Another creepy story coming from Cape Henlopen. The piercing screams of a phantom disturbs the usually peaceful, Cape Henlopen. The screams belong to a sea Witch. This apparition is the guardian of the sunken ship, deBraak. The deBraak sank off the Delaware Coast in May 25th, 1798. It’s said to have millions of dollars worth of treasure.

 

The witch patrols the shore at night. She summons violent storms to drive away anyone who approaches the sunken ship and its treasure. Sailors and others have tried to expel the witch. The attempt was unsuccessful- they burned the witch at the stake and it just made the Sea Witch angrier. Major storms and hurricanes followed this failed assassination, which made people give up the search for the deBraack  and its treasure.

This urban legends seems to be more realistic than others. The only reason major storms and hurricanes can occur is an angry ghost, not global warming or anything. All I can say is that the real treasure of the deBraack is friendship. Little did those sailors know that what they were searching for was inside them all along.

 

Source:

Haunted Delaware: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the First State By Patricia A. Martinelli

https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/delaware/2016/10/18/legend-sea-witch/92356226/,

A light house is supposed to represent a beacon that guides lost ships home. Lighthouses are usually present along a coast. Cape Henlopen State Park seems to be the perfect candidate for a lighthouse because of its proximity to the sea.

 

Thus a light flashing from the Cape Henlopen State Park night not seem unusual. However, there was no lighthouse built in the park. Cape Henlopen is home to the Corpse Light. The Corpse Light is a phantom light that lures unsuspecting sailors to their death. The Corpse Light was first spotted 250 years ago. It’s said to be conjured by Britain soldiers who invaded a Native American marriage ceremony. The curse called for the destruction of all European Ships that enter the American shores.

The Corpse Light was supposedly responsible for the sinking of the Devonshireman on December 25, 1655. The ship followed the beaming light of the nonexistent lighthouse to the rocky shore of Cape Henlopen. The ship crashed and killed more than 200 people. People say that the ghost ship reenacts the crash periodically.

The Corpse Light is a symbol of false comfort. It kills under the guise of safety, which makes this one the most haunted places in Delaware.

Sources:

Haunted Delaware: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the First State by Patricia A. Martinelli

https://www.ranker.com/list/creepy-delaware-stories-legends/isadora-teich

The Addy Sea is located on Bethany Beach. It’s a Victorian Style bed and breakfast. it was built in 1902 and was named after John M. Addy. Addy’s family rented out the rooms for Church groups during the Great Depression. Since then, the owners of the Addy Sea changed.

The Addy Sea

https://www.hauntedrooms.com/4-haunted-hotels-in-delaware

It has 13 rooms, 3 of which are believed to be haunted. Rooms 1,6, and 11 are believed to be the most haunted. In Room 1, there is a haunted bathroom. The bathtub in Room 1 is said to shake violently, sometimes when guests are in the tub. In Rom 6, people are awakened to the sound of an organ despite the lack of an organ on the property. Finally, Room 11 is haunted by Paul Delaney, a former employee.

In the hallways and on the roof of the Addy Sea, the footsteps of the ghost of Kurty Addy can be heard. Kurty Addy fell to his death from the roof of the Addy Sea. In addition to hearing footsteps, guests also recall the smell of perfume filling the air and the mysterious sound of music floating around the hallways.

The Addy Sea seems haunted. Including the testimonies from guests, the long history of the Addy Sea prove that the hotel is haunted.

I rate this 3 spooky seashells out of 5

 

sources:

https://www.hauntedrooms.com/product/the-addy-sea-bethany-beach-delaware

https://www.hauntedhotels.com/product/the-addy-sea-bethany-beach-delaware

https://addysea.com

A fire station is the last thing one would hope to be haunted. A building that is necessary in our everyday fight with destructive fires is allegedly overrun by ghosts. The Christiana Fire Company Station 12 is in Christiana, Delaware (the next city over).

The Christiana Fire Company Station 12

https://www.hauntedrooms.com/8-haunted-places-delaware

This fire station is said to be haunted by the Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde of ghosts. There are two ghosts: a kind one and an evil one. The evil spirit is said to appear in the doorway of the engineer’s room as a dark, shadowy figure. This one seems to appear much more frequently than the other, kinder ghost. The good ghost and the evil ghost are always fighting each other, like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

This 13 year old met with some firemen from the Christiana Fire Company Station 12 and confirmed that the fireman have seen the ghost too.

