Alluring Lore

The House of Death

Date: 2/6/2024

In New York, New York, there is an apartment called the House of

Death. The apartment had been home to many tenants but the most

famous is author Mark Twain (whose real name is Samuel Clemens). The

previous tenants, including Mark Twain, had their share of unlucky

fortune in the place. During Twain’s time, he had struggled

financially and mentally, as he was going bankrupt and battling

depression. Twain had witnessed a kindling of firewood moving on its

own accord. But, being a ghost skeptic, he shot the moving object,
believing it was a rat. The object dropped and blood had dripped from

an unknown source, but he had still believed it was just a rat.

Although he didn’t have many happy memories in the house and did not

die there, his apparition can be seen walking up and down the

stairwell. Once, a woman and her daughter had even been spoken to by

Twain’s spirit. He had said, “My name is Clemens and I has a problem

here I gotta settle.” then vanished into nowhere. He did not share

what problem he needed to solve, however. Years later Jan Bryant

Bartell, an actress, writer, and psychic, along with her daughter had

moved into the apartment. Jan had reported a ‘monstrous moving

shadow’ followed her around the place. Another time, Jan had seen a

figure of a man standing in the hall. She went to touch him and she

described it as “a substance without substance.”. In the short second

between touching and then retreating her hand, she had smelled

something “Fragile and languorous. And sweet; unbearably, cloyingly

sweet”. This was not the only scent Jan and her family had detected.

The smell of rotting food was sitting on the table, although they

never purchased those food items. And their pets would become hostile

for no reason (that we know of…). Since Jan Bartell was a true

believer, she hired a paranormal investigator to check out the house.

He had revealed that over 22 spirits were inhabiting the home,

including Mark Twain, a woman in a white dress, a little girl, and a cat.

Bartell had written a manuscript about the happenings she

experienced in the House of Death. Shortly after finishing her writing

of the manuscript, she died mysteriously. On November 2, 1987 the

murder of six-year old Lisa Nussbaum had taken place in the House of

Death. There was a 911 call from Hedda Nussbaum telling the police

that her daughter, Lisa, wasn’t breathing, thus an ambulance was

sent right away. When paramedics arrived, they were terrified at the

brutal scene they saw. Lisa was lying on the kitchen floor, undressed
and unresponsive. Meanwhile her brother, Mitchell, was tied to a

playpen. Hedda was covered in bruises and had many broken bones. The

officials also discovered illegal drugs and $25,000 cash. The paramedics

were unable to revive Lisa, and Hedda and her husband, Joel Steinberg

were charged with first degree murder. Hedda had avoided jail time by

testifying against Joel. The jury found him guilty and he was

sentenced to jail until 2004. The things in the House of Death had

spread to the apartment complex next door. The tenants had

reported flickering lights and a spirit of a woman wandering the

corridor. So, if you’re looking for an apartment in New York, this is one

you would not want to rent.

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