Top NYC Haunted Places You Need to Visit
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“The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?” – Edgar Allan Poe
Horror movies filmed on location in New York City run the gamut from established classics such as Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and more offbeat cult films like Basket Case (1982) and Jacob’s Ladder (1990) to total turkeys such as the execrable Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989). In addition, we would be remiss not to acknowledge the NYC-based 1984 horror-comedy classic Ghostbusters! However, for a real taste of the macabre, nothing beats visiting actual ghoulish and creepy landmarks throughout the Big Apple that reportedly have exhibited paranormal activity of one form or another over the years. Whether you wish to try your hand at ghost hunting and explore haunted mansions, sinister townhouses, scary Escape Rooms, ghostly theaters, spooky restaurants, possessed hotels, creepy churches or even Harry Houdini’s gravesite, here are the 10 most haunted place in NYC you need to visit (note that some of these sights are private residences and not open to the public, so you will only be able to catch a glimpse of those ghostly sites from outside) – And if you survive the terror, unwind with your favorite adult beverage at any of the best rooftop bars in NYC!
1 Morris-Jumel Mansion
Built in 1765 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the Morris-Jumel Mansion (AKA “Mount Morris”) in Washington Heights is the oldest house in Manhattan and originally served as the summer house of Colonel Roger Morris (1727-94), a highly decorated British Army officer. In the fall of 1776, the mansion briefly served as the headquarters for General George Washington and his officers during the Revolutionary War. In 1810, Eliza and Stephen Jumel purchased the Georgian-style mansion. Eliza reportedly had an affair with Aaron Burr (the former vice president who had killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel) and soon thereafter Stephen died mysteriously from a “pitchfork accident.” According to popular rumors of the time, Eliza actually buried Stephen alive! Eliza and Burr divorced three years later, Burr soon died and Eliza eventually had a mental breakdown that lasted until she died in 1865 at the age of 90. Today, the Morris-Jumel Mansion is allegedly haunted by at least five spirits, including Eliza (in 1965 she allegedly shushed a group of rowdy schoolchildren who were taking a tour of the mansion), Stephen Jumel, Aaron Burr, a servant girl who reportedly committed suicide by jumping out of a window and even the painting of a Revolutionary War soldier that occasionally comes to life (a la the talking portraits that populate Hogwarts Castle!). If you’re interested in possibly running into any or all of these restless spirits, the Morris-Jumel Mansion is open for self-guided tours every day but Monday.
WHERE: 65 Jumel Terrace, New York, NY 10032 | WHO: (212) 923-8008
2 The Dakota
Not only is the Gothic-style Dakota building, which first opened its doors in 1884, one of the most exclusive residences in Manhattan, but it’s also reportedly one of the most haunted buildings in NYC! Tragically, John Lennon of Beatles fame was murdered outside of the Dakota on December 8, 1980 (Yoko Ono still lives at the Dakota and claims she once viewed Lennon’s ghost sitting at his legendary white piano). When he was alive, Lennon apparently told Ono he witnessed a “Crying Lady Ghost” in the Dakota. Other ghosts witnessed by Dakota residents over the years include a playful girl in a yellow dress and a very creepy looking short guy donning an ill-fitting wig. In addition, paranormal activity reported at the Dakota includes phantom footsteps, mysterious noises and objects moving on their own. By the way, scenes from the 1968 horror movie classic Rosemary’s Baby directed by Roman Polanski were shot at the Dakota, which is located at Central Park West on 72nd Street for the morbidly curious.
WHERE: 1 W. 72nd Street, New York, NY 10023 | WHO: +1 212 362 1448
3 “House of Death”
Few buildings in NYC have a more sinister reputation than the so-called “House of Death” near Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village that has become widely known as “the most haunted building in New York.” According to legend, the 19th-century brownstone got its macabre name due to the myriad of mysterious and violent deaths that took place in the building over the years, along with an extraordinary level of reported paranormal activity reported here. Legendary author Mark Twain lived in the building for a year (1900-01) and his ghost – clad in his signature white suit and coolly smoking a cigar – has been spotted here. In fact, a plaque outside the building states, “In this house once lived Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens), author of the beloved American classic The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” In 1987, the building was also the site of the tragic murder of six-year-old Lisa Steinberg by her father, Joel Steinberg, a former criminal defense attorney. Last but not least, Jan Bryant Bartell, an off-Broadway actress/poet and longtime resident of the “House of Death,” wrote a compelling 1974 memoir about her paranormal experiences there titled Spindrift: Spray from a Psychic Sea.
WHERE: 14 W. 10th Street, New York, NY 10011 | WHO: N/A
4 New Amsterdam Theater
Now leased by Disney Theatrical Productions and currently home to the hit musical Aladdin, New Amsterdam Theatre boasts a rich history as Broadway’s oldest theater and an official New York City Landmark that is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1902-03, the New Amsterdam Theatre also features a resident ghost, none other than Ziegfeld Follies chorus girl and actress Olive Thomas, who was known as “The Most Beautiful Girl in New York City” before dying in Paris in 1920 at the age of 25 after swallowing a lethal dose of mercury bichloride pills (which her husband, Jack Pickford, brother of actress Mary Pickford, was using to treat his syphilis). The ghost of Thomas has often been spotted hanging out both onstage and in the backstage of the theater.
