THE STORY
Reported Haunting
St. Paul's Chapel is associated with the headless ghost of Shakespearean actor George Frederick Cooke, who was buried in its churchyard after his death in 1812. According to legend, his spirit wanders the grounds searching for the skull that was removed from his body for medical study.
St. Paul’s Chapel is New York’s oldest public building that is still in use, and is the burial place for British actor George Frederick Cooke. Legend has it that to settle his towering debt, he agreed to leave his head to science. So, since his 1812 death, his ghost is sometimes said to appear looking through the cemetery for his head. But apparently his reunion with his noggin wasn’t meant “to be” — sources say his skull was used as a prop in the Shakespeare play “Hamlet.”