Washington County holds two of Maryland's ten most haunted places

With Halloween approaching, two Washington County places rank among Maryland's ten most haunted in HauntBound's 2026 index, including Old South Mountain Inn at #2. The index ranks 87 Maryland sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.

Old South Mountain Inn ranks #2. Confederate General D.H. Hill headquartered here during the 1862 Battle of South Mountain, and Madeleine Vinton Dahlgren, widow of Union Admiral John A. Dahlgren, bought the inn in 1876. Eight separate published accounts describe activity there. Staff describe a woman in a blue velvet dress, identified as Dahlgren, pacing the upper floor, and credit her with unlocking a stuck door that let an employee catch a fire in time. The state now owns the inn and is planning its future.

Antietam National Battlefield ranks #7. The battle near Sharpsburg on September 17, 1862, between Union forces under George B. McClellan and Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee remains the bloodiest single day in American military history, with 23,100 casualties. It has more documentation than any Maryland site: 14 separate published accounts, the earliest dated to 2012. Visitors describe phantom gunfire, gunpowder smell, and uniformed figures that vanish when approached. Antietam is also Maryland's most famous haunted site.

Statewide, Druid Ridge Cemetery in Pikesville ranks #1.

"We rank by evidence, not legend: independent published accounts, documented history, and how far back the reports go. We don't claim ghosts are real, or that they aren't. We document where the reports concentrate, and we show our work," said Ben Fineman, editor of HauntBound. The ranking shows each site's documented record.

Visiting:Old South Mountain Inn, 6132 Old National Pike, Boonsboro, is state-owned and managed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, which is planning its future.Antietam National Battlefield, 5831 Dunker Church Rd., Sharpsburg, is open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round, including October; admission is $10 per person or $20 per vehicle.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/maryland/The fact sheet, with cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/maryland/Photo: Old South Mountain Inn, on the fact sheet.Venue contact: nps.gov (Antietam National Battlefield)A short version follows.

HauntBound (hauntbound.com) is a family-friendly field guide to more than 6,000 documented haunted and historic places across the United States, ranked by published evidence rather than legend. No venue pays to be listed or ranked.

Media contact: Ben Fineman, Editor, HauntBound, editor@hauntbound.com

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