Story By: Chad Alan

 

"Murdered Matron"

 

Snug Harbor - Staten Island, NY

 

Snug Harbor was built as a retirement community for Sailors back in 1801 by a very rich and charitable sailor named Sir Robert Richard Randall.  It now serves as a cultural destination for New Yorkers who want to escape the tourists and the smell of rotting garbage lining the streets in the summer.  Botanical gardens are now just part of the 83 acres composed that house 26 buildings ranging from the early 1800's into the 1900's.  Two devastating deaths scar the island and the current caretakers believe they are directly responsible for the paranormal activities they've been experiencing.   A woman who is spoken of as "The Matron" and ran the laundry facility, was murdered by her mentally retarded son who escaped from his shackled bindings in one of the buildings basements and got his revenge for his years of captivity.  The kid was then hung out in the yard from a tree for his actions.  The Matron continues to live her afterlife days roaming the rooms and halls of the campus buildings and some believe is still looking after her surroundings.  She's described as "The Lady in White." The usual reports of doors slamming and other strange noises keep the workers on their toes.  One photographer believes he might have actually caught the Matron in a photograph he was taking during a performance in the music hall.  TAPS will certainly have their cameras pointed at the stage and will be doing their best to debunk the photo.

 

TAPS co-founders Grant Wilson and Jason Hawes started their investigation in the music hall where apparitions are said to constantly be seen.  Noises, mumbling, and footsteps coming from the balcony caught their attention.  Grant also believed he saw a black mass block out a light.  No reports of a lady in white.  They headed to the Matrons house where, as expected, many reports of a ghostly apparition have been reported.  As they walked the house, a very audible voice of an older woman came out of nowhere and shocked the both of them and was picked up on their audio recorders.  Their last stop was the "Governors House."  They climbed the stairs to the second floor where it sounded like there was a group of people talking.  It's possible that a residual haunting is taking place.  One last interesting item to mention was a heat signature of a human body structure walking along a fence outside one of the buildings that Grant caught on the thermal imager.  No one else was around but them. 

 

Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango headed to the Matron's house.  As Dave was trying to make contact with The Lady in White, he believed he heard something like a chair being dragged across the room.  Their recorders did pick the sound up.  They headed to the basement of the chapel where many reports of apparitions have been mentioned.  They believe that a light source coming from a window could be playing tricks on people who are simply seeing the result of something or someone walking by the window.

 

Amy Bruni and Britt Griffith started their investigation in the Music Hall.  Just like Jay and Grant, strange noises kept getting their attention.  They headed up to the Balcony area to conduct their EVP session. Footsteps were the last things they heard before Adam Berry joined Amy and they took off to the Chapel.  They conducted the flashlight test where they request the spirits to turn the flashlights on and off in response to their questions.  Amy asked "them" to pick a "Yes" flashlight and a "No" flashlight to respond to their questions.  When Amy asked them for their yes flashlight, the one on the right lit up and then went off when she asked "them" to turn it off.  Can't make it up, it really happened.  They heard some noises and asked if "they" could come closer to them.  The "No" flashlight lit up and then turned off when Amy asked "them" to turn it off.  Amy asked, "Are you the Matron?"  They heard a woman's voice say "No."  This experience was followed by a high pitch yelling or screaming.  Quite a night in the chapel.

 

The team really did have a lot of personal experiences and they did have a good amount of recorded evidence to share with the client.  There is no doubt that paranormal activity runs rampant in Snug Harbor.

 

 

Be sure to check out our exclusive interview with Barry FitzGerald, Amy Bruni, Kris Williams, and Adam Berry at this year's Reality Rocks Expo!

 

Ghost Hunters airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Syfy.  Check your local listings.  HD channels offer different times for the show.

 

(Image courtesy of Syfy)

 

Contact Chad Alan at [email protected]