Ghosts of Frederick and Hagerstown

Frederick Historical Society

2007-09-29T11:36:00.000-04:00

This house was originally constructed as a private home. Then it served as a female orphanage for many years. It is now home to the Frederick County Historical Society. The ghost of a woman in white haunts the house. The house is located on Church Street in historic Frederick, Maryland. It is the former home of Dr. William Baltzell. The house was built in 1834 with a number of grand and unusual features. It has a hanging staircase that floats all of the way to the roof as its main attraction. In 1854, the house was purchased by Colonel Alexander Baird Hanson and 20 years later he sold it to John Loats, the last private owner of the house. At the time of Loats' death, he willed the house to the Evangelical Lutheran Church and they in turned used it as an orphanage. The house existed as the Loats Female Orphanage from 1879 to 1958. Historical Society purchase the home after the orphanage closed. The diaries and letters that remain today from the girl picture it as a happy place. The girls were allowed to stay until they turned 18 where a dedicated staff to watch over them. There was a teacher on staff, named Lizzie Kreh, a seamstress, a cook, a headmistress and a singing instructor. Could any of these women be the ghost who is said to haunt the place- The historical society volunteers report that they have had a number of encounters with a woman wearing a white dress. She is described as being very pale and wears her hair pulled up into a bun on her head. She is dressed all in white and her old-fashioned clothing has a high collar and long-sleeves. She has been seen in the corridors and sitting in an old antique rocking chair. The staff claims that old trunks have been found moved to other places in the house and that music has been heard coming from a broken Grafanola. The machine has to be cranked up by hand and there has been no one around when it started to play music on its own. The identity of the ghost remains a mystery, but everyone seems happy to have her around.

Purple Church

2007-09-29T11:23:00.000-04:00

The Purple Church sits between Gathland State Park and Spook Hill , just outside of Burkittsville. People claim the building is haunted. It is also said that durring the 1980's , satanic rituals were performed in the building.

Jefferson Tunnel

2007-09-29T11:14:00.000-04:00

Jefferson Tunnel is an underpass that runs under US-340 , on Elmer Derr Rd. People have reported seeing the ghost of a motorcyclist that was killed in the tunnel years ago.

Central Cemetery

2007-09-29T11:05:00.000-04:00

Central Cemterey sits a few miles outside New Market on Rt. 75. People have reported seeing a lady in white. Its also a great place for ghost hunters to take pictures.

Gathland State Park

2007-09-29T10:32:00.000-04:00

People enjoy hiking near Burkittsville. The Appalachian Trail is one mile west on Route 17. Gathland State Park was once home of George Alfred Townsend, a Civil War journalist who built the only national memorial to Civil War. Townsend had named his estate Gapland. After he died in 1914 his property went through a series of owners. Then it 1949 it became Gapland State Park. Townsend's used the pen name of "Gath." People believe that this area is still haunted by the soldiers who were killed there.

Union Cemetery

2007-09-29T10:20:00.000-04:00

Several Union and Confederate soldiers died in the nearby Battle for Crampton's Gap. The locals took the bodies to the cemetery and buried them in shallow graves, assuming that the two armies would someday return for their dead. However, it wasn't until 1868 that the bodies were exhumed and moved to a national cemetery. As it turns out, that did nothing to stop reports of people seeing strange lights or the apparitions of soldiers wandering the grounds of the cemetery.

Tyler Spite House

2007-09-29T10:08:00.001-04:00

According to records, the house was built by Dr. Sam Tyler in 1813. Somehow, the house earned the nickname of the "Spite House" because it prevented the construction of a new street that would allow traffic to proceed straight ahead to West Patrick Street, one of the main thoroughfares of what is now the historical district of the city. Apparently, Dr. Tyler objected to the idea of more noise along his quiet street. He like the idea of a peaceful neighborhood and to further prevent the traffic, and to stop the street from going through next door, he built another house in what would have been a street in 1815. He never lived in this house, but rented it out.

Over 100 years later, the house was sold to Dr. William Schnauffer. There had been other owners of the property but this was the first time that the ghost would be mentioned. People began to report a strange presence in the upstairs, especially after the place was turned into apartments.
In recent years, an artist named Marie Theresa Fernandes had a number of strange encounters. She says there is definitely some sort of "presence" in the house.
The door to the attic was located just in the hallway, outside what was then her apartment. She claimed that every night, at 2:30 in the morning, she had an eerie visitor. She would awaken from sleep in a cold sweat, with the feeling that someone was standing in her room. Sometimes, she would see a gaunt, white figure moving around in the dark room. The apparition seemed to be masculine, with long, stringy hair and a loose robe. She also claimed that the figure sometimes poked at her with long, bony fingers.

