timelightbox:

Sunday at the Alice Austen House: Haunted Houses by Corinne May Botz

In this body of work, Botz searched for ghost stories across the United States. Revealing haunted buildings through photographs and first-person narratives. The opening reception is on September 23rd from 2-6 pm. See more of the work on LightBox here.

Pictured: Old Bermuda Inn, Staten Island, New York.

Esther, a member of the restaurant staff said, “Martha and her husband lived in this mansion in 1863. Martha’s husband was off in the Civil War for two years, and he did not come back. He was missing in action and the body was never found. All of Martha’s letters and pictures came back. She was very upset, she had no friends or family. She committed suicide; they found her in her bedroom closet. Martha did die of a broken heart—very pretty girl, very sad story. Staff members have seen her floating around her house that we use as a restaurant now. We have an original mirror that dates back to 1863. One of our guests saw a vision of her through the mirror. She was smiling down at this particular guest, and they were really touched by it. Sometimes Martha gets mad. Staff members say that she burned a painting of herself that hangs in the restaurant area. There’s a big burn going right through it.”

— Corinne May Botz