12hOsr0G9aT9UMeQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjh8sOwt-DoAhWjgnIEHfVEA944FBDoATAFegQIDBAz#v=onepage&q=ackley%20reader’s%20digest&f=false
• https://books.google.com/books?id=eU7rj_hooGIC&pg=PP34&lpg=PP34&dq=ackley+reader%27s+digest&source=bl&ots=Hnm9mUpsY8&sig=ACfU3U19j_oZP1gmcGywif-_AW4Fmw9vVw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjh8sOwt-DoAhWjgnIEHfVEA944FBDoATACegQIDBAt#v=onepage&q=ackley%20reader’s%20digest&f=false
• http://www.ghosttheory.com/2015/09/03/the-haunted-house-on-the-hudson
• https://www.stevelee.com/featured/stambovsky-v-ackley-aka-ghostbusters-ruling/
• https://pnlawyers.com/a-cup-of-joe-house-in-nyack-held-haunted-as-a-matter-of-law/
• https://apnews.com/ff183e209fd81e5d716aeb344a457fa9
• https://www.trulia.com/p/ny/nyack/1-laveta-pl-nyack-ny-10960–1100346429
• https://www.lohud.com/story/money/real-estate/homes/sell-this-house/2015/09/01/ingrid-michaelson-nyack-home-sale/30567473/
• https://nyacknewsandviews.com/2012/10/nyack-sketch-log-1-poltergeist-place/
• https://athomeinnyack.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/nyacks-legally-haunted-house/
• http://www.ghosttheory.com/2015/09/03/the-haunted-house-on-the-hudson
• http://www.ktransit.com/Kavanagh/Ghost/ghost-background.htm
• http://www.ktransit.com/Kavanagh/Ghost/ghost-court.htm
• https://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/queen-anne-victorian/

Don’t miss past episodes:

• The Renwick Ruin:
  • The Smallpox Hospital, aka Renwick Ruin, on Roosevelt Island, NYC – Part 1
  • The Renwick Ruin and Charity Hospital, Roosevelt Island, NYC – Part 2
• Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel: 
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 1
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 2
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 3, and the Salem Marine Society
• The Haunted Grove Park Inn, Asheville, North Carolina
• Haunted Asheville, North Carolina
• New York City Potter’s Fields
• Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York (Part 1)
• Archbishop John Hughes, aka Dagger John: Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York (Part 2)
• The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas: Part 1
• The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas: Part 2
• A Victorian Lunatic’s Fort: Fort Maxey, Blackwell’s Island, NYC
• The Roosevelt Island Lighthouse, or The Blackwell Island Light, NYC
• The General Slocum Disaster, Hell Gate, New York City
• The Haunted Hell Gate, New York City
• Haunted St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery
• The New York Crystal Palace (Part 1)

A deep dive into the darker side of The Exorcist‘s production, with scary facts from The Exorcist’s production, from the director’s tendency to shot blanks from a gun at random on set to scare people, to evil deeds that two actors with bit parts went on to do after being in The Exorcist.

Highlights include:
• The erratic behavior of The Exorcist’s director
• A urban legend about lightning striking a tombstone during the filming of The Exorcist
• A mysterious black dog
• The extra in The Exorcist who became a killer

Note: This episode contains discussion of abuse within the Catholic church.

The Exorcist end scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_IG7u4ph0M
The Keepers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Keepers

Follow the podcast on instagram @buriedsecretspodcast

E-mail the podcast at buriedsecretspodcast@gmail.com. 

Sources consulted RE: The Exorcist in New York

Check out the sources here.

Don’t miss past episodes:

• The Renwick Ruin:
  • The Smallpox Hospital, aka Renwick Ruin, on Roosevelt Island, NYC – Part 1
  • The Renwick Ruin and Charity Hospital, Roosevelt Island, NYC – Part 2
• Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel: 
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 1
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 2
  • Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 3, and the Salem Marine Society
• The Haunted Grove Park Inn, Asheville, North Carolina
• Haunted Asheville, North Carolina
• New York City Potter’s Fields
• Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York (Part 1)
• Archbishop John Hughes, aka Dagger John: Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York (Part 2)
• The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas: Part 1
• The Haunted Luxor Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas: Part 2
• A Victorian Lunatic’s Fort: Fort Maxey, Blackwell’s Island, NYC
• The Roosevelt Island Lighthouse, or The Blackwell Island Light, NYC
• The General Slocum Disaster, Hell Gate, New York City
• The Haunted Hell Gate, New York City
• Haunted St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery
• The New York Crystal Palace (Part 1)