A few Haunts

The following content is reincarnated from a street racing site that unwittingly ignited intense interest in all things paranormal.

Inns, Hotels, Restaraunts

Inns and Hotels

The Castle
Route 36, 15925 Mount Savage Road
Mount Savage, MD 21545
301-264-4645
www.noomoon.com/castle
Contact: Judi and Tony Perino

The Castle is nestled in Maryland's mountains but was designed to look like Craig Castle in the Scottish Highlands. This Gothic home was built in 1840 and was eventually bought by a man named Ramsay, who arrived from Scotland in the late 1870s. He lived at the property until the 1930s, when he lost his fortune. The house was repossessed and Ramsay moved to Ohio, but he's buried in Mount Savage. It's said that he has come back to permanently stay at The Castle, which features a huge gas fireplace, gas lights, six guest rooms, an intricate library, and a great hall for entertaining. It's in that hall and library that Ramsay's ghost has appeared to members of the staff and a few guests. He is also said to walk the third floor, which used to be a ballroom but is now home to the inn's owners.

Currier House
800 S. Market Street
Havre de Grace, MD 21078
410-939-7886
www.currier-bb.com
Contact: Jane Belbot

The house was built in two phases - 1790 and 1840. Since 1861, it has remained in the same family - and yes, they're related to Nathaniel Currier of Currier & Ives fame. The ghost here is an 8-year-old girl who calls herself G.Z. She stays in one room and never makes a peep, but she does tend to move objects there - straw flowers and doilies placed on the dresser always end up on the floor. G.Z. has even been known to shake hangers in the closet when people talk to her. It's possible that slaves on the Underground Railroad used a secret passageway in the house and the current owner's great-grandfather used to transport slaves on his ferryboat, so there's a chance that G.Z. is one of the people who traveled with him - or one who was left behind.

The Inn at Buckeystown
3521 Buckeystown Pike
Buckeystown, MD 21717
301-874-5755
www.innatbuckeystown.com
Contact: Janet Wells

The inn was built in 1897 and was once called "The Flea's Nest" because its tenants cohabited with chickens, geese and turkeys. That's a far cry from its status today. Now it's a nine-bedroom inn with a critically acclaimed restaurant. The inn is home to several ghosts, all of whom concentrate on their particular area of the inn and remain unaware of each other. One room is home to a young couple that actually appears "solid" rather than ghostly. In fact, guests who have come in contact with them wonder if perhaps they are other guests who have accidentally entered the wrong room. An invalid girl exists in another room, and guests report seeing her mother praying at the end of a bed or hearing the child laugh. In yet another room, a male ghost appears every day. Staff and guests can see his "seat-print" on the bed and he has been known to open drawers and cupboards. And in the room called Celestial, appropriately enough, people see a pastor looking out the window - toward a site where one of the town's churches used to be and where some of its tombstones still remain.

Inn at Horn Point
100 Chesapeake Avenue
Annapolis, MD 21403
410-268-1126
www.innathornpoint.com
Contacts: Cory and Carol Bonney

This house was built in 1902 and has served as a family home, grocery store, brothel and rental property. Since the inn opened in March 2002, four former tenants of the rental property have stopped by to ask the current owners whether they've had any odd experiences in the house. The owners have not, but they find it interesting that all four people - who didn't know each other and who lived at the house at different times - told stories of a presence in the front bedroom, now called Captiva, and in the attic. A fifth person - a guest in Captiva - wrote this in the guest book, "We had a wonderful stay. Say hello to the ghost for us."

The Inn at Mitchell House
8796 Maryland Parkway
Chestertown, MD 21620
410-778-6500
www.innatmitchellhouse.com
Contacts: Jim and Tracy Stone

Mitchell House was built in two phases, 1743 and 1825, and the furnishings in its six bedrooms reflect those periods. Locally, this inn is known as the place where Peter Parker was "pickled." Parker, the captain of a British ship, came ashore to do battle with the Americans on Caulk's Field during the War of 1812. He was wounded and taken to Mitchell House to recover, but he died on the kitchen table instead. His troops stuffed their leader into a barrel of rum, put him back on his boat and dispatched the vessel to England, where Parker was buried near Westminster Abbey. But maybe part of him is still hanging around. A rocking chair in one guest room rocks for no reason. The owners' dog used to make a beeline for that room and behave as if someone was playing with him, but their cat wouldn't set foot in the room.

