Bank Street house, infamous haunting in New York
photo by infamousnewyorkrealestate.blogspot.com

What is better than a ghost story that involves multiple witnesses and Hans Holzer?

Hans Holzer is one of the most famous ghost hunters or paranormal researcher of all times. He’s documented hundreds, if not, thousands of cases throughout almost 4 decades.

One story that fascinated me from the beginning was that of the “Bank Street house” in New York.
Situated in Greenwich Village, the old brownstone was home to a ghost of an old lady who met a tragic death.

Around January 1931, the 51-year-old Greenwich Village resident was struck by a car. Upon hearing the commotion, neighbors carried her to a local drugstore that was near her home. Suffering from a fatal wound, Elizabeth Bullock died in the drugstore. She was then cremated on 21 January 1931, her ashes wound up in the possession of a friend who had been living at a 19-room boarding house on bank street during the Depression.

In 1948 Harvey Slatin and his wife Yeffe Kimball moved into the old home and started to remodel it. Within weeks they started to hear what appeared to be footsteps in the upper floors. Upon investigating, the footsteps seems to originate around the staircase and up to the top floors. At times, the footsteps continued throughout the upper floors.

Gentle banging, like light hammering, was heard throughout the day. on the upper floors. The hammering and footsteps were a daily thing. Happening almost always during the daylight hours.

When the couple hired a local carpenter (Arthur B.) and a maid (Sadie), the strange noises continued as usual. Being witnessed now by both the carpenter and maid.

One day, the carpenter was doing some repair on the ceiling, when suddenly a large patch of plaster broke off. Shattering on the floor, he then quickly realized that a small tin container had also been knocked out.

When we picked up this container, which was no larger than the regular sized coffee container, it read:

United States Crematory Co., Queens, NY.
The last remains of Elizabeth Bullock, deceased, cremated January 21, 1931′.

The inscription on the label was old and faded.

Jokingly Arthur went and knocked on the bedroom of Mrs Slatin and said: “It’s me ma’am, I’m leaving the job! I’ve found the body!”

The Slatin’s were advised to bury the remaining ashes in the garden out back. They did not comply and left them on top of their piano for everyone to see. Subsequently the footsteps and banging stopped, right after the can was found.

It is important to note that Hans Holzer also recorded the testimony of Mrs. Slatin stating that weeks prior to the finding, a well-dressed young man had knocked at the door and asked if any rooms were available. He had left a card, with the name – E. C. Bullock.

The Bank Street House is located in New York City on Bank Street, near West 11th Street.