"I would often hear leaden-footed muffled footsteps on the attic stairs, and although I never saw anything during the daylight, I always had a feeling I was being watched," she said. She once braved the climb to the attic and found that it was empty.

The Tyler-Spite House is located at 112 West Church Street in Frederick, Maryland. The house now operates as an exclusive bed and breakfast and is highly recommended.

Schifferstadt Museum

2007-09-29T09:54:00.000-04:00

The entities of Joseph and Elias Brunner, the original owners, are still in residence.

Their voices speaking German / English can be heard throughout the home.

Their footsteps are heard by the living all over the house, upstairs and downstairs, as they putter around the home, going about their business.

The Old Forge Road House

2007-09-29T00:09:00.000-04:00

In April of 1975, a family was murdered at the hands of a satanic cult. The family of 7 died in an act of arson. It was reported that this house has been the attraction of many ghost hunters and local people who love to get scared.
Along the side of Old Forge Road (which runs between Hagerstown and Smithsburg) is a lane that is blocked by a metal gate. If you get around the gate and take a short path through the trees and cross a creek bridge, you'll see a decrepit brick house that has been rumored to be haunted for years.
People have reported shingles flying off the rooftop (prior to the decay of the structure over time), noises in the house and throughout the property,lights on where no electricity is available,barking dogs that aren't there,etc. If you walk to the house, be prepared to feel a presence walking right upon you at any time. A ghost has been photographed at this property.
It is posted "No Trespassing" - so don't go unless you plan on getting into trouble!

The National Museum of Civil War Medicine

2007-09-17T19:22:00.000-04:00

The museum is known to be the home of seven ghost or more. One ghost was the undertaker's assistant who once worked in the building. There is another ghost who was a railroad worker who job was to transport the soldier bodies to the mortuary. A number of civil war soldiers are also known to haunt this building. Some of the ghost haunting the museum seem to be haunting objects in the museum that belong to them when they were alive.

Death Curve

2007-09-17T18:46:00.000-04:00

There are some very dangerous curves on Alternate Route 40 that curves sharply left and then right at a location between Boonsboro and Funkstown. This area is called Death Curve because of all the accidents that have happened at this location. People believe the Rte 40 Curve is haunted by the people that have been killed on this dangerous spot.

Maryland Theater

2007-09-17T18:40:00.000-04:00

The theater is said to be haunted by the daughter of one of the theater's managers who worked from the 1930 through the 1960. People also believe the theater is haunted by the girls father who dedicated his life to the theater. Another ghost that is said to haunt the place is the ghost of a worker who was killed in a fire at the theater.

The Snarly Yowl

2007-09-17T18:37:00.000-04:00

There is a ghostly dog know as the Snarly Yowl that haunt the main road in Boonsboro. The ghostly dog is know to challenge travelers as they travel their way in and out of town. The ghostly dog appears out of thin air and then it grows larger and larger.

Washington's Monument

2007-09-17T18:33:00.000-04:00

In the rocks below the monument is a maze of caves. A young Civil War soldier stopped at one of the farms to get a drink of water from the well. He met the landowner's young daughter and he fell in love with the young girl. The young lady feared for his life and begged him to run away from the war and fighting. She asked him to go away with her to find a safe place to hide. The young man deserted his unit and they both went and hid in the caves. A rockslide trapped the young couple inside and they both died. The young couple was entombed in the cave. People say that late at night you can hear their distressing cries for help at the monument.

Antietam Creek

2007-09-17T18:28:00.001-04:00

The Antietam Creek is a place that the American Indians used to camp back many years ago. The people of Funkstown tell a story of a young Catawa Indian girl that dates back to 1750. This young maiden girl fell madly in love with a young boy from Delaware who had moved to the area. Both youths where only fifteen years old. The young couple would meet secretly at the creek. One day the young girl waited for the young boy to arrive and he never showed up. . The young maiden later learns that the young boy had been killed in an accident. She was so upset that she drowned herself in the creek. The towns people say that on September 12, the anniversary of her drowning, you can see her ghost paddling her canoe up the creek. She calls out the young boys name searching for him. People in the town have seen her and like to tell the tale.

Braddock Heights Ghost

2007-09-17T18:17:00.000-04:00

In 1832, a guest staying at an Inn in Frederick County near Hagan's Tavern buried a chest with $38,000 in gold coins and jewelry. He buried it halfway between Braddock and Braddock Heights on State 40. The man died before he could get his treasure. People believe the ghost is still looking for his treasure.