Kemp House Inn
412 S. Talbot Street
St. Michaels, MD 21663
410-745-2243
www.kemphouseinn.com
Contact: Pat Evans

A shipwright and soldier named Joseph Kemp built this eight-room Georgian home in 1805. It features working fireplaces and four-poster beds - and, it seems, a restless spirit. Employees of the inn affectionately call their ghost Joseph, after the home's original owner. Staff members have reported seeing a blue streak head up a staircase, hearing doors slam shut when the house was otherwise unoccupied, and finding items moved. Much of the unusual activity seems to be concentrated in the Blue Room. Two women who stayed there over the Christmas holidays exchanged gifts in the room and threw away the wrapping paper; they went to dinner and returned a few hours later, only to find the gift-wrap on the floor again. And one guest has even reported feeling as if someone was crawling into bed with him.

Kent Manor Inn
500 Kent Manor Drive
Stevensville, MD 21666
410-643-7716
www.kentmanor.com
Contact: Jodi Fisher (410-808-8124)

The inn, which dates to 1820 and is nestled on about 225 acres of farmland near Thompson's Creek, continues to be home for the ghost of one of its past owners, Alexander Thompson. It's reported that Thompson, who loved a good cigar, died of old age somewhere in the house. The biggest indicator that the owner is still around is the lingering smell of tobacco in his old bedroom, Room 209. No matter what the staff of the non-smoking inn does to eliminate the odor, it remains. Guests in that room also report unexplainable sounds, lights being turned on and the television going off and on. Some staff members have even reported seeing Thompson's ghost when it's especially quiet in the inn.

La Cle D'or Guesthouse
226 N. Union Avenue
Havre de Grace, MD 21078
410-939-6562
www.lacledorguesthouse.com
Contact: Ron Browning

A member of the Johns Hopkins family, pharmacist Henry Harrison Hopkins, built this house in 1868. Today it features three guest rooms, lovely antiques and an enclosed garden. The inn has hosted five psychics, all of whom have felt the presence of Miriam Hopkins, Henry's wife. She generally wears a black dress and spends time in all of the upstairs rooms, but she doesn't enter the additions that were built after her death. One psychic indicated that Mrs. Hopkins helps keep the inn tidy by dusting the antique furniture - a fact that's backed up by the owner, who says the furniture is remarkably dust-free. But Mrs. Hopkins isn't the only otherworldly presence at the house. One psychic also detected four Quakers near the entryway - a man, his wife, a grandmother and a child. There's also the ghost of a French king, who may have come across the ocean with a piece of antique furniture, and a man who may have been a servant here in the past.

Lauretum Inn Bed & Breakfast
954 High Street
Chestertown, MD 21620
410-778-3236
www.lauretuminn.com
Contacts: Martha Shane and Walt Schaefer

Maryland's famed Senator Vickers, who is perhaps best known because he voted for the acquittal of President Andrew Johnson, built the house in 1880. The structure is a hodgepodge of the senator's favorite architectural features: a bell tower, turrets and a roof that reaches to 70 feet in some spots. Owners and guests have reported seeing lights go on and off, hearing mysterious sounds, finding doors opened or closed, and noting that accessories were rearranged in bedrooms. It's in the old school room on the third floor that the strangest occurrences take place. People have heard talking and laughter in that room even when it isn't occupied. And guests there have reported a number of unusual occurrences - from a door that opens and shuts by itself, to temperature fluctuations, to feeling like someone is twirling their hair when they're lying in bed.

Snow Hill Inn
104 E. Market Street
Snow Hill, MD 21863
410-632-2102
Contact: Ricardo Valenzuela

The inn features three guests rooms and a full-service restaurant. Local legend says that the place is haunted by Jay "J.J." Aydelotte, the son of a doctor who practiced medicine in town for 80 years. J.J. committed suicide when he was a student in Baltimore. Two guests who have stayed in his former room reported seeing the image of a frail young man with light hair - the exact description of J.J. as reported in newspaper obituaries. Guests and staff members have heard the sounds of whispers, footsteps, doors slamming, and furniture moving. These things take place throughout the inn, from the basement to the first-floor restaurant, to the upstairs rooms and even on the porch, which is a new addition.

