baltimore: the city that won't stay buried (a ghost hunter's diary)
so i landed in baltimore with my EMF meter and a bad attitude about the rain. the weather here is a chilly 9.99°C but feels like 7.52, which means my fingers are already numb and the humidity is 75% so it's like the air is a damp blanket. i swear my equipment acts up in this stuff - the K-II spikes whenever a siren wails, but that's just the city's mood.
i checked the map to get my bearings. here's where i'm starting:
the drizzle started just as i reached fell's point, and let me tell you, cobblestones + mist = perfect ghost hunting condition (or so i tell myself). i ran into a local at the weekly market who whispered, "don't go to the old eastern bank after dark. they say the accountant still counts his gold, and he doesn't like intruders." i filed that away for later. someone on the baltimore city paper forum wrote a whole piece about that building - check it out if you're into local horror Baltimore City Paper.
i've got a list of spots that keep popping up in whispered conversations. first up: the clairvoyant's corner, a tiny shop on historic society lane. the owner, ms. delaney, once told me her crystal ball shows "the weeping lady" in the back room. i brought my recorder and caught a faint "help me" that might've been the wind, but the cat that lives there hissed at nothing, so... points for the spooks. (by the way, if you're looking for a tour that won't break the bank, i found this one on tripadvisor that gets decent reviews: TripAdvisor Ghost Tour)
next, the inner harbor at dusk is gorgeous, even if it's a bit touristy. but there's a legend about a drowned sailor who still rings the bell on the old sailboat. i took some shots (the one below is from the water's edge).
that photo is from the harbor area. i swear i saw a figure in a raincoat standing on the pier, but when i blinked, it was gone. could've been a reflection. or not.
a bartender at the 7 pennies pub (great crab dip, by the way) told me over a pint that the ghost of a civil war soldier shows up every march, marching an invisible drum. he said the reviews on yelp are full of people saying they felt a cold spot near the jukebox. you can read some of those eerie experiences here: Yelp - 7 Pennies Pub. i'm definitely going back after midnight to set up my camera.
now, about the neighbors: if baltimore's spirits get too friendly, washington dc is just a 40-minute drive up the road, and they've got their own haunted history (think lincoln's ghost). philadelphia is an hour away if you want to add a liberty bell haunting to your itinerary. i've done both in one weekend before - it's like a ghostly road trip.
the humidity here is no joke. 75% means everything feels clammy, including my notes. i'm writing this on a napkin because my notebook got damp. the pressure is 1018 mb, steady, which might explain why the ghosts are so active? i read somewhere that spirits manipulate electromagnetic fields, so maybe the stable pressure gives them a clearer path. or i'm just sleep-deprived from staying up watching the horizon for orbs. (someone on a ghost hunter forum posted about pressure influencing phenomena - i'll link it if i can find it again.)
i also got a tip from a cab driver: "if you're looking for the real creepy stuff, head to the abandoned mental asylum on route 40." i'm skeptical, but the asylum has been featured on a few local blogs, like ghosts of baltimore, which you should check out: Ghosts of Baltimore. they have a whole dossier on the place. i went there at noon just to scope it out, and even in daylight the building gave me the willies.
anyway, i'm about to head out for a late-night session at the old bank. i'll update tomorrow, if i survive the accountant's wrath. until then, keep your EMF meters high and your wits about you.
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