The Dakota Apartments

Stories

Stories are just that. Stories and personal accounts that have been reported about the location. This section could also contain research notes as well.

Reports of ghostly activity at the Dakota Apartments began in the 1960s. A construction worker who was working near the apartments stated he saw a figure with the body of a man but the face of a young boy—coinciding with the death of another famous resident, Judy Holliday. The construction workers also felt like they were being closely watched while they worked, or perhaps they were just being too loud. Today, residents claim to have seen a little girl dressed in period clothing waving and smiling from several lower windows.

It is said that the spirit of John Lennon lives on in Dakota apartments to this day. One resident witnessed John Lennon playing the piano right in their apartment. Sometime after the murder, many people claimed to see Lennon leaning against the wall, in his characteristic white flared suit, in the stone archway where he died. One woman said Lennon spoke with her; she claimed he said, “Do not be afraid. I am still here with you.”

Prior to his death, John Lennon himself had reported seeing otherworldly happenings. He claimed to have seen a UFO from one of the windows of the apartment in the Dakota building. It’s said that he also repeatedly met a ghost he called the crying lady ghost. She was believed to be lurking benevolently in the hallways of the older parts of the now-extended and modified building.

Regular ghostly occurrences include objects moving around, including large objects such as furniture or rugs. Residents also often report hearing tiny footsteps and odd noises at strange times in their apartments. Frederick Weinstein, a resident, with his wife Suzanna, went on record reporting seeing the lights of a chandelier in his living room from below on the street. To add to the eeriness of the event, Mr. Weinstein did not have a chandelier in his apartment. When he ran into his apartment, the lights were gone. Upon further inspection, he did notice a patched-up set of bolts in the ceiling where a chandelier had once hung.

Added by: sdonley on 03/27/2025 DB#: 1681
Source(s): https://usghostadventures.com/haunted-stories/the-...

Roman Polanski filmed Rosemary’s Baby in 1966. In 1965, when the employees were setting up to film the movie in apartment 77, they encountered the ghost of a ten-year-old boy. The boy was walking up and down the hallway and had a strange and musty odor the employees couldn’t place. This boy was seen on my occasions after that. The crew for Rosemary’s Baby immediately regretted filming the movie here. Shortly after the wrap of the film, the crew began to experience bizarre events. Krzysztof Komeda fell into a coma in an odd coincidence that reflected the book. Producer William Castle’s bad luck came next with a serious case of kidney stones. While he was in the hospital, he had visions about the movie.

A spirit often seen is of a little girl. Painters working in the hallways saw a girl with blonde hair and a dress of an earlier time playing with a ball. None of them had seen her before, and she didn’t match the description of any of the guests at the time. A woman spotted her walking through a room. The woman later discovered that it wasn’t a room but a closet, and the little girl is the ghost-in-resident.

One of the many notable residents of the Dakota was Judy Holliday. When Judy Holliday passed away in 1965, a couple purchased her apartment. The Smiths hired a crew to paint the apartment and change the woodwork. While they were working, they felt watched. One man saw the ghost of a young boy in a Buster Brown suit. This was a style of the 1990s. A musty odor accompanied the ghost. This was most likely the same ghost the previous crew had witnessed. One of the painters went back to do a touch-up and experienced doors slamming and lights shutting off on him. The man was shaken up; he propped his ladder to keep the door open and turned the lights back on. He felt someone grab his arm and put it against the lightbulb. The man fled and never returned.

The Weinsteins occupied an apartment on the third floor. They heard footsteps and other noises in their home when no one else was there. In their dining room, they experienced rugs and chairs sliding around on their own. One night Mr. Weinstein looked up from his window and saw a chandelier hanging from his living room; assuming his wife purchased it and had it installed, he thought nothing of it until he arrived in his apartment. When he arrived at his apartment, there was no chandelier and no one in the apartment.

The basement in The Dakota is known to have the most activity and also a malicious spirit. The porter at the time experienced a heavy snow shovel flying off the wall and nearly hitting him. Other tenants and staff had similar experiences. An electrician working in the basement saw the ghost of a short, long-nosed man with a beard and no mustache. The description matched that of Edward Clark.

Added by: sdonley on 03/27/2025 DB#: 1682
Source(s): https://medium.com/@eatreadcreep/haunted-nyc-the-d...

Paranormal Claims

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