Spencer Silver Mansion
200 S. Union Avenue
Havre de Grace, MD 21078
410-939-1485
www.spencersilvermansion.com
Contact: Carol Nemeth

The house dates to 1896 and was built by John Spencer, who operated various businesses in town and wanted a place to entertain his business associates. Today it functions as a B&B with four rooms and a carriage house. Guests often report seeing a woman in a long, black Victorian-style dress. Their descriptions perfectly match a picture of Mrs. Spencer that the innkeeper has but does not display. Some guests report that the woman is pacing, but others say that she's gazing out a window. One guest heard someone call out the name Elizabeth - her name and the name of the daughter of the second owners, the Silvers - but saw nobody there. And yet another visitor, who was staying in the carriage house, awakened to the sounds of men talking and playing cards. The carriage house had been the home of a local doctor, Dr. Simon, who was known for the poker games he used to host there.

Spring Bank, A Bed & Breakfast Inn
7945 Worman's Mill Road
Frederick, MD 21701
301-694-0440
www.bbonline.com/md/springbank
Contacts: Ray and Beverly Compton

The Comptons bought Spring Bank in April 1980, exactly a century after the home's cornerstone was laid. The house, which is furnished in a Victorian style, has five guest rooms and appears on the National Register of Historic Places. According to local legend, Tilly Houck, one of five children of the original owners, haunts the place. Tilly was truly devoted to her sick mother; shortly after Tilly's death, the mother died, too. Years ago, family members of the owners visited the inn and stayed in Tilly's room, which is not generally used as a guest room. One of the women reported seeing the figure of a young woman wearing a burgundy dress, a corsage and her hair pulled back in a bun. That description perfectly matches one provided by a neighbor who remembered Tilly.

St. Michael's Manor and Vineyard
Route 5
Scotland, MD 20687
301-872-4025
Contacts: Joe and Nancy Dick
www.stmichaels-manor.com

The house, which was built in 1805, is located near the entrance of Point Lookout State Park, directly across the street from the monument that marks the burial place of Confederate prisoners. Guests of the B&B have reported seeing figures in the house and on the property, sensing a presence and hearing noises. The owners report objects disappearing from the house and a light occasionally going on in their bedroom in the middle of the night. Two psychics who visited the house both heard the sounds of women talking loudly - as if a tea party was in progress - even though nobody else was around. This could mesh with the history of the house, which was home to a woman who lived to be 92 and her four spinster daughters. All five of the ladies died within six or seven years of each other during the 1850s.

The Wayside Inn
4344 Columbia Road
Ellicott City, MD 21042
410-461-4636
www.waysideinnmd.com
Contacts: David and Susan Balderson

The inn is situated near an original portion of the Old Columbia Turnpike, which was established in the early 18th century as a way of linking the mill town of Ellicott City to Washington, D.C. Local legend says that George Washington and John Quincy Adams both were guests at an inn that was formerly on the site. Jenny, a middle-aged woman who was a servant in the house in the 1800s, haunts the inn. She doesn't seem to realize that she's dead, as she continues to try to clean the house. Employees and guests hear Jenny on the third floor, walking around, closing doors and opening drawers. The innkeepers joke that they've left cleaning supplies out for her, but she doesn't use them - at least not in this dimension. All who have seen Jenny describe her as having a white blouse, a flowing skirt and a dark waistcoat.

Widow's Walk Inn
402 High Street
Chestertown, MD 21620
410-778-6864
www.chestertown.com/widow
Contacts: Bob and Susan Lathroum

The house was built in 1877 and served as a private home until 1985, when it was converted to a bed and breakfast that features five rooms, four gorgeous porches and the inn's namesake, a faux widow's walk. The former innkeepers reported that a clock in the parlor stopped regularly at the same time of day, lights suddenly turned on, and ceiling fans were found running after they had been turned off. Since the Lathroums bought the inn, two guests have reported the presence of a ghost - whom the former owners called Walter - in their room. One of those guests was a woman who said she could clearly see a man standing next to the bed in the middle of the night. She thought it might be her husband, then turned and saw the husband lying in the bed beside her.

Windjammer Condominiums
4503 Atlantic Avenue - 46th Street Oceanfront
Ocean City, MD 21842
410-289-9409
Contacts: Denise and Bob Anthony

The Windjammer was built in the early 1950s as a beach motel in Maryland's resort town of Ocean City. One unit on the third floor is reported to be haunted. Members of the housekeeping staff tell stories about items they've left in one location mysteriously moving to another. Guests have also reported hearing whispers here and feeling like someone is staring at them. The property managers have traced the smells of food cooking to this unit, even when nobody occupies it. They have also smelled cigar smoke when the room is vacant.

