HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
35-acre Staten Island living history village where the 1740 Guyon-Lake-Tysen House is reported haunted by Elizabeth Lake-Tysen and several of her children who died young.
441 Clarke Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10306
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Admission required for museum entry; see website for current pricing. Ghost tours and paranormal investigations are separately ticketed.
Access
Wheelchair OK
35-acre grounds with paved pathways and some uneven historical surfaces between buildings
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1740 · Richmond County Seat from Early 18th Century · 30+ Preserved 17th–20th Century Structures · Dutch Colonial Architecture · Living History Programming
Richmond Town developed as the county seat and commercial center of Staten Island beginning in the early 18th century, inhabited primarily by Dutch, English, and French settlers who worked as blacksmiths, shoemakers, tanners, and craftspeople. British troops occupied the area during the American Revolution, making it a Loyalist stronghold. The third Richmond County Courthouse, built 1837, stands as one of the complex's major landmarks.
The Guyon-Lake-Tysen House is among the oldest surviving structures on the grounds. Built around 1740 in Dutch Colonial farmhouse style, the house passed through the Guyon, Lake, and Tysen families over several generations. Elizabeth Lake-Tysen — whose family occupied the house during much of its 18th and 19th-century period — is among the figures most associated with the building's reputation. Several of her children reportedly died young, a not-uncommon circumstance in 18th-century rural households, and their presence became the focus of the building's haunting tradition.
The Voorlezer's House, dating to approximately 1696 and previously believed to be the oldest elementary school in the United States (a claim revised in 2018), also carries a documented ghost tradition. The Third County Courthouse, which served the county's legal functions from 1837, was the site of executions that enter the complex's darker lore.
Historic Richmond Town was established in 1958 through efforts by preservationists including Loring McMillen and banker David L. Decker, partly inspired by Colonial Williamsburg. The complex was featured in the Travel Channel paranormal series Most Terrifying Places in 2019.
Sources
The Guyon-Lake-Tysen House carries the most detailed haunting tradition of the complex's buildings. Visitors and paranormal investigators describe seeing apparitions — figures that appear in period dress and then are gone — along with disembodied voices, footsteps with no visible source, and sounds consistent with a child moving through the rooms. In several accounts, trigger objects placed in the building — small toys and candy left to gauge paranormal interaction — are found in different positions than they were left, or moved to another part of the house. The attribution is to Elizabeth Lake-Tysen and to children who died in the house before reaching adulthood.
Historic Richmond Town has offered organized paranormal investigation events seasonally. These three-hour programs, led by investigators such as Vinny Carbone, begin with an introductory session on the history and methodology of paranormal investigation, then proceed into an actual walk-through of the historic buildings using professional equipment. The complex also operates Village Ghost Tours, one-hour lantern-lit walking programs led by historical interpreters who discuss the lives and deaths of Richmondtown residents without claiming to be ghost hunts.
The complex appeared on the Travel Channel's Most Terrifying Places in 2019. The Voorlezer's House and grounds near the old courthouse contribute additional lore — accounts of unexplained sounds and, in older retellings, figures associated with the courthouse's history of executions.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Where this legend is told
Explore the 35-acre living history complex with more than 30 historic buildings dating from the late 17th to early 20th centuries, including the Guyon-Lake-Tysen House (c. 1740), the Voorlezer's House, and the Third County Courthouse. Living history demonstrations with costumed interpreters run seasonally (May–August).
One-hour after-hours walking tours through the historic village by lantern light. Historical interpreters discuss the lives and deaths of Staten Island's early residents and share accounts of unexplained encounters within the buildings. A storytelling interpretive experience rather than a ghost-hunt.
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