Spend Your Weekend Bumping Into Ghosts in Frederick

Photo Credit: Visit Frederick

The buildings, homes and streets of Frederick are so rich in history you might wonder what stories they would tell if they could talk. This season, you won’t have to. Check out this haunted city’s ghost and cemetery tours—from a candlelit ghost tour, Historic Mount Olivet Cemetery tour and more—to get your fix of that scared-in-a-good-way Halloween fun.

On one of Frederick’s group-friendly ghost tours, you’ll learn about spirits and stories based on historical accounts and documented incidents of paranormal activity. Gulp. Take Barbara Fritchie, a woman who still guards her home, refusing to let Confederate soldiers invade her house. That may sound a little odd since the Civil War ended almost a century and a half ago. However, Ms. Fritchie’s life ended 155 years ago, too. In another residence on the tour, a real, living family uses doors and hallways to walk through the home while their ghostly counterparts opt for walking right through the walls.

There are many other mysteries surrounding this Maryland town. Frederick has definitely seen some strange things, and perhaps you will, too. However, for those of you that prefer the rested souls over the restless, you can also visit the graves of many historic American figures laid to rest in Mount Olivet Cemetery. Francis Scott Key and his extended family, Civil War heroes, and Maryland’s first governor, Thomas Johnson have all been laid to rest here. On the 90 minute tour, you’ll hear about the lives of the graveyard’s inhabitants and learn little-known facts about the origin of the cemetery, as well as stories of past (and present) grave robbers.

If you’re looking for something a little less spooky, give one of Frederick’s Civil War walking tours a try. Learn what it was like to live in the town during the war, listen to stories about the last Confederate Invasion of the North and the ransom of Frederick and the Battle of Monocacy. Frederick has a past that’s sure to interest history—and haunting—buffs alike.

Frederick is the perfect place for an educational family outing, a spooky date night or an otherworldly get-together with friends. No matter what you’re looking for this Halloween season, Frederick is sure to have something that will be fascinating, frightening or both. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

For more information on tours and events in Frederick, head to VisitFrederick.org.