CAGE, FISH AND ASSOCIATES
Location: The law firm is located at the top floors of a seven story Brownstone
situated at
Description: The seven story white and brown structure houses several small businesses in addition to a law firm on the top floor. The Cage, Fish and Associates law firm comprises the sixth floor and a seventh floor balcony loft. The interior is very Modern American furnishings replete with a unisex. It is accessed mainly by elevator, but the oft-used back stairway reserved as an emergency access. The bottom floor of the structure is home to Vonda’s Martini Bar, a popular local drinking establishment with nighttime entertainment. The other offices in the building are rented out to smaller businesses.
Ghostly Manifestations: Not primarily
known for its haunting, the establishment of Cage and Fish has become a
prominent law firm in
For its ten years of existence, phenomenon
has been few and far between. Yet, some manifestations have occurred; mostly in
the night time hours. Few of the staff speaks publicly of the activities.
“Chairs moved, locked doors unlocked,
footsteps from no where…….” Senior Partner Richard fish candidly describes the
activity. “We rarely if ever actually see anything at times. Sometimes months
go by and we forget they’re here. And then –boom- a door slams shut by itself
and reminds us that we’re not alone.”
Admittedly, the hauntings of the firm are a
boring lot, but there are a few interesting stories that have been shared among
the lawyers. Because of the reputations of his staff, Fish prefers to keep
their names private.
“I have two lawyers, a married couple who
work here, man and woman, well, that’s the way it goes, right?” Fish adds with
a childlike grimace. “They were alone here one night in the conference room
when they heard the elevator open and close as if someone had arrived. They
heard the footsteps of someone coming toward them and the moving of chairs as
whoever it was pushed them out of the way. The visitor was supposed to be
coming toward them in the conference room, but there never saw anyone in sight.
I mean, no one was there. He (name
withheld) stepped out and searched the floor, but he never found a thing.
“Sometime later, one of my lady lawyers just
a few weeks after joining the firm was coming up alone in the elevator, or so
she thought. I think she just happened to look over and she noticed a man
standing behind her. Elevator comes up, doors open, she steps out, and no one
turns out to be there anyway.
“Remember I said I had a set of married
lawyers? Well, one of them, the female half this time, once glanced up to the
balcony and saw a woman dressed like an old movie’s flapper up on the balcony
landing.” Fish dramatically points out the exact position. “She looked back a second time, and the
person was gone. My partner has heard big band music wafting through the place.
Our blonde assistant, a really interesting personality, you’d really like her,
said she once spent twenty minutes in the unisex talking to a man. I think she
was asking him out. Anyway, she turns to flip her hair, check her make-up in
the mirror or some female thing like that, looks back and her would-be date
vanishes. Of course, she usually catches him high-tailing it, but this time he
just vanishes.
Visitors to the building hoping to hire one
of the lawyers have reported hearing the sound of old big band music from the
Twenties or the Thirties wafting through the building. No one knows where it
comes from, but sometimes its been traced to a wall of the unisex.
“I’ve heard popping sounds, once or twice, like firecrackers at a distance.” Fish continues. “Phones sometimes ring and no one’s at the other end. You’d think they were they those awful telemarketers. Lights turned off sometimes come on; one was supposed to be even unplugged. We even had a judge visiting one time here. He’s a big, tall, distinguished African American with no sense of humor. Anyways, he was sitting in here alone and waiting for me when he swore he heard someone whisper in his ear, ‘Get out of here, you big…’ Decency prohibits me from using the word he says he mentions….”
History: The building was built sometime between 1835 and 1840 and has changed
hands often and has stood empty repeatedly. It’s been used as a records
building, apartment house, private school and a courthouse. In the 1920s to
1930s it was owned and operated by Silvio Antonio Roberto Ciccone, a
businessman with reputed underground ties. He ran a speakeasy down stairs
during prohibition and an upstairs casino. In 1938, he was killed “Valentines
Day style” according to Richard Fish along with five employees, seven dancers,
his two bodyguards, wife and two daughters. The FBI had the building sealed for
twenty years as they scoured the place for clues to try and solve the case.
It’s still unsolved.
During the Sixties, the structure was an office building with various ghost stories filtering down from the top floor. Fish began renting in 1994; he used the legend of the stories to get the landlord to knock 60% off the rent he was wanting.
Identity:
“According
to rumor,” Fish insists. “Ciccone and his staff return looking for their
killers. However, in 1998, we had a ghost-hunter named William Collins come
down from
“They just don’t know they’re dead.”
Comments: TV Series Ally McBeal (1998-2003). Loosely based on