- One if by Land, Two if by Sea in Manhattan is rumored to be haunted by 20 specters, including historical figures like Aaron Burr, making it a popular spot for both the living and the dead.
Dining in New York City is very competitive. Reservations can be so hard to come by that people are literally dying to get in. So when one does go so far as to, say, shuffle off this mortal coil for a table, you can’t blame them for staying a while. Or even for an eternity. Such is the case at Manhattan’s One if by Land, Two if by Sea. The romantic West Village restaurant is said to be haunted by 20 specters, making for one large party indeed.
It’s a competitive dining room for those ghosts, too. One if by Land, Two if by Sea is not merely populated by your everyday vanishing hitchhiker or your disrespectful poltergeist. Even in the dang afterlife, you’ve got to be somebody — or, have been, rather — for these elite seats. The nation’s third Vice President, non-convicted murderer, and Lin-Manuel Miranda muse Aaron Burr is said to be among the spooks, for example. The address was his house before it was ever a restaurant, and this kind of prime real estate is hard to come by. So Burr, or whatever energy is left of him, has, ahem, dual reasons to linger.
Oh, fine, they can’t all be bold names, but not everyone at Minetta Tavern is Taylor Swift, either (trust; it’s a personal fave of mine as far as romantic NYC restaurants go). And who could even tell whether it was known Alexander Hamilton foe or some tragically anonymous aspiring actress bringing a chill to the air, or extinguishing a candlestick’s flame? 20 is as good a number of speculated spirits as any. Plenty of places don’t even get one.
Visiting One if by land, Two if by Sea if you are alive
Whether you believe in ghosts or not, One if by Land, Two if by Sea sure looks like the kind of place you’d see a vaguely Victorian lady in flowing gowns — or did you? It’s lined in a lot of exposed brick with big, arched windows, hanging candelabras, and a dramatic staircase that may have created at least one of the ghouls that stalks the place, if you catch the drift better than anyone could catch the gal who supposedly tumbled down to her death. The bathrooms are down some stairs, too, so, you know, be careful!…