Haunted Places in Columbia, Maryland



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    Wayside Inn

    Ellicott City, Maryland

    A female ghost is said to haunt the inn; another account tells of a witness who heard a door open and then the sound of approaching footsteps, but no one was there.


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    The Judges Bench

    Ellicott City, Maryland

    2.8 miles from Columbia, MD

    Once Berger's Grocery, the bar is known for the ghost of daughter Mary Berger. She hanged herself in 1962 when her parents refused to let her date a local boy. Her apparition has been seen ever since.


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    The Diamondback Tavern

    Ellicott City, Maryland

    2.9 miles from Columbia, MD

    This laid-back tavern used to be known as the Tiber River Tavern. Unknown spirits are said to occasionally move things around in the bar area, and visitors have heard unexplained voices there as well.


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    Mt. Ida

    Ellicott City, Maryland

    3 miles from Columbia, MD

    Mt. Ida is a historic 1800s mansion that is said to be the residence of a ghost. In the 1850s Judge John Snowden Tyson purchased the home. His daughter, "Miss Ida" Tyson, was the last of the family to live here, and folks say it is her ghost who still ...


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    Leakin Park

    Baltimore, Maryland

    9 miles from Columbia, MD

    Around 70 bodies have been dumped at this site. Not too many people know that though it is a very beautiful, and local place. People go on hikes there not knowing what goes on there. No specific information on hauntings, though it is peculiar that so many murderers seem ...


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    Edgar Allan Poe Residence

    Baltimore, Maryland

    11.6 miles from Columbia, MD

    This historic house was formerly the residence of the poet and writer, and is rumoured to be haunted by him and a heavyset woman in grey, believed to be his wife. (Submitted by Callum Swift)


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    Westminster Hall

    Baltimore, Maryland

    12.1 miles from Columbia, MD

    The Westminster Presbyterian Western Burial Ground and Presbyterian Church yard are said to be haunted by many spirits. The 1786 burial ground and 1852 church are said to be visited often by the ghost of author Edgar Allan Poe as well as many other spirits. Muffled screams are heard and ...


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    Lord Baltimore Hotel

    Baltimore, Maryland

    12.4 miles from Columbia, MD

    This 1928 hotel is said to be haunted; the spirit of a little girl is rumored to reside on the 19th floor. A ghostly couple wearing formal attire also has been seen.


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    USS Constellation

    Baltimore, Maryland

    12.6 miles from Columbia, MD

    This ship, built in 1797, boasts several ghosts, including: Neil Harvey, who was executed when he left his assigned station at his gun in fear during a 1799 battle with the French; Captain Thomas Truxtun, seen in an old-fashioned Navy uniform; Carl Hansen, ship's watchman until 1965, whose ghost likes ...


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    Improved Order of Heptasophs - Baltimore Theatre Project

    Baltimore, Maryland

    12.6 miles from Columbia, MD

    Built in the 1880s by the Improved Order of Heptasophs (Greek for “seven wise men”), the structure was later used as a dance hall. The ghost who resides here is believed to be from that period. He has been seen wearing a suit and playing the piano.


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    USS Torsk

    Baltimore, Maryland

    12.7 miles from Columbia, MD


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    Club Charles

    Baltimore, Maryland

    12.8 miles from Columbia, MD

    This urban bar is rumoured to be haunted by an allied double agent known as 'Frenchie', who lived in an apartment above the club. Staff and diners have reportedly seen him dressed in a waiters uniform, but when approached, he vanishes. (Submitted by Callum Swift)


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    USCGC Taney

    Baltimore, Maryland

    12.9 miles from Columbia, MD

    Investigated by TV's Ghost Hunters, the U.S. Coast Guard ship Taney is the only surviving combat ship from Pearl Harbor, and it was attacked 119 times by kamikaze pilots during World War II. It is said to be haunted by former crewman whose apparitions are seen and footsteps and voices ...


