The Haunted Maryland Inn

A looming triangular structure, located at a busy Annapolis intersection, the historic Maryland Inn is as haunting to view on the outside as it is on the inside. Built in 1772, this historic luxury hotel is home to countless ghosts and spirits, many of them former guests who have never checked out. 

Situated in the city of Annapolis, on the Eastern Coast of Maryland, the Maryland Inn has seen numerous battles fought. Less than one hundred years after the Revolutionary War, the bloody War of 1812 was carried out in the Annapolis Harbor, only mere miles from the hotel. Frightened guests watched the gruesome scene rage on from their hotel windows.

Later on, Civil War prisoners were held just blocks away in the heart of downtown Annapolis. The spirits who permanently occupy this haunted place are reminders of a dark and brutal past. And, through their frequent interactions with current staff and patrons, they are here to remind us that they aren’t going anywhere. 

The Bride and the Captain

One such specter of the Maryland Inn is known simply as, “The Bride”. She is a longtime hotel resident with a painful past and an anxious spirit. Her story is well-known throughout the coastal city, and even around the world. Daring visitors check into her famed room on the fourth floor, hoping for a ghostly encounter. 

The story of The Bride begins in the early nineteenth century. After years of waiting for her fiancé to return home from war, good news had finally reached her in the form of a letter.

The ship carrying her soon-to-be husband, U.S. Navy Captain Campbell, was arriving shortly in the Annapolis Harbor. She was sent to come and wait for him at the Maryland Inn. The pair would be married after many years of waiting. 

The Bride paced nervously across the floor of her room, sitting down upon the bed now and then to catch her breath. She had spent so much time and energy doubting her lover’s return. Now, she thought, she could finally relax.

A maid entered the room, helping the woman into her handmade wedding dress. The bride had patiently sewn the dress herself. The thought of her lover’s face embedded into each and every stitch. The two women clapped their hands at the sight of her beauty. She beamed at herself in the mirror, admiring the snow-white gown.

The Bride, anxious as ever, turned to look out the window towards the water. She was hoping to catch a glimpse of the Captain’s ship coming into the harbor. But, instead, she saw the Captain himself!

He stood frozen in the road, taken by the figure of his bride in the window. At that moment, all of the fear and pain they had suffered during the war was now gone. They could finally be together.

But, before she could warn him to step out of the way, a horse and carriage came racing down the hill of the busy intersection, making its way directly towards the Captain. The driver tried in vain to slow his horse, but the incline was too steep and the horse raced too fast. The Captain was struck. 

From the top floor of the Inn, The Bride let out a wild cry. She looked on helplessly as the man she loved fell to the ground, trampled and twisted. She ran to his side as a growing crowd looked on. But, the woman was too late. Captain Campbell lay dead in her arms on the very morning of their wedding. In a wild haze, she ran back into the Maryland Inn, racing up the stairs to her room and slamming the door shut.

The same maid who had helped her prepare for her wedding was now pleading for her to open the door. The Bride caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her snow-white gown was now covered in blood. She paced again. Back and forth from the bed to the window, she grew weaker and weaker.

Her life was already over, she thought, and now she knew what must be done. With a running start, she threw herself out of the open window of the fourth floor, landing hard on the cobblestone road. The Bride died instantaneously, just a few feet from her Groom. 

Today, guests of Room 405 can still hear the sounds of anxious footsteps pacing back and forth on the hardwood floor. Others have been awoken by a presence sitting at the foot of their bed.

The room’s window is known to fly open or slam shut on its own. The Bride remains in the hotel even to this day, forever reliving the actions of that tragic day. 

The doomed Navy Captain himself also visits the Inn. He is oftentimes seen enjoying a beer in the basement’s famous taproom, the Drummer’s Lot Pub. He has also been spotted from the taproom window, gazing out towards the sea. 

Even though both spirits of man and wife occupy the same hotel, they are never seen together in the same room. It is a sad reminder that even in death, the desperate lovers will never be reunited. 

Other Spirits

Other restless spirits with equally gruesome ends are said to remain in this haunted house. A woman dressed all in black is known to frequent the same staircase where she fell to her untimely death. Unseen children scamper down hallways, giggling as they rush past unsuspecting visitors. 

The apparition of a Revolutionary soldier is said to haunt the basement, the oldest part of the building’s structure. He is frequently heard singing sea shanties in a strong, yet distant voice.

See also: The Most Haunted Places in Maryland

Possibly, like Captain Campbell, the two men are attracted to the noise of the busy taproom, and its living inhabitants. Bar patrons often have the feeling that the empty barstool beside them is not so empty after all. 

More Experiences

For people brave enough to spend a night in these rooms, be prepared for company. Numerous reports document televisions turning on in the middle of the night, even switching channels on their own. Frightened guests have demanded to move rooms after their Bluetooth radios began to play for no reason at all. Even the most skeptical guests have admitted to uneasy feelings and unexplained happenings. 

Staff at the Inn are more than aware of these strange occurrences. They regularly experience strong gusts of winds and drafts even during the hot summer months. Smells of perfume enter into rooms behind them, oftentimes accompanied by the sounds of footsteps. Distant voices can be heard from the empty ballroom, laughing and conversing. 

The Maryland Inn is just one of three hotels, under the name, Historic Inns of Annapolis. The other two are the Governor Calvert House and Robert Johnson House. Both are reportedly haunted to boot!

A frequent spot for ghost tours, and lovers of haunted places, Annapolis is the perfect setting for your very own paranormal encounter. If you are expecting a quiet, uneventful stay in Historic Annapolis, perhaps you should think again. 

There are as many ghost stories connected to the Maryland Inn and the other Historic Inns of Annapolis, as there are bricks in their historic facades.

Whether you share an anxious night in Room 405 with The Bride, catch a glimpse of the woeful Woman in Black, or grab a drink in the Drummer’s Pub with a boisterous soldier, there is a very good chance that you will leave with a story of your own. 

Website: www.historicinnsofannapolis.com/stay/maryland-inn

Phone: 844-656-8640

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