Tag: Baltimore ghost tour

Fells Point: A Haunted Neighborhood in Baltimore

March 17, 2025 /
Fells Point in Baltimore, MD, is on the National Register of Historic Places

As one of the oldest neighborhoods in Baltimore, Maryland, haunted Fells Point has more than its share of ghosts. We at Baltimore Ghost Tours have often been asked why is Fells Point so haunted? One reason is that Fells Point was not destroyed in Baltimore’s Great Fire of 1904. This fire destroyed over a hundred acres of buildings in Baltimore’s downtown area. As a result, there are buildings from the 1800’s and even a few from the 1700’s still standing in Fells Point. And many of those historic buildings are also home to resident ghosts.

A Brief History of Fells Point (Excerpt from our book Baltimore’s Harbor Haunts: True Ghost Stories Copyright 2005, Schiffer Publishing)

In 1730 William Fell, a Quaker carpenter from Lancashire England, came to America and bought a large lot of land in the area that was then known as “Copus Harbor”. He settled in a large home that he built in the vicinity of modern day Lancaster Street and constructed a small shipyard nearby. The area in time became known as “Fell’s Point”. Fell envisioned Fells Point becoming a shipbuilding center, and in time his dream was realized.

The early to mid 1800’s saw Fells Point become a thriving center for the shipbuilding industry. The neighborhood’s main claim to fame was its multitude of shipyards dedicated to the production of the famous Baltimore Clipper ship. This new ship design enabled the boats to be very light and fast, which led them to be able to outrun and outmaneuver British ships. This was especially important during the war of 1812, with the advent of Baltimore’s famous privateers. These ships were legally allowed to loot British ships. In fact, during the war of 1812, the British were gunning for Fells Point in order to wipe out “that nest of pirates”. Fortunately, they never got past Fort McHenry.

As Fells Point grew, buildings cropped up along the water’s edge in the Point catering to the needs of the sailors that came through the port. We like to refer to this as “The Three B’s”: Bars, brothels, and boarding houses. It seems that some of the former residents loved the area so much that they have remained behind.

As time progressed, the shipbuilding era came to an end, and the fortunes of Fells Point changed. Fell’s Point suffered a decline during the early to mid 1900’s after the Great Fire that leveled much of Baltimore. In 1966 the city proposed that the neighborhood be condemned and a large highway built in its place. Several neighborhood activists banded together to fight this proposal. They succeeded, and secured the future of Fell’s Point as a historically significant- and significantly haunted- neighborhood.

Ghost Stories of Fells Point

Here are a few excerpts of ghost stories from our tours and our book, Baltimore’s Harbor Haunts: True Ghost Stories by Melissa Rowell and Amy Lynwander. To hear the full stories (and many more) go on one of our tours! Baltimore Ghost Tours holds all ages walking ghost tours and haunted pub crawl tours on Friday and Saturday nights March- November. In October we also add additional week night dates. Also, you can book a private tour with us any night of the week.

Doc, the Ghost of Duda’s Tavern (Excerpt from our book Baltimore’s Harbor Haunts: True Ghost Stories Copyright 2005, Schiffer Publishing)

Duda's Tavern is the oldest family run bar in Fells Point

(Excerpt from our book, Baltimore’s Harbor Haunts: True Ghost Stories. Copyright 2005, Schiffer Publishing)

Duda’s Tavern is the oldest family run bar in Fells Point- a true local tradition. When the Duda family bought the bar in 1949, they inherited a retired seaman named Doc who boarded upstairs from 1947 until his death in 1980. Doc was friendly and well known in the neighborhood. He would hang out with anyone who came into the bar- from factory workers to college students.

Doc had a favorite polka on the jukebox that he’d play all the time. In fact, it used to drive some of the regulars nuts. However, every time the jukebox would be updated, Doc’s polka remained out of respect for him. Thirty three years of the same song couldn’t have been too easy to take.

