The home of "the father of American surgery" in Society Hill is set to star in the TV series Ghost Hunters this week.
The Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks announced last week that the historic Physick House, once home to surgeon Philip Syng Physick, will be the main attraction of SyFy's Ghost Hunters season 11, episode 10. Apparently, they filmed it last year but it airs this Wednesday.
The premise of the show involves members of the Atlantic Paranormal Society investigating paranormal activity throughout the country. In this particular episode, the paranormal investigators go beneath the Physick House and attempt to contact "restless spirits" who might have been dissected by Dr. Physick for research.
Some backstory: Dr. Physick was considered a doctor for the elite (think Dolly Madison and president Andrew Jackson) during the early 19th century, and also treated victims during the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793.
In 1815, he moved into the four-story Federal-style mansion in Society Hill with his kids after his wife left him. Here, he treated his patients and dissected bodies in the basement for research.
You can watch a sneak peek of the episode on Ghost Hunter's website.