Calendar of Events

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

OCTOBER

Wednesday, October 7 – Sunday, November 1
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.

October 2026 Ghost Tours

Friday, October 16 & Saturday, October 17
Friday, October 23 & Saturday, October 24
Thursday, October 29 & Friday, October 30

Candlelight Ghost Tours
50-minute tours begin 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. Purchase Candlelight Ghost Tour Tickets.

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 SUPER SPOOKY Ghost Tour Tickets.

Wednesday, October 28, 6 p.m.
Houdini Among the Villagers: The Magician’s Life and Afterlife in Greenwich Village 
Co-Sponsored by Village Preservation and Boroughs of the Dead

On this panel Houdini’s rise to fame in New York, including the East Village, will be discussed, while learning wild facts about his life, his place in the history of stage magic alongside other luminaries and – in honor of the 100th anniversary of his death – Houdini’s meandering detour into the strange worlds of ghosts and Spiritualism, some of which is directly connected to historic sites right here in Greenwich Village.

Come with a love for the world’s best-known magician, leave with a deeper knowledge of his backstory and his afterlife among the spirits!

Free, Pre-registration required. At Church of the Village, 201 West 13th Street at the corner of 7th Avenue. 

NOVEMBER

Sunday, November 15, 3:00 p.m.
In the Footsteps of Bridget Murphy: The Life of an Irish Servant
House Tour co-sponsored by Village Preservation

Now featuring recent research on the lives of Irish immigrants, this “back-stairs” tour tells the heroic story of the Irish women who worked in domestic service in 19th century New York. You’ll visit four floors of period rooms, from the ground floor kitchen to the 4th floor servants’ quarters, experiencing what daily life was really like for the Tredwells’ Irish servants. 75-90 minutes.

$20, Free for MHM & Village Preservation Members. Reservations strongly recommended. Purchase Irish Tour tickets.

Tuesday, November 24 – Sunday, January 3 
A Christmas Carol at the Merchant’s House

This holiday season, Summoners Ensemble Theatre and the Merchant’s House Museum celebrate 14 years of A Christmas Carol at the Merchant’s House. 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 and Vince Gatton (at alternating performances), 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 70 minute performance created from Dickens’ own script.

Tues., Nov. 24 — 7 p.m.
Wed., Nov. 25 — 7 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 27 — 7 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 28 — 6 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 28 — 8 p.m.
Sun., Nov. 29 — 6 p.m.

Tickets $50-$130. Purchase A Christmas Carol Tickets.

 

Friday, November 27 – Sunday, January 7
Special Holiday Exhibition – Christmas Comes to Old New York

In the early 19th century, Christmas, as we know it, had not yet been invented. Most New Yorkers did their celebrating on January 1, continuing the Old Dutch tradition of making New Year’s Day calls on friends and neighbors. Over the next fifty years, new traditions took hold: from Santa Claus, stockings, and presents; to holiday feasting; to Christmas trees decorated with lights and ornaments; to holly and evergreen garlands decking the halls; to Christmas songs and carols. Many of these traditions were popularized right here in New York City, and quickly spread throughout the country.

Journey back in time to the 1850s and join the Tredwells for Christmas in Old New York. The house is decorated with swags of evergreens, brilliant holly berries, white mistletoe, and red-leafed poinsettias, as the family prepares for the season. Also on display, a selection of holiday gifts from the Tredwell collection.

 

DECEMBER

Through Sunday, January 3 
A Christmas Carol at the Merchant’s House

This holiday season, Summoners Ensemble Theatre and the Merchant’s House Museum celebrate 14 years of A Christmas Carol at the Merchant’s House. 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 and Vince Gatton (at alternating performances), 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 70 minute performance created from Dickens’ own script.

*A Christmas Reception with Mr. Dickens! Toast the season with a cup of “Smoking Bishop” (mulled wine) and enjoy a special performance of “A Visit from St. Nicholas” by Mr. Dickens himself. The 19th century family room, kitchen, and garden (weather permitting) will be open to guests during the reception. Tickets $35. Select performances only. Limited capacity. Doors open 60 minutes prior to performance for Reception.

 

Through Sunday, January 7
Special Holiday Exhibition – Christmas Comes to Old New York

In the early 19th century, Christmas, as we know it, had not yet been invented. Most New Yorkers did their celebrating on January 1, continuing the Old Dutch tradition of making New Year’s Day calls on friends and neighbors. Over the next fifty years, new traditions took hold: from Santa Claus, stockings, and presents; to holiday feasting; to Christmas trees decorated with lights and ornaments; to holly and evergreen garlands decking the halls; to Christmas songs and carols. Many of these traditions were popularized right here in New York City, and quickly spread throughout the country.

Journey back in time to the 1850s and join the Tredwells for Christmas in Old New York. The house is decorated with swags of evergreens, brilliant holly berries, white mistletoe, and red-leafed poinsettias, as the family prepares for the season. Also on display, a selection of holiday gifts from the Tredwell collection.

On YouTube!
Warmth from the Hearth – 19th Century Holiday Stories for the Season of Light

Join us for storytelling of 19th-century holiday literature read by actor Dayle Vander Sande in our authentic 19th century parlor. These tales, by Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Edward Payson Roe, Frank Stockton, and Helen Keller, among others, will be sure to get you in the mood at this most festive time of year. Dayle is a longtime museum volunteer and Director of the Bond Street Euterpean Singing Society, the vocal arts group-in-residence at the Merchant’s House. Watch on YouTube.

JANUARY

On YouTube!
Celebrating New Year’s Day 2026 with the Tredwells

Paying social calls on friends and family on the first day of the new year was one of Old New York’s most cherished customs. Join us – virtually – for good cheer to toast the New Year and learn how New Yorkers like the Tredwells celebrated the day.

In this immersive video experience, we’ll go back in time to the mid-19th century to meet the Tredwells and hear how they’ve been decking the house for New Year’s Day and preparing their lists of social calls. Join us as we continue the 19th century tradition of renewing, reviving, and reaffirming friendships that last the whole year through. Watch on YouTube.

Current Exhibitions

Exhibitions are included with regular museum admission. 

“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.


Tredwell Costume Collection: Spring and Summer Dress (MHM 2002.0840)

This two piece dress features a bell-shaped skirt, a shortened bodice, and long sleeves, reflecting a transitional style between the 1850s and 1860s. The fabric replicates an ikat motif, printed with synthetic aniline dyes.

Tredwell Costume Collection: Half-Mourning Dress (MHM 2002. 0581) 

This hand-sewn dress from the 1840s has a fitted bodice, round waist at the natural waistline, and dropped shoulders with long bishop sleeves.

 

 

VIRTUAL EXHIBITIONS | ONLINE OFFERINGS