“Also the Christiana Fire Company invited me over for hamburgers and hot dogs off the grill. They showed me around their station and I even learned that it is haunted! Maybe not, but it’s a cool story and it has been around for a long time. I am sure the walls could tell many stories.”- Braedan

Deer Park Tavern has a long and complicated history which explains why it is haunted.

The rustic Deer Park Tavern

Photo by Mathieu Plourde

Before it was Deer Park Tavern, it was a brothel, seminary, and then the hotel, St. Patrick’s Inn. Edgar Allen Poe was reported to stay at this Inn and write his story, “Raven” there. Apparently, after slipping in some mud on the grounds of the Inn, Edgar Allen Poe cursed the Inn. In addition to that, the St. Patrick Inn burned down and the Deer Park Tavern was built on its remains. Deer Park Tavern a part of Main Street and is now a restaurant.

College students from the University of Delaware reported paranormal activity. Unexplained events occur all the time, such as strange noises, doors opening and closing by themselves, and bar stools flying across the room.  There is an overall creepy sensation reported by some patrons at the bar.

I find this haunting to be less believable than the other ones because the encounters are mostly of college students, whom aren’t always the most reliable. But the fact that Deer Park Tavern has such a rich and sometimes dark past, it is applicable to believe that there is something off about this bar.

sources:

https://www.delawarehauntedhouses.com/real-haunt/deer-park-tavern.html

http://www.theshadowlands.net/places/delaware.htm

The Bellevue Hall Mansion is located in Wilmington, Delaware. The mansion was inhabited by the DuPont family. The Duponts were an American dynasty and titans in the gunpowder industry. This very powerful family bought the Bellevue Hall Mansion and renovated it. There are now tennis courts and a top-notch stable.

The Bellevue Hall Mansion

https://www.inwilmingtonde.com/places/bellevue-state-park

In 1976, the mansion became a Delaware State Park. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you like spooky stuff), there are many ghosts that call this mansion home. These ghosts are unknown due to bad record keeping of the DuPonts. The second and third floors of the building are closed to the public due to mysterious occurrences. The ghosts have been known to mess around with the electricity, move chairs around. They communicate in the form of disembodied screams and laughter.

Overall, the haunting of the Bellevue Hall Mansion seems to be very real because of the creepy history of the DuPont family. There have been many rumors that the DuPonts are part of the illuminati or follow some satanic rituals. Maybe the ghost of the Bellevue Hall Mansion are just the effect of the DuPonts beliefs.

 

sources:

https://ghost.hauntedhouses.com/delaware_wilmington_bellevue_hall_mansion#

http://www.theshadowlands.net/places/delaware.htm

If you want to sneeze after that name, DO NOT DO IT.

Samuel Chew was a normal guy with normal job but with a weird name. He was the Chief Justice in Delaware in the 1700s. He was tormented on the daily for his name. As he walked, some would mimic a sneeze or pretend to chew on something. Apparently, people in the 1700s were ruthless in their roasting strategies because as soon Mr. Chew died, he started haunting the place.

Farmer David Hendricks was the first to see the apparition of Mr. Chew. He alerted his wife and children. Eventually, the news spread all around Dover and more sightings of Mr. Chew were reported. Mr. Chew was dressed in a judge’s robe and a white powdered wig. It was reported that the ghost would pull on male’s tail coats and send shivers up women’s spines. He was relentless in his haunting and targeted anyone who dared come near him.

Out of fright, people closed up shops and stayed indoors. Children were not allowed to play outside anymore. No one socialized after dark. Things got so bad for the people of Dover that a town meeting was held on how to deal with the ghost. They decided that the way to rid of Chew was to hold a funeral.

The people of Dover held a funeral for a ghost- the spirit of a dead person. The citizens of Dover buried an empty casket under the tree where he was sighted the most. Occasionally, Mr. Chew haunts any person who makes fun of his name, but other that than the funeral worked in suppressing the ghost.

I rate this 5 powdered wigs out of 5.

Resources:

https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/creepiest-urban-legend-in-every-state-american-folklore#

Historic Haunted America by Beth Scott (book)

cred:https://www.delawarehauntedhouses.com/real-haunt/coochs-bridge.html

Old Cooch’s Bridge. I know this small white bridge as the one everyone is scared to go the speed limit on. Literally, its not even that small for you to break and go 20 mph on. And what’s up with all those people having to turn onto that small road.

