Ghost tours in NYC
Ghosts of New York tour guide Jamie Owens in front of the bell of St. Mark's Church in the Bowery in the East Village. Credit: Handout
If the amount of ghost-story-driven television shows is any indication, these are salad days for the supernatural. We share a common language of orbs, apparitions and EVPs, thanks to shows like the low-budget "My Ghost Story" and well-scripted "Paranormal Witness."
Why let all this knowledge go to waste? This Halloween season, hitch a ride on a ghost tour. There are plenty in New York City, many not just in October. Here are some highlights. Note that reservations are generally required.
GREEN-WOOD CEMETERY
Brooklyn's gorgeous, 478-acre cemetery periodically offers guided walking tours, and the next options are 1 p.m. Oct. 27 and 28. Led by Green-Wood's historian Jeff Richman, you'll hear tales of terror and get to visit the usually closed catacombs. ($20, 718-210-3080, green-wood.com)
GHOSTS OF NEW YORK
Learn about various Manhattan neighborhoods with Ghosts of New York, a group that offers 14 tours covering the East Village, Upper West Side, downtown and beyond. The 90-minute tours cover roughly one mile with your guide taking you to various sites such as, on the "Edgar Allan Poe and His Ghostly Neighbors of Greenwich Village" walk, New York University Library, Washington Square Park and Poe's former residence. One Brooklyn tour, of Brooklyn Heights, evokes H. P. Lovecraft, Jackie Robinson and many others. Most tours are outside, with the exception of Grand Central Station. (starting at $20 advance, ghostsofny.com)
NEW YORK GHOST TOURS
Offering nightly tours of Greenwich Village, which New York Ghost Tours' website calls "New York's most haunted neighborhood," your tour guide will be easy to find in his Victorian dress. And he'll likely be the only person carrying a lantern. Stops include the Mark Twain House and Washington Square Park. Tours are conducted through mid-November, then pick up again in March. ($20, $15 ages 7 to 11, 888-844-3999, newyorkghosttours.com)
GHOST DOCTORS
Ghost Doctors promise tours that include real investigations, with participants learning how to use the tools of the trade: electromagnetic field (EMF) meters, infrared temperature detectors, dowsing rods, etc. Upcoming tours include SoHo (Oct. 20 and 26) and Flushing Meadows Park (Oct. 28). ($30, 212-227-6134, ghostdoctors.com)
Pictured: Ghosts of New York tour guide Jamie Owens in front of the bell of St. Mark's Church in the Bowery in the Lower East Side.
