Ghosts on the Coast

Ghosts on the Coast 🔎 Investigating and documenting creepy history, cemeteries, ghosts, myths, legends, & true crime.
đź“Ť Based in Monmouth County, New Jersey.
⏳️ Est. 2015.

Ghosts on the Coast is a New Jersey-based paranormal investigating team and web-series, and also a fundraising partner with the Strauss Mansion Museum. Episodes can be found on YouTube. The group has close connections to history and historic sites-- the founder is a historian and lecturer at Brookdale Community College, while the entire team volunteers or serves on the Board of Directors of the At

lantic Highlands Historical Society, which is housed at the 1893 Strauss Mansion Museum. The group is available for investigations at your location as well as paranormal workshops and lectures.

09/02/2026

Submerged in the shallow waters off the Earle Navy pier are the last remnants of the steamer PS Alexander Hamilton, built in 1924. ⬇️

It served for decades on the Hudson River Line, ferrying passengers between New York City and Albany. At 300 feet long and with a capacity of 3,000 people, it was the last side-wheeled steamer to operate in the area.

After nearly 50 years in service, the Hamilton was retired and brought to the Atlantic Highlands Marina in 1974, where it became an attraction. There were plans to turn it into a floating restaurant. When this did not materialize after three years, it was moved to the navy pier. This was supposed to only be temporary until they could determine a permanent location.

During a storm in November 1977, the ship was struck by lightning, caught fire, and sank. Part of the wreckage is still visible today, depending on the tide. While this would seem like a prime spot for scuba diving and exploration, the waters are restricted. There are a few images found online for reference.

In a touch of irony, the wreck was added to the National Register of Historic Places, making it one of, if not the only, location on the list that the public cannot actually visit.

Photos: Contemporary images of the wreck are borrowed from NJScuba.Net. Archival photos via Atlantic Highlands Historical Society.

09/02/2026

Everybody knows of the controversial Henry Wirz and his tenure at Andersonville Prison in Georgia, but even he had a boss to answer to. ⬇️

John H. Winder was in charge of prison camps throughout the Confederacy during the American Civil War.

While the atrocities of Andersonville are considered particularly ghastly, it can be argued that the Confederate Army did not have enough supplies to feed their own soldiers, much less 45,000 Union prisoners at this one camp alone. Over 13,000 ended up dying within its confines.

On one hand, Winder is reported to have ordered that his own men receive the same rations as the starving soldiers in his care. On the other hand, he allegedly claimed that he could kill more of the enemy in his prisons than “20 of Lee’s regiments” by keeping them in such conditions.

He also ordered that if Sherman’s army got close enough to Andersonville, that they were to open the gates and unload cannonfire onto the Union population.

Winder’s entire tenure with the Confederacy was marred by incompetence. He was put in charge of Richmond by Jefferson Davis in 1862 after martial law was declared. His first orders were to ban alcohol and confiscate the fi****ms of all citizens. Needless to say, this did not go over well, and crime increased at levels never seen before.

09/02/2026

Cedar View Cemetery in Lincroft was formed in 1850 when 14 freed African American men purchased land to be used as a burial ground. It was divided into 24 equal lots and sold to families as needed. ⬇️

There were less places for African Americans to bury their dead in the 18th and 19th centuries, even as slavery came to its gradual end.

Some churches, like Clinton Chapel and Union Baptist Church of Middletown, had their own property for a graveyard. Others, such as Quinn Chapel (Atlantic Highlands) and Lincroft Chapel did not, and were forced to use plots of land not adjacent to their congregations. The results were Crystal Stream Cemetery in Navesink and Cedar View.

We see small family burial grounds scattered all over Monmouth County, but with many black citizens unable to own land (or held “life rights” on land, which expired upon death), they had to use cemeteries like this.

John Smack, our tour guide and facilitator, has an estimated 15-20 family members buried here.

09/01/2026

In May 1937, an intact Native American skeleton was unearthed near McClee’s Creek in Middletown, New Jersey by local amateur archaeologist Samuel Burritt Boynton. ⬇️

He was searching the area for artifacts and came across the burial. The article mentions several other skeletons had been found in the vicinity and even discusses a woman in Long Branch who came across the remains of five Native Americans buried in her back yard while gardening.

Finding arrowheads in Monmouth County is/was relatively common, but the suggestions put forth in this article indicate the discovery of human remains was also prevalent, and to a disturbing degree.

Unfortunately, Boynton was not a trained archaeologist and notes that when he found skeletons in wet or muddy areas, he would pour gasoline into the graves and light them on fire to “dry out the bones”.

How much history has been destroyed?

📰 "Experiences of Burritt Boynton as Archaeologist”, Red Bank Register, May 6, 1937. Original negative via Randall Gabriellan collection. Lenape artwork via Lower Merion Historical Society.

08/31/2026

The K*K didn’t just invade the Jersey Shore during the 1920’s, they infiltrated the entire state with a focus on major colleges, hoping to push their agenda on formative minds. ⬇️

They were quite welcome at Rutgers University where they established their own chapter on campus. It was granted to them by Klan headquarters in Atlanta in March 1926. The first meeting was attended by 500 people and came with its own women’s auxiliary.

Two years earlier, they tried to take over Princeton University but were met with resistance. In October 1924, the K*K attempted a show of force by driving a motorcade down Nassau Street.

They were met by 800 students who rioted, formed a blockade, and attacked Klan members in an attempt to remove their hoods. This opposition lasted until the police arrived, who defended the Klansmen and protected them until the students dispersed.

Students later formed their own organization, “The Knights of the Nightshirt”, to mock the K*K.

08/31/2026

There is still a lot of paranormal investigation footage to go through from Cedar View Cemetery in Lincroft, New Jersey, and we could not help but be amused by this response.

We were joined by John and Yvonne at the plot of their ancestors, the Reeves Family. There had been some indistinct chatter coming through the SB-7 that prompted Max to ask, “Which member of the Reeves Family are you?”

The answer was a deep male voice responding, “The good one”. Nice to know that spirits can retain their earthly sense of humor.

08/30/2026

In the 1960’s, housing developments east of Normandy Road off Kings Highway in Middletown, New Jersey, were built over Native American Burial Grounds. ⬇️

The Caruso Construction Company made the discovery during excavation, halted building, and notified the State of New Jersey. A representative was sent, who determined they were “non-Christian burial grounds”, and allowed construction to proceed. The affected area had an elevation of 200 feet.

Streets in the vicinity of the grounds were named Hopi Drive, Pomo Court, and Navaho Way in commemoration, even though the names themselves have nothing to do with local tribes.

Approximately 10,000 Lenape people lived in New Jersey at the time of the earliest European settlement in the 1600s. By the start of the American Revolution, there were less than a hundred left.

Ironically enough, it was the same Caruso Company who erected the peanut stone facade over Hudson Springs in Atlantic Highlands in the 1930s, when it was turned into a park. That land too was long rumored to have been either a burial ground or sacred site.

📖 The Dr. Paul Boyd Collection, Atlantic Highlands Historical Society (Strauss Mansion Museum, Lenape History Room). This includes a map of all known Native American sites in Monmouth County as of the late 1990’s when he cataloged them.

08/30/2026

With all the time spent the last few days on cemeteries getting destroyed, we thought we would show something a little nicer.

These are some stunning engravings from headstones at the Rumson Burying Ground.

For more information on this cemetery, check out the “Rumson” playlist on our Instagram, and come see us on October 7th for “Haunted Rumson” which is now at Bingham Hall (changed from Oceanic Free Library to accommodate a larger crowd).

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27 Prospect Circle
Atlantic Highlands, NJ
07716

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