Anyway, Old Cooch’s Bridge was where the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge took place in on September 3, 1777. The only battle of the Revolutionary War on Delaware soil. This incredibly small and next to irrelevant bridge has an immense paranormal history.

Here’s a little history lecture on the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge. The battle was going horribly; the Britain forces were overpowering the colonial forces. The Americans retreated back to Cooch’s Bridge and began fighting back with all their American might. Eventually, they ran out of ammo and Britain took control of the bridge.

The interesting part of this story is what happened during the battle. One of the British soldiers was decapitated by the Americans. Among the 30 casualties, the headless british one decided to stick around. There were many reports of a headless solider roaming Cooch’s Bridge on moonless, foggy nights.

cred:https://www.delawarehauntedhouses.com/real-haunt/coochs-bridge.html

Resources:

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/the-battle-of-coochs-bridge.html

http://hauntin.gs/listing/coochs-bridge/

I’ve been to Lums Pond State Park a handful of times and I assume a few of you have been too. Lums Pond in the largest freshwater pond in Delaware and it was made into a park in 1963. One can zip line, kayak, or do other park activities. Up until recently, I thought of Lums Pond State Park as a boring place to do boring things. I was wrong.

In the 1870s, a young girl ran away from her house and ended up at Lums Pond.  A man found her. A horrible, crazed, psychotic man. He assaulted and murdered her- leaving her corpse in near the now Swamp Trail. The murder was never found. It is said that screams of the young girl can be heard throughout the woods. Here’s personal account of a witness of the screams:

Then we heard heavy breathing, then a girl or woman sobbing and whispering something. We couldn’t make out most of the words except for ‘Please’, and ‘no’. Then we did hear a scream. Not really loud, more… muffled, like someone was trying to scream with their mouth covered. Then another similar scream, and then a third which cut off into complete silence halfway through. Nothing but normal sound after that.- Paul

I rate this urban legend 4 rickety bridges out of 5.

A picture of the trail were the screams are best heard. photo creds: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lums_Pond_State_Park

Credit goes to:

https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/delaware/ghost-of-lums-pond-de/

 

 

Some of us vaguely remember the field trip we took to Pea Patch Island to see Fort Delaware. The reason for the field trip is hazy to me because all I can remember is how we were eaten alive by mosquitoes in the humid weather.  We sat there watching horrible reenactments of the Civil War after an hour drive and 15 minute ferry ride.  To me, the most interesting part of the trip wasn’t the ferry we took (although that was pretty fun from what I remember); it was how creepy Fort Delaware looked.

http://www.wtv-zone.com/civilwar/delaware.html

This Pennhurst-esque fort does not only have historical value but also has supernatural value.

In 1846 , Fort Delaware was originally built to be what it was called- a fort. After an attack on Fort Mifflin during the Revolutionary War, Pennsylvania realized that they needed a fort farther away from Philadelphia which was a major city. They found the perfect haven in the middle of the Delaware River- Pea Patch Island. Fort Delaware served its purpose as a harbor defense system until the Civil War. The Fort transitioned into a prison for captured soldiers of the South.

Fort Delaware, now turned prison, held a total of 33,000 prisoners. This “prison- camp” did not have the conditions to hold and sustain a large number of people. The cells were poorly heated. The food rations were abysmal- a small piece of bread, a small chunk of beef, and if they were lucky tasteless corn soup. The malnourished prisoners succumbed to the guards maltreatment for the slight chance of food.

“Not long after my arrival I heard a cry “Rat call! Rat call!” I went out to see what this meant. A number of prisoners were moving and some running up near the partition, over which a sergeant (sic) was standing and presently he began throwing rats down. The prisoners scrambled for the rats like school boys for apples, none but some of the most needy prisoners, and the needy were the large majority, would scramble for these rats. Of course but few were lucky enough to get a rat. The rats were cleaned, put in salt water a while and fried. Their flesh was tender and not unpleasant to the taste.”-Captain John S. Swann, a prisoner in Fort Delaware during the Civil War

The horrible, unhygienic conditions of Fort Delaware killed almost 2,500 people. The maltreatment of the dead prisoners is the reason why people think Fort Delaware is haunted. There have been countless reports and pictures of ghosts roaming the fortress. Go into Fort Delaware with a camera and return with 10 ghost friends.

Who would have thought that our school would take us to one of the most haunted places in Delaware for a fun educational 2nd grade field trip?

Here’s a link to a 360 tour of Fort Delaware just so you can relive the memory and see if it was a creepy as you remember it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Uwg5_Zrn3A