What is it about ghost stories that so fascinate the young and the old, the skeptics and the paranormal researchers? Carl Sagan had responded once to the question of whether or not he believed in other life forms in the planet, that as of yet he had no scientific proof, but that he sure hoped so. This is how many people respond when asked about ghosts or spirits. Well, that is provided that the ghosts are friendly. There are many stories about ghosts haunting the streets and the buildings of New York City.
Some people actually look for allegedly haunted hotels when booking accommodations, however when I traveled to the city recently I was more interested in the non-haunted rooms. Seeking luxury home I booked my stay using this page. My trip to the city was a story collecting trip. I wanted to know if most people who claim to have seen the ghosts, where seeing random ghosts or ghosts from history. Not big history either, just the history of a location and a person. Such as in the case on the train tracks in San Antonio, a site that is said to be haunted by the victims of an actual collision.
I found that some of the stories revolved around previous patrons who simply spent quite a bit of time in a particular location, such as the claims that the members of the Vicious Circle (Dorothy Parker, Harpo Marx, Edna Ferber etc…) still hang around the restaurant at the Algonquin Hotel, in spirit of course. Other stories people tell, are of actual events, and the actual victims or inhabitants of a location, who still refuse to completely leave this earth.
This is the case at the Belasco Theatre. This is one of the oldest theatres in the city, and many have claimed over the years to see the previous owner, David Belasco, wandering around back stage shaking the hands of the actors and riding the elevators. Either way, be it the West Village bar Chumley’s, or in the famous Dakota Building on the upper east side. Either way, be they random ghosts, or the spirits of real people, the city is full of their stories, but then the city of New York is filled with wonderful stories in general.