13 Most Haunted Places in New York City

New York is one of the most haunted places in the US and the things that have happened in this city will shock and horrify you. From the classic places like the Amityville Horror House and Sleepy Hollow to the lesser-known places like the House of Death and Algonquin Hotel.

There are hundreds of haunted locations in New York, so I’ve narrowed it down to the top 13 most haunted places in New York City for you to focus on for your next trip to NYC.

1. The Amityville Horror House, Amityville

You might have heard of the famous movie “The Amityville Horror” but did you know it was based on a true story? Ronald DeFeo Jr. killed six members of his family at 112 Ocean Avenue in 1974. A year after the murders, the Lutz family moved into the house, and what they experienced here was what the movie “The Amityville Horror” was based on. The Lutz family only lasted 28 days in the house before moving out.

They said that they experienced some truly horrifying things in this house and even took a lie detector test about the things that happened to them and passed! Some of the most terrifying things to happen in this house were Mr. Lutz waking up to find his wife levitating above the bed, seeing green slime ooze from the walls, and a priest who came to bless the house was yelled at by one of the spirits to “get out!” The current owners of the house don’t like visitors but you can drive by the house and see this haunted place for yourself.

2. St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery, East Village

This is known as the most haunted church in New York City, which might sound pretty specific, but when you consider that there are more than 4,000 churches in New York, it’s pretty impressive. The church’s founder was a peg-legged Dutchman named Peter Stuyvesant, who originally built the church just as a family chapel on his property.

After he died, he was buried inside the church, and then about a century later, in 1799, the church that stands here today was built. This didn’t make him very happy, and to this day, you can still hear his peg leg stomping around, even during some services.

The church is located in the East Village if you want to visit it and see if you can hear the echoing of the peg-legged Dutchman and maybe even see his ghost.

Read more about New York City, known for its skylines that will take your breath away

3. Algonquin Hotel, Times Square

This has been named the “Best Haunted Hotel” for a good reason. Employees and guests have reported seeing ghosts around the hotel. The hotel opened in 1902 and was a gathering place for theatrical and literary minds. When all the best of the best would gather to discuss upcoming projects and literary analysis, it was called the Algonquin Round Table. The members of this Round Table are the ones who are most often seen as ghosts.

One guest in particular had two supernatural experiences while staying at this hotel. He was staying on the ninth floor and heard a tapping sound from the bathroom that sounded like someone cleaning a razor after shaving. When he turned the light on, the bathroom was empty. The next night, he returned late and walked up the stairs to his room. He heard someone coming up the stairs behind him, the steps getting closer and closer, but when he looked behind him, no one was there.

4. Washington Square Park, Greenwich Village

During the day, this place is truly amazing. This park is the perfect place to spend an afternoon taking in the views of the city, relaxing, and even reading a book while basking in the sun. When night rolls around, it’s a different story.

This park has a dark history. It was used as a burial ground during the 1700s, and more than 20,000 bodies were buried here. When the park was created in the early 1800s, thousands of bodies were thrown out to make room for the park that you see today. There are lots of stories about people who come here at night and see ghosts wandering the park, appearing and disappearing behind trees.

5. Machpelah Cemetery, Queens

Now, we head to a cemetery in Queens called the Machpelah Cemetary. This Jewish cemetery dates back to the 1860s, and the most famous person buried here is Harry Houdini. Before his death, he promised his wife that he would do everything in his power to try and come back and visit her after his death.

He died on Halloween night in 1926 and every year after his death, his wife Bess would perform a séance at his grave to try and reach him and talk to him just one more time. She died in 1943 and was never able to communicate with him during her life.

Now, every Halloween night, hundreds gather at Houdini’s grave to try and contact him in the world beyond. You can gather with the masses every Halloween and see if this will be the year he reveals the biggest magic trick of them all, coming back from the dead.

6. House of Death, Greenwich Village

The House of Death was built in the 1850s and, over the years, has had 22 deaths happen inside its walls. The most haunting thing that happened at this house was that a man beat his child into a coma and then later murdered her.

One of the most famous deaths at this house was the death of Mark Twain. Before his death, he witnessed only one paranormal activity in the house. He said that he watched a log be lifted into the air and put into the fire one night.

Being the skeptic that he was, he waited for it to happen again the next day, and when it did, he shot at the piece of wood. The wood fell to the floor, but when he got up to see what had been lifting the wood, there was nothing there except a little splatter of blood. He lived here for only a year, but his ghost is said to haunt the last house he has lived in.

