Calendar of Events

All Virtual Events are recorded and posted to the Museum’s YouTube page.

Most of our virtual programs are offered free of charge.
Consider making a donation to support future programming – and help us SAVE the Merchant’s House!
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OCTOBER

Wednesday, October 9 – Sunday, November 10
Exhibition – “Truly We Live in a Dying World:” A 19th Century Home in Mourning
Including rarely exhibited items of Tredwell family mourning dress and accessories from the collection.
Step back in time to 1865, when family patriarch Seabury Tredwell died at home in his second floor bedroom. Poignant scenes of death and grief recreated in the House will explore mid-19th century mourning customs. Pay your last respects at his deathbed upstairs, or join the mourning in the double parlor, hung with black crepe curtains and set for a mid-19th century funeral. Also on display, mourning accessories from the Tredwell collection. Included with regular admission.

 

Friday, October 18; Saturday, October 19; Friday, October 25; Saturday, October 26; Sunday, October 27; Wednesday, October 30
Celebrating 20 Years!
Candlelight Ghost Tours of Manhattan’s Most Haunted House

          Candlelight Ghost Tours 50 minute tours run every half hour, 6:30 to 9 p.m. 

Doors slam, floorboards creak, voices call into the dead of night. Venture into “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House” by flickering candlelight to hear chilling – and true – tales of decades of otherworldly activity in the house, the results of years of paranormal investigations, and the latest stunning scientific findings.

The Tredwell family lived at 29 East 4th Street for nearly 100 years, and at least eight people died in the house. Reports of strange and inexplicable occurrences have been widespread since Gertrude, the last surviving Tredwell, died in 1933. Is it Gertrude who is watching over her family home? Join us and decide for yourself. $45; $35 MHM Members.

Super Spooky Candlelight Ghost Tours with Paranormal Investigator Dan Sturges
90-minute tour begins 9:30 p.m.

In 2020, the museum closed due to COVID-19, leaving the house empty of staff and visitors. Dan Sturges, who has undertaken paranormal investigations at the Merchant’s House for 15 years, teamed up with neuroscientist Dr. Lee to conduct scientific research using specialized equipment custom-built for the house. Mounting fact-based evidence points to the very likely reality of paranormal activity at the Merchant’s House.

Join paranormal investigator Dan Sturges on a 90-minute In-Person Super Spooky Candlelight Ghost Tour for an in-depth look at the latest research and findings. Dan is the founder of Sturges Paranormal and appears on the Travel Channel’s weekly series, Paranormal Caught on Camera. He has performed investigations at the Merchant’s House – and documented his spine-chilling findings – since 2007.
$70; $60 MHM Members.

PURCHASE GHOST TOUR TICKETS.
Members, please email programs@merchantshouse.org for the code for discounted tickets.

Ghost Tour Policies

Please arrive on time! Doors open 10 minutes before each tour.
No late entry once the tour begins. Latecomers will only be moved to a different time slot
if there is room. No refunds for latecomers.
Large bags and coats must be checked in the coat room. They may not be carried on the tour.            Bags include handbags, briefcases, suitcases, backpacks, and shopping bags
Participants must be able to climb four flights of stairs and stand for 50-90 minutes.
Children under 12 not permitted.

 

Thursday, October 31 – Sunday, November 10
12 Performances Only!
Killing an Evening with Edgar Allan Poe: Seance at the Merchant’s House
In 1845, Edgar Allan Poe lived on Amity Street (now West 3rd Street), just blocks from the Merchant’s House. His publication of “The Raven” had brought him instant fame and invitations to the city’s most fashionable literary salons in the city, where he performed his work.

Join John Kevin Jones (A Christmas Carol at the Merchant’s House) in the Merchant’s House Museum’s double parlor — set for a 19th century funeral complete with casket — for a hauntingly memorable performance of Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Angel of the Odd” and, of course, “The Raven.” It will be a bone-chilling evening of irrational revenge … obsession and premeditated murder … dismemberment … and the very, very dark. Tickets $65-75, run time 60 minutes. Tickets & Information.

 

NOVEMBER

Thursday, October 31 – Sunday, November 10
12 Performances Only!
Killing an Evening with Edgar Allan Poe: Seance at the Merchant’s House
In 1845, Edgar Allan Poe lived on Amity Street (now West 3rd Street), just blocks from the Merchant’s House. His publication of “The Raven” had brought him instant fame and invitations to the city’s most fashionable literary salons in the city, where he performed his work.

