In 1984, Dr. Peter Venkman and the rest of the Ghostbusters gang tried to rid New York City of fictional spooks like Slimer and the shushing librarian. Now, 25 years after the movie came out, many locals claim real ghosts continue to lurk around the City's old buildings and parks—some more quietly than others. NYC has, of course, landmark cemeteries (like Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery), hidden resting places (like the little-known plot behind the Bowery Hotel) and unique burial grounds (like the boat graveyard in Staten Island). There's also no shortage of celebrity ghosts in New York; John Lennon is said to haunt the Dakota, where he was murdered, while poet Dylan Thomas and Sid Vicious' girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, are rumored to be spending the afterlife at the Chelsea Hotel, where both met their demise. While some of these accounts may be apocryphal, New Yorkers report plenty of firsthand encounters with poltergeists afoot. The (allegedly) paranormal activity ranges from ominous incidents, like shards of glass vaulting through the air at Manhattan Bistro, to the downright weird: Dorothy Parker terrifying small children at the Algonquin Hotel. The City's colorful cast of apparitions even includes Aaron Burr and his daughter, adding a measure of historical cachet to the experience of getting spooked in NYC.

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