7. Morris Jumel-Mansion, Washington Heights

The Morris Jumel-Mansion was one of the first mansions built in the US in 1765. In 1776, the house was abandoned during the Revolutionary War and was used by George Washington as military headquarters. Ghosts have been reported here as early as the 1810s when Mary Bowen, the daughter of Stephen Jumel, said that she refused to stay at the house by herself because it was haunted by dead soldiers. After Stephen Jumel and his wife Eliza died, their ghosts live on inside the house. They are the most common ghosts seen and heard in the house.

Now, there are ghost hunts here twice a month, and you can come and see if you can get in touch with one of the many entities that haunt the house. There’s a long waiting list but you can register on their website and they’ll let you know when a spot opens up.

8. Kings Park Psychiatric Center, Long Island

When this Psychiatric Center was founded in 1885, it was known as one of the country’s best hospitals. By the 1950s, the hospital was at its peak and housed over 9,000 residents. However, this was not a resting place for the mentally ill as they were medicated and helped. This hospital performed lobotomies and electro-shock therapy to try and cure the patients of their mental illnesses. Thousands died within the walls of this hospital at the hands of the “doctors” who were meant to be helping them.

As mental health became more of a priority in the late 1900s, the lobotomies and electro-shock therapy that were thought to be groundbreaking at the time were now considered extremely harmful. In 1996, the hospital was officially closed and has been abandoned ever since. The building is guarded and entering is illegal but there are many reports of the ghosts of the patients who died here looking out the windows and screams coming from inside the abandoned hospital.

9. Sleepy Hollow, Westchester

Sleepy Hollow is a town just north of New York City that many consider one of the most haunted places in the world. Over twenty famous ghosts haunt this town, including the Headless Horseman, Washington Irving, and the ghosts of the children who walk the road.

The Headless Horseman can be seen riding through the streets every Halloween night. He was a soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War whose head was blown off by a cannon as he was riding into battle. His ghost comes riding into town every Halloween to avenge his death and look for his lost head.

The ghost of Washington Irving, the author of the famous “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” book, can be seen in his house working in his study. Lastly, the ghost children can be seen walking Sleepy Hollow Road, where a bus full of school children flipped over and caught fire.

Read more about Haunted Historical Sites Around the Globe

10. The Dakota, Central Park West

This luxury apartment building has been home to some of our day’s most famous actors and musicians. They come here surrounded by like-minded individuals who love creating and imagining.

One of the most famous residents of this apartment complex was John Lennon, who was killed right outside of this building in the main archway. Many of the current residents of the apartments say that they still see his ghost. In my opinion, this is one of the best places on this list because these are arguably the most beautiful apartment buildings in New York City, and they are the places where you might be able to see the ghost of Beatle. I’m 100% in.

His ghost isn’t the only one in the building. There are also ghosts of little girls and boys that run around the hallway at night, as well as the ghost of the man who developed the apartments, Edward Cabot Clark, who harasses the building workers.

11. Blood Manor, Tribeca

This is an actual haunted house in New York. Like one with actors that pop out and scare you as you walk by. However, this haunted house also has a haunted past that comes with it. It was built in 1852 and was where Matthew Brady lived and worked.

He was a photographer who did portraits of famous people like President Abraham Lincoln, which is used on the 5-dollar bill today. Then, when the Civil War started, he started photographing the death and gore of war. However, when he brought the photos back to his studio, he noticed none developing properly.

All of the faces in the photos were smeared, and it looked as if their souls were leaving their bodies. The people he photographed who were closer and in focus had back, soulless eyes. He was finally forced to leave the studio after “incessant screams of the photographed men” wouldn’t stop playing in his mind.

12. Dr. Best House & Medical Museum, Upstate New York

This doctor’s office feels like it’s been frozen in time. Medical equipment from the early 1900s is here, used for surgeries and medical experiments. Workers and tourists say they’ve seen medical instruments move, heard the piano being played, and heard people whispering to them.

When Dr. Christopher Best practiced here, the house remained perfectly intact. It’s almost as if the family who used to practice medicine here never left, and many believe they never did. Some of the top paranormal experts in New York have visited this house, and they all say that it’s 100% haunted.

The house’s front parlor is the most paranormal active place, and many people see ghosts in the background of their photos when they get their pictures taken here.

13. Billop Conference House, Staten Island

Last on the list is the Billop Conference House. This house was built in the 1680s and was the location of the Staten Island Peace Conference, where the Revolutionary War was unsuccessfully ended.

This house belonged to Christopher Billop, a British loyalist, who accused one of his servants of spying on him. When the servant denied that she was a spy, he threw her down a flight of stairs, killing her. Billop’s and the servant girl’s ghosts are most often seen at the house, forever reenacting the scene of the servant’s death.