Introduction: In this article, with Halloween approaching, Melissa Davenport Berry writes about the spirits that seem to haunt the Ayers-Allen House in New Jersey. Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, americana-archives.com, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History.
The Ayers-Allen House located at 16 Dunham Avenue is believed to be the oldest structure in Metuchen (originally Woodbridge), Middlesex County, New Jersey. It has been reported (by various occupants) that it is haunted by paranormal entities which include a Revolutionary War soldier.
In the 1940s a local schoolteacher, Mrs. Louise King, and her husband Samuel took occupancy of the historic dwelling and within months were met by spirits.
The Kings were warned by the previous owners the place was haunted and to expect some guests from the other side. It was believed the house operated as a tavern during the American Revolution and one soldier hung himself in the hallway, which is pictured in the below photograph on the right.
In 1969 Mrs. King invited reporters into her home to share her story on the various spooky brush-ups.
This article reports:
Mrs. Louise King of 16 Durham Ave., Metuchen, lives in a house that was built in 1740. In pre-Revolutionary War and in Revolutionary War times, the house was the Allen Tavern – a meeting place for soldiers after a long day’s battle.
All that remains now, 230 years later, is the house, some antiques, and – Mrs. King thinks – one of the Allen Tavern’s patrons.
About six months after she and her husband moved into the house 22 years ago, Mrs. King said she heard the knocker on the front door banging furiously.
“I went to investigate,” she said. “There was no one at the door. I thought one of the children in the neighborhood was playing a prank. Then I noticed there were no footprints in the freshly fallen snow. And there was no wind.”
Since then Mrs. King has had a number of encounters with her “guest.” She said she was warned by the house’s previous owners that the house was haunted, but she and her husband bought it anyway.
At one point Mrs. King, not out of fear but curiosity, sought out Hans Holzer, dubbed the “father of the paranormal,” to perform a séance in the home, but with the agreement he would not “harm” her ghost.
Here is a photo of Hans Holzer (1920-2009), famous ghosthunter who gained much notoriety investigating the Amityville Horror and some of the most prominent haunted locations around the world. He published over 120 books on the supernatural, witchcraft, and reincarnation.
Holzer concluded the apparition was indeed of colonial times and a Revolutionary War soldier.
The article continues:
One of the “ghost’s” more frequent activities is to tiptoe invisibly across the floor of the master bedroom.
“You can actually follow the steps across the room,” Mrs. King said.
Mrs. King reported that one time she and her husband were awakened one night by “something like a cannonball,” smashing into the corner of the bedroom. When she looked, there was nothing there.
Twice, while she slept in the house’s “Green Room,” the old soldier appeared to her as a dark form.
“As soon as I started to speak, though,” she said, “it just melted away.”
The house certainly has a rich history. I have done my best to dig up some of the past occupants.
According to the report furnished by the United States Department of the Interior, Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service, the Ayers-Allen home was built in 1740 by Jonathan Ayers (1703-1777), son of John and Mary (Walker) Ayers, and grandson of Obadiah and Hannah (Pike) Ayers. The family removed from Massachusetts Bay Colony along with Hannah’s farther John Pike, one of the original nine “associates” of Woodbridge (Metuchen).
Jonathan Ayers sold the house and property to his son-in-law Henry Allen, who married his daughter Phebe Ayers. During that time the house was run as a tavern and was known for its tasty ginger cakes and ale.
When Phebe (Ayers) Allen died, the house was conveyed to her cousin Jacob Ayers. Both Henry Allen and Jacob Ayers are recorded patriots of the Revolution.
Two spinster daughters born to Jacob Ayers, Deborah and Eunice, lived in the home until 1875 and made upgrades.
I found Eunice’s will; her executor Ezekiel Talmage and wife Hannah took over the house until 1924. Ezekiel was the grandson of Phebe Ayers and Enos Talmage. The house was in the family for almost 200 years!
Also named in the will is Alexander Howard Ayers, Evaline A. Drake, Mary Toppan, and Enoch Manning Ayres.
In May of 1975 the Metuchen Bicentennial Committee sponsored a historic house tour which of course included the Ayers-Allen House.
In this article, Mrs. Louise King talked about the ghost in her home:
“I can’t imagine a house this old without a ghost!” she said with a chuckle.
…She added that it [the ghost] was thought to be a Revolutionary soldier, and that once it had brought her an antique sterling silver spoon.
“I had it for about six years and was delighted with it. Then one day a reporter came to interview me and when I went to the silver drawer to show her the spoon, I discovered it had disappeared and I’ve never seen it since.”
In 1998 Tyreen Reuter and her husband bought the house. While researching at the New Jersey State Archives in Trenton, Tyreen found copies of tavern licenses for the house during the American Revolution. There are several documents on the early Ayer and allied families you can view online.
Here is a photo from a 2011 newspaper article featuring Samuel King, who was then living in the home.
The photo caption reads:
An undated photo of Samuel King working on the Ayers-Allen House on Durham Avenue in Metuchen. According to the Metuchen-Edison Historical Society, the Ayers-Allen House was built by Jonathan Ayers in 1740 and had been a popular tavern. During the Revolutionary War, Jonathan’s grandson, Zachariah Allen, and his family lived in the home/tavern. Soldiers and locals would come to eat, drink, and rest. The house remained in the Ayers family for 184 years. The home was owned by the Kadison and King families before being purchased by the Reuter family in 1998.
In December 2019 the Ayers-Allen House debuted on the tv series “The Holzer Files,” a reopening of the Hans Holzer files by his daughter Alexander. Other ghosts make their presence known in this episode, which includes a Hessian soldier, a mother searching for her 10-year-old son who was killed, and at least two Native Americans.
The paranormal investigator Dave Schrader and psychic medium Cindy Kaza recorded some eerie footage, including one spirit that threw a spoon across the room!
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Note on the header image: haunted tavern. Credit: Melissa Davenport Berry.
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