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    The Horse You Came In On Saloon

    Baltimore, Maryland

    13.4 miles from Columbia, MD

    The Horse You Came In On, established in 1775, was the last place author Edgar Allen Poe was seen before his 1849 death. His ghost has been seen walking down the street toward the saloon, and is known to drink cognac that bartenders leave out for him. Floating orbs of ...


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    Admiral Fell Inn

    Baltimore, Maryland

    13.5 miles from Columbia, MD

    This known-to-be-haunted inn dating back to the 1700s is a spot where ghosts may have a party the living can hear; noises are heard coming from empty floors.


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    Whistling Oyster

    Baltimore, Maryland

    13.5 miles from Columbia, MD

    This upmarket seafood restaurant and bar is haunted by a spirit that can be heard running up and down a flight of stairs that were removed almost a century ago. (Submitted by Callum Swift)


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    Waterfront Hotel

    Baltimore, Maryland

    13.5 miles from Columbia, MD

    Built in 1771, the former hotel is currently a restaurant. Witnesses have reported hearing voices and footsteps coming from the empty upper floors.


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    The Wharf Rat

    Baltimore, Maryland

    13.6 miles from Columbia, MD

    Patrons at this eighteenth century tavern have reportedly seen the apparition of a distressed local man. (Submitted by Callum Swift)


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    Fort McHenry

    Baltimore, Maryland

    14 miles from Columbia, MD

    Lt. Levi Clagett's apparition has been said to appear walking, or even floating, around the fort, the bombardment of which inspired Francis Scott Key to write the U.S. National Anthem.


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    Fletchertown Road

    Bowie, Maryland

    17.5 miles from Columbia, MD

    The Goat Man is an urban legend about a being who escaped from the nearby Department of Agriculture Research Center. Said to be a product of a human-animal breeding experiment, the escaped Goat Man murdered and ate many victims in the 1950s and '60s. As recently as the 1970s, something ...


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    Hampton House

    Towson, Maryland

    18.1 miles from Columbia, MD

    This 1700s mansion, now a house museum, is said to be the home of several ghosts including Priscilla Ridgely of the original owners' family, whose apparition has been seen throughout the house, and Cygnet Swann, an 1800s resident, the daughter of Governor Swann, who died under mysterious circumstances. Her apparition ...


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    Glenn Dale Hospital

    Glenn Dale, Maryland

    19.3 miles from Columbia, MD

    Glenn Dale Hospital, built in 1934, was once a tuberculosis sanatorium with 23 buildings. It closed because of asbestos problems in 1981. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in November 2011 and is regularly patrolled by police. The Goat Man of Maryland, a half-man, half-goat creature, ...


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    Beall-Dawson House

    Rockville, Maryland

    20.1 miles from Columbia, MD

    This restored 1815 home and museum site is haunted by an apparition. Speculators say it may be original builder Upton Beall, his wife Jane, or one of their daughters: Jane, Mathilda or Margaret. Some suppose it also could be a household slaves. Ghost tours are offered around Halloween.


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    Bladensburg Dueling Grounds

    Colmar Manor, Maryland

    22 miles from Columbia, MD

    When dueling was outlawed in the district limits, this area, now a park, became the spot where men could defend their honor. The apparition of Commodore Stephen Decatur, killed here in 1820, has been seen here, as well as other shadowy figures.


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    Caldwell Hall - Catholic University of America

    Washington, District of Columbia

    22.8 miles from Columbia, MD

    A ghost story told at this historic university explains some mysterious lights and an apparition that appears in Caldwell Hall's attic window. The spirit is said to belong to a priest who took a fatal fall from the window after discovering a book on exorcism.


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    Kerby Hall - Trinity Washington University

    Washington, District of Columbia

    23.3 miles from Columbia, MD

    This hall is rumored to be haunted by a student who died in the late 1960s. She has been seen in both the staircase and the 5th-floor lounge, as well as in some dorm rooms.


