COPYRIGHT © 2009 by Michael J. Varhola and Michael H. Varhola
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any fashion, print, facsimile, or electronic, or by any method yet to be developed, without the express permission of the copyright holder.
Published by Clerisy Press
Distributed by Publishers Group West
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, first printing
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Varhola, Michael J., 1966–
Ghosthunting Maryland / by Michael J. Varhola and Michael H. Varhola; foreword by John Kachuba. -- 1st ed.
p. cm. — (America’s haunted road trip series)
ISBN-13: 978-1-57860-351-0
ISBN-10: 1-57860-351-X
1. Ghosts—Maryland. I. Varhola, Michael H. II. Title.
BF1472.U6V36 2009
133.109752--dc22
2009028969
Editor: John Kachuba
Cover design: Scott McGrew
All photos are courtesy of the authors, except the photos on pages 116, 136, 217, and 220, which are in the public domain.
Clerisy Press
1700 Madison Road
Cincinnati, Ohio 45206
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome to America’s Haunted Road Trip
CHAPTER 1 Ghost Ships of the Inner Harbor (Baltimore/Inner Harbor)
Ghosts are believed to haunt several of the historic vessels berthed in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, including the wooden warship USS Constellation, the Coast Guard cutter USCGC Taney, the submarine USS Torsk, and the schooner Pride of Baltimore II. This chapter also takes a look at nearby Fort McHenry.
CHAPTER 2 Fells Point (Southeast Baltimore)
Many spirits, including that of Edgar Allan Poe, are believed to haunt the former bars, boarding houses, and bordellos of this once-rowdy seaport area that is now famed for its 120 bars and active nightlife.
CHAPTER 3 Old Baltimore Shot Tower (Baltimore/Jonestown Neighborhood)
Built in 1828, this 238-foot-tall ammunition manufacturing structure was the tallest building in the United States until the construction of the Washington Monument. Passersby frequently hear strange sounds coming from within the tower when no one is inside and it is widely reputed to be haunted.
CHAPTER 4 Westminster Hall and Burying Ground (West Baltimore)
Edgar Allan Poe is among the one thousand prominent Baltimoreans buried at this site, which dates to the eighteenth century, and his unquiet shade is among those that people have reported seeing walking its grounds on moonlit nights. This chapter also looks at the nearby house where the tormented author lived and worked.
CHAPTER 5 Druid Ridge Cemetery (Pikesville)
Visitors have experienced many episodes of unearthly activity at this sprawling, beautifully maintained hilltop necropolis, which houses the remains of about forty thousand people, many of them members of prominent Baltimore families.
CHAPTER 6 Historic Ellicott City (Ellicott City)
Charming Ellicott City is, according to some, perhaps the most actively haunted town in America. Reputedly haunted sites in it include the Judge’s Bench Saloon, which is haunted by both a noisy ghost that tampers with the plumbing and that of a young woman named Mary who hanged herself on the third floor in years past and whose spirit lingers there still.
CHAPTER 7 St. Mary’s College (Ilchester)
Better known as “Hell House” in the surrounding area, this former Roman Catholic seminary on a hilltop overlooking the Patapsco River is now a strange, mysterious, and overgrown ruin that is widely believed to be haunted.
CHAPTER 8 Beall-Dawson House (Rockville)
Built in the wake of the War of 1812, this brick mansion was once the most impressive home in Rockville. Today, it is believed to be haunted by the spirits of some of its former residents, free and slave alike, including some ancestors of the authors of this book.
CHAPTER 9 Bladensburg Dueling Grounds (Colmar Manor)
Bladensburg Dueling Grounds lies just across the border of the District of Columbia and for many years in the early days of American history, men fought duels of honor here … and their deaths left many ghosts behind.
CHAPTER 10 Exorcist House (Mount Rainier)
Located outside of Washington, D.C., this was the location of the historic haunting that provided the basis for the book The Exorcist. Today, a small municipal park sits on the site of the house, which was burned down by the community several years ago.
CHAPTER 11 Surratt House Museum (Clinton)
Over the years, witnesses have claimed to see the unquiet ghosts of various members of the conspiracy to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln in this 19th century inn and tavern owned by Mary Surratt—convicted of treason
