Westminster Hall and Burying Ground

Westminster Hall Burying Ground dates to 1797 and holds the grave of Edgar Allan Poe, who was buried here after his mysterious death in 1849. The catacombs beneath the church contain tombs going back two full centuries.

Opened in 1786 by Baltimore's First Presbyterian Church, Westminster Burying Ground is one of America's most haunted cemeteries. In 1852, Westminster Presbyterian Church was constructed on brick piers directly over the graves, creating the eerie "Baltimore Catacombs" where visitors walk inches from sealed tombs on dirt floors. The cemetery holds nearly 300 Revolutionary War and War of 1812 veterans, including fifteen generals, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Edgar Allan Poe's ghost is the most frequently reported spirit here. The master of macabre died under mysterious circumstances on October 7, 1849, at age 40. Found "in great distress" at a Baltimore tavern on October 3rd, Poe was delirious and wearing clothes that weren't his own. He was taken to Washington College Hospital where he drifted in and out of consciousness, repeatedly crying out "Reynolds!" before dying. His medical records and death certificate were officially declared lost. Theories range from cooping (election fraud kidnapping), to rabies, to murder by his fiancee's brothers, to a brain tumor.

Originally buried in an unmarked grave near his grandfather Colonel David Poe, a marble headstone paid for by cousin Neilson Poe was destroyed when a train derailed through the stonecutter's yard. In 1875, Baltimore schoolchildren raised money through a "Pennies for Poe" campaign, and Poe was reburied at the cemetery's front entrance with a new monument. Walt Whitman attended the dedication ceremony. The monument's birth date is incorrect.

Poe's spirit appears in period dress with dark matted hair and a sorrowful expression, seen standing by his grave and inside the Presbyterian Church. Witnesses describe him gazing longingly at visitors, as if still searching for something unknown even in death. His ghost has also been spotted at the altar and drifting through the underground catacombs.

The legendary "Poe Toaster" added to the mystique for decades. Beginning as early as the 1930s, a black-clad figure with a silver-tipped cane and face obscured by a scarf would enter the cemetery in the early hours of January 19th (Poe's birthday). At Poe's original grave marker, he would pour Martell cognac, raise a toast, then arrange three red roses in a distinctive pattern before vanishing. The roses represented Poe, his wife Virginia, and his mother-in-law Maria Clemm, all buried together. Notes left included "Edgar, I haven't forgotten you." In 1993, a cryptic message stated "The torch will be passed," and in 1999 another announced the original Toaster had died. After three consecutive no-shows (2010-2012), the Maryland Historical Society held auditions in 2016 for "Baltimore's Next Poe Toaster," reviving the tradition with a new anonymous figure who now plays Danse Macabre on violin before the tribute.

Lucia Watson Taylor, who died in 1816 at just sixteen years old, is among the most frequently spotted spirits. Witnesses describe a young woman with long dark hair in a flowing white gown, seen kneeling in prayer at her own grave before fading completely away. Ghost hunters report she actively tries to scare visitors away from the grounds.

The "Screaming Skull of Cambridge" is one of the cemetery's more terrifying legends. According to oral tradition, the skull belonged to a minister who was brutally murdered. Details remain sparse, but terrible shrieking comes from the burial area, and some claim cement was poured into the skull before burial.

A nameless white-haired elderly man, believed to be a 19th-century groundskeeper, patrols between rows of graves as if searching for a particular headstone. Visitors who disrespect the grounds or speak too loudly report being sworn at and chased by his shovel-wielding ghost.

Perhaps most disturbing are reports of a woman "as crazy as a loon" who was allegedly buried in her straightjacket to keep her bound after death. Her crazed laughter echoes through the catacombs, and her presence has been known to follow visitors around the graveyard.

Featured on "Sightings -- The Ghost Report," "Creepy Canada," and "Scariest Places on Earth," Westminster Hall has earned its reputation through countless documented encounters. Investigators have captured credible EVPs and photographs showing shadowy figures and orbs. Visitors report voices from nowhere, phantom footsteps approaching from empty space, horrific screams ripping through the night, icy hands gripping their shoulders, foul stenches with no source, and sharp temperature drops throughout the grounds. Named Maryland's most haunted cemetery in a national poll, Westminster Hall remains a fixture on Baltimore ghost tours and a pilgrimage site for fans of horror literature.