New York City is no stranger to the strange. Beyond the neon-soaked lights of Times Square and the curated perfection of The Met lies another city — dark, weird, and infinitely more fascinating. This is the weird side of New York you won’t find on a brochure. The one that whispers secrets through rusted fences, hidden trapdoors, and long-forgotten alleyways.
From haunted museums to unmarked cemeteries and underground dinner parties in abandoned subway stations, NYC has plenty of once-in-a-lifetime experiences that feel more like urban myths than tour itineraries. But for the curious traveler — the one who prefers cobwebs over cocktails and ghost stories over guided tours — this is your bucket list.
Let’s take a walk on the weird side.
1. The Morbid Anatomy Library – Brooklyn
Tucked away in a corner of Gowanus, this macabre little museum is a shrine to death, science, and all things beautiful and strange. Originally started as a blog, the Morbid Anatomy Library now houses taxidermy classes, lectures on Victorian mourning rituals, and an archive of anatomical drawings that would make a medical examiner blush. There’s a mix of art, death, medicine, and mourning that reveals just how intertwined those themes are in human culture.
Why go? Because you’ve probably never looked at a squirrel in a tiny Victorian wedding dress and thought, “Yeah, I need one for my living room.”
Pro tip: Check their calendar for nighttime taxidermy classes and goth-leaning social events.
2. The Tenement Museum’s “Under One Roof” Tour – Lower East Side
Everyone does Ellis Island. But for a grittier, more intimate immigrant experience, head to the Tenement Museum. Its “Under One Roof” tour brings you into the apartments of actual families who lived in these cramped tenements — complete with wallpaper, original fixtures, and stories that’ll stick with you. This isn’t a museum that hides behind glass; it puts you in the rooms where history was lived, fought, and survived.
Why go? Because it’s one thing to hear about history, and another to stand where it happened.
Strange twist: Some visitors and guides report strange cold spots and unexplainable noises. Are the ghosts of New York’s immigrant past still hanging around?
3. The Abandoned City Hall Subway Station – Hidden Below
Deep beneath City Hall lies what may be NYC’s most beautiful abandoned space — a Beaux-Arts subway station with curved tile ceilings, brass chandeliers, and stained glass skylights. It was closed in 1945 but still sits, undisturbed and pristine. You can catch a glimpse of it by staying on the 6 train as it loops back around, or better yet, take a special tour through the New York Transit Museum.
Why go? Because it feels like stepping into an alternate timeline where public transportation was elegant.
Pro tip: You’ll need a membership to the Transit Museum to join the official tours. It’s worth it.
4. The House of Wax – Brooklyn
Located inside a cocktail bar near the Barclays Center, this horror-movie-meets-science-lab features one of the most bizarre collections of death masks, anatomical wax models, and preserved oddities you’ll ever see. It’s not for the faint of heart — but it is for those who appreciate a cocktail with a side of corpse.
Why go? Because your night out should be unforgettable — and possibly haunted.
What to expect: A full bar, ambient lighting, and a wax version of a syphilitic skull.
5. The Trapeze School on the Hudson – Pier 40
It sounds like a dream or a fever-dream: You, in the middle of Manhattan, leaping from a platform and flying through the air like a circus performer — with the Empire State Building watching from afar. Welcome to the Trapeze School New York (TSNY) on Pier 40, where real New Yorkers and curious tourists sign up to soar, flip, and occasionally scream above the Hudson River.
What makes this spot so oddly wonderful? It’s the pure surrealism of it all. You might be a banker by day or a digital nomad by trade, but up here? You’re an aerialist in a harness, learning to swing, tuck, and catch like you were born in a tent. The sessions are open to all levels, and while it’s safe and instructor-guided, the adrenaline rush is as real as it gets.
Why go? Because few things make you feel more alive — or more out of your element — than flying through the air in the middle of a concrete jungle.
Pro tip: Book at sunset. The view from the platform is pure NYC magic.
6. Dream House – Tribeca
This sound and light installation by composer La Monte Young and artist Marian Zazeela feels like stepping into another dimension. A hum resonates through the floor as neon pink and purple lights disorient your sense of time. People often sit for hours. Some meditate. Others hallucinate. All leave slightly changed.
Why go? Because you haven’t truly questioned reality until your shoes vibrate from pure sound waves.
Good to know: It’s donation-based and open weird hours, so check the website before wandering in.
7. The Houdini Museum – Queens
Yes, it exists — in a nondescript building behind a magic shop in Queens. The Houdini Museum is a dusty, delightful trove of the great magician’s handcuffs, death traps, and even pieces of his famous water torture cell. You’ll feel like you stepped behind the curtain of history itself.
Why go? Because magic is real — at least when it’s surrounded by velvet ropes and vintage posters.
Bonus: If you’re lucky, a local magician might be hanging around to show you a trick or two.
8. The Earth Room – SoHo
Imagine an entire SoHo loft filled with 280,000 pounds of dirt. That’s the Earth Room — a permanent art installation by Walter De Maria that’s been in place since 1977. It smells like the forest after a rainstorm and forces your brain to do somersaults about space, nature, and the meaning of art.
Why go? Because in the middle of the world’s busiest city, there’s a room dedicated to nothing but dirt.
Free and weirdly peaceful: Take your shoes off (in spirit) and breathe it in.
9. The Museum of the American Gangster – East Village
Located above a former speakeasy, this museum covers the Prohibition era with a local lens — meaning NYC’s own gangsters, smugglers, and bootleggers. There are bullet holes in the walls, hidden safes, and enough scandal to make a Netflix writer blush.
Why go? Because nothing pairs with a strong Manhattan like a story of murder and moonshine.
Hidden gem: Ask the staff to show you the underground tunnels. Not on the brochure.
10. Roosevelt Island Smallpox Hospital Ruins
On the southern tip of Roosevelt Island sits the crumbling remains of the Renwick Smallpox Hospital, built in the 1850s and abandoned over a century ago. The skeletal Gothic structure is fenced off but viewable — and it’s an eerie reminder of the city’s medical history.
Why go? Because it’s a rare glimpse into an era when epidemics were battled with quarantine and stone walls.
Bonus: Pair it with a ride on the Roosevelt Island tram for a surreal aerial view of the ruins.
11. Mmuseumm – Chinatown
A tiny museum in a freight elevator shaft that showcases bizarre objects from around the world: Iraqi donuts, Taliban currency, a shoe thrown at George W. Bush. It’s micro-sized but macro-curated.
Why go? Because nowhere else are you going to find a drawer full of prison toothbrushes and call it art.
Open weekends: Peep through the viewing window any time, but go when it’s staffed for the full experience.
12. The Crypt at Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral – Nolita
You’ve seen catacombs in Rome. Now descend into New York’s version under Old St. Patrick’s — the city’s oldest Catholic cathedral. By candlelight, you’ll tour tombs of early NYC elite, priests, and a few less-known secrets. The tours are hosted by candlelight and are incredibly atmospheric.
Why go? Because nothing says “weekend getaway” like communing with 19th-century bishops.
Catch the catacombs tour: Book ahead. These fill up fast.
Final Word: Embrace the Strange
New York will always be the city of dreams — but it’s also the city of oddities. If you’ve already done the Empire State Building, why not try the abandoned subway station beneath it? If you’ve marveled at The Met, maybe it’s time to visit the museum inside a freight elevator.
Travel isn’t just about the sights. It’s about the stories. The weird ones. The secret ones. The ones you can’t stop telling.
So next time you’re in New York, skip the queue at the Top of the Rock and chase something stranger. You never know what ghost, secret, or surreal encounter is waiting just around the corner.
Welcome to the other side of New York City.