Barbara Fritchie House

2007-09-17T18:12:00.000-04:00

The house is haunted by the spirit of Barbara Fritchie. Tour guides have reportedly seen the rocking chair rocking, lights on when the place is locked up, and an indentation on her bed, as if someone was sitting there.

Utica Covered Bridge

2007-09-17T18:04:00.000-04:00

A young boy drowned in the deep water a long time ago. People reported that his ghost haunts the bridge. One evening a couple was returning home from Frederick. When their car approached the bridge, they noticed a thick fog rising from the river. The driver turned on his headlights to dim so that he could see better. About halfway over the bridge the car's headlights caught the figure of a young boy and his hair and clothes were dripping wet. The driver slammed on his brakes and the car slid to a stop on the wet planking, after apparently striking the boy. The driver jumped from his vehicle and fell to his knees and looked under the car. No one was there. The driver got the eerie feeling that he was being watched and he turned to look toward the rear of the car. The boy that he had just hit was standing there, watching him with blank and staring eyes. The man started to speak, and the boy slowly faded away into the darkness.

Roddy Covered Bridge

2007-09-17T17:51:00.000-04:00

The area around Roddy Bridge is reportedly haunted by the soldiers who died there. The bridge was built c. 1850 and is located on Roddy Road, on the north end of Thurmont.

Antietam Battlefield

2007-09-16T23:20:00.000-04:00

This is a historical battlefield that was established by Act of Congress on August 30, 1890. Antietam marks the Civil War site that ended General Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North in September 1862. The battle claimed more than 23,000 men killed, wounded, and missing in one single day, September 17,1862, and led to Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. Solders killed in the Civil War haunt this battlefield. Solider have been seen by people visiting the battlefield and by ghost hunters. The sounds of soldiers are heard on the fields.

Spook Hill ( Burkittsville )

2007-09-16T22:04:00.000-04:00

If you go to a small back road from Boonsboro into Burkitsville and put your car in neutral; you car will move up this small incline. One persons car actually reached 8 MPH up this incline. Another put flour on the back of his bumper and when they looked at the bumper after being pushed up the incline; they could see hand prints where they were pushed. He went back another time and actually sat on the bumper while being pushed up the incline. He said you could actually feel hands pushing you. The story is that while Civil War soldiers were pushing a cannon up this incline; they died from cannon fire.

St.John's at Prospect Hall

2007-09-16T12:42:00.000-04:00

This old plantation house is now used as a Catholic school. It houses the ghost of "Agnes". Anges has been reported to actually appear in the building - especially near the library and computer areas. She loves to tinker with the "modern toys". When Complete Paranormal Research (formerly known as Frederick Ghost Investigations) members investigated the building a few years ago, the spirit of Anges made a few rare appearances through EVP recordings. She also created lots of noise in an empty girls restroom very late in the evening hours. There is little doubt that the building is haunted. Check out the EVP that Complete Paranormal Research captured while doing an investigation:

Rocky Hill Cemetery

2007-09-15T21:08:00.000-04:00

There is a tombstone in Rocky Hill Cemetery that bleeds. The woman it belongs to told her husband if he remarries and his new wife is cruel to her children her tombstone will bleed. They have changed the tombstone several times and the blood keeps coming back. They have an inscription in front of her tombstone that reads: This stone is at the grave of a mother who died leaving several small children. The husband remarried as husbands do, and tis' said that he and the stepmother were very cruel and unkind to the children, but Death could not this mother's anguish kill, when the knarled oaks groan, and the pine trees moan, in this grave yard at Rocky Hill, the tale oft told on many a lonely stretch, is that this stone breaks out in bloody sweats, in this grave yard at Rocky Hill. The cemetery is located in Woodsboro on Coppermine Road. the tombstone is located in the left hand corner 3 rows back in the middle of the row. There is a small stone on the left hand side and two on the right hand side bearing the names of George and Mary Fox.

Yellow Turtle Inn (formerly Windsor Castle Inn)

2007-09-15T21:07:00.000-04:00

There is an old cemetery on the property with no headstones. Lights flicker on and off in the third story of this old house. Also, apparitions including an older woman in a white robe/gown appear occasionally on the third and second floor.

Lake Linganore

2007-09-15T21:06:00.000-04:00

Balls of light and strange eerie noises infest the woods along the water and air bubbles float to the surface of the water where every year, for many years now, a child has drowned.

