New Yorkers on terrifying or supernatural experiences in their apartments

It’s Halloween and while most New Yorkers think real estate horror stories involve skyrocketing rents or co-op boards from hell, in some rare instances, buyers and renters contend with much creepier experiences that make vertical living the stuff of true nightmares.

Brick talked to New Yorkers who experienced spooky happenings first-hand. Some had unwanted roommates—read: freeloading ghosts. Others had unexplained odors or objects being moved by an unseen hand. Another thought a ritual murder had happened, only to learn the sad, strange truth. Grab your sage and have a read.

[Editor's note: A previous version of the article ran in October 2023. We are presenting it again in case you missed it.]

Faceless roommate

I had a chilling experience during a short sublet stay and it continues to haunt me. One night I was jolted awake by a terrifying dream. I had dreamed I found myself in a dimly lit room and in the corner was a tall figure wearing all black. What sent shivers down my spine was the figure’s utter lack of a face—it just had a hollow, featureless void.

The dream was so vivid and unsettling it had me awake at exactly 3 a.m. with my heart pounding and my body covered in a cold sweat. As I lay there trying to shake off the nightmare, a weird sensation came over me. In the hushed darkness I couldn’t shake the feeling something was amiss. To my sheer horror, now fully awake, I saw the same faceless figure standing silently beside my bed. Every part of me told me to flee. I scrambled out of bed and fumbled for the light switch. When the room was flooded in light the figure vanished but I was left with a feeling of dread.

To this day the memory of that night lingers, an inexplicable encounter that defies reason and still chills me to the bone. —Hammer, East Village

A killer rental?

I’m a real estate agent and I was showing a listing around Halloween several years ago and walked into what I thought was a murder scene. There was furniture everywhere, dirt, trash, food, and candle wax drippings on the floor. I politely asked my client to step back into the hallway. 

I tiptoed through the literal horror show and when I looked closer at what I thought was paint on the walls, I discovered what appeared to be human blood. It spanned the entirety of every wall in a spattered pattern that made a dark red stain above head height on the walls.

I was freaked out. What had I walked into? I covered my mouth like they do on the detective shows and proceeded through the unit, terrified of what I might find in the next room. 

By that point my client had peeked into the unit and ran out of the building.

I explored the unit completely in case someone was hurt or worse. Thankfully no one was there. I called the owner, the police, and took videos and photos. The cops would not enter the unit as there was apparently someone living there.

The owner reached out with an explanation. The tenant has mental health problems and bangs his head until it bleeds. Their family had rented the apartment for him, but it was clear he could not live alone. Health Services followed up and the tenant is now under the care of a professional. —Joseph, Hell’s Kitchen

Halloween in August

I am a real estate agent and I was showing listings in Brooklyn to my buyer clients, a family of four. They were putting in offers and properties in their price range were moving quickly. I toured some properties for them to save time. I found a great place and my buyers went to see it on their own. They asked me about a creepy, memorial-like display at another house nearby filled with tchotchkes, dolls, broken mirrors and burnt candles. There were Halloween decorations—in August! Apparently, it is an art installation. 

It didn’t deter them from putting in an offer. But we found out the home had a ton of violations, so it turns out they were right. It was not the home for them. —Yan, Bay Ridge

Yorkville haunted house

My husband and I had our first child, a one-year-old son, and decided to leave our rental and buy in a small, walk-up building in Yorkville. The co-op apartment we bought was a combined unit—two studios made into a two-bedroom, two-bath space. It was in perfect condition, a great size and price, but I just felt a real heaviness when I was there. I was so troubled that on the day of the closing I tried to pull out of the deal. My husband thought I was acting irrationally and convinced me to go through with the purchase.

Our son would refuse to sleep in his own bedroom—which is totally normal for a child—but he’d say it was because there was a girl in his room. I knew kids have imaginary friends. But he would say that his toys were being moved all over the room at night. It was true, I would find his toys in places he couldn’t possibly reach himself. On a day that I was alone with him I found his Spiderman shoved under a mattress he could not possibly lift.

I let him sleep in our room and one night I saw a young girl in my room! I was completely awake. She looked sort of transparent and dressed almost as if Amish or Dutch. I was frantic. Shortly afterwards, my husband saw her as well. He described her exactly as my son and I did. My husband is no stranger to this type of paranormal activity. (His story is below.)

I saged as much as I could but things got worse.

About a year into living there we decided to update the bathroom. We hired a contractor to do a small renovation and shortly after he began, he frantically called me into the room. He had seen a young ghostly-looking girl and was so flustered had cut his hand with his saw.

Then there was another incident:  I had hung a vintage-looking glass-framed painting of the Brooklyn Bridge in the newly finished bathroom. My husband was helping me and we both stood back to admire it and snap a photo. Together, we watched it float off the wall, do a sharp right turn and crash into the tub where it violently shattered.

I finally contacted someone to do a house cleansing and blessing. The woman who came said that we had an evil presence in our home but that it was an old man—a German immigrant who had lived there and was trapped. He had been a criminal and took the shape of a young girl, hoping that it might be more palatable.

She was able to get him to leave our apartment but said he would remain in the building. It seems he was tethered to it.

We had a second child shortly after that and moved out. But even though it was a great property, it sat on the market for a long time. We moved nearby and had to keep both apartments until it finally sold. Over the years I have kept track and no one ever stays in it long. —Erin, Yorkville

The Hat Man

Before marrying my wife Erin (see story above). I grew up in a haunted house in Massapequa Park, NY, with five brothers and two sisters. My parents and two youngest brothers still live there.

Starting in my tween years, after my two oldest siblings left the house, my next-oldest brother would wake up at night screaming at a being that he said was threatening him. He would throw things at it— there are still marks on the wall.

My parents and sisters, who slept in another part of the home, never saw or felt it, so they didn’t believe him. My parents took him to a psychiatrist and he was put on medication.

But I believed him because I felt and saw the apparition as well. There was a consistent presence in the corner of my room near my closet. It never moved and had no facial features, but seemed to be wearing a hat. And the brother with whom I shared a room would also tell me about a demon he saw in the room.

For years I was plagued with waking dreams of this creature. I would scream at it and try to keep it at bay. A few times my parents found me swinging a lamp.

The constant stress and many sleepless nights took a toll on us. My two brothers and I developed addiction issues—we used alcohol and drugs to numb ourselves so we could sleep through the night. Sadly, my brother ended up dying of an accidental drug overdose.

I finally got out of that house and moved in with Erin. I went to rehab and finally shook off my demons.

However, when we were still dating, Erin slept over at that house and was frantic when she awoke to see a large, dark, shadowy man with horns and red eyes standing at the foot of her bed. She never wanted to return to my childhood home again. —Paul, Massapequa Park/Yorkville

Phantom of the laundry

When a beloved tenant in our high-rise building passed away, our doorman began seeing on the surveillance cameras someone walking around in the laundry room after hours—but not doing laundry. After checking the cameras he was shocked to see it was the neighbor who had died. He couldn’t believe his eyes so raced downstairs to check and the room was empty. Yet again and again he’d get an alert someone was in the laundry room and see her ghostly apparition pacing by the machines. —Gisela, Tudor City

Ghost chef

We lived in a townhouse on the Upper East Side. My son’s room used to smell like garlic in the middle of the night. There were no kitchens or restaurants near his room. No one else lived in our single-family home. It creeped us out and made for sleepless nights for all. —Amy, Upper East Side

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