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). 
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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

Rob Makes Cover Story of Bowie Life Magazine: Beyond the Grave

Back in May I was contacted by the publisher of a new magazine called "Bowie Life Magazine" to write an article about my experiences with ghost hunting and the paranormal.  The debut issue came out this week- and features the article and  includes lots of pictures.  It includes the Inspired Ghost Tracking Group and mediums Barb Mallon (www.barbmallon.com) and Ruthie Larkin (beantownmedium.com).
    - I must say that I was shocked that they put me on the cover, and used all the photos...but I'm pleased with it.  In fact, I already heard from a college student that is interested in Inspired Ghost Tracking and I emailed him back.
Here are the pages (starting with the cover) if you'd like to read it.
(You can also check out my books: "Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead" and "Ghosts and Spirits: Insights from a Medium" on Amazon.com. - Rob Gutro)

Baltimore's Mt. Vernon Ghost Tour!

On Saturday night, as a last minute idea, we decided to take the Mt. Vernon Ghost Walk in Baltimore, and it was very enjoyable!
SUMMARY: Mount Vernon, Baltimore's cultural center may be more "spirited" than you think. Admire the architecture while guides regale you with the history and haunted lore of this striking neighborhood that was home to many of Baltimore's leading citizens. Hear about those who have never checked out of the Belvedere, a séance gone wrong, and more than one grand dame who still oversees the activities of her home. Join us to pull back the curtain and peer into the other side. MORE INFO: http://www.fellspointghost.com/mtvernon.html

The Brass Elephant restaurant has closed now. It sits empty at 924 N Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21201. The building was built in the early 1800s and was a home where there was a "hidden" 4th floor where servants lived. The restaurant is known to have many ghosts.

Fireplace Dweller - This innocent looking apartment had a female ghost who dwelled inside and lingered by the fireplace. When a new tenant moved in, she was haunted by this ghost until she talked with her and convinced her to move on.

Haunting Face- This grotesque face was on one of the buildings in Mt. Vernon, next to a woman's club that had some hauntings.
ROB'S ENCOUNTERS - The ghost tour met in the "Owl Bar" of the famous Belvedere Hotel. I immediately got a headache inside. Turns out a woman haunts the bar. We learned that after the tour walked out of the bar. A couple who came out of the woman's club and who stopped to listen to part of the ghost tour guide had an older spirit of a man named "Arthur" attached to her that was watching over her (no, I didn't get to tell her). A woman in our tour group had the spirit of an elderly woman following her and kept calling her "cupcake."

A Ghostly Friday the 13th in Ellicott CIty, Maryland

A GHOSTLY FRIDAY THE 13TH IN ELLICOTT CITY, MARYLAND
The last time Friday the 13th happened in 2009, we were in Savannah, Georgia (February) and we happened to wind up on a ghost walk. That one was totally unplanned to coincide with Friday the 13th as this one was (we were supposed to go on the 12th) but it just worked out that way.

The tour is called "Ye Haunted History of Olde Ellicott City Ghost Tour." They happen Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 or 8:30p.m. ET from April through November. They're hosted by the Howard County Department of Tourism, and there are three different tours (because there are a LOT of ghosts there). For more information, call 1-800-288-8747 to make reservations (I encourage calling ahead).

When we arrived Friday night, the rain that we've had for the last 4 1/2 days finally ended but it was cold and damp. Our tour guide named Tessi was wonderful and very animated. Here are a couple of pictures and stories from the walk.

(PHOTO: Tom doing his "poser" routine while our friends were unaware and listening to the ghost guide)
















PHOTO 1 OF CAPLAN'S: A HAUNTED STORE FORMERLY KNOWN AS CAPLAN'S - This is a "before" photograph. I took 3 simultaneous photos as this store is reported to have a ghost child inside of it. Note that the sky is black, and there are no "spots" over the building.











PHOTO 2 OF CAPLAN'S: A GHOSTLY ORB OVER CAPLAN'S STORE - Notice an orb showed up over the roof of the building. I had to brighten the image using Photoshop, so the orb would be more clear. The way that you can tell an orb is in the photo is that it has different colors in it. Dust on the lens doesn't have colors in its center.




THE HAUNTING: Here's why I took multiple photos: One of the ghost tour guides inadvertently wound up taking home the child ghost in her car one night. She came to realize it when the electrical system was going crazy. One of her friends suggested after 2 days of her car's electrical system going haywire that she drive back to Caplan's and tell the ghost to get out. Apparently, the ghost-child did get out and went back to Caplan's, as the guide didn't have any more weird electrical issues afterward.


PHOTO: THE HAUNTED B&O RAILROAD MUSEUM -The B&O railroad museum is located adjacent to the Patapsco River at the foot of old Ellicott City. This building was the first passenger railroad station in the U.S.A. This is where passenger railroads started. It's a fascinating museum, and has a great history outlined, a cool working miniature railroad, and movie about the history. This building is reputed to have a friendly ghost named "Charlie" that inhabits it. I haven't encountered Charlie, however.



THE GHOSTS AT THE RIVER - The B&O Railroad Museum is built right next to the Patapsco River. On the railroad bridge the connects to the platform behind the museum/station, there's a large marker that shows where the record floods reached during various years. In 1888 flood waters from the river went about 30 feet above the river level, flooding the town and killing many. In 1972, Hurricane Agnes flooded the town again, killing more. There were about 6 markers representing floods. Our tour guide stopped and pointed out the markers, and as she did, I "heard" men, women and a few children behind me (there was no one there) telling me they died in a flood event. It was like they were standing behind me in flesh and blood.


GHOST AT "CACAO LANE RESTAURANT" - Our tour guide also stopped in front of a restaurant called "Cacao Lane." I then heard the name "Marcus, Marcus." The guide told us of a mirror being lifted up off the bar, over bottles of liquor, while a bartender and patrons looked on. The mirror was gently lowered to the floor. I believe the ghost's name that did it was "Marcus" and I informed our guide.



GHOSTLY BURIAL CARRIAGE - We proceeded down one of the alleyways, that still had a hand-laid brick "street." When we got there, I sensed a horse-drawn carriage waiting in the alley. The guide told us that one of the buildings we were standing near was a former funeral home and bodies would be loaded onto wagons in that alleyway. She said that one of the "funeral wagons" was still in the basement of one of the buildings, and there have been accounts of a man in 1800s period clothing sitting on the wagon with a deep look of sorrow in his eyes.