The ghoulish side of Sussex County

My last column was devoted to the unique, quirky and odd side of Sussex County. Well, there is more. I could have saved this one for Halloween, but let's strike while the iron is hot.

Haunted Sussex

Maggie's Bridge, located just outside the small village of Woodland, west of Seaford, is included on many lists of haunted places. According to the legend, the bridge is the site of a fatal crash where a pregnant woman named Maggie perished.

Believers claim that if you stand on the bridge at night and shout out, “Maggie, I have your baby,” you will soon hear the sounds of a sobbing Maggie as she searches for her baby in the marsh.

I didn't realize that a phantom soldier still stands guard behind Tower 12 at Fort Miles in Cape Henlopen State Park. The area has been the home to military barracks and stations since before World War II up the Cold War years, so you would imagine that a ghost or two are wandering the grounds. This particular ghost has reportedly been spotted in photographs and video clips.

The towers in Cape park have a fascinating history. Built between 1939 and 1942 to help Fort Miles gun crews pinpoint their targets, they were supposed to last about 20 years. Eleven of the 13 original concrete towers still exist along Sussex County's beaches.

Evidently, three of the 12 rooms at the Addy Sea Historic Oceanside Inn in Bethany Beach are haunted. Built in 1902, the Victorian home is a beach landmark. Guests have reported hearing organ music, seen a shaking bathtub and seen a ghost running through the halls at night. Others have reported hearing footsteps on the roof.

If you dig into the historic records of Lewes, there are many references to hauntings at the Cannonball House, owned by Lewes Historical Society. Built around 1765, it's now a museum of Lewes' nautical history. It's also the site of the cannonball lodged in the foundation reportedly fired by a British warship during the bombardment of Lewes in 1813.

Apparently, the museum is haunted by the ghost of Susan Rowland, daughter of one of the bay and river pilots who lived there, who tragically perished when her skirts caught fire. Reports of tools being moved, a door that refuses to stay shut and a missing key that mysteriously reappears are noted. At least one close encounter was recounted by a man doing work at the site.

Two other sites in the county could be haunted. Over the years, I have taken part in paranormal investigations at the Lewes ferry terminal and the former Brick Hotel on The Circle in Georgetown. After hours – and hours – of sitting around watching investigators use their Ghostbusters-like equipment, I didn’t see or hear anything. However, others did. After five hours, I think your imagination takes over because you want to have an encounter so badly.

Thanks to Haunted Rooms America for some of information on haunted sites in the county.

A Sussex serial killer

Sticking with the ghoulish theme, Sussex County is home to one of the nation’s first serial killers. Patty Cannon, leader of the infamous Cannon-Johnson Gang in western Sussex, became a notorious slave trader who wasn’t above killing and torturing free Blacks or shipping them off to slavery in the South. She eventually confessed to nearly two dozen murders. She mysteriously died in a Georgetown jail cell in 1829, the same year four buried bodies – including three children – were found buried at a farm she owned.

She lived in Sussex County but operated Johnson’s Tavern, which was on the state line between Sussex County and Caroline and Dorchester counties in Maryland at a crossroads now known as Reliance, west of Seaford.

Is there a Feb. 30?

A walk through St. Peter's Episcopal Church cemetery in Lewes is like taking steps through history, and some of it's a little odd.

For example, no one knows exactly why Elizabeth Cullen's gravestone has her date of birth as Feb. 30, 1760, a date that does not exist. The church on Second Street provides a detailed map of its cemetery, which has what most believe is the oldest gravestone in the state, dating back to 1707.

Lewes probably has the potential to be the most haunted city in Delaware. It's the first city, founded in 1631, with loads of old buildings and lots of spooky stories to go along with them. Lewes Historical Society hosts Haunted Stories: Paranormal Tours every year, which are probably the only such tours in the state. This year they take place at 8 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 1, and Thursday, Nov. 3. Go to historiclewes.org for more information.

Sussex trivia

Firemen’s carnivals are a big deal on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia. Chincoteague, Va., and Sharptown, Md., are among the most popular. Here’s the question: Georgetown has the Oyster Eat, Lewes the Shrimp Feast and Greenwood sells barbecue chicken to raise funds, but have any of them – or another organization – ever had a carnival? 

Send responses to ronm@capegazette.com.

The link to Haunted Rooms America is: https://www.hauntedrooms.com/delaware/haunted-places