Most Haunted Street in Maryland
Take a walk down Haunted High Street in Historic Cambridge – notably the most haunted street on the Eastern Shore. Hear about the ghosts who haunt and strange events that have happened in just a few short blocks. Soldiers, Governors, jilted women, Oystermen, an eccentric cat lady, a dying daughter, slain war heroes, suicidal bankers, murderous merchants, laughing children and a one-legged sea captain are some of the spirits that hang around High Street.
The oldest house in Cambridge is located on this scenic, brick paved street lined with stately homes and huge Osage Orange and Sycamore trees transports the visitor back in time. Automobiles are the only foreign objects in this nineteenth century landscape. One almost expects to see Governor Goldsborough surveying the street from his wide wrap around porch, or Josiah Bayly, Maryland’s 10th Attorney General making his way to the courthouse.
High Street by day is remarkable by day stretching from the Main Street shopping district to Long Wharf on the Choptank River – no matter what the weather. But that stretch of Victorian and Federal-style homes and commercial buildings turns with the courthouse and Christ Church graveyard looming are an ominous site at night.
PLEASE NOTE: WE DO NOT GO INSIDE THE PROPERTIES. This is a ghost walk where stories of hauntings and unexplained events are shared while standing outside the property.
A night-time walk on High Street can be chilling when you’re listening to stories about a farmer who murders a group of Indian workers and has his family cursed or a Confederate soldier who has been seen in the home and yard of the oldest house in Cambridge. There are ten ghost stories associated with these homes found in the Edward H. Nabb Research Center Folklore Collection and many of those stories are repeated in various books on ghosts and legends. These aren’t stories of scary ghosts that torment the occupants of the houses. They seem to be stories of spirits who are connected to the community somehow. They don’t want to leave, even though they are dead.
SITES ON THE CAMBRIDGE GHOST WALK include Christ Church and graveyard, the Richardson Maritime Museum (old bank building), the Dorchester County Courthouse, Long Wharf (stories of pirates and phantom ships), and seven of the beautiful homes on historic High Street including the oldest house in Cambridge – the Josiah Bayly House which is featured on the home page of the Chesapeake Ghost Walk website, the homes of Governor Charles Goldsborough, the the Leonard Hotel, the Maynadier House and the LaCompte House. All these and more have amazing stories.
MEETING PLACE: SPRING VALLEY PARK – by Courthouse
Meet in the small park on the southwest side of the Dorchester County Courthouse on Spring and High Streets (the Spring Street side). You must go down the stairs, then walk over to the small, fenced sitting area.
PARKING is available on High Street and the side streets.
BLOG POSTS ABOUT CAMBRIDGE HAUNTED SITES
Banker George Woolford haunts the Richardson Maritime Museum
Patty Cannon – Slave Catcher in Dorchester & Caroline Counties
TIME & WEATHER: Ghost Walk begins on time. We walk in all kinds of weather except that which threatens public safety. Be sure to list your CELL PHONE number in the registration so we can contact you in the unlikely event the tour is canceled.
DRESS for the weather and be aware that each ghost walk takes at least an hour and covers between 1 and 1.5 miles.
- Bring your umbrella if it looks like rain
- Wear comfortable shoes
- Bring a flashlight.
- Bring your camera. Several guests have picked up strange images in photos on this tour.
CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS: Full refund will be given if cancellation is made 48 hours prior to the tour’s start. If cancellation is NOT made within 48 hours of the tour, no refunds will be given. For reservations of 6 or more, we require 72 hours. However, all registrations are transferable, so feel free to allow a friend or family member to attend in your place. Just give them your order voucher.
Various places on the internet…I have seen mentioned that the Oldest House in Cambridge is the Josiah Bayly House, 207 High Street, Cambridge.
My family (the Orems), have owned 209 High Street, Cambridge, as well as 211 High Street (which was Josiah Bayly’s office). for the past approx. 100 years.
