Haunted Old Ellicott City

The first tour we went on took place in the Ellicott City Historic District. Founded in 1772, Ellicott City is rich with paranormal activity.  Led by the knowledgeable Paula Huber, we explored the downtown area and learned about the city's most notorious haunted inhabitants. Although we cannot describe each and every stop on our tour, we have chosen our to blog about out top three favorite haunts and their back-stories.

1. Livery Stable: What was once a livery stable turned speakeasy is now a popular restaurant, but that doesn't stop the ghost from reliving the past.  Employees of the restaurant have reported many curious incidents over the years: a woman's footprints have reportedly appeared on the kitchen floor when no one is around, glasses have been thrown off walls and shattered on carpet floors, tables have been flipped, and once, a disembodied woman's voice was heard late at night.  Some people have reported seeing a woman, with long hair in a knee-length shift dress, gliding around the restaurant in the wee hours of the night.  Her clothing looks as if it is from the 1920's.  Reportedly during the 1920's Ellicott City was big on prohibiting prohibition, and speakeasy's were rampant throughout the town.  The Livery Stable was reportedly the sight of a nasty gang fight in the 20's, and a woman died. Could the woman seen in the restaurant today be the victim of a past crime?

2. Ooh La La and Union Soldiers: A man climbs up a ladder to tend to the renovations in his new boutique, and hears footsteps behind him. He looks down and sees an older gentleman milling about the place and asks the man if he can help him. No reply. So he makes his way to the bottom of the ladder to ask this elderly man again - but no one is there. Unsurprisingly, the new proprietor fled town as quickly as possible, but locals just shake their heads and chuckle. The older man was just Al, the previous owner. The building had before been Al's mechanics shop, and he'd had a heart attack while repairing an engine. Al was just popping by to see how the place was coming along without him. Customers have oft-reported seeing Al ambling about the place, and - allegedly - dogs have been observed trotting around the store as if following someone, and sometimes curl as though they're being petted - but there's no one there. Al's not the first ghost to hang around the building though. One of the girls who works in the salon that occupies the space now - called Ooh La La - claims to have seen a man in black boots and blue pants while she was leaving work one night. She called to him, asking if he needed any help, but he simply turned away and walked into the hill next to the building. Since then, none of the employees close alone. According to local legend, this is the most haunted place in town - it's where Union soldiers were wrapped in blankets and buried. Rumor has it that if you look up the little hill at night, you can see a floating orb of light - a ghost caught on camera, perhaps.

3. The Old Hotel: Down by the old B&O Railroad station sits a hotel built to house the city's visitors, some of which have never checked out.  During the Civil War, the hotel was occupied by Union soldiers transporting Confederate prisoners to Baltimore.  The prisoners, who were held in town hall, were put on the train to Baltimore and sent on their way.  However, one such soldier decided he wasn't going to go without a fight.  Escaping from the train en route, the soldier, disoriented and lost, tried to make his way to the nearest town and escape his captors, who by now were pursuing him through the countryside.  Unfortunately, the nearest city the soldier came across was the very one he had been trying to escape: Ellicott City.  In an act of desperation as his Union captors closed in on him, he ran through the old hotel and tried to escape through a back alley staircase.  As he was making his descent, he was shot killed in the alley.  Today, the hotel is now a apartment complex, and residents have reported that the events of that night have been replayed over the years.  A struggle is heard on the street, followed by frantic footsteps, and finally silenced by the distant sound of an ethereal gunshot.

Next stop, Fell's Point!