Written By Ed Okonowicz
You know it is time when the calendar tells you it is the last week of October. The wind knows, too, and it starts blowing stronger and colder. The trees also give you a signal, shedding leaves and revealing claw-like branches kept hidden since spring. And the moon appears larger, brighter and definitely eerie; which is to be expected. After all, it is ghost story time.
Marking autumn’s increased interest in things that go bump in the night, libraries and bookstores display paranormal books for all ages.
Many of these volumes contain classic horror tales associated with sites around the country. There are, however, a fair number of spooky locations much closer to home. So what better way to spend a fall weekend than taking a day (or night, if you are inclined) trip to some of the Maryland’s most haunted places? All you need is a roadmap, a camera and a good imagination. Here is a very small sampling of some spine-tingling stops worth visiting:
Baltimore, with several historic haunted destinations, is a good place to start. Docked in the center of the Inner Harbor is the second USS Constellation. The 19th century warship, complete with wooden decks, cannons and sails, is believed to host several specters. The captain of the first Constellation, Commodore Thomas Truxtun, purportedly materializes occasionally to offer visitors guided tours of the lower decks. Sailor Neal Harvey is said to make occasional appearances as well. Harvey is probably still in shock as a result of the sudden way he died: tied to the muzzle of a cannon and blown to bits as punishment for running away from his post in the midst of a battle at sea.
A fair number of legends are associated with Fort McHenry, home of “The Star Spangled Banner” and the National Park Service’s only site designated as both a National Monument and Historic Shrine.
Two popular tales involve soldiers John Drew and Joseph Kuhne. In September 1880, Drew fell asleep at his post. As punishment he was locked in a cell.
Visitors can visit the haunted dungeon where the depressed solider is supposed to have grabbed his rifle and committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.
Kuhne, who was hanged during the Civil War for shooting an officer in the back, has been nicknamed the “Gallows Ghost.” One visitor reported seeing a man in uniform swinging in the air, at the precise spot – beside the 25-foot tall Orpheus statue on the fort’s grounds – where the gallows was erected for Kuhne’s execution, on March 7, 1862.
No haunted history tour would be complete without a stop at Edgar Allan Poe’s home and gravesides. The residence, a small row house at 203 North Amity Street, is said to host pesky spirits that tap visitors on the back, make sounds, appear in the upper-floor rooms and once caused a window to lift out of its track and fly across a bedroom.
The first American horror writer’s gravesites, located closer to center city in Westminster Burying Ground, at the corner of Fayette and Greene Streets, are more fascinating than horrifying.
There are two Poe graves. The first, marked by a stone in the rear of the cemetery behind the church, displays a carving of a raven, a tribute to the poet’s well-known literary work. Poe’s body rested beneath that marker from 1849 to 1875. He and his wife and cousin, Virginia Clemm, and aunt and mother-in-law, Maria Clemm, were buried in the same plot.
All their bodies were moved to a second, much larger memorial located beside the graveyard entrance gate. Since 1949, the mysterious “Poe Toaster,” an anonymous figure dressed in black, leaves a bottle of cognac and three red roses at Poe’s raven gravestone in the early morning hours on Poe’s birthday, January 19. Next year will mark the 60th anniversary of the intriguing Baltimore tradition.
Also of interest is the lowest level of Westminster Church. Since the house of worship was erected decades after the graveyard was created, it stands directly above scores of ancient tombstones and crypts beneath the church. The dark, mysterious level is nicknamed the“catacombs,” where spooky tours offer tales of unusual sightings and sounds.
About 25 miles to the south stands Maryland’s colonial capital, Annapolis, where a fair share of spirits are said to roam the ancient city’s old, narrow streets.
The magnificent State House dome dominates the picturesque village, but the tower offers more than a beautiful view. Some say the acorn-shaped dome is the hangout for the restless soul of Thomas Dance. In 1793, the plasterer was completing work on the dome when he reached too far from the scaffold and fell to his death, striking the stone floor 100 feet below.
St. John’s College is a short distance from the State House. Founded in 1764, the school has witnessed much of our nation’s history. In 1781, thousands of French soldiers camped on the college’s grounds during their march toward the Battle of Yorktown.
However, half a dozen bodies of dead French soldiers who died on the march, were buried “somewhere” on the campus. No one knows their precise location.
During the Civil War, many of Annapolis’ structures served as field hospitals for wounded Yankee troops and Rebel prisoners. Several older college buildings were used to treat the wounded and dying. Modern-day students have reported unexplained sightings in dormitories and classrooms – of nurses and soldiers wearing Civil War-era uniforms.
