Haunted hotel guide · Lumberville, Pennsylvania

The Haunted Black Bass Hotel, Lumberville: Old Hans, the Canal Morgue and the Woman in White

A 1740s riverside inn whose own website tells you about the innkeeper stabbed in the bar, the canal workers laid out in a back room and the woman in white who smells of lavender.

By The Haunted Rooms Team · Updated November 2026 · How we rate hotels

3.8/5Haunted Rooms Score
1745Inn built
9Guest suites

Visit hotel websiteMeet the ghosts

The Black Bass Hotel sits on River Road in Lumberville, a tiny Bucks County village squeezed between the Delaware River and the Delaware Canal, about 10 minutes north of New Hope and an hour and a quarter from Philadelphia. The white stucco inn has been feeding and sheltering river travelers since the 1740s, and today it has nine suites upstairs, a restaurant with river views and a bar built around a pewter counter that once stood in Maxim’s of Paris.

It also has some of the best ghost stories on the Delaware, and unlike many inns it tells them itself. Its history page names Hans, an innkeeper stabbed to death in the canal-building years; the canal workers whose bodies were kept in a makeshift morgue off the bar; and a Woman in White who appears with a pearl-handled revolver. Here is the story behind each, and how to plan a stay. For more in the area see our guide to haunted hotels near Philadelphia.

Black Bass Hotel at a glance

3.8/5
Haunted Rooms Score
Haunted reputation4
History5
Ghost hunter access2
$$ · $150 to $300Hotel embraces its ghosts
  • Address 3774 River Road, Lumberville, PA 18933
  • Built About 1745; restored 2008 to 2009
  • Most haunted spots The Canal Bar, the old morgue room off the bar, the upstairs halls and guest suites
  • Best-known ghosts Hans the innkeeper, the canal workers and the Woman in White
  • Booking the haunted room The inn does not name a haunted suite. All nine suites are upstairs in the original building, where the Woman in White is said to walk.
  • Good to know A 20% deposit secures a booking. Breakfast is not included but is served at the Lumberville General Store across the road. Parking is limited.

Visit hotel website

The ghosts of Black Bass Hotel

Hans, the murdered innkeeper

In the early 1800s, immigrant workers came to Solebury Township to dig the Delaware Canal, which runs right behind the inn. The hotel says its proprietor at the time, known only as Hans, was stabbed to death during a dispute with one of those canal workers. Visit Philadelphia adds that the man killed in a bloody brawl is variously remembered as old Hans or as a local lumberjack, and may have been the same person.

Hans’s barstool is still in the Canal Bar, and a large, burly man is said to be seen standing in the corner near the spot where he was killed. Some guests have also reported seeing a pool of blood on the floor that is gone when they look again.

The canal workers' morgue

Digging the canal was brutal work, and men died of disease and exhaustion. According to the hotel, those who died were laid out in a makeshift morgue in a room off the Canal Bar until a boat could come to collect the bodies. Staff and guests describe sudden drops in temperature in that part of the building, the sound of sobbing and a strong feeling of unease.

The Woman in White

The inn’s most dramatic ghost is a woman in white who wanders the upstairs halls and has been seen sitting in a guest room holding a pearl-handled revolver. Visit Bucks County passes on the legend that she shot her husband and his mistress in one of the guest rooms and then turned the gun on herself. Guests say a smell of lavender comes before she appears.

There is no record of a murder and suicide at the inn, and no name has ever been attached to her, so treat her as legend. She is, though, the ghost guests most often ask about.

On camera

The hotel says paranormal film crews documented the building during its 2009 renovation. Author and filmmaker Regina Saint Claire told Visit Philadelphia that after filming in the basement she felt a cold, “scary and ugly” presence that made her jump out of bed.

The most haunted rooms and places to look

  • The Canal Bar: Where Hans is said to stand in the corner beside his own barstool. A drink here is the obvious start to a haunted night.
  • The old morgue room: The room off the bar where canal workers’ bodies are said to have waited for the boat. Ask staff which room it was.
  • The upstairs suites: Nine suites in the original building, including the River Suite, the Major Fry Suite named for the 1833 innkeeper, and the Grover Cleveland Suite. The Woman in White is said to appear in the halls and guest rooms here.
  • The river deck: Outdoor dining over the Delaware, with a view of the Lumberville footbridge to Bull’s Island in New Jersey.

