People
have reported seeing ghosts in New York City for hundreds of years.
The cemetery of Old St. Patrick's Cathedral on Mulberry Street is
said to be haunted by Pierre Toussaint, a former slave from Haiti who became an in-demand
hairdresser to NYC's socialites in the 19th Century, not to mention a generous philanthropist. Toussaint was actually the first non-religious person to be buried beneath the crypt in the Cathedral, a site normally reserved for members of the clergy.
On opening nights, Radio City Music Hall's
builder (and Rockettes founder), Roxy Rothafel, has been spotted parading through
the Radio City lobby with a glamorous woman on his arm.
At the historic New Amsterdam Theatre just off Times
Square, the ghost of silent film and stage star Olive Thomas has been seen in
the dressing room, in full Follies chorus girl regalia. It is said that in her hands she still
clutches her husband's bottle of syphilis medication that she drank to kill
herself.
Just under the Brooklyn Bridge
is the Bridge Café, a former brothel turned dining establishment where patrons have reported seeing the ghosts of burly
pirates who frequented the bar when it first opened in 1847.
The ghost of John Lennon is said to lurk
around the gates of The Dakota apartment building off Central Park, where he was murdered
in 1980 (and where "Rosemary's Baby" was also filmed - double the dose of eerie!).
But the prize for the creepiest
ghostly site must go to the dramatically-named "House of Death" inGreenwich Village. This beautiful
brownstone was constructed in the early 19th Century and over the years,
twenty-two people (including Mark Twain) have died there, in all manner of
circumstances. By all accounts, none of
their souls have ever left. Bwahahaha!
