The Inn at Cape May

This five-story Victorian inn has been at the corner of Beach and Ocean Street since 1894. The lobby still has the chandeliers, the fireplace, and the general feeling that not much has changed.

Two children drowned. Their nanny killed herself. All three of them stayed.

That is the origin story of the Inn of Cape May, one of New Jersey's most enduring Victorian landmarks. The white clapboard facade and twin hexagonal towers have overlooked the Atlantic since 1894, when contractor-brothers William H. and Charles S. Church of West Cape May built the four-story Second Empire-style hotel they called the Colonial Hotel. It featured a French mansard roof, gas lighting, an electric bell system, and steam heat -- modern enough to operate year-round. A south wing expansion in 1905 increased capacity to 135 guests, and in the 1960s or 70s, a fifth floor was added when the property was renamed the Inn of Cape May. Today, it houses New Jersey's oldest working elevator: a 1900 Otis "birdcage" lift with ornate filigree metalwork, a recessed crystal dome light, and vintage photographs, still operated by staff summoned via rotary phone.

The tragedy behind the haunting dates to the inn's earliest years. While their parents attended a hotel party one evening, two vacationing children slipped away from their nanny and drowned in the ocean. The caretaker, overwhelmed by guilt and grief, took her own life. These three spirits have remained at the inn ever since, their presence felt most strongly on the upper floors.

The most active ghosts are the two children -- a young boy and a girl who has identified herself as "Annie" during paranormal encounters. Rooms 88 and 92 are considered their primary haunts, though the mischievous pair roams throughout the building. Guests have awakened to the sound of children running up and down hallways late at night, calling each other's names and bouncing balls. They knock on doors at all hours, giggling and playing. When startled guests have complained to the front desk about noisy children in the hallway, they are told there are no children registered at the hotel. The spirits seem to have good manners, rarely intruding on guests' privacy but making their presence known through lights flickering in empty rooms, sudden drops in temperature, and the distinct sensation of being watched by something friendly but unseen.

The "Lady in Blue" is the inn's most visually striking ghost -- the nanny who died after the children. She has been spotted gazing mournfully from an upper-floor window facing the ocean, forever watching over the water where her charges perished. Staff describe seeing a woman in a luminous blue dress walking the hallways. She still "checks on the rooms" as she did in life. Some accounts identify her as a former housekeeper who continues her duties in death.

A fourth spirit, known as "Captain Jack," haunts the kitchen and service areas. One staff member reported walking into the kitchen late at night and feeling her sweater physically plucked from her shoulders by an invisible hand. Others have witnessed cups spontaneously flying off shelves and heard footsteps when the building should be empty.

Psychic medium and author Craig McManus, who has written multiple books in his "Ghosts of Cape May" series and leads popular ghost tours through the historic district, has conducted investigations at the inn. During one session on the fifth floor -- originally the servants' quarters, accessible only by a steep staircase -- McManus detected voices on his recording equipment and saw light spilling from under a guest room door. When he notified the front desk, staff confirmed the room was unoccupied. He went back. The room was dark and empty. One of his photographers had an even more unsettling encounter: while trying to sleep, he felt an unseen arm reach across the bed and grasp him. He spent the rest of the night in the lobby.

The inn continues to embrace its supernatural reputation. Cape May MAC hosts "Channeling Dinners" at the property, where guests enjoy a three-course meal followed by a two-hour session with Medium Craig McManus, who reads energies and channels messages from spirits. Ghost Capers' "Haunted Cape May by Lantern Light" walking tour regularly stops outside the iconic white building to share its eerie history. The New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office has identified the Inn of Cape May as one of the last remaining large-scale timber-framed resort hotels of its era -- most similar structures fell victim to fire or disaster. Perhaps it is fitting that in a building that has cheated destruction for over 130 years, the spirits of those who loved it most have found a way to remain.