THE GHOSTS OF NEW YORK
Quatre histoires de fantômes pour Halloween...
La saison d'Halloween est souvent une bonne occasion de parcourir à nouveau nos films et histoires d’épouvantes préférés. Si vous souhaitez vous faire froid dans le dos, voici quatre légendes urbaines new-yorkaises dont les héros ne sont autres que des revenants. Bouh !
New York state and the city that bears its name are steeped in centuries’ worth of supernatural lore. In anticipation of Halloween, here are a few local ghost stories you may not already know about.
GERTRUDE TREDWELL, THE RECLUSE 2. For nearly a century, members of the Tredwell family occupied the house at 29 East Fourth St., near Washington Square Park. If you believe the reports, at least one of them still does. The ghost of Gertrude Tredwell is said to have roamed the house since she died there in 1933.
3. One of the first sightings came just weeks after her death, according to Anthony Bellov, which occupies the house and preserves it as a testament to the Tredwells. “It was hot, people were on the stoops, people were on the fire escapes,” Bellov said. “Suddenly, the front door of the house flew open and an elderly woman in a long, brown dress rushed out onto the stoop to chase the children away. Scores of people saw this and, immediately, everyone recognized her as Gertrude.”
4. The museum opened to the public only three years after Gertrude died. One of its early caretakers, a woman named Florence Helm, later described having several mysterious experiences there. Once, she told The New York Times in 1953, she watched a silk tassel twist and turn as if someone were playfully twirling it. Other times, she heard a consistent tapping on the wall. 5. “It was not unlike telegraphic code, which I cannot read,” she said. The couple that took over her duties reported hearing the knocking, too. Visitors have reported seeing Gertrude as she appeared at various stages of her life, from her late teens on. Most say she was wearing a long, brown taffeta gown, though that description matches none of the 40 gowns in the museum’s collection.
THE HAUNTING OF 136 CLINTON AVE. 6. A few weeks before Christmas in 1878, Edward F. Smith was at his home at 136 Clinton Ave., in Brooklyn, when the doorbell rang. Smith opened the door, but found no one outside. The ringing continued throughout the
night and was eventually joined by a violent banging at the back door, but, still, Smith could not identify a source.
7. The commotion became a nightly occurrence. At first, Smith enlisted the help of his family. But even with people stationed throughout the house and in the yard, they couldn’t pinpoint the cause. He sprinkled ash and flour along the path to the door, expecting to find footprints left behind, but the substances were undisturbed and the noises continued.
8. Eventually, Smith persuaded authorities to look into the matter. A police captain and detective visited the house one night, but they were “utterly unable to fathom” what was going on, according to The Times. So they returned the next night, with reinforcements. That second night, a brick flew through the dining room window. It could only have been thrown from a path near the house, but officers stationed outside swore they had seen no one near it. 9. The house was thoroughly searched for hidden wires or anything else that might solve the mystery, but police found nothing. Smith himself was skeptical at first that supernatural activity was taking place, but after weeks of torment he could think of no other explanation.
THE HEADLESS GHOST OF OLD FORT NIAGARA 10. It was 1759. Two French officers, JeanClaude de Rochefort and Henri Le Clerc, stationed at Fort Niagara and had both fallen for a Native American woman. During a siege, they decided to settle the matter once and for all.
11. The two fighting soldiers caught the attention of those around them, their swords making “bright arcs of light” as they fought in a central courtyard. In the end, de Rochefort won and Le Clerc lost his head. As the story goes, his body fell into a nearby well. Le Clerc’s ghost, it is said, can be seen from time to time emerging from the well in search of its head.
THE 27TH STREET GOBLIN 12. In the early 1860s, New York City went “wild with interest” in what had become known as the “27th Street Goblin.” The ghost had long been the subject of vague rumors, but two women appeared to confirm its existence after moving into a home on the street and awaking the next morning to find their furniture rearranged, even though the windows and doors were locked from the inside.
9. thoroughly de fond en comble / to search ici, fouiller / hidden caché, dissimulé / wire câble / to solve résoudre / to take, took, taken place avoir lieu, se manifester / explanation explication.
10. headless décapité, sans tête / both tous (les) deux / to fall, fell, fallen for tomber amoureux de / to settle régler.
11. to catch, caught, caught attirer / sword épée / bright ici, vif / to fight, fought, fought se battre / courtyard cour / nearby voisin / well puits.
12. to go, went, gone wild se déchaîner; ici, to go wild with interest s'intéresser vivement à / to move into emménager dans, s'installer dans / to awake se réveiller / furniture (inv.) meubles, mobilier / to lock verrouiller. 13. But, as The Times would later uncover, there never was a ghost: The whole craze was caused by a lazy police officer. Patrols of officers usually patrolled near the house at night, but eventually grew weary. But one night, they discovered an unlocked sidewalk hatch that led to an empty house. Before long, they began using it as an escape from the cold.
14. The officers did not know that the family had moved in. One of the officers sneaked through the hatch and into the house only to discover the furniture. Without stopping to wonder why it was there, he decided to move several pieces near the fireplace and use them as couches to sleep on. But, just as he finished, the officer heard a noise and realized that the house had new occupants. Fearful of being caught sleeping on the job, he quickly crept out and kept his mouth shut, leaving the two women there to discover the furniture the following morning.
O13. to uncover découvrir / whole tout / craze folie, engouement / weary las, fatigué / sidewalk = pavement (GB) trottoir / hatch trappe d’accès / to lead, led, led conduire (à) / before long très vite.
14. to sneak se faufiler / to wonder se demander / fireplace cheminée / couch canapé / fearful of craignant de / on the job pendant le service / to creep, crept, crept se glisser, se faufiler (ici, to creep out filer discrètement) / to shut, shut, shut fermer; ici, se taire.