Is This 140-Year-Old Building New York’s Most Haunted Location?

Halloween is almost here, so where in New York are you most likely to have a spine-tingling encounter with vengeful spirits?

Thanks to our friends at SmokyMountains.com, they found the answer out for us.

New York's Most Haunted Location

Researchers from SmokyMountains.com analyzed New York's 27 most-famous haunted locations to determine which one has scared the most people.

Halloween fanatics looked into locations like the Rolling Hills Asylum in East Bethany, the Utica Psychiatric Center, The Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing, the Forest Park Cemetery in Camden, the acclaimed Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, and the Saranac Laboratory Museum in Saranac Lake.

In the end, a surprising building that was constructed in the late 1800s was awarded the title of being New York's most haunted location.

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But how did they determine that? Explained Brittany Betts:

[We] gathered every mentioned haunted location within each state. To narrow down the options, we removed all city-based suggestions as well as ghost towns. We then declared a winner by using Google search operators to find the average number of search results per each haunted location.

A Famed New York City Complex Earns the Title

Despite Utica having the turbo haunted psychiatric center or Camden offering thrills and chills at its famous cemetery, a New York City location was able to beat everyone else on the list.

Congratulations are in order to The Dakota, a cooperative apartment that was constructed in Manhattan's Upper West Side between 1880 and 1884. It was among the first large developments constructed on the Upper West Side.

It is also one of the oldest remaining luxury buildings in NYC, making it a National Historic Landmark.

Nestled between 72nd and 73rd streets facing Central Park, this beautiful structure is one of the Big Apple's most famous buildings because, as Beatles fans know, it's the place where John Lennon was gunned down in 1980.

Yoko Ono believes Lennon haunts the building and previously claimed to have seen him playing the piano at their apartment following his untimely death.

The singer isn't the only ghost said to haunt those hallowed halls. Lennon himself said he watched the spirit of a crying woman manifest in their apartment.

The Dakota is home to three other known spirits. Rumor has it that construction workers experienced the fright of their lives when renovating the building in the 1960s. Legend says the workers saw an apparition of a man's body with the face of a small boy.

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While that seemed to be the only documentation of that ghostly figure, residents of the building say the halls are haunted by a young girl. People say they've seen a little girl, dressed in period clothing, smiling and waving at them.

Other rumored spirits include an apparition of a man with a large nose, wire glasses and a short beard that repeatedly scared an electrician that was working in the building's basement in the 1930s.

In the end, it sounds like the ghosts at The Dakota aren't exactly scary, but are capable of startling unsuspecting people.

Where Can You Find Spooky Spirits Locally?

There are several locations right here in Utica that boast a haunted history. One of these buildings is The Stanley Theater on Genesee Street.

It's said staff and visitors have heard disembodied footsteps and laughter. People have also claimed to see full body apparitions, shadow people and seen evidence of EVP paranormal activity.

Read more: 5 Costumes That Will Take Over Central NY This Halloween

However, further down the road is the Hotel Utica, now owned by Doubletree by Hilton. Rumor has it multiple spirits - both benign and sinister - live inside its historic walls.

Townsquare Utica will soon see if the rumors are true about Hotel Utica. WIBX, Big Frog 104, Lite 98.7 and WOUR will team up for a professional, ghost hunting excursion.

Check back to see what we found.  We are very excited about this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

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