Post by Graveyardbride on Feb 27, 2015 15:49:36 GMT -5
Haunted Staten Island Mansion for Sale
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – These won’t be cheap thrills. A 10-bedroom mansion, which local legend claims is haunted by the spirits of the former owner and his daughters, has hit the market for $2.31 million. The 7,700-square-foot Italianate villa-style home at 2475 Richmond Road was once owned by Gustav A. Mayer, a 19th-century inventor whose sugar-cookie recipe later became Nabisco’s Nilla Wafers.
Mayer died in 1918, but his two daughters remained in the house until beyond their 100th birthdays and never went outside. In fact, the Mayer girls, Paula and Emilie, never even walked down the stairs, instead holing up in just two bedrooms of the “Grey Gardens of Staten Island” home for the better part of a century. They used an elaborate pulley system that brought in their groceries, mail and any other outside-world needs. Their spirits are said to roam the hallways, but Mark Anthony, known as the “psychic lawyer,” said it is a “positive” family presence. “It’s the fear and superstition attached to spirit communication which makes people think that encountering a spirit is spooky,” he said.
A red-haired Mary-Kate Olsen did a chic Bohemian-themed shoot for Harper’s Bazaar inside the house. Model Amber Heard felt right at home in one of the mansion’s two bathtubs, posing in a skimpy lace getup with a whip in her hands for V magazine.
The spooky tales and largely untouched interior have made the home popular for photo shoots. Part of the house’s allure for photographers is that it appears frozen in time. Built in 1855, it still has hidden electrical outlets, a dilapidated exterior and the original marble fireplace. The exterior, which includes a front porch, is currently undergoing an extensive, $570,000 restoration. The listing agent writes that the renovation value will be applied to the asking price as a “bonus” for the buyer – bringing down the final cost to $1.74 million.
Owner Bob Troiano is trying to dispel any talk of paranormal activity as he looks to unload the home. “The owner is super-touchy about people calling it haunted,” a source said. But the source added that even Troiano admits the Egbertville estate, which sits on half an acre, is “creepy and eerie.”
Source: Jennifer Gould Keil and Sophia Rosenbaum, The New York Post, February 26, 2015.
