What the guidebooks won’t tell you

The Ear Inn

WHY ESSENTIAL:
It’s easy to forget that New York City rose to prominence as a port town, and that the place was once crawling with sailors and longshoremen. This iconic bar, just blocks from the Hudson, not only reminds us of Gotham’s maritime past, but it remains one of the great bars of today. Built circa 1817, the three-story house has had a varied history (tavern, tobacconist, bordello). We can’t think of a better place than this low-ceilinged pub—which still feels truly ancient—in which to enjoy a well-pulled pint and romanticize about the NYC of yore.

The secret:
It’s widely known (er, believed) that the Ear Inn is haunted by the ghost of Mickey, a sailor killed just outside long ago. But what you may not know is that there are up to 20 spirits (as one ghost chaser visiting from England discovered) chilling in the space upstairs. That apartment, owned by Ear Inn proprietor Martin Sheridan, has been vacant for four years, ever since the last tenant moved out: He and his family were getting shaken awake by resident phantoms. “Waitresses go upstairs to get something from storage and they come back saying they’ll never go up there again,” Sheridan says. “But Mickey never hurts anyone; he just messes with the ladies and moves your pint of beer when you’re not looking. He’s a playful old bloody ghost.” 326 Spring St at Greenwich St (212-226-9060)

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