Doc died in 1980. The next time the jukebox was updated, Doc’s polka was finally taken off the machine. A few months went by and one slow night, some regulars were sitting around the bar. No one had fed the jukebox, so it started up automatically and was playing random selections. Suddenly, a familiar noise blasted out of the machine. It was Doc’s polka. While the regulars stared at each other in amazed silence, that polka filled the bar. It played all the way through and then the music turned off. Afterward, the group of regulars searched the jukebox for Doc’s polka, but it was not in the machine. Everyone thought it was Doc, coming back one more time to say goodbye. And probably also asking them to put the polka back on the jukebox – which did not happen. But you can’t blame a guy for trying!

The Horse You Came in On Saloon (Excerpt from our book Baltimore’s Harbor Haunts: True Ghost Stories Copyright 2005, Schiffer Publishing)

The Horse You Came in On Saloon is the oldest bar in continuous operation in Baltimore.

In 1831 Edgar Allen Poe moved to Baltimore after he left West Point Academy. At that time, he lived with his aunt, cousin, and his brother at 62 Wilkes Street, now known as Eastern Avenue. This location is just a few blocks from Fells Point, in what is now known a Little Italy. Poe was known to frequent Fells Point. It is said that he visited The Horse You Came in On many times.

The Horse You Came in On Saloon states that it is the oldest drinking establishment in continuous operation in Fell’s Point, dating itself as a tavern from 1775. A mischievous ghost, whom the staff all refers to as “Edgar”, inhabits the tavern. Bar staff have reported many ghostly visitations in the building.

A bartender who had just started working at The Horse described to us an experience that he’d just had in the bar. He was preparing to close for the night and he had placed all of the bar stools on the countertop so that he could sweep and mop the floor beneath them. One stool in particular kept falling to the floor, no matter how many times the bartender placed it on the counter.

“Is someone playing a joke on me?” he asked a co-worker, “Because if they are, it’s not funny.”

The co-worker denied all wrongdoing, and told the bartender, “Haven’t you heard about our ghost, Edgar? That was just Edgar having a little bit of fun with you!”

The new bartender stoically replied that he ABSOLUTELY DID NOT BELIEVE IN GHOSTS. No sooner had those words left his mouth than every stool in the bar went flying from the countertop, hitting the walls and floor, making a believer out of the man who had just professed not to believe in ghosts!

Rye (formerly Leadbetter’s) Excerpt from our book, Baltimore’s Harbor Haunts: True Ghost Stories, Copyright 2005, Schiffer Publishing

According the bar manager that we interviewed at Leadbetters (now known as Rye of Baltimore in Fells Point), three spirits haunt the bar. We are going to talk about only one of these here (and you can hear more on our Fells Point ghost tours!). Back in the 1800’s and beyond press ganging was a popular way to gain deck hands when a ship arrived in Fells Point short staffed. The ship would send an agent out to drug or assault an inebriated sailor at one of Fells Point’s taverns, then drag him back to the ship. By the time the poor man awoke, he was miles out to sea and had no other option than to work his way back.

Over 100 years ago a sailor was accidentally murdered during an attempted press ganging in the alleyway behind the bar. When the building was expanded, the area where the sailor was killed was incorporated into the back bar area. Now the ghost of a young man in a white ruffled shirt with long brown hair, is now often seen in restroom area of the bar. Several patrons and bartenders have seen him in the vicinity of the woman’s restroom late at night. He seems unaware that he is dead and wanders to and fro, searching the area as if looking for someone that he is meeting there. So, be aware that he may find YOU in the restrooms at Rye!

About the Authors

Amy Lynwander and Melissa Rowell started Baltimore Ghost Tours in 2001 after many years of interviewing Fells Point residents and business owners, and many hours in The Maryland Room at the Pratt Library. All stories in this article are available in our book, and on our tours! Baltimore Ghost Tours is Baltimore’s only locally owned and operated haunted tour- since 2001. We are 100% women owned and all of our tour guides are local actors. Join us on Friday and Saturday nights for a haunting experience.

