New York may be best known as the setting for horror flicks such as Rosemary’s Baby and Basket Case, but it also houses numerous real-life haunted landmarks – from churches with spirits still inhabiting them to abandoned theaters that will leave you terrified! Get ready to be scared!
History buffs will marvel at the bloodstained sheets left from an attempted assassination attempt on William Seward at this grand Washington Heights mansion.
Morris-Jumel Mansion
The Morris-Jumel Mansion is one of Manhattan’s oldest surviving houses, having been constructed in 1765 by British colonel Roger Morris and used during the Revolutionary War as George Washington’s headquarters and later serving as a tavern. Today it serves as a museum; both visitors and staff have reported strange happenings there.
Some believe the Morris-Jumel Mansion is haunted by Eliza Jumel, one of America’s richest women during her time and one with a complex love life who had numerous affairs and scandals during her life. Some speculate she still haunts it due to all these events and scandals in her past life.
At nighttime tours, some visitors reported witnessing Eliza’s ghost on the second-floor balcony and encountering Hessian soldiers on the stairs. Additionally, guests and staff have reported hearing voices, footsteps and shadows; occasionally public paranormal investigations also take place at this mansion.
85 West 3rd Street
New York is famous for its bustling skyline and Broadway theater shows, but its numerous haunted locations also pique ghost hunters and those interested in paranormal phenomena alike.
One of New York City’s most haunted locations is a theater once used as the residence of a notorious mobster. Rumor has it that its building is haunted by a woman seen wandering the halls and waving to ushers while also appearing near balcony windows; she has even been reported as seen by celebrities and journalists alike.
Campbell Apartment, once a jail, now serves as a library but still features the presence of an unknown female spirit who often hangs out around fire watcher balconies and waves at passersby – possibly due to having been wrongfully accused of murder and still seeking redress for it.
St. Peter’s Church
Empire State residents will recognize NYC for its haunted cemeteries and places where an alleged ghost drinker attempted to out-drink himself; both will surely keep you on edge throughout the year! And don’t forget the haunted parks; from burial grounds reportedly haunted by spirits to an alley where someone attempted to out-drink his ghost; NYC offers plenty of frightening places sure to put fear into you all year long!
Amityville Horror House in New York City is widely believed to be haunted by six family members murdered by Ronald DeFeo Jr. in 1974. Ghostly presences may inhabit this home and make appearances.
St. Peter’s Church first opened for worship in 1761 and, since its opening, has reportedly seen ghostly figures regularly standing near gravesites in its cemetery around 9 pm – thought to be that of Stuyvesant who lost his right leg due to cannonball attack and had it replaced with wooden peg. Churchgoers have reported hearing tapping sounds emanating from his peg leg tapping across center aisles as if trying to gain attention or help for his crippled leg.
Firefighter Schwartz
Some ghosts attempt to leave behind their more notorious reputations, while the East Village Merchant’s House Museum seems content with it. Offering visitors a fascinating peek into the domestic lives of New York City’s cultural elite, its collections contain one such ghost — that of a lonely spinster believed by some to have inspired Henry James’ Washington Square Park; she remains there, her ghost said to frequent visitors.
Now part of New York University’s Furman Hall, 85 West 3rd Street was once home to Edgar Allan Poe for eight months in 1844-1845 – providing him inspiration for two classic novels The Cask of Amontillado and The Raven. Poe’s spirit can still be seen climbing the banister, and his jacket has even been found by firemen who had mislaid it!
Renwick Smallpox Hospital on Roosevelt Island has become an epicenter for paranormal activity. Visitors have reported hearing noises, doors slamming shut and unexplained sounds at this site where hundreds of people died in an atrocious massacre, leaving behind their ghostly spirits that still inhabit it today.