Mount St.Mary's College

2007-09-15T21:05:00.000-04:00

Father John DuBois is sometimes seen walking the campus. Several Ghosts have been seen in dorms Brute and DuBois. This school has a history of ghosts and it is the oldest independent Catholic college in the country. It was founded in 1808.

Fraley's Mansion

2007-09-15T21:03:00.000-04:00

It sits alone and people have told stories on hearing noises but nothing there....that means there are ghosts!! It is located by the dough boy.

Spook Hill (Boonsboro)

2007-09-15T21:02:00.000-04:00

Near the battle site Antietham there is a stretch of road that leads out of Boonsboro and towards several Civil War battle sites. If you drive your vehicle to the base of the steep hill and put your vehicle in neutral the Ghosts of confederate army men will push your vehicle back up the slight incline towards Boonsboro. It is said they are pushing cannons and artillery pieces. Sometimes you can hear laughter from the woods.

Old South Mountain Inn

2007-09-15T21:01:00.000-04:00

There was recently a video made that was aired on TV, and included many ghost stories about the Washington County area. The video is named "Legends," and can be ordered through Antietam Cable Television, and can sometimes be found in video rental facilities.

Stanford Hall

2007-09-15T21:00:00.000-04:00

The woman in silk and the moonshiner haunt this building.

Rose Hill Cemetery

2007-09-15T20:59:00.002-04:00

If you drive to the very back of the cemetery in front of the crematorium and shut off your car sometimes you can hear screams for help and smell burning hair.

Millers Church

2007-09-15T20:59:00.001-04:00

In the 1930’s, this church was believed to be used for Satanic rites. Years later, the church burnt down. One night a young couple went parking at the church. Not long afterwards, when they were ready to leave, the car would not start. The guy told his girlfriend to stay in the car and keep the doors locked while he went to get help. When he came back, she was gone and the doors were still locked. He looked up, only to find her hanging from the old oak tree in front of the church. Sometimes at night you can see a figure hanging from that same tree. Some witnesses even claim that they have been chased by a phantom hearse near the site of the old church.

Hager House

2007-09-15T20:58:00.000-04:00

Built in the 1700's, many families have occupied this house. According to "Legends", a local television broadcast, sometimes a dark figure appears on the porch, and voices are heard within the house. The curator once heard footsteps going up the stairs, but upon investigation, found nothing. Rocking chairs move mysteriously, and a corncob doll appears in numerous places. One corner of the basement, according to a psychic, is very haunted. She feels something, like a very large animal, or someone was murdered there. Tour guides have seen apparitions of people from that time era.

Maryland School For The Deaf

2007-09-15T20:57:00.000-04:00

The school was founded in 1868. There is an old barracks that was once used during the Revolutionary War to house captured Hessian soldiers and it still is there on campus -- its an old stone built building and has been converted into a museum of sorts and is not opened to the public regularly -- anyway -- story has it that you would see the spirits of those wounded in combat in the barracks moaning and the hospital equipment from that era is still in the bldg as is the furniture and such.

Hood College

2007-09-15T20:56:00.000-04:00

It is built on a old saloon from the civil war in one of the halls late at night you can hear hooting and hollering also in the 1970 a girl was murdered and her throat was cut open she crawled all the way up the stairs and just before she knocked on her dorm door she died strange knockings have been heard all over that hall since then the elevators have also been known to go up and down at odd times of the night.

Barry Hall

2007-09-15T20:55:00.000-04:00

In the nights there are ghosts seen in the girls' dorm - Barry Hall -on the 2nd floor and 1 is reputed to be evil and was called Mary Walker and it turned out she did exist back in the 1800s as she is interred at the nearby cemetery that is up the road from the school and if the girls was in a room by herself or with another girl and they go around and around and signing "Mary Walker" 50 or 100 times, it is said that her face would appear in the mirror as you looked into the mirror and would see a face so evil and hair of snakes moving and you would get scared more by the shade being opened by itself.

Ceresville Mansion

2007-09-15T20:54:00.000-04:00

A young boy drowned in a bath tub in the house. The room in which he died is now walled off and you can see the empty room from outside. They say the boy is still there and you can hear him at night.

Landon House

2007-09-15T20:47:00.000-04:00

Built in 1754, footsteps can be heard clearly when the house is vacant, doors close without provocation, and strange noises can be heard. Doors open and close by themselves often, lights turn on, music comes from the ball room. It was a plantation home in the civil war, which was used to treat soldiers hurt at the monocracy battlefield. There is slave quarters in the basement and a little church out back.