Category Archives: Worcester County

Rackliffe House

07/03/2017Berlin, blog posts, ghost story, Worcester CountyBerlin MD, Haunted Trifecta, Rackliffe HouseMindie Burgoyne

The Haunted Trifecta

RACKLIFFE HOUSE in Northern Worcester County was built in 1740 by Charles Rackliffe as the main house on a large plantation on Sinepuxent Bay. Author Tom Patton referred to it as the “most haunted house in the country” – and Mr. Patton was a Rackliffe descendant and knew the house well.

Like the Shoreham Hotel in Ocean City, the Rackliffe house has had (according to folklore), a murder, a suicide and an accidental death all take place in the house. It is also built on the site of an Assateague Indian camp where artifacts as old as 10,000 years have been found through excavation.

There is so much commentary on Rackliffe house being haunted that there’s almost no disagreement about the hauntings – even the docents who receive visitors at the now restored house will matter-of-factly say when asked, “Yes, people say it’s haunted.” Continue reading Rackliffe House →

Who Haunts the Snow Hill Inn?

08/25/2016blog posts, ghosts, Snow Hill, Worcester Countyghost of snow hill, Haunted Snow Hill, snow hill inn, william aydelotteMindie Burgoyne

Snow Hill Inn - haunted Maryland The Ghost of the Snow Hill Inn is one of the best known and most told ghost stories on Delmarva. The building known as The Snow Hill Inn currently stands empty on East Market Street in Snow Hill, MD. It’s believed to be haunted by the ghost of William Aydelotte, a young pharmacology student who allegedly committed suicide so as not to disappoint his overbearing father. According to local lore, William has disturbed so many people over the years with his mischief that the site gained enough notoriety to become the only property on Maryland’s Eastern Shore to be featured as a haunted site on national television.

National Geographic Television Network featured the Snow Hill Inn on its Is it Real series back in 2005. Since shortly after that show aired, the building was vacated. Though it’s been sold several times since, the right owner hasn’t yet come along and the old Inn which also William’s childhood home has fallen into disrepair. Continue reading Who Haunts the Snow Hill Inn? →

The Haunted Pocomoke Forest and its Urban Legends

08/17/2016blog posts, ghost story, ghosts, Pocomoke, Worcester Countyhaunted forest, Pocomoke ForestMindie Burgoyne

Urban Legends and Folklore About the Pocomoke – Most Haunted Forest in Maryland

There’s nothing like some good old urban legends about severed heads, hitchhikers and ladies in white to get the conversation going around a campfire. There are scores of these stories set in Pocomoke Forest – all alleged to be true. In fact, there was even a research paper about the forest and its lore in the Folklore collection at the Edward H. Nabb Center at Salisbury University. Here are some of the most intriguing tales of the forest.

The Boyfriend

A boy and a girl were in a car and ran out of gas. They heard something. The boy got out to look for a phone and he told her not to turn around or get out of the car and to lock all the Continue reading The Haunted Pocomoke Forest and its Urban Legends →

Shoreham Hotel

07/04/2016blog posts, ghost story, Ocean City, Worcester CountyBoardwalk Ghosts, Haunted Trifecta, Ocean City MD, Shoreham hotelMindie Burgoyne

Shoreham Hotel and Shenanigans Pub in Ocean City MD

The Haunted Trifecta #2

SHOREHAM HOTEL in Ocean City could be the most haunted building in the town. 3 ghosts! One is the ghost of a writer who committed suicide in the 1930s. 2nd is a man who was killed by a Navy Seal in the basement in the late 70s (there was a bar there at the time). And 3rd is Betsey who jumped to her death from a third floor window in the Summer of 1983.

The basement is so haunted that some employees are terrified to go down there. Boxes jump off shelves (it’s now used for storage), lights come on and off independent of electricity and many people feel rushes of cold even when the doors are all closed.

Seasonal Room 6 (Betsey’s room) always appears clean … even after guests leave. Staff never really has to deep clean it because the room is always kept in pristine condition. Guests who stay in seasonal room 6 complain about the power – whether it’s the air conditioner, lights, television … things tend to go on and off at will even though the management has continuously checked the rooms for electrical problems and found no issues.

A Paranormal group from Pennsylvania investigated the Shoreham and found a wealth of data that showed paranormal activity – including in the basement and in Seasonal Room 6. The Shoreham is a hub for paranormal activity.

The Henry Colored Hotel – Still Rocking!

05/12/2015blog posts, ghosts, Ocean City, Worcester CountyHenry Colored Hotel, henry hotelMindie Burgoyne

Henry Hotel has Happy Spirits

The Henry Colored Hotel - Ocean City MD

The old Henry Hotel still sits vacant at the corner of Baltimore and South Division Street in Ocean City, Maryland. Most people would never notice this three story, 20-roomed hotel, covered with brown shingles across from Trimper’s Rides. The entire hotel is about the size of most single family homes found in upscale Western Shore neighborhoods. The Henry has been out of commission since its most recent owner, Pearl Bonner died in 2003. Pearl was a legend in her own right, when as a single, African American woman raising three daughters she purchased the property in 1964. For forty summers she ran the hotel, putting her daughters to work when they needed money for their college educations. All of them are college graduates.

