Fortune looks into the myth and reality of the skyscraper curse. If you believe in the curse, then it's time to start packing your bags. After all, four media giants (the New York Times, Hearst, Bertelsmann and Bloomberg) are busy erecting huge new midtown skyscrapers in an orgy of vertical capitalism. If the past is any indication, it will all end badly:

"It's an architectural extravaganza - a spectacular display of money, power, and hubris. But if history is any guide, companies that build such monuments tend to do so at the peak of their power, when they are convinced they'll always cast as long a shadow over the business landscape as they do at that moment. All too often, though, they build these shrines to themselves on fundamentally shaky ground."

Don't believe it? Well, check out the "Skyscraper Index" created by Deutsche Bank research guru Andrew Lawrence. According to this index, the world's tallest buildings have been constructed before the onslaught of major economic downturns.

Keep in mind, too, that ground was broken on the $1.8 billion HQ of Time Warner in November 2000 -- two months later, the company announced its infamous merger with AOL, and the rest, as they say, is history. Another company building an imperial headquarters that crumbled faster than you can say "AOL Time Warner."

(photo credit: Skyscraper Museum)