New York City's Most Haunted Hotspots Revealed

New York City, a metropolis teeming with millions of residents, is also said to be home to countless spirits, according to local scholar and macabre tour company founder Andrea Janes. Janes, who leads tours with Boroughs of the Dead, states that the city is "haunted as hell," attributing this to centuries of layered history, a shortage of space, and the common practice of building upon sites of past suffering or burial.

"We just reuse these spaces over and over again, even if those previous usages were for a burial site or a site of sickness or suffering; we will just build on top of them," Janes told The Post. She believes this constant repurposing creates a "psychic force field where we’re surrounded by spirit energy."

Janes has identified particularly eerie locations across all five boroughs, where the past is said to linger.

The Bronx

In the Bronx, the Edgar Allan Poe Cottage at 2640 Grand Concourse is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of its famous former resident. Poe lived there from 1846 to 1849 with his wife, Virginia, who died of tuberculosis in the cottage. It was in this home that Poe penned "Annabel Lee," a poem about the death of a beloved woman. While opinions vary on whether the cottage is truly haunted, Janes notes a distinct "vibe," heightened by the presence of Poe's original furniture, including the bed where Virginia died.

Manhattan

City Hall Park in Manhattan is Janes' top pick for spookiness. The area has a historically dense and varied past, having served as a prison, almshouse, and burial ground. It was also once the site of P.T. Barnum's American Museum, which burned down in 1865, killing its animals. Below the park lie tunnels connected to an old potter's field, where the poor and unidentified were buried. Janes recounts stories from security guards who have reported unexplained phenomena, such as a pen being thrown across a tunnel. The park also borders an African burial ground and was a site of executions in the 18th century.

Brooklyn

While Janes experiences a persistent unease at the intersection of Pacific and Smith streets in Coral Gardens, she points to the Hendrick I. Lott House in Marine Park as a more documented haunt. One of Brooklyn's oldest residences, dating back to 1720 and incorporated into a structure built in 1800, the house remained in the Lott family for centuries. Janes suggests the long familial history has imbued the house with "psychic residue."

Staten Island

Janes describes Staten Island as "wall to wall ghosts" and "haunted as hell," citing its numerous haunted mansions, asylums, and an old fort. She specifically highlights the Kreischer Mansion on Arthur Kill Road. Built in 1885 by brick magnate Balthasar Kreischer for his son Edward, the mansion is associated with Edward's death in 1894, the circumstances of which remain unclear (reported as both murder and suicide). The house later became the site of a 2005 mob killing, where Robert McKelvey was murdered and his body dismembered and burned in the mansion's furnace.

Queens

On 44th Street between Broadway and 34th Avenue in Astoria, residents have reported sightings of a spectral woman in a high-collared dress with white hair. Known as the "White Lady of Astoria," she is believed to be the ghost of Elizabeth Hallett, who was murdered with her family in the early 1700s by two enslaved individuals. Although the original farmhouse is gone, the apparition is said to haunt the modern row houses built on the site, sometimes appearing near sick children and leaving behind the scent of lavender. Mitch Waxman, who runs the history website The Newtown Pentacle, notes that one friend described an encounter with the ghost as a "comforting experience."

Boroughs of the Dead is celebrating its 13th anniversary, offering tours that delve into history, with some focusing specifically on the paranormal. Janes is also scheduled to appear on a panel discussion titled "HistoryHaunted Brooklyn: Ghosts, Folklore, and the Stories We Tell" at the Center for Brooklyn on October 27.