Pearl ran the hotel more as a rooming house for African American men who worked in Ocean City, rather than a vacation destination for black patrons looking to relax. Continue reading The Henry Colored Hotel – Still Rocking! →

Get Touched in the Haunted Pocomoke Forest

05/06/2015blog posts, ghosts, Pocomoke, Worcester Countypocomoke, Pocomoke Forest, Swamp ghostsMindie Burgoyne

Guests walk into the Pocomoke Forest under a full moon – orbs above.

I am a ghost-story teller. I live in a haunted house, but I am not afraid of anything from the spirit world anymore – except the spirits in the Pocomoke Forest. Out of the 130+ stories I’ve integrated into our ten ghost walks, there are only a handful where I’ve had a personal experience …. The Snow Hil Inn, the Trimper’s Carousel, the Robert Morris Inn, The Atlantic Hotel (Berlin), the Marva Theater AND – The Pocomoke Forest… and that one scared me so bad, that I couldn’t get out of that forest fast enough — but I had to act like I wasn’t afraid so as not to startle the 24 people following behind me (who were already scared by what had happened). Continue reading Get Touched in the Haunted Pocomoke Forest →

Haunted Minute – The Pocomoke River

05/05/2015blog posts, ghosts, Haunted Minute, Pocomoke, Worcester CountyHaunted MInute, Haunted Worcester County MD, Pocomoke City, pocomoke riverMindie Burgoyne

Pocomoke River – Black Water

In this video, Ghost Walk guide, Mindie Burgoyne tells about Maryland’s most haunted River – The Pocomoke.

The Pocomoke River is the deepest water for its width in the United States and the second deepest in the world – 2nd only to the Nile River. Its name means “black water” and just four to six feet below the surface there is no ambient light. The water is black.

There are many stories of hauntings along the river – phantom ships, spirits who walk on the water, baby cries coming from nowhere.. and more. In this video, Mindie Burgoyne tells the story of Job Emmons and spirits seen walking on the water just east of the Pocomoke River drawbridge.

Join the Pocomoke Ghost Walk to hear the full story.

VIEW ALL THE UPCOMING POCOMOKE GHOST WALKS

The Spirit of Zippy Lewis Still Seen Combing the Beaches

03/02/2015Berlin, blog posts, ghosts, Ocean CityBus tours, Fenwick, Ocean City, Zippy LewisMindie Burgoyne

The Eternal Beachcomber

This painting of Zipporah – “Zippy” Lewis was painted by artist, David O. Bunting and it hangs in the Dunes Manor Hotel in Ocean City. It’s created from his imagination as there were never any pictures of the famous beachcomber. She was born around 1812 in Delaware – probably near Fenwick Island. She married Jonathan Lewis when she was sixteen and they lived in a shack on the beach. Jonathan was a sailor.

In1847 Jonathan and Zippy had five children. Jonathan went out to sea, but never returned. Zippy walked the beach for years looking out for his ship on the horizon … hoping he would find his way home. As a widow left with 5 children, she struggled financially. Continue reading The Spirit of Zippy Lewis Still Seen Combing the Beaches →

Is Miss Thelma Still in Charge at the Dunes Manor?

02/17/2015blog posts, ghosts, Ocean City, Worcester CountyDunes Manor Hotel, Haunted Hotels, Ocean City MD, Thelma Conner, worcester county mdMindie Burgoyne

Miss Thelma Conner a Legend and a Spirit

Some people think that Miss Thelma Conner is still in charge at the Dunes Manor Hotel on 28th Street in Ocean City, Maryland. This is particularly strange because Miss Thelma passed away in 1999. But she’s been seen by staff and guests and even mentioned on TripAdvisor in the last fifteen years. Of course, people who never knew Miss Thelma in life would be able to recognize her because of the larger-than-life portrait (aside a matching portrait of her husband Milton) of her that dominates the hotel’s grand entrance.

Considering what Miss Thelma had to endure in order to fulfill her life-long dream of building a grand hotel on the ocean, it’s no wonder she’s still hanging around. She and her husband, Milton rans the Dunes Motel for years and they always dreamed of building a big Victorian hotel on the ocean, and they had the land to do it, but time got away from them and before they could achieve their dream, Milton passed away. But Miss Thelma persevered and finally got it done. Continue reading Is Miss Thelma Still in Charge at the Dunes Manor? →

The Haunted Triangle at Adkins Hardware

12/02/2014Berlin, blog posts, ghosts, Worcester CountyAdkins Hardware, Berlin, ElementalMindie Burgoyne

Adkins Hardware – Home of the Elemental

When I got my first ghost story about Adkins Hardware in Berlin, I headed right to see this place for myself and start collecting facts. I took several photos but was underwhelmed. The empty lot across from the hardware story was allegedly home to an “elemental” or non-human spirit that had presented itself to an informant … and lots of teenagers who wanted to scare themselves.

I was scoping out sites for the Berlin Ghost Walk and I wasn’t sure this vacant lot was going to make the cut. It wasn’t much – not in the daylight anyway.

Continue reading The Haunted Triangle at Adkins Hardware →