HAUNTED NEW JERSEY SCHOOL BEING DEMOLISHED TO KEEP OUT GHOST HUNTERS

LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. - October 5, 2012 (WPVI) -- After a long fight, a dilapidated former high school in New Jersey is being demolished.

Heavy machinery ripped into the old Lambertville High School on Friday, and those who live nearby say it's just in time.

They say the spooky building attracts visitors around Halloween, despite the fact that its condition makes it a danger to anyone who goes inside.

If you look beneath the graffiti you can see it was built back in 1854. The school was closed in the late 1950s and sat abandoned for decades until a fire gutted it in 1992.

Local legend has it the place is haunted.

"I went up there in high school with some friends and just poked around. It's a dark and scary place," said Patrick Kahney of Yardley, Pa.

Paranormal bloggers have named Lambertville High #1 on the list of the 10 most haunted schools on the east coast and it's been featured in Weird NJ Magazine.

There are stories of visitors who've heard the sounds of footsteps, bloodcurdling screams and seen the ghost of Buck, a football player who supposedly died when his neck was broken during a game here.

"If you go up there at night and go onto the field burning eyes appear and a ghostly voice says run!" said library director Harold Dunn.

"I don't know if I believe that but I know it's a big attraction and a lot of people go in there that aren't supposed to," said Joan Marriott of Lambertville.

After years of legal wrangling and fines for the property owner, demolition on the haunted school house has finally begun. A big claw is tearing down walls and, perhaps, shaking loose some of the ghosts that haunt the classrooms.

Just in case, the demolition crew is being cautious.

"I'm going to be checking my machine and my truck before I leave, I can tell you that," said demolition worker Steve Vierbuchen. "I don't want to bring them home with me!"

Story and Video: 6ABC