Join John Kevin Jones (A Christmas Carol at the Merchant’s House) in the Merchant’s House Museum’s double parlor — set for a 19th century funeral complete with casket — for a hauntingly memorable performance of Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Angel of the Odd” and, of course, “The Raven.” It will be a bone-chilling evening of irrational revenge … obsession and premeditated murder … dismemberment … and the very, very dark. Tickets $65-75, run time 60 minutes. Tickets & Information.

 

Saturday, November 9, 1:30 p.m.
Neighborhood Walking Tour: 19th-Century Women of Noho
Created and led by MHM docent Michelle Barshay
Step into the vibrant world of 19th century NoHo, then known as the “Bond Street Area,” where women from all walks of life made their mark on history. On a captivating 90-minute walking tour through this historic neighborhood, we’ll uncover the fascinating stories of the diverse women who helped shape its character.

Our tour will showcase the rich tapestry of female experiences that once graced these iconic streets: resilient servants, savvy boarding house managers, visionary artists, pioneering publishers, bustling shopkeepers, and society women seeking education. Along the way, we’ll see some important buildings of the period, including the first lending library and the first animal hospital, both founded by visionary women. $20; MHM Members Free. Purchase walking tour tickets.

Walking tours are 90 minutes and meet outside the Merchant’s House.

 

Sunday, November 17, 1:30 p.m.
Walking Tour: The Tredwells’ World of 19th Century Noho
With the 1825 opening of the Erie Canal, the city’s economy boomed and wealthy merchant families escaped the increasing noise, congestion, and commercialization of the seaport area to move “uptown,” to what is now modern day NoHo, then an exclusive residential enclave. Join us as we explore the Tredwells’ elite neighborhood and discover what life was like for the wealthy merchant class in the mid-19th century. $20; MHM Members Free. Purchase walking tour tickets.

Walking tours are 90 minutes and meet outside the Merchant’s House.

 

Friday, November 22, 6:30 p.m.
In the Spirit of Science: Is there a “Seance Brain”?
Virtual Program
Are seances just a bunch of random spooky stuff, all that sitting around a table in the dark, or are they potentially something more? And if they do facilitate communication with the dead, how do they do that?

We’ll discuss why seances are conducted the way they are, the varying rituals involved – and how they affect participants, both neurologically (the brain) and psychologically (the mind and feelings). Free (suggested donation $10); register for “In the Spirit of Science.”

In the Spirit of Science is a video podcast on topics related to ongoing paranormal research at the Merchant’s House. Using the scientific method, with unbiased observation and systematic experimentation, this research is building a better understanding of the strange and fascinating phenomena experienced by staff, volunteers, and visitors at “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House” (The New York Times).

The research project and monthly virtual programs are led by neuroscientist Dr. Lee, thanatologist and MHM volunteer Matilda Garrido, and Dan Sturges, founder of Sturges Paranormal, who appears on the Travel Channel’s weekly series, Paranormal Caught on Camera.

 

Tuesday, November 26 – Sunday, December 29
Celebrating our 12th holiday season!
A Christmas Carol at the Merchant’s House: Charles Dickens in New York, 1867
In December 1867, Charles Dickens arrived in New York City for a month of sold-out performances of his beloved holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. As the New York Herald exclaimed, “The Christmas Carol becomes doubly enchanting when one hears it performed by Dickens.”

Join Mr. Dickens, portrayed by John Kevin Jones, as he tells his timeless Christmas tale in the elegant intact Greek Revival double parlor of the landmark 1832 Merchant’s House Museum.

Surrounded by 19th century holiday decorations, flickering candles, and richly appointed period furnishings, audiences will be transported back 150 years in this captivating performance created from Dickens’ own script. Tickets & Information.

Current Exhibitions

Exhibitions are included with regular museum admission.

Wednesday, October 9 – Sunday, November 10
Exhibition – “Truly We Live in a Dying World:” A 19th Century Home in Mourning
Including rarely exhibited items of Tredwell family mourning dress and accessories from the collection.
Step back in time to 1865, when family patriarch Seabury Tredwell died at home in his second floor bedroom. Poignant scenes of death and grief recreated in the House will explore mid-19th century mourning customs. Pay your last respects at his deathbed upstairs, or join the mourning in the double parlor, hung with black crepe curtains and set for a mid-19th century funeral. Also on display, mourning accessories from the Tredwell collection. Included with regular admission.

 

VIRTUAL EXHIBITIONS | ONLINE OFFERINGS