After viewing the information from the Maryland Historic Trust’s website for 209 and 207 High Street, I found that 209 High Street is the TRUE Josiah Bayly House and that 207 High Street is referred to as simply the Bayly House.
Thanks for your comments, Suzanne. House names are pretty arbitrary and they tend to change as the years go by. Historical Societies, local residents, historic districts — all can weigh in on house names. What is important is to know the stories of the houses, how and when they were built, and who lived in them. The big house that we referred to as the Josiah Bayly House (we got that name from the Dorchester Historical Society brochure) has now been changed again by the house’s current owner. The current name is The Caille-Bayly House. The new owner has added the last name of John Caille who is believed to have originally owned the home in the eighteenth century and moved it to Cambridge by barge where it was later moved again and purchased by Josiah Bayly.
Started the tour this evening, 10/13/18, and was so disappointed that my party and I left the tour at the courthouse. I was under the impression that it would consist of ghost stories and urban legends because approximately 13 years ago I went on the walk with my daughter & 2 grandsons and that is what we heard…it was entertaining and fun. This time however, we spent the first 15 minutes hearing about the history of Cambridge. When we got to the courthouse we were told the legend of “Bloody Henny.” We were wondering from the beginning why we were the only blacks on the tour. After hearing so much of the history of the town and the story of Bloody Henny we knew. It appears that this “Ghost Walk” is centered a great deal on the atrocities of slavery which is something we don’t need to be reminded of…our ancestors lived it. I can not express enough my displeasure with it. It is not something I will never do again nor recommend. A total waste of $70.
Hello, Thelma. Thank you for taking the time to give us your feedback on the Cambridge Ghost walk. We are sorry that you were disappointed. I (Mindie Burgoyne) wrote all of the ghost walks after doing much researching and our walks — as stated on our website — impart the “history of each site, the paranormal activity or tale of the dead, and then what people say about the site now.” Urban legions are certainly included when they apply. Also stated on our website – – we do not provide dramatic interpretation as was the case in your tour of Cambridge 13 years. I actually consultant with the producers of that ghost tour when I wrote this Cambridge tour.
The Cambridge tour includes 10 to 14 stops going down High Street. If you left at the Courthouse, then you only participated in two of the stops – Richardson Maritime Museum (old bank) and Spring Valley at the Courthouse. Had you stayed, you would have heard about the LeCompte Curse, Williamina Goldsborough, Hannah Manadier being buried of alive, the sighting of phantom pets, the Vans Murray murder, two stories at the Laird Henry house, crazy cat lady, phantom horses, floating ghost, little girl in the mirror, Big Lizz, phantom ship at Cooks point, Indian spirits at Shoal creek, a walk through the graveyard and more. Only two other stories on that tour – Big Lizz (the biggest urban legend on the Shore) and Dr. Muse’s House involve tales of slavery.
It’s certainly a touchy subject and one that is still charged with emotion. But we could hardly leave out Bloody Henny or Big Lizz since the folklore books and collections all feature these two very sad, but haunted stories.
If you would like to give it another try and do the entire tour, we will gladly offer it free of charge. Thank you again for sharing your thoughts.
Mindie Burgoyne
Hello, do you allow dogs on the ghost walk? Thanks
Yes, Megan. Well behaved, leashed dogs are permitted on the ghost walks. Hope to see you on a walk soon.
they are good
Is there a tour Friday, October 31?
Gina, there isn’t a Cambridge tour on 10/31. However, we do have walks in Easton, Berlin and Snow Hill on the 31st. You can view/register for any of them here http://chesapeakeghostwalks.com/events/
please send me the date of the High Street ,Cambridge walk, as that is the one we ( my teen grands and me ) are most interested in . thank you e.c. s.
Love to have a price list my son and daughter and I are very interested
Thanks, Karen. All of our tours are $15 for adults and $9 for kids who are 8-12 years old. Hope to see you on one of the tours.