Delaware is small, but its beach towns and colonial streets hold some well-loved ghost stories. Here is where you can still sleep with them, and what happened to the inns that closed.
You can drive the length of the First State in about two hours, and in that time pass inns that date back to the colonial era and beach houses built by Pittsburgh families at the turn of the twentieth century. Two haunted places still take overnight guests: the Addy Sea in Bethany Beach and Bewitched & BEDazzled in Rehoboth Beach. Two others from older versions of this guide, the Brick Hotel in Georgetown and the David Finney Inn in New Castle, no longer do, and we explain what happened to them below. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local investigators tell them. For forts, houses and other sites, see our guide to haunted places in Delaware.
Address 99 Ocean View Parkway, Bethany Beach, DE 19930
Where to look Room 1 and its copper tub, Room 6, Room 11, the halls and the roof
Reported ghosts Paul Dulaney, a former handyman; Kurtz Addy, the son said to have fallen from the roof
Booking the haunted room Book directly with the inn and ask for Room 1, 6 or 11 by number.
The Addy Sea is a shingled Victorian oceanfront inn right on the sand at Bethany Beach, built around 1902 as the summer home of Pittsburgh plumber John Addy, one of the town’s founders. The house was moved twice in the 1920s to escape storm surges, the family rented rooms to church groups during the Depression, and the Gravatte family has run it as a bed and breakfast since the 1970s. Today it has 16 rooms, original woodwork and brass fixtures, and breakfast and afternoon tea.
Three rooms carry the stories. In Room 1 guests say the original copper tub John Addy brought from Pittsburgh shakes violently with them in it. Room 6 fills with organ music though there is no organ, and in Room 11 a man sits on or stands by the bed, said to be Paul Dulaney, a former handyman. Footsteps on the roof are blamed on the Addys’ son Kurtz, said to have fallen from it.
Haunted Rooms tip: Ask for Room 1 if you want the copper tub; it is the inn’s best-known room and books early in summer.
$$ · $150 to $300Ghost tours or eventsHotel embraces its ghostsPet friendly
Address 65 Lake Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971
Where to look The Bewitched house (children) and the BEDazzled house (adults, at night)
Reported ghosts A girl the innkeepers call Eleanor Sigsbee, three other children and adult figures at night
Bewitched & BEDazzled is a playful two-house bed and breakfast on a quiet, tree-lined street in downtown Rehoboth Beach, a short walk from the boardwalk. Rooms are themed on Golden Age Hollywood and the TV show Bewitched, with private baths and some with fireplaces or jet tubs. Dogs are welcome, there is a year-round hot tub and owner Inez Conover has run it since 2002.
The innkeepers talk freely about their ghosts. An innkeeper sketched a girl she saw in the house, and Delmarva Historic Haunts, who investigated over two nights in 2012, identified her as Eleanor Sigsbee, a daughter of USS Maine captain Charles Sigsbee. Guests report child spirits who throw pillows and mess up beds in Bewitched, and adult figures at night in BEDazzled. Conover says there are no nasty ghosts.
Haunted Rooms tip: Ask about the inn’s Ghost Hunting 101 package, run with Delmarva Historic Haunts.
Built in 1836 on Georgetown’s Circle and home to the friendly spirits staff called George and Ophelia, the Brick Hotel closed for good on August 28, 2021, and is now offices. Stay at the Addy Sea, about 30 minutes east. Read the full guide.
The David Finney Inn
An inn has stood on this New Castle corner since 1683, and third-floor guests reported doors and windows opening by themselves. The building is now offices and apartments and no longer takes hotel guests. Philadelphia’s haunted hotels are 40 minutes north. Read the full guide.
Changes to this guide: The Brick Hotel on the Circle closed in 2021 and the David Finney Inn no longer operates as an inn, so both have moved to the closed section. We also corrected the Bewitched & BEDazzled story: the innkeepers and the investigators they work with identify the girl as Eleanor Sigsbee, daughter of USS Maine captain Charles Sigsbee, rather than the daughter of an unknown sea captain.
Stayed in one of these hotels? Tell us what happened
We collect first-hand accounts from guests and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your stay. We read every story before it’s published.
The Addy Sea in Bethany Beach. Guests report a copper tub that shakes in Room 1, organ music in Room 6, a man on the bed in Room 11 and footsteps on the roof.
Is the Brick Hotel in Georgetown still open?
No. The Brick Hotel on the Circle closed permanently on August 28, 2021, and the building was leased as offices.
Can you still stay at the David Finney Inn in New Castle?
Not as a hotel. The building now holds a law office and apartments, and its last restaurant closed by 2022.
Are there haunted bed and breakfasts in Rehoboth Beach?
Yes. Bewitched & BEDazzled says it is home to several friendly ghosts, including a girl the innkeepers call Eleanor Sigsbee, and offers a Ghost Hunting 101 package.
Can you go on a ghost hunt near Delaware?
Yes. Haunted Rooms runs ghost hunts at Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia and Linville Manor in Maryland, both within a couple of hours of Delaware.
Sources and how we research
Every hotel in this guide is checked against the hotel’s own website, historic register listings and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as the hotels, guests and local historians tell them; we note where a story can’t be confirmed. Read how we rate haunted hotels.
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About the authors
The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every hotel in our guides using hotel histories, local archives, news coverage and the accounts of guests and staff, and we review each guide regularly so you are not booking a hotel that has closed or changed its name. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
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