Historic Sites and Museums

Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine
End of East Fort Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21230
410-962-4290
www.nps.gov/fomc
Contact: Vince Vaise (ext. 236)

This star-shaped fort is perhaps the most famous War of 1812 site in the country, thanks to its connection to Francis Scott Key. It was after he witnessed the British attack on the fort that Key was inspired to pen the words that eventually became the United States' national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner." Visitors regularly report seeing two figures in War of 1812 uniforms standing at Claggett's Bastion. A former ranger reported seeing a similarly clad figure when he was walking his dog along the seawall trail. The figure disappeared when the dog barked at it. Others have seen an African-American solider walking around the fort. He's thought to be Private William Williams, who was killed in battle here. And finally, there are reports of a gallows appearing on misty, foggy evenings in the fall. This could be connected to the fort's Civil War history, when it's recorded that hundreds of Baltimoreans came to witness the hanging of a man convicted of being a spy.

Historic Elk Landing
270 Landing Lane
Elkton, MD 21921
410-620-6400
www.elklanding.org
Contact: Mike Dixon (410-398-2256)

Elk Landing is a Colonial port located on the tip of the navigable waters on the Chesapeake Bay. Residents of the area witnessed the passage of thousands of British troops during the American Revolution, and this was also the site of a skirmish during the War of 1812. Historic Elk Landing is now a publicly held park that is being transformed into a living history center. People say they've seen mysterious lights here and report feeling the presence of spirits, and locals tell tales of hearing screams and seeing apparitions at various places on the property. Paranormal researchers have detected the presence of the many now-dead people - at least one of which is pictured among the portrait gallery.

Jonathan Hager House & Museum
110 Key Street
Hagerstown, MD 21740
301-739-8393
www.hagerhouse.org
Contact: John Nelson

Jonathan Hager, a German settler and frontiersman who founded the city of Hagerstown, built this home in 1739. The fortified house provided Hager and his family with the protection they needed from attacks on the frontier. The house is thought to be haunted by two different families. Michael Hammond, who lived here in the 1840s, is still seen walking the property. And the Downin children, who resided here during the Civil War era, continue to make mischief. They constantly move an old corncob doll, make noises, cause light bulbs to blow out, and somehow make cameras stop working.

National Museum of Civil War Medicine
48 E. Patrick Street/P.O. Box 470
Frederick, MD 21705
301-695-1864
www.CivilWarMed.org
Contact: George Wunderlich

The building that houses this museum functioned as an undertaker's establishment for nearly a century - including the years of the Civil War. Visitors and staff have reported seeing shadowy figures in person and on surveillance cameras, feeling cold spots in various parts of the building and sensing presences. Not all of the vibes were good ones, so when the museum was renovated recently, the staff brought in a paranormal specialist to cleanse the building. Since that time, all the negative energy seems to have left; these days, most reports are of orbs that appear in photographs.

Old Jail Museum
Business Route 5 - 41625 Old Courthouse Drive
Leonardtown, MD 20650
301-475-2467
www.smchsonline.org
Contact: Susan Erichsen

An 875-pound boulder sits in front of this museum, and it's said that visitors can see the handprint of Moll Dyer on the rock. Dyer was labeled a witch by the townspeople and was driven from her home on one of the coldest nights of the year. Her neighbors burned down her cabin, so she was left to the elements. Dyer was found the next morning, frozen to death and clutching the giant rock. When the townspeople removed her body, the impressions of her knees and hands were left at the scene. Three hundred years later, people report seeing a ghostly apparition floating over the land where she lived. Visitors to the museum report feeling aches and pains when they stand near the rock, and those who have tried to take pictures of it find that their cameras malfunction.