Brice House is one of the town’s largest colonial mansions. Tales of treasure buried in the cellar, apparitions roaming the halls and the discovery by workmen of a dead body sealed up within the home’s walls have given the structure the apt title, Annapolis’ “most haunted” home. The building is no longer open to the public, but an evening walk past its entrance on 42 East Street might offer a glimpse of a ghostly presence in one of the upper floor windows.
West of Annapolis, just outside the city limits along Route 2, is Parole, an unusual identification of a place if ever there was one. However, the name accurately describes a site where 70,000 Civil War soldiers were stationed, awaiting reassignment after their release from Southern prisons.
Clara Barton, named the “Angel of the Battlefield,” established her headquarters at Camp Parole. Graves of some of the soldiers who perished during their stay remain unmarked and undiscovered.Their bodies may rest beneath suburban development homes, under multilane thoroughfares and below Annapolis Towne Center at Parole, a massive, modern shopping complex.
Tales related to “Governor’s Bridge,” located off Route 301, south of Route 50 along Governor’s Bridge Road, have made the skeletal structure a ghost-hunting hot spot. The bridge spans the Patuxent River and connects Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties. The woods surrounding the area attract demon worshipers, who conduct secret ceremonies there.
A highway sign, bearing the word “SATAN” in red paint, marks the spot. Thrill seekers visit the area late at night, hoping to witness the apparition of a legendary “woman in white,” who some claim recreates her notorious deed of tossing her baby from the bridge into the dark waters below.
It is a long, but worthwhile, drive to Scotland, near the bottom of St. Mary’s County, on Maryland Route 5, to arrive at Point Lookout State Park. During the Civil War, 53,000 Confederate prisoners were held at what was called the “Nation’s Largest Civil War Prison.” Today, the hallowed ground, where 3,500 soldiers died and many more suffered from 1863-1865, is a recreational getaway for boaters, campers and hikers. Over the years, visitors and park staff, who live on the property, have reported shadowy figures roaming wooded areas. Ghost tales have been so frequent at two camping areas that sites 136 and 137 are referred to as the park’s “haunted campsites.”
On the parkland at the southern tip of the peninsula stands Point Lookout Lighthouse, called “America’s Most Haunted Lighthouse,” which has been featured on several cable documentaries. Former residents and state park staff have reported pungent smells and strange sounds in the building. Ghostly figures have been captured in photographs taken in the historic structure, built in 1830.
A short ride north, on Route 5, is Leonardtown, where visitors can see the handprint of the area’s most famous witch – Moll Dyer. The town’s old jail now houses the county historical society. Near the small stone building is a gray rock, upon which Witch Moll is said to have left her hand impression as she froze to death in the woods outside of town.
In 1972, the 875-pound rock was moved to its present site. Tourists take pictures and rest their hands upon the witch’s imprint in the rock.
Ellicott City, west of Baltimore on Maryland Route 144, boasts several haunted mansions – Lilburn Hall, Mt. Ida and Oak Lawn. A small child, perhaps the spirit of a girl who died at childbirth, purportedly roams Lilburn Hall. At Mt. Ida, the mansioon’s ever-present mistress, Miss Ida, has been reported jingling an invisible ring of keys as she roams the stately home’s corridors.
The Howard County Circuit Court is housed in what was originally Oak Lawn, where workers have smelled the aroma of coffee, bacon, eggs and soup. The unseen spirit has been named the “Cooking Ghost.”
At nearby Patapsco Female Institute, the restless spirit of Anne, a student who died at the 19th century school, supposedly haunts its abandoned ruins. But she is not alone. Ghosts of wounded World War I soldiers, who were treated at the site when it served as a temporary hospital, reportedly make occasional appearances.
One of Maryland’s last wooden spans connects Harford and Baltimore counties near Gunpowder Falls State Park. The ghosts of runaway slaves haunt Jericho Covered Bridge, erected in the 1860s. The escapees were hung from the rafters as they tried to reach freedom by crossing the nearby Mason-Dixon Line into Pennsylvania.
Of course, this is a mere sampling of the Old Line State’s spooky lore – and we haven’t included any tales from the legend-rich Eastern Shore. But here is an unusual story from Maryland’s northern mountain counties:
According to German settlers in the 1700s, the “schnell geist,”or quick spirit, is a flying monster that followed them to America from the Old Country. Legend has it that the large, winged raptor, renamed the Snallygaster, soars above the treetops and farm fields, searching for small animals and human prey (particularly young children) to snatch and devour.
This October, those expecting to see a broom-riding witch passing across a glowing moon may be confused by the appearance of a red-eyed, metal-clawed, fire-breathing dragon. Have no fear; it’s only the Snallygaster, Maryland’s mountain-dwelling monster, probably heading off to visit his neighboring cousin, the infamous Jersey Devil.
