Blood Manor’s haunted house returns to the Tribeca studio behind Lincoln’s $5 portrait

Blood Manor, a Halloween fixture in New York for years, kicks off its 2026 season at 7 p.m. on Oct. 2. The walk-through haunted house fills 10,000 square feet of an 1852 building at 359 Broadway in Tribeca.

Blood Manor’s Tribeca building and its Civil War past

Matthew Brady, a 19th-century photographer famous for his images of presidents, celebrities and the Civil War, once had his studio in the building. Abraham Lincoln sat for a portrait there, and according to Blood Manor, that image is the one that ended up on the $5 bill.

The attraction borrows that history for its storyline. Its fictional legend says odd things started happening once Brady returned to his former studio and noticed unsettling details in pictures developed in the third-floor rooms. The ghost tale is made up; the address and its past are not.

Blood Manor NYC tickets, timing and age limit

Guests make their way through themed rooms, tight passages and nearly pitch-black corridors while costumed actors jump out to scare them. Most people spend about half an hour inside. Visitors who hurry through can be back on the street in around 20.

Blood Manor advises against bringing children under 14, and any visitor younger than that must be accompanied by an adult.

New this season, tickets are sold by one-hour arrival window, so guests can show up at any point in the hour they picked. Once a night’s closing two hours begin, general admission guests are let in on a first-come, first-served basis. The R.I.P. Express ticket offers priority entry through its own line and is valid any time on the booked night, subject to availability.