In honor of today being the time-honored tradition of dressing up and delighting in all things scary and a little…undead, known as Halloween, ShoreBread presents the final installment of Haunted History….
Week One—Worcester’s Historic, and Perhaps Most Haunted House
The past few weeks, we’ve traveled back in time at the Rackliffe House Plantation, an infamous property that has played witness to the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War–and various incidents of former inhabitants. The house was well known for years as Worcester County’s most haunted house. Former resident Denise Milko shared her personal experiences living at the property and what it was like to live with spirits, and current Executive Director of the Rackliffe House Trust spoke about Rackliffe House’s future—as a museum dedicated to the history of the property and the region. Rackliffe House and the property she sits upon served as the very beginnings of coastal life in Northern Worcester County. The historical significance, coupled with the otherworldly spirit stories combine to make Rackliffe House perhaps the finest example of our “Haunted History.” Watch the video and read more about the Rackliffe House in the ShoreBread article here.
Week Two—Ocean City’s Life-Saving Station Museum, Ship Wrecks and Specters
Next we visited the Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum. Situated near the pier end of the boardwalk, the museum’s downstairs features fishing and life-saving station displays. The nineteen former life-saving stations that once dotted the coasts of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia are brought back to life through the stories of those who lived and worked there. Often the job of rescuer was treacherous, performed in the worst weather conditions imaginable, and seemed to require super-human strength. Some of the shipwrecks these rescuers aided are quite famous, like the wreck of the presidential yacht, the Despatch—which has it’s own tale wrought with superstition, and perhaps even a curse. The museum itself is rumored to house both the living visitors…and the dead. Find out more in the ShoreBread article, here.
Week Three—Making Contact With the Undead at Furnace Town
For the final installment of “Haunted History,” we attempt to gain our own first-hand encounter with actual ghosts.
On a freezing cold night in October, Peninsula Ghost Hunters, assorted brave souls, and Mike Hriicik of RAD Films descended upon Furnace Town in Snow Hill, MD with one common goal—to make contact with some of the historic site’s rumored ghostly inhabitants.
Of particular interest was Sampson Harmon, born in 1790, who was free black man in the era of slavery. Sampson was rumored to be strong enough to wrestle a bear, and fast enough to chase down deer. After the furnace and the town itself was abandoned, Sampson continued to live in his small house with his black cat Tom, until he was forced out to the Alms House in Snow Hill, where he died a year later at the age of 107. His supposed final wish was to be buried at Furnace Town, a wish that was never granted. It is said that Sampson’s spirit now resides at Furnace Town—he desired final resting place, though if this is the case, he certainly isn’t “resting.”
Thank you for celebrating the rich Haunted History of the coastal region with us. Wherever the party may happen to be this evening, we hope the living and spectral guests are friendly and full of the “spirit” of Halloween. MUWAHAHAHAHA…
Happy Halloween!
Photo by Natalee DeHart.