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    Cockey's Tavern

    Westminster, Maryland

    24.1 miles from Columbia, MD

    This 1830's tavern is haunted by the apparition of a soldier, who has been heard marching up a flight of stairs to the second floor. The ghost has also been known to slam doors. (Submitted by Callum Swift)


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    Gallaudet University - MSSD

    Washington, District of Columbia

    24.2 miles from Columbia, MD

    MSSD is the Model Secondary School for the Deaf. The ghost of a girl who committed suicide has been seen in the dorms, as well as another female spirit. Hoofbeats also have been felt through the campus, thought to be left over from Revolutionary War soldiers.


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    Omni Shoreham Hotel

    Washington, District of Columbia

    24.8 miles from Columbia, MD

    This mammoth upscale 1930 hotel is home to its fair share of haunts. In 1930, a rich family, one of the hotel's finiancial backers, moved into Room 864. Reports say that one night their nanny awoke feeling ill, suddenly collapsed, and died. A few days later their adopted daughter Helen ...


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    Clara Barton National Historic Site

    Glen Echo, Maryland

    24.8 miles from Columbia, MD

    Clara Barton National Historic Site, home of the famous wartime nurse for the last 15 years of her life, is said to be haunted. Folks have reported apparitions and it is believed that Clara herself still lingers here in spirit.


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    Woodrow Wilson House

    Washington, District of Columbia

    25.3 miles from Columbia, MD

    At this museum, both staff members and visitors have reported seeing President Woodrow Wilson's apparition sitting in his rocking chair. Also reported have been the sound of a man with a shiffling gait walking with a cane and the sound of a man sobbing.


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    Walsh Mansion - Embassy of Indonesia

    Washington, District of Columbia

    25.4 miles from Columbia, MD

    Formerly the Walsh Mansion and now the Embassy of Indonesia, this 1903 mansion is believed to be haunted by Evalyn Walsh McLean, daughter of original builder Thomas J. Walsh. The mansion had 60 rooms, including a theater and a ballroom. Evalyn Walsh married publishing heir Edward Beale "Ned" McLean, whose ...


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    U.S. Naval Institute

    Annapolis, Maryland

    25.4 miles from Columbia, MD

    The U.S. Naval Institute was a former home for the poor and mentally unstable, then a Civil War hospital. It is said to be haunted by a patient, a soldier named Jimmy Sutton who died in 1907. He is suspected to have been shot in an argument over a woman. ...


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    Mary Surratt's Boarding House - Wok and Roll

    Washington, District of Columbia

    25.5 miles from Columbia, MD

    Notorious Lincoln conspirator Mary Surratt's former boarding house is now Wok and Roll, a Chinese restaurant, and it is said to be haunted by Mary Surratt's ghost. Witnesses have heard unintelligible murmurs, unexplained footsteps, muffled weeping and creaking floorboards.


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    National Building Museum

    Washington, District of Columbia

    25.5 miles from Columbia, MD

    The 1887 National Building Museum is said to be haunted by ghosts who appear in an unusual way. Formerly the "Pension Building," where pensions were processed for Civil War veterans, widows, and orphans, it has 15 Corinthian brick-and-plaster columns painted to resemble black onyx. Witnesses say the colors on the ...


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    Renaissance Mayflower Hotel

    Washington, District of Columbia

    25.6 miles from Columbia, MD

    This 1925 is known for its beautiful inlaid gold decor, and also for its resident ghost. When Calvin Coolidge won the U.S. presidency, he was expected to go to his Inaugural Ball at the Mayflower Hotel. However, his son Calvin Jr. had just died of an infection, and the devastated ...


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    National Museum of Crime and Punishment

    Washington, District of Columbia

    25.7 miles from Columbia, MD

    On display is the Tennessee electric chair, used on 125 men from 1916 to 1960. It is said to be haunted by the ghosts of the men whose lives it took.


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    St. John's Episcopal Church

    Washington, District of Columbia

    25.7 miles from Columbia, MD

    The 1816 church's President's Pew, reserved for the President of the United States, is where the hauntings are said to take place. So the story goes, when the old church bell tolls for the death of a notable person, six ghostly men in white robes appear at midnight in the ...


