Seeking the Ghosts of Montrose Past

Saturday evening was cool and windy, and darkness came early. In other words, it was perfect weather for finding ghosts in Montrose. For the second year in a row, the Montrose Park Historic District Association (MPHDA) sponsored a a tour through members' homes highlighted by stories of events that took place in each house. Thirty-three ghost-seekers, including this writer, met at the first of four historic homes on the tour, where the Association's president, Jim Ankner, introduced himself and distributed flashlights with the MPHDA logo. 

After thanking Hilda Silverman, Naoma Welk, Rebecca Lubot-Conk and Debbie Adler for their contributions to the event, Ankner explained the Ghost Walk. "This is our second year doing this," he said. "It gets people out to see the houses in fall, and they love that." He further explained the research that went into the presentation. Parapsychologist Joanne McMahon worked with psychic Karl Petry to "read" each home. Ankner said, "Petry is able to accurately read objects and photos by holding them... Images of the past appear in present settings in real time for him."

Petry, who believes that houses retain memories of the people who live in them, translated his visions into a narrative that was presented by actor Eric Kritzler, a Montrose resident since 2003.

"Has anyone seen or felt a ghost?" asked Kritzler, as the crowd gathered in the dusk. No one raised a hand or spoke, but the wind rattled tree limbs and a large branch fell suddenly onto the cobblestoned curb. The tour-goers gathered closer together, shivering partly from the chill and partly from an eerie sense of wonder at the past. Kritzler told us that, when he visited this first house, built in 1869, Petry saw "a rigid man, methodical, with a sense of style. He was powerful." Petry's visions of life in the Montrose home included insights into the lives of the Irish maids who served the family, and he "heard" a conversation in the dining room spoken by men with Scottish brogues.

Indeed, homeowner research into the house's past confirmed what Petry saw, including a 1938 tragedy. Through legal records, the homeowners have begun to unravel a mystery; Petry's visions have suggested a new direction for their research.

Fellow tour-goers came from South Orange and Maplewood, and also from as far as Oakland and Summit. "I love to see the old houses," said Debbie K., from Bergen County. "I can imagine the cobblestones on the streets, the horses and carriages. It's really not hard to go a step further and see ghosts here, too."

The second home on the tour was built around 1900. There, Petry saw a big household, lavish parties, and "a relaxed sense of freedom." This, too, was borne out by history; the home's first owner was a wealthy wine distributor. A Tudor Revival house next door was another look at the past. The door through which we entered was once the back door, which leads directly to the kitchen. The old front door opened onto a cul-de-sac that has become the South Orange Police Department parking lot.

At the tour's final stop, Petry saw a scene from daily life, circa 1920. A woman spied a familiar car, called a name aloud, and rushed to greet her. "We know it was a relative," said Kritzler, "by the way the woman was dressed." By then, tour-goers were ready for a return to life in 2009, and the group chatted happily while eating and drinking the cider and snacks provided by MPHDA.

The MPHDA Ghost Walk was a look into beautiful homes, decorated for the season with candles, flowers and pumpkins in all sizes. It offers something for the skeptic, as well. The skeletons that dangle from porch fixtures and gas lights always remind me of Hamlet's signature prop, an empty skull. I can't yet weigh in on ghosts, but I feel a powerful pull to the past, especially on our gas-lit streets, when fog hovers.

During the Ghost Walk, I was the last person to leave one candlelit house. As I pulled the heavy wooden door behind me, the house didn't feel empty. I felt like Hamlet's friend Horatio who, seeing a ghost, says, "O day and night, but this is wondrous strange." Hamlet replies, "And therefore as a stranger give it welcome." Perhaps I wasn't visiting ghosts of the past as much as they were, by way of the MPHDA, hosting me in their present.

The Montrose Park Ghost Walk will take place again on Oct. 24, from 6 p.m. until about 8 p.m. The terrain is bumpy, but not hilly, and the houses are close together. Dress for the weather. Pre-register here.