As CNN recently reminded us, a clothing store in New York’s posh SoHo area is said to be haunted. The site, on Spring Street, has changed hands several times over the years, welcoming a variety of businesses, but it now houses the brand COS, owned by H&M. COS, which has shops worldwide, opened its Spring Street store at the end of 2014.

The 18th-century brick well at the heart of the legend remains partially preserved within the boutique. In the 1980s, Marie DaGrossa, then owner of Manhattan Bistro, stumbled upon the well while digging to expand her business downward. The well had been covered long ago by dirt and the like when New York City raised street levels. Now, the well stands prominently and proudly for shoppers to see, as COS has kindly and cutely restored it.

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The story goes that, on December 22, 1799, 21-year-old milliner Gulielma Elmore Sands, or “Elma,” snuck away from her tenement for a night with Levi Weeks, her secret lover who lived across the hall.…