21 Days of Halloween: Seth

Even in this cheek-by-jowl town, the realm of other people’s apartments remains resolutely mysterious. Sure, New Yorkers share walls, overhear fights, inhale the sweet-spiced victories (and, all too often, failures) of sundry kitchen experiments. But the odd, unholy secrets of our neighbors’ homes remain hidden — and some of these secrets are very odd indeed. Voices whisper, spirits hover, stereos scream and stuffed animals rearrange themselves on beds. While we enjoy cozy, sleep-filled nights in our shoebox-sized sanctuaries, our neighbors toss and turn in the Gotham equivalent of Whaley House or Bly. And why not? New York is a city built on the dead, on mass graves and potter’s fields, old battlefields and spiffed-up shooting galleries. Surely some spirits are hanging around.