Patapsco Female Institute Historic Park/Mt. Ida
3691 Sarah's Lane
Ellicott City, MD 21043
410-465-8500
Contact: Jacquelyn Galke

The institute is a 19th-century girls' school famous for being one of the first schools in the South to teach science and math to female students. The school attracted students from both North and South as well as a number of foreign countries. In its heyday, it was one of the most desirable places for parents to send their daughters. It now stands as stabilized ruins. A student named Annie, who died of pneumonia while she was at the school, still walks the halls and can be seen at the windows. Paranormal groups have tested the site and determined that the ghosts of children still play there as well. The site's visitor center, Mt. Ida, is a home built in 1828 and is also haunted. The ghost of its former owner, Miss Ida, moves furniture in the house as a way of reminding the staff of her presence. The staff has determined that Miss Ida is a gregarious sort who loves participating in the many social functions that take place here.

Point Lookout State Park/Point Lookout Lighthouse
Route 5
Scotland, MD 20687
301-872-5688
www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/southern/pointlookout.html
Contact: Christie Bright

This park sits on a peninsula at the confluence of the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay and today provides countless opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors. But 140 years ago, the area was one of the two largest Civil War prison camps in the country and thousands of soldiers died there. Park rangers and visitors alike have reported seeing a ghost "running" across the street near the site of the camp's old smallpox cemetery and hospital. Elsewhere in the park, researchers have recorded 24 different ghostly voices in the now-abandoned Point Lookout Lighthouse, and mortals have reported cold spots, odd smells, unexplainable footsteps, and strange apparitions there. Several images have appeared in photographs of the building, including what appears to be a Civil War soldier leaning against a wall.

Rogers Tavern
259 Broad Street
Perryville, MD 21903
410-642-6066 or 410-642-3703
www.perryvillemd.org
Contact: Barbara Brown (410-642-6486)

Because of the tavern's strategic location on the main thoroughfare between Baltimore and Philadelphia, this was a favorite stopping place for George Washington and other Colonial forefathers. The site has been tested by a paranormal investigative team, which brought in monitoring devices and detectors to measure activity. The group recorded noises in the basement and noted temperature variations throughout the facility. Electromagnetic monitors also positively responded to the mention of the names "George" (as in Washington) and "John" and "Elizabeth," the first names of the Rogers, who operated the tavern.

Tudor Hall
41680 Tudor Place
Leonardtown, MD 20650
301-475-2467
www.smchsonline.org
Contact: Susan Erichsen

This 250-year-old home was owned and occupied by the Key family, relatives of the man who penned "The Star-Spangled Banner." The Keys owned an enormous grandfather clock, a beautiful piece that stood in one of the great hallways but only chimed when there was a death in the house. When the mistress of the house, Maria, was gravely ill and feared that her end was near, she called for "Mammy." A servant was dispatched to summon the woman, but too late; as Mammy hurried up the hill toward the Hall, she heard the clock chime three times and knew that Maria was dead. It's rumored that visitors can still hear the clock chime and Mammy weep in the night. Other stories circulate about a ghost who moves rocking chairs to the portico of the house and unlocks doors and a "lady in white" who sweeps past people on the stairways.

USS Constellation
Pier 1, 301 E. Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
410-539-1797
www.constellation.org
Contact: Chris Rowsom (ext. 402)

This historic ship is reported to be home to three wandering spirits. The first is Commodore Thomas Truxton, a former captain who died peacefully in his bed in Philadelphia but who apparently returned to the ship in the afterlife. The second is a "ship's boy" murdered by one of the crew. And the third is a sailor named Neil Harvey, who turned coward during a battle and who was put to death as a result. All three ghosts have been reported to manifest themselves as apparitions. Today's staff is quick to point out that they haven't had any personal encounters with these ghosts, and most attribute the stories to the creativity of a former employee. But who knows?

Restaurants

Michael Rork's Town Dock Restaurant
125 Mulberry Street/P.O. Box 355
St. Michaels, MD 21663
410-745-5577
Contact: Jon Mason

The restaurant is located on the former site of the Longfellow house in St. Michaels, the Eastern Shore village known for outsmarting British invaders during the War of 1812. The house burned down in the 1970s and a restaurant was built on the site - but it seems that one part of the house - and of the Longfellow family - stuck around. It's a ghost named Sara, who apparently isn't very fond of modern technology. She regularly shuts down the cash register, computers and other digital gadgets. And she doesn't stop there. Staff members have also witnessed glasses fly off of shelves and shatter on the floor and sometimes hear her knocking in the walls. But even though Sara likes to create mischief, she's also a friendly sort. The staff is accustomed to hearing her say "Good morning" when they report for work, but so far nobody has ever actually seen her.