PHOTO: Rachele Kanigel

By Rachele Kanigel and Marta Ferrer

Have you fantasized about seeing the spot where a famed killer did his dirty work? Dare you stand on the Brooklyn Bridge where countless tortured souls have jumped to their deaths? Does the idea of visiting a 200-year-old mansion where ghosts prowl the corridors send chills up your spine?

From haunted houses to mafia hit spots to celebrity gravesites, Gotham has more than its share of macabre tourist destinations. If you're afraid to go alone, there are plenty of guides willing to show you around these grim reminders of New York's notorious past.

In recent years, historians, actors, ghost story collectors, even a retired cop have hung out shingles as tour guides offering to show natives and out-of-towners the underbelly of New York.

"I try to give people a flavor of the city, something they normally wouldn't see," says Gary Gorman, a retired cop-turned-tour guide who points out the city morgue and the spots where John Lennon and gangster "Crazy Joe" Gallo were shot on his five-hour "after dark" tours of New York.

Neal Yonover, author of "Crime Scene USA" (Hyperion, 2000), says New York is a crime voyeur's paradise. "There's something about the culture of New York that celebrates edginess," the Chicago writer says.

"It's human nature to be fascinated by crimes. That's why people slow down at
the scene of an accident. But with New York, well, you've got The Post with headlines like 'Headless Body in Topless Bar.' You gotta love a place like that."

In his morbidly funny book, Yonover lists some of the most notorious crime scenes in New York City, including Herbie's Topless Bar in Queens, where the headless body was found; the Dakota apartment house, where John Lennon was gunned down in 1980 by Mark David Chapman; the sites where serial killer Son of Sam struck in 1977 and 1978; and Washington Square Park, where David Lee Roth got busted for buying pot in 1993.

NEXT: From Haunted Mansions To The Brooklyn Bridge

A Walk On The Dark Side
From Haunted Mansions To The Brooklyn Bridge
A Tour Of The Macabre