The Manhattan Well in SoHo is famously haunted by the ghost of Elma Sands, whose murder in 1799 became America's first recorded murder trial. Though the well was sealed for over a century, paranormal activity and sightings have continued since its rediscovery. On December 22, 1799, 22-year-old Gulielma "Elma" Sands disappeared from her boarding house, allegedly to secretly elope with her suitor, Levi Weeks. Her body was found two weeks later, on January 2, 1800, at the bottom of the Manhattan Well in what was then Lispenard's Meadow. Weeks was accused of the murder, and his family hired a powerful legal team that included Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Weeks was acquitted after a very short jury deliberation, a verdict that was widely unpopular with the public. Some people attribute the subsequent mysterious deaths and misfortunes of those involved in the trial to a curse. Elma's cousin reportedly invoked a curse on the courtroom after the acquittal. The judge who presided over the trial vanished decades later while leaving a hotel and was never found. The two defense lawyers engaged in a duel in 1804 that resulted in Hamilton's death. Burr's reputation was ruined and his life was plagued by tragedy. Since the well was excavated and put on display, there have been numerous reports of paranormal encounters. According to those who unearthed it, the well appeared to be in near-perfect condition, as if no time had passed since it was covered. This unblemished appearance is considered eerie and supernatural by many. Apparitions of a woman in 18th-century clothing have been reported near the site, sometimes described as dripping wet or covered in seaweed. Employees of the businesses occupying the building have reported mysterious electrical outages, broken elevators, and missing merchandise, which are blamed on Elma's restless spirit. Staff at a former restaurant in the building claimed to feel an unsettling, watched feeling in the basement. They also witnessed glasses being thrown and wine bottles smashed on their own.