History of Black Bass Hotel

The inn was built in the 1740s to serve travelers, traders and sportsmen on the Delaware. Over the years it has been called Wall’s Tavern, the Lumberville Hotel, the Temple Bar and the Rising Sun before settling on the Black Bass. The hotel says that during the Revolution its innkeeper was a Tory loyal to the Crown, and made it clear that George Washington was not welcome to stay. A few weeks later, on December 26, 1776, Washington crossed the river downstream and won at Trenton.

The Delaware Canal was dug past the back door in the early 1800s, bringing rough crowds of laborers and, according to the inn, the fight that killed Hans. In 1833 a fire broke out in the tavern, and the proprietor, Major Anthony Fry, carried the gunpowder stored in the cellar out of the building before it could explode. The hotel declined in the late 1800s and changed owners several times.

In 1949 Herbert “Herbie” Ward bought the Black Bass and ran it for more than half a century. An Anglophile, he filled it with British royal memorabilia, antiques and art, and bought the pewter bar that came from Maxim’s of Paris at auction. English visitors and celebrities made it a favorite weekend getaway, and the restaurant became a well-known brunch spot.

After Ward’s death the inn struggled. Floods along the Delaware in the mid-2000s closed River Road for months and the Black Bass shut its doors. In 2008 it was sold at auction to Bucks County car dealer Jack Thompson, who had the building re-engineered, added heating and air conditioning, and turned the old upstairs rooms, which had shared four bathrooms, into private suites. It reopened in 2009. Thompson died in December 2020, and his family still runs the inn and restaurant, along with the Lumberville General Store across the road.

Tips for a haunted stay

  • Book a weeknight if you can: weekends, especially in October, fill up early.
  • Start in the Canal Bar, look for Hans’s barstool, and ask the bartender which room was the canal workers’ morgue.
  • Walk the footbridge across the Delaware to Bull’s Island at dusk; it is one of the prettiest spots on the river.
  • Breakfast is not included, so plan on the Lumberville General Store across the road.
  • Combine your stay with New Hope, 10 minutes south, where the Logan Inn, Aaron Burr House and Wedgwood Inn all have ghost stories of their own.

Want to investigate, not just sleep?

Sleeping in a haunted hotel is one thing. Investigating one after dark is another. On a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt our team takes you through the building with professional ghost hunting equipment, runs EVP sessions and lets you explore on your own during free roam.

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Frequently asked questions

Is the Black Bass Hotel haunted?

It has a long ghost reputation, and the hotel tells the stories itself. The best known are Hans, an innkeeper stabbed to death in the early 1800s, the canal workers whose bodies were kept in a room off the bar, and a Woman in White with a pearl-handled revolver. These are legends and guest reports, not proven events.

Who haunts the Black Bass Hotel?

Hans, the innkeeper said to be seen in the corner of the Canal Bar; the canal workers linked to cold spots and sobbing near the old morgue; and the Woman in White, who is said to appear in the upstairs halls and guest rooms, announced by the smell of lavender.

How old is the Black Bass Hotel?

The inn dates from about 1745, which makes it one of the oldest inns on the Delaware River. It has also been called Wall’s Tavern, the Lumberville Hotel, the Temple Bar and the Rising Sun.

Did George Washington stay at the Black Bass Hotel?

No. According to the hotel, its Revolutionary-era innkeeper was a loyalist who made it clear Washington was not welcome, shortly before the crossing of the Delaware in December 1776.

How many rooms does the Black Bass Hotel have?

Nine suites upstairs in the original building, each with a private bathroom, several with views of the river.

How far is the Black Bass Hotel from Philadelphia?

Lumberville is about 45 miles north of Center City, around an hour and a quarter by car, and about 10 minutes north of New Hope.

Sources

Facts on this page are checked against the hotel’s own website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. 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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