The Cropsey Legend

For generations, children on Staten Island were warned about Cropsey—a boogeyman who lived in the tunnels beneath the abandoned Willowbrook State School and snatched children who wandered too close. The legend was folklore, a story to frighten kids into obedience. Then children actually began to disappear, and the legend became horribly real.

The Legend

Cropsey was Staten Island’s version of the universal boogeyman. He was said to have an escaped mental patient’s madness and a hook for a hand. He lurked in the woods around Willowbrook, an institution for mentally disabled children notorious for horrific conditions, and he took children who strayed too far.

Every neighborhood had its version. Some said Cropsey was burned and disfigured. Some said he was connected to the abandoned hospital. All agreed he was something to fear.

The Disappearances

Beginning in 1972, children actually began to disappear from Staten Island. Jennifer Schweiger, a twelve-year-old girl with Down syndrome, vanished in 1987. Her body was found weeks later buried near Willowbrook.

The investigation led to Andre Rand, a former employee of Willowbrook State School who lived as a drifter in the grounds around the abandoned institution. He was convicted of Jennifer’s murder and later linked to other disappearances.

Andre Rand

Rand fit the Cropsey legend with disturbing precision. He was associated with Willowbrook. He lived in the woods. Children disappeared. But Rand was real—not a monster from legend but a man who had worked at an institution known for abuse and who had become something monstrous himself.

Rand was convicted of kidnapping Jennifer Schweiger in 1988 and of another child’s kidnapping in 2004. He has never confessed and never revealed where other missing children might be. Several disappearances remain unsolved.

The Documentary

The 2009 documentary “Cropsey” explored the case and the way legend and reality converged on Staten Island. The filmmakers examined how a community creates bogeymen and what happens when those bogeymen turn out to be real.

Assessment

The Cropsey legend illustrates the disturbing intersection of folklore and fact. Communities create stories to explain fears and protect children. Sometimes those stories prove prophetic—or perhaps the stories give form to genuine dangers that lurk in every community.

Staten Island had Cropsey. And Cropsey was real.