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Reported phenomena, as catalogued
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Frank Furness's 1879 Stick Style mansion where the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts has collected EVP recordings of the Physick family's ghosts for over a decade.
1048 Washington Street, Cape May, NJ 08204
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Adults $20; children ages 3–12 $15; members 25% discount. 'Voices from Beyond' ghost tour priced separately — check capemaymac.org for current rates.
Access
Limited Access
Multi-story 1879 Victorian mansion with original staircases; carriage house and grounds accessible
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1879 · Frank Furness Stick Style Architecture · Cape May Historic District · Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts Founding Property · National Historic Landmark District Context
Frank Furness completed the Emlen Physick Estate at 1048 Washington Street in Cape May in 1879. Furness, the Philadelphia architect best known for the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1876), designed the Physick house in the Stick Style — a Victorian mode characterized by applied exterior framing, decorative trusses, and the exaggerated structural expressionism that Furness carried further than most of his contemporaries. The Physick house features the oversized upside-down corbelled chimneys, hooded jerkin-head dormers, and large stick-like porch brackets that became hallmarks of Furness's residential practice.
The house was built for Dr. Emlen Physick Jr. (1855–1916), a descendant of a prominent Philadelphia family that had produced several generations of physicians. Physick moved in with his widowed mother, Mrs. Ralston, and an unmarried aunt, Emilie. The three occupied the 18-room house on the four-acre estate, which included a carriage house that is now used for administrative and event space.
The Physick family retained the house until the 1930s. It subsequently fell into disrepair and faced demolition during the 1960s urban renewal pressures affecting Cape May's Victorian building stock. The Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts and Humanities organized to purchase and preserve the property, beginning museum operations in 1970. MAC's stewardship of the Physick Estate was instrumental in Cape May's eventual designation as a National Historic Landmark District.
The estate appeared on the Destination America television series Haunted Towns, investigated by the Tennessee Wraith Chasers. The 1879 house also served as a filming location for the 1981 horror film The Prowler.
Sources
The paranormal history of the Emlen Physick Estate is documented more formally than most house museum ghost claims. Paranormal investigator Craig McManus has conducted systematic investigations of the property over more than a decade and compiled a catalog of EVP (electronic voice phenomena) recordings — audio captured on recording devices that captures sounds not audible at the time — and photographs with anomalies attributed to the Physick family's presence.
The most consistently reported presences are Dr. Physick's Aunt Emilie and his mother, Mrs. Ralston. Both women spent the latter portions of their lives in the house, and both figures are connected to the estate's history through documented family records. Dr. Physick himself (1855–1916) also appears in the accounts, most frequently associated with the upper floors and the study areas.
Cape May MAC presents the McManus recordings and documentation through the 'Voices from Beyond' tour, described by MAC as Cape May's only ghost-themed tour to present actual recorded audio and visual evidence rather than oral tradition alone. The Carriage House generates its own distinct category of reports, separate from the main house accounts.
The estate was investigated by the Tennessee Wraith Chasers for the Destination America series Haunted Towns, providing broadcast documentation of the reported phenomena. The building's additional film history — serving as the primary location for the 1981 slasher film The Prowler — contributes to its broader dark-history profile, though the film's events are fictional.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Guided tour of the first and second floors of Frank Furness's 1879 mansion, covering Victorian domestic life, Physick family history, and the estate's architecture. Annual themes rotate; the 2026 theme is 'The World on Display: The Centennial and Everyday Life.'
Paranormal-focused tour of the Physick House presenting over a decade of EVP (electronic voice phenomena) recordings and photographic anomalies captured by paranormal investigator Craig McManus during documented investigations of the property. Visitors hear actual recorded audio attributed to spirits including Dr. Physick's Aunt Emilie. Described by Cape May MAC as Cape May's only tour to share actual recorded phenomena.
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This Cape May tour includes Emlen Physick Estate (Physick House Museum) on its route.
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