The Billop House

Now a historic museum house, the Billop House (also known as The Conference House) was built in 1680. It was the site of the Staten Island Peace Conference, a failed attempt to end the American Revolution on September 11, 1776. At that time the home was owned by Christopher Billop, a British loyalist, who three years later accused a female servant of spying on him for the colonists. The servant denied the claim, but Billop snapped and threw her down a flight of stairs, breaking her neck in the process. Visitors to the historic house say they have seen apparitions of both Billop and the servant girl, as well as British soldiers. Neighbors claim to hear the sounds of a man singing or shouting and a woman screaming then falling.