Beneath the lighthearted atmosphere of Asbury Park’s downtown center lurks a history of violence, misfortune and tragedy.
Some believe the ghosts of those linked to the scarred past still wander through the city’s streets and shops.
Kathy Kelly, owner of Paranormal Books and Curiosities and the Paranormal Museum, 627 Cookman Ave., aims to highlight the town’s haunted underbelly through a number of walking ghost tours offered by her business.
“Asbury Park had decaying buildings, new growth and hauntings,” Kelly, 42, said of her decision to base the operation in the area. “… The paranormal is not just a TV show.”
The business will celebrate its fourth anniversary this month, as employees prepare for what is expected to be a busy summer season.
In the first year, 800 people embarked on trips to learn the eerie details of Asbury Park’s urban legends. About 1,500 people have taken the tour in each subsequent year, Kelly said.
A Millburn High School class listens to tour guide Nicole DeLuca (l) describe sightings of a ghost of a young woman who drowned in a nearby river. Paranormal hosts a downtown tour, a boardwalk tour and a pub tour until November. Museum tours are also available.
Tour guides run through a grab bag of true stories, firsthand accounts of paranormal phenomena, and theories as to who — or what — is behind each alleged supernatural incident.
On a sun-drenched morning last week, tour guide Nicole DeLuca described the disappearance of a young girl in 1910, the apprehension of her killer, and the strange happenings that have since taken place inside a Cookman Avenue restaurant now called Synaxis.
Students from Millburn High School, Essex County, listened intently as DeLuca, 28, explained that in the past, Asbury Park police officers had viewed the figure of a young girl in the windows of Synaxis long after the eatery had closed for the night. Upon entering the establishment, DeLuca added, police found the building to be empty.
Employees who worked in the
joint when it was known as Harry’s Roadhouse recalled apparitions prowling in the liquor cabinet, DeLuca said.
One former bartender said she witnessed a small girl weakly voicing her desire to go home, DeLuca added. After fainting, the bartender awoke to find only her boss in the building.
The structure was once a boarding house that likely served as a hideout for the killer and the young girl during her final hours, DeLuca said.
Tour-goers will hear a variety of other stories, including a bloody massacre on the beach, a Native American spirit that enjoys strolls through a local park, and a drowning victim whose cries continue to wake residents and baffle authorities.
President Woodrow Wilson once had an office in this Mattison Avenue building. Guides tell stories about paranormal legends and local history during tours. “We did have people who have seen things on the tour,” Kelly said. “People have taken pictures and saw strange and unusual things in the photos.”
Whether a customer is a skeptic or a fear junkie, Kelly said, staff members strive to create an experience that will keep patrons curious as to what else lies in Asbury Park’s past.
Séances and supernatural investigations are also available through the company. For more information, visit paranormalbooksnj.com.
Some people say the ghost of a young girl can be seen peering out this window at the rear of Synaxis (right center photo), a restaurant off Cookman Avenue.