SEARCH METROPOLITAN DIARY Witchcraft on the West Side By  JIM DYKES   APRIL 11, 2014, 12:22 PM E-MAIL FACEBOOK TWITTER SAVE MORE METROPOLITAN DIARY More Reader Tales From the City » Dear Diary: I had just learned the reason for the strange feelings and sounds in my prewar apartment on the Upper West Side: The previous resident, a young, handsome doctor, had committed suicide there. Lost in thought in the West 80s, I passed a small witchcraft shop in a brownstone near Broadway. Intrigued, I walked in and was immediately entranced by the smells and the colors, the candles, the jars full of mysterious-looking powders and the sign that read: “Spells and potions available on request.” The shop was run by two sisters, a redhead and a brunette, who were “witches.” I blurted out: “I think my apartment might be haunted.” I explained about the former tenant’s suicide. “Is there a spell for this?” She smiled and said, “That’s easy.”...

Celebrities spotted on Tour by Jim Dykes, New York City private tour guide Since New York is a city of celebrities EVERYwhere, it’s undeniable that celebs pop up on our tours. Sometimes as a passenger on the bus, sometimes as a “sight” on the tour, sometimes they become PART of the tour! I recently put out a request to guides on the Facebook site for guides and people came forward with personal stories. Marc Landman said that he saw both Katie Courie and Savannah Guthrie but years ago his most famous celebrity sighting was SPUDS MacKenzie, the bull terrier from the Bud Light commercials.  Guide Stan O’Connor contributed: “ I was in Midtown, standing in the stairwell of the double-decker bus, giving a tour. As we went past the Four Seasons Hotel, I told the people that I. M. Pei designed it.  Continuing, I went on to say that "he'd also designed the Javits  Convention Center, the big gold pyramid on the National Mall in Washington and a similar pyramid at the Louvr...

Just for fun from Jim Dykes, New York City private tour guide: In case you're curious, in New York City, check out the number of stores: Dunkin Donuts-515 Starbucks-283 Subway Sandwich shops-467 Duane Reade/Walgreens- 318 McDonald’s-240 Baskin Robbins-202