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Top 5 Haunted Places in Baltimore 2025 | Baltimore Ghost Tours

February 6, 2025 /

  1. Fells Point

    Fells Point was not destroyed in the Great Fire of Baltimore in 1904. As a result, many buildings from the 1700’s are still standing, and their ghosts are still haunting. Fells Point was a shipbuilding neighborhood in the 1700’s, and home to Baltimore’s waterfront red light district from the 1800’s through well into the 1900’s and most of the ghosts here are related to what we call “The Three B’s”: bars, brothels, and boarding houses. From the ghosts of gentlemen dressed in Revolutionary war era garb, to the bar that affectionately calls its resident ghost “Edgar”, there are too many haunted buildings close together to mention here. We suggest you go on our haunted walking tour, The Original Fells Point Ghost Walk to hear about all of the ghosts in this historic Baltimore maritime neighborhood.

  2. The Garrett Jacobs Mansion (excerpt from our book, Baltimore’s Harbor Haunts: True Ghost Stories. Copyright 2005, Schiffer Publishing)

    Mrs. Robert Garrett Jacobs was a well known Gilded Age socialite living in Baltimore’s Mt Vernon neighborhood. In the late 1800’s she completed renovation of several properties which were combined to create the Garrett Jacobs Mansion, which houses the present day Engineer’s Club. Mrs. Garrett Jacobs was known citywide for her amazing parties- she was one of the leading hostesses in Baltimore and an invitation to her mansion was coveted among Baltimore’s privileged class. Imagine the private dining room filled with a few friends and family of Mrs. Jacobs. Imagine guests dining amid the sparkling crystal and fine china that Mrs. Jacobs most certainly had. One employee of the Engineering Society of Baltimore, not only imagined such a scene, he saw it with his own eyes! This employee who worked in the mansion several years ago was walking through the private dining room one evening. When he got halfway across the room he saw a large party of people seated at the table, glasses raised as if in a toast.  Slowly the group of people faded before his eyes. The building has experienced many such strange occurrences- read more about them in our book.

  3. The Lord Baltimore Hotel (excerpt from our book, Baltimore’s Harbor Haunts: True Ghost Stories. Copyright 2005, Schiffer Publishing)

    The Lord Baltimore Hotel consistently appears on yearly lists of America’s most haunted hotels. The little girl who haunts the building is one reason. In 1998 a female staff worker named Fran was on the 19th floor of the building preparing a small meeting room for future use. She was working at a table facing the wall with an open door to her left. She bent over the table for a few moments, absorbed in her work. Then she looked up and to her left at the doorway. A little girl wearing a long cream colored dress and black shiny shoes ran by the open doorway, bouncing a red ball before her. Fran immediately ran outside calling after her “Little girl, are you lost?”. The hallway was completely empty. This employee, quite shaken at this point, turned around to go back to the meeting room when she saw two people walking down the hallway toward her. The first was an older gentleman dressed in formal attire. He was accompanied by a woman in a long ball gown. Fran asked them if they were looking for their granddaughter because she had just run by. She turned to point in the direction that the child had passed. When she turned her head back toward the two people, they had just vanished right before her eyes.

  4. The Med Chi Building in Mt Vernon (from our interview with Med Chi staff)

    Marcia Noyes (1869-1946) was the medical librarian at the Medical and Chirurgical Society of Maryland. She was known as a founding figure in the vocation of medical librarianship. She also lived in an apartment at the top of the building for many years. Ms. Noyes never married- she was married to her work. She loved the library that she created so much that many believe that she has never left. Staff have seen her roaming darkened rooms. She vanishes the moment she is spotted. Her footsteps echo among the stacks when staff are alone in the building. Read more about the Med Chi building haunting here.

  5. Fort McHenry (excerpt from our book, Baltimore’s Harbor Haunts: True Ghost Stories. Copyright 2005, Schiffer Publishing)

    Fort McHenry is home to many unexplained sightings. During the Battle of Baltimore in 1814 Lieutenant Levi Clagett was manning his post on Bastion Three at the fort. The British launched a bomb from a warship that scored a direct hit on Clagett’s bastion. He and another soldier were killed instantly. Some theorists speculate that when a person is killed suddenly sometimes the confused spirit does not know that it is dead. Perhaps this is one reason why Levi Clagett has remained at the fort. Guests have repeatedly reported spotting a man dressed in 1800’s style garb patrolling the area adjacent to the Third Bastion. Often these guests have assumed that a historical reenactment is taking place, only to be informed later that this is not the case. Read more about Ft McHenry’s hauntings in our book.

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