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    Cutts-Madison House - Dolley Madison House

    Washington, District of Columbia

    25.7 miles from Columbia, MD

    The spirit of former First Lady Dolley Madison is said to reside at her home, built in 1822 by Richard Cutts, Dolley's brother-in-law. After her husband James Madison died in 1836, Dolley lived here until her death in 1849. Although the house's next owner Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes changed things ...


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    Hay–Adams Hotel

    Washington, District of Columbia

    25.8 miles from Columbia, MD

    Allegedly haunted by the ghost of Marian (Clover) Hooper Adams who lived in the residence that occupied this site prior to the hotel being constructed. Mrs. Adams committed suicide by ingesting potassium cyanide. People claim to see and smell distinct scents that they attribute to her, including the smell ...


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  • Ghosts of Maryland
    Mike Ricksecker

    Ghosthunting Maryland
    Michael J. Varhola
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    Ford's Theatre

    Washington, District of Columbia

    25.8 miles from Columbia, MD

    At this historic theater where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, folks say John Wilkes Booth's footsteps still can be heard running up the back stairs to the Presidential Box.


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    Treasury Annex

    Washington, District of Columbia

    25.8 miles from Columbia, MD

    A ghostly woman in a long white dress roams the second floor, seen by several employees working late. Also experienced have been unexplained footsteps and voices, and even a toilet flushing.


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    Decatur House

    Washington, District of Columbia

    25.8 miles from Columbia, MD

    The ghost of war hero Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr., is said to peer out the second-story window of his 1819 house or walk out its back door. Decatur was killed just 14 months after moving here, in a duel between himself and former friend James Barron. Ghostly weeping also can ...


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    Library of Congress

    Washington, District of Columbia

    25.9 miles from Columbia, MD

    Tales are told of a ghostly police officer who haunts the stacks at the famed Library of Congress, often helping those who become lost amid the vast collection. Appearing both in uniform and in casual clothes, the officer, who often even tells people his name, is deceased sergeant. Other strange ...


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    Rams Head Tavern

    Annapolis, Maryland

    25.9 miles from Columbia, MD

    Built around 1831, the tavern has a legend relating to a ghost named Amy. She had been a prostitute employed by tavern guests, and died on the job. A bedpost, said to be hers, is on display in the downstairs bar. Her apparition has been seen by staff and even ...


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    United States Capitol

    Washington, District of Columbia

    25.9 miles from Columbia, MD

    At the U.S. Capitol, folks say that late at night, the statues in the Statuary Hall come to life and move about the room. It is also said that a black cat appears in the basement just before a national disaster occurs. The ghost of a builder who died during ...


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    National Theatre

    Washington, District of Columbia

    25.9 miles from Columbia, MD

    Opened in 1835 originally, the theater was demolished and rebuilt in 1923. Deceased actor John McCullough's spirit has appeared here in the role of Shakespeare's Hamlet. According to local stories, the actor was murdered here in the 1880s by another actor. The ghost has been seen as far back as ...


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    Blair House

    Washington, District of Columbia

    25.9 miles from Columbia, MD

    Now a complex of four connected townhouses and the official state guest housing for the President of the United States, the historic Blair House was built in 1824 for Joseph Lovell, eighth Surgeon General of the United States Army. It is said that the ghost of President Woodrow Wilson has ...


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    M Street Bridge

    Washington, District of Columbia

    25.9 miles from Columbia, MD

    Visitors to the bridge should keep a lookout for two ghosts. One is a phantom stagecoach, which locals saw from the early 19th century to the early 20th century; the other is a drummer boy who had been knocked off-balance by a strong breeze and drowned. Witnesses say they have ...


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    Willard InterContinental

    Washington, District of Columbia

    25.9 miles from Columbia, MD

    The grand hotel has had many famous guests, such as Abraham Lincoln, Charles Dickens, Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, General John J. Pershing, and Harry Houdini. Another renowned guest, once a U.S. president, is believed to still reside here. An apparition believed to be Ulysses S. Grant has been ...


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  • Haunted Eastern Shore
    Mindie Burgoyne


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