Self-described oldest continuously-operated Irish saloon in New York, where Houdini's handcuffs hang from the rafters and a cat at the window is said to signal his return.
15 East 7th Street, New York, NY 10003
Age
21+
Cost
$
Two-beer minimum tradition (a 'light' and a 'dark' served together); cash-only historically though now accepts cards. Inexpensive sandwich and cheese-plate menu.
Access
Limited Access
Tight historic saloon space with sawdust floors and a single low step at the entrance; no accessible facilities.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1858 · Self-described Oldest Irish Saloon In NYC · 1970 Sex-Discrimination Lawsuit · National Register Of Historic Places · Houdini Memorabilia
John McSorley emigrated from Ireland in 1851 and opened a saloon in the East Village in 1854, calling it 'The Old House at Home.' The saloon served Irish immigrant laborers, longshoremen, and tradespeople in the post-Famine wave of New York Irish settlement and quickly became a fixture of the neighborhood.
The saloon's interior — a long bar with sawdust floors, gas chandeliers, and walls covered with photographs, newspaper clippings, and memorabilia — has been preserved essentially unchanged since the 19th century. McSorley's serves only two beverages, both house ales: a light and a dark, traditionally sold in pairs and to be consumed quickly. The institutional motto, attributed to John McSorley, is 'Good Ale, Raw Onions, and No Ladies.'
The last clause was enforced for 116 years. McSorley's refused to admit women patrons until October 24, 1970, when in response to a successful lawsuit filed by attorney Faith Seidenberg and the National Organization for Women, a federal court ruled the policy unconstitutional. The first woman to be served, Lucy Komisar, did so the same day. McSorley's added a women's bathroom in 1986.
The saloon's roster of famous patrons has included Abraham Lincoln (according to saloon lore), Theodore Roosevelt, Woody Guthrie, e.e. cummings, Brendan Behan, John Lennon, and — most relevant to the ghost stories — magician and escape artist Harry Houdini. Houdini was a regular at McSorley's around the turn of the 20th century, and a pair of handcuffs widely identified as his hangs from a gas chandelier above the bar. The McSorley's wishbone collection — turkey wishbones left by soldiers departing for World War I, to be reclaimed on their return — is famously coated in a century of dust because the bar has never been deep-cleaned around the artifacts.
McSorley's Old Ale House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and is celebrated in 20th-century American literature, most notably in Joseph Mitchell's New Yorker writings.
Sources
According to America's Haunted Roadtrip and the Wild About Harry feature dedicated to Houdini's posthumous folklore, the ghost lore at McSorley's is closely tied to the Houdini memorabilia displayed in the saloon. A pair of handcuffs hanging from a gas chandelier is identified in saloon tradition as a pair Houdini used during an impromptu escape demonstration at the bar around the turn of the 20th century. The Wild About Harry account notes that the cuffs are of a model manufactured after Houdini's 1926 death and are therefore disputed by Houdini scholars, though the association remains a fixed part of saloon mythology.
Dr. Philip Ernest Schoenberg, a longtime New York ghost-tour guide, has been a primary source for the McSorley's haunting narrative. According to his publicized accounts, whenever a cat appears in the front window of the saloon, Houdini is said to be present, manifesting through the cat as a vessel. The America's Haunted Roadtrip account adds that an unseen presence has been observed petting the bar cat — described by patrons as feeling the cat respond to invisible attention.
Former upstairs residents of the building (the floors above the saloon have served as apartments) have reported tables and chairs moving on their own, distant voices, and footsteps after the bar has closed for the night. These accounts appear in haunted-site survey listings but are not formally investigated.
The haunting reputation at McSorley's is primarily a folkloric layer atop a documented patron history. Houdini's actual association with the saloon is well established in turn-of-the-century reporting; the paranormal extension of that association is the work of 20th- and 21st-century ghost-tour entrepreneurs and is consistent with the saloon's deeply preserved 19th-century atmosphere.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Drink at the bar of McSorley's Old Ale House, opened in 1854 and operated continuously since. The saloon serves only its house light and dark ales (always sold in pairs) and offers a small menu of sandwiches and crackers. Artifacts cover every wall, including the famously dust-covered Houdini handcuffs hanging from a gas chandelier and turkey wishbones left by World War I soldiers.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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