Halloween is here!
And while this spooky holiday may come and go in the blink of an eye, New York City is filled with supposed haunted landmarks year-round.
NBC New York and Telemundo 47 spoke Javier Peinado, journalist and author of "100 lugares misteriosos de Nueva York" ("100 Mysterious Places in New York"), who took us on a tour of some of the most haunted places in the Big Apple.
Scroll to see five New York City landmarks with spooky backstories.
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The Empire State Building
The Empire State Building was an architectural marvel -- taking only a year to build the skyscraper, that at one point in time, was the tallest in the world.
However, the record-breaking construction was eclipsed by the many deaths that took place during the time.
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"It is one of the most touristic spots, but not many people don't know that has its dark side," Peinado said. "It has a grim story throughout its history. Dozens of people have died here throughout its construction and also because many people have decided to end their lives in this iconic building."
Peinado said that through time, security measures have improved in the building to prevent further tragedies. However, grim reminders of the tragedies that the building has witnessed persist through reports of apparitions.
"This is why this legend of ghosts in the Empire State Building grew," Peinado said. "It is said, legend has it that an apparition, a ghost, a spector appears on the 86th deck...Some people say they see it in the restrooms in the same deck."
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The Algonquin Hotel
The Algonquin Hotel in Midtown is a luxury hotel made popular for hosting numerous literary and theatrical notables throughout its history.
"The Vicious Circle" was a group of intellectuals, including the theater critic Alexander Woolcott, actor and comedian Harpo Marx, and renowned poet Dorothy Parker.
It is this group, specifically Parker, that paranormal phenomena in the hotel is attributed to.
"Apparently poltergeist phenomena takes place here," Peinado said. "The ghost experts said that allegedly it's because of the spirit of Dorothy Parker. So what happens here? Elevators move on their own, strange presences in the hallways, voices, steps on all the floors and noone is there. Some ghost hunters and organizations came here to investigate and, apparently, it all goes back to the same place, to the same source, and it is this 'Vicious Circle,' that was very influential in life, and, apparently, it may also be influential in death."
New Amsterdam Theatre
Not even the bright marquees of Broadway can keep the ghosts away -- so is the case with the New Amsterdam Theatre.
According to Peinado, the fact that the theater is one of the oldest in the city, also contributes to its rich history and spooky tales.
"It has its own resident ghost..Olive Thomas," Peinado said. "Olive Thomas was a member of the famous Ziegfeld Follies. A very famous dancer, chorist, actor. She was named 'Most Beautiful Girl in NYC.'"
It is the ghost of Thomas, who died over a century ago, that is said to still reside in the theater.
"The testimony of a lot of people -- workers, actors, actresses, theater promoters -- that say Olive Thomas still lives there...everyone needs to address in every performance that she is the best," Peinado said, adding, failure to do so could result in lights not working or stage fright getting the best of performers.
"She lives in the theater and they need to count her, they need to let her know that she is still the best in all the theater scene," Peinado said.
The Landmark Tavern
Next on our tour was The Landmark Tavern on 11th Avenue – one of the oldest continually operating establishments in the City, originally opening its doors in 1868.
The Landmark Tavern was a bar and meeting place for the Irish community. It originally sat on the shores of the Hudson River since, at that time, 12th Avenue did not exist.
According to Peinado, the tavern has had instances of poltergeist activity attributed to three entities.
"There are three ghosts that roam in these halls," Peinado said. "One of these ghosts is George Raft, who was an actor in the 30s. He performed gangster roles because he moved in this scene. Also a poor girl who came from Ireland. She was sick...she died inside. And, the third ghost, it is said was a confederate soldier that he was involved in a very bloody fight inside. And, he died upstairs in a bathtub, that apparently, still exists."
The Dakota
For our last stop? The Dakota, a luxury residential building in Central Park West that many celebrities called home, including John Lennon and Yoko Ono. According to Peinado, the building is also tied to tragic events and possible haunted ones.
Lennon and Ono said that they lived in a haunted apartment and witnessed UFO sightings while living in the building.
Additionally, not only did the shocking murder of Lennon take place right outside the building in 1980, but The Dakota is also said to have cursed Roman Polanski and his classic, "Rosemary's Baby," which used the facade of The Dakota as a stand-in for the fictitious building in the film.
"'Rosemary's Baby,' the Roman Polanski movie was basically cursed by this building," Peinado said. "Sharon Tate, Roman Polanski's wife, was murdered by Charles Manson and his "family" of cultists."
Even the composer and producer of the film fell ill, with the composer ultimately entering into a coma and dying, Peinado said.
"But why is this? Because of the gallery of endless ghosts that apparently "live" in this building," Peinado said. "Legend has it that it is a little girl with blonde hair, playing with a ball saying to everybody, 'Today is my birthday.' This is a bad sign. Some people have died after this. Some people have seen this girl fade into the walls. There are so many things. Strange creatures with an adult body and a child's head. Things levitating in the basement, according to people living there."
Countless other phenomena and strange occurrences have been reported in The Dakota through the years, according to Peinado.
"It might be the building with more ghosts, especially with more curses, in the history of New York City -- for sure."
