If you live in Philadelphia-South
Jersey, you have a ghost of a chance to experience a visitor from the dead
firsthand at these local haunts.
The most famous is the General Wayne Inn in Merion. This venerable establishment
has hosted Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, as well as a Hessian
soldier who refuses to leave. He makes periodic visits to bedsides and
public rooms, and has, along with other ghostly inhabitants, created some good-natured
havoc. A man from northeastern Pennsylvania was repeatedly visited at his
home by a Hessian who said he couldn't rest until his bones, hidden in
the walls of the General Wayne Inn, were properly buried. Upon excavation,
bones were indeed found in the walls and removed. The man reported no more
Hessian visitations.
Although most local ghost sightings involve Revolutionary War activities,
this one is of more recent vintage. An accident on Route 202 near Norristown
involved Lucy, a hitchhiker, who was instantly killed in a car crash. Drivers
on that stretch of road report seeing a young girl thumbing a ride, but
when they stop to pick her up, she has vanished.
In New Jersey, the Bernardsville Public Library hosts a woman who discovered
that her Tory spy lover had been detected and hanged. She roomed here when
it was an inn and to this day library users report feeling this woman and
her immense sadness.
Cape May's Heirloom Guest House has furniture that moves on its own, plus
something that bumps into the beds occasionally. The nearby Washington
Inn's ghost calls out the names of the people standing in the foyer.
Crossing the river back to Pennsylvania, you can visit several ghosts in
the New Hope region. The Inn at Phillips Mill Lodging is home to a very
primly dressed lady who rocks in her chair upstairs and can be felt as
you climb the staircase. Logan Inn, built in 1722, is haunted by lavender.
A portrait of the grandparents of former owners shows Carl Lutz, wearing
a lavender boutonniere and his wife, with lavender in her hair. This portrait,
regardless where it has hung, always has a lavender scent. And, one of
the bedrooms constantly smells of lavender, even though the owners confirm
that nothing resembling that smell is used in that room or near the portrait.
New Hope's favorite ghost is Midnight Mary. Returning from her prom her
escort lost control of his car and she was killed. Locals report seeing
her in a frilly pink dress dancing over the water and then disappearing.
Carpenters' Hall is home to the ghost of a man accused of committing the
first bank robbery in the United States. Stories of his presence date back
to 1851 and are reconfirmed by some of those who work in the building today.
Suburban Philadelphia has several. Chestnut Hill's Baleroy is haunted and
its owner has the photographs to prove it. Hope Lodge in Fort Washington
was a hospital during the Revolutionary War. Locals swear that it is inhabited
by soldiers who died there. The Lodge is a state-owned museum and historic
site today. State officials entirely deny these stories. In Rosemont there's
a house haunted by horses, whose hoof sounds can be mysteriously heard
coming up the drive, followed by unexplained knockings on the front door.
A psychic was brought in and he reported that a pair of horses and riders
had come to this house for assistance years ago, during a terrible storm.
One of the men died and they haunt the location to this day.
Perhaps the most grotesque in the area is the Jersey Devil. The most popular
version of its story tells us that in 1735, Mother Lucy Leeds, a witch,
gave birth to her 13th child, a hideously deformed thing with a horse's
head, wings of a bat, and a serpent's tail, or, alternately, the head of
a collie, the wings of a bat and cloven feet. It devoured the family and
flew out the window. It haunts the Pine Barrens, mutilating animals and
terrifying locals. Notwithstanding the hockey team, this devil does not
have a puckish sense of humor!
Have a hauntingly fun Halloween.