A Ghost I Met at Sands House, Annapolis,Md.

The Sands House, Annapolis, Md.

During a recent historic Annapolis Ghost Walk in Maryland I got to visit the historic Sands House for the first time ever! It's a 300 year old house that was opened to the public for the first time, and we didn't expect to run into a ghost, but I got his name and more! 

"A Special Historic Haunting tour of Annapolis" was put on by Watermark and Historic Annapolis. It included a rare tour of the historic Sands House.

Room lit by candles where James Allen was

WHAT IS THE SANDS HOUSE? - It was a private residence for three centuries and is considered the oldest frame house in Annapolis. It is located at 130 Prince Georges Street and was built around 1700. It was named for John Sands who bought the house in 1771 and seven generations of his family lived there. 

OLDER FINDS BENEATH THE HOUSE - During a 1988 renovation, archaeologists who were working beneath the house found evidence of an older house from the 1600s! A number of Colonial artifacts were found including pipe stems, pins, a flintlock, coin, toothbrush and thimbles.  Even further were marks of a structure by Native Americans about 1,600 years ago!  Native American pottery was also found under the house.  

THE GHOST REVEALS HIMSELF TO ROB!  Once we entered the Sands house, we turned and entered the first room on right. It was dimly lit with only a dozen or so candles. As we walked in, I looked to the back of the room and I saw a dark horizontal long box about 6 feet long. I wondered if that was a table or some weird piece of furniture.  Once everyone got into the room I looked again, and there was nothing there! The long black box had disappeared and there was nothing but a solid wall.  It was then that the guide said "This is the room the family would bring in coffins and have viewings." I thought "Oh my gosh!  I was sensing residual energy from wakes that happened in this room!" 

left-hand room where Rob felt pain.

  Immediately after I realized that, I heard the voice of a male ghost shout "I am James Allen!" I felt nervousness and anxiety in that room. I realized that James Allen, whomever he is, was making me feel those emotions. I assume that "Allen" is either his surname or his middle name and he was part of the Sands family. I didn't get any more information, because the tour guide took us into the adjoining room. 

GHOSTLY PAIN -  In that next room, I was walloped with physical pain from a ghost. I'm unsure if it was from James Allen or someone else that was haunting the Sands House. As soon as I walked over the threshold of that room to the left of the front door, I experienced severe pain in my right shoulder, so intense that it actually made me bend over toward the right (the pain was in the right shoulder). Apparently, a ghost was sharing the pain he experienced before he died.  I was unable to get information from the ghost because, once again, we were ushered out of the room (it was a quick 6 minute tour). 
*********************************
For more of my adventures in haunted places in Annapolis and around the U.S., check out 
my books "Ghosts and Spirits" and "Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead" by Rob Gutro, available on Amazon.com