WHERE: 214 W. 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036 | WHO: (212) 282-2900
5 Kreischer House
A creepy Queen Anne Victorian-style mansion that sits empty on Staten Island, the allegedly haunted Kreischer House contains 25 rooms and was built around 1885 by German immigrant and “brick-factory baron” Balthasar Kreischer. One of Kreischer’s twin sons later committed suicide in the mansion. In 2005, the property’s caretaker Joseph “Joe Black” Young (who was also a hitman for the mob!) murdered a fellow mobster named Robert McKelvey inside the mansion, dismembered his body and burned it in the basement furnace. Over the years, visitors have reported strange voices and lights emanating from the house, along with sightings of the ghosts of both Kreischer song, as well as a former cook. By the way, the Kreischer House served as a filming location for HBO’s period crime drama Boardwalk Empire and was also featured on the reality TV series Paranormal Lockdown. In addition, actor Aaron Paul (“Jesse Pinkman” from Breaking Bad) visited the Kreischer House during an episode of the TruTV series Super Into.
WHERE: 4500 Arthur Kill Road, Staten Island, NY 10309 | WHO: +1 917-560-6706
6 The Manhattan Well
The infamous “Manhattan Murder Well” trial took place in 1799 after carpenter Levi Weeks was accused of the strangulation murder of his girlfriend Gulielma “Elma” Elmore Sands and throwing her body into a well in an area of Manhattan that was then known as “Lispenard Meadow.” Wells, the brother of influential builder Ezra Weeks, was later acquitted in a controversial verdict. Today, the remains of the notorious well can be found inside the COS SoHo clothing store on Spring Street. Elma’s ghost can allegedly be heard shrieking from deep down in the well, as well as sometimes wandering around the streets of SoHo. The Travel Channel has included the Manhattan well as one of its “10 Most Haunted Places in America.”
WHERE: 120 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012
7 St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery
The ghost of Peter “Peg Leg” Pete Stuyvesant, the last Dutch colonial governor-general of New Amsterdam (the original name of New York), reportedly haunts St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery, which dates to 1660 and is the second-oldest church in Manhattan. Visitors to the landmark East Village church have witnessed Stuyvesant roaming the church grounds, ringing church bells, singing hymns loudly in Dutch and committing other assorted acts of mischief. Self-guided walking tours of St. Mark’s are available, so you may be able to get the opportunity to document a personal encounter with old “Peg Leg” Pete!
WHERE: 131 E. 10th Street, New York, NY 10003
8 Machpelah Cemetery
No list of haunted places in NYC is complete without an eerie graveyard and the creepy Machpelah Cemetery (a Jewish cemetery founded in 1860) in Queens ranks right up there since it’s the final resting place of none other than legendary escape artist Harry Houdini (real name: Erik Weisz), who died on Halloween night in Detroit at the age of 52 in 1926. Houdini’s wife, Bess, held a séance at the grave every October 31 until her death in 1943 in a desperate (and ultimately unsuccessful) attempt to contact the famed illusionist from beyond the grave. As you might expect, Houdini’s grave draws significant crowds every Halloween night.
WHERE: 8230 Cypress Hills Street, Ridgewood, NY 11385
9 Washington Square Park
A bustling gathering place in the heart of Greenwich Village and surrounded by New York University, Washington Square Park has a rather dark history that dates to its use as a hanging ground during the American Revolution (the 350-year-old “Hangman’s Elm” still stands in the northwest corner of the park as the oldest known tree in Manhattan). The patch of land where Washington Square Park now sits was later used as a public burying ground and an estimated 20,000 bodies are reportedly buried here. Needless to say, visitors to Washington Square Park have often reported paranormal activity such as ghostly figures wandering around late at night (often mistaken for inebriated college students making their way home from the bars!).
WHERE: At the base of 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10012
10 Empire State Building
The ghost of a woman dressed in 1940’s attire and sporting bright red lipstick reportedly haunts the observation deck on the 86th floor of the world-famous Empire State Building, which rises 1,454 feet above the Midtown Manhattan skyline. The ESB specter apparently is none other than Evelyn McHale, who committed suicide at the age of 23 by jumping from the observation deck and landing on a limousine parked at the curb in 1947. Because of the calm demeanor of her body resting peacefully atop the crushed car, McHale was labeled “The Most Beautiful Suicide” after a photo of the gruesome act appeared in Life magazine. Pop artist Andy Warhol later used the photo in one of his works titled Suicide (Fallen Body).
WHERE: 20 W. 34th Street, New York, NY 10001
Have a Fiendishly Fun Time Exploring NYC’s Most Haunted Destinations!
An exploration of the most haunted places in New York City is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to bucket-list activities in the Big Apple! When you’ve had your fill of chasing ghouls throughout the five boroughs, enjoy all of the other fun things to do in New York City such as enjoying your favorite cocktail at one of the many roof bars in Manhattan. In addition for other Hallowen tips if you aren’t in New York or is you are looking for funny and scary halloween destinations you can also read Best Places to Celebrate Halloween in 2022 or if you prefer Best places to celebrate Halloween in Italy in 2022
