The former Victorian mansion of a well-known industrialist of Staten Island is in the news again as the trial gets underway for a mob-style murder that occurred on the premises, but the mansion already had a reputation for being haunted.

The old house on Arthur Kill Road, known as the Kresicher mansion sits up on a hill overlooking a town that used to be known as Kreischerville. Balthasar Kresicher, the head of the family, made his fortune making fire-bricks and his sons continued the business after his death in 1886. Two mansions were built originally, but only one has survived. The other one burned and was demolished years ago. Tales have been told for years about the mansion - the scratching sounds heard in closets have been attributed to children who were supposedly locked in as punishment for bad behavior, doors slam unexpectedly and the widow of Edward Kreischer (Balthasar’s son who shot himself in his office in 1894) is rumored to haunt the house.

In more recent days, however, the house became a crime scene when Joseph Young convinced Robert McKelvey to come to the property. Young apparently stabbed, strangled and then drowned his victim and then chopped the body into bits and tossed it into the furnace. Young received money from a reputed mob connection and the trial for the murder is currently underway.

Isaac Yomtovian, a developer who purchased the property about ten years ago, has had plans to convert the property in to a housing center for senior citizens, but has been unable to secure funding for the project so far. Hmmm… wonder why.