Haunted Residence in Boonsboro Maryland by Beverly Litsinger
This article investigates the eerie occurrences and ghostly legends tied to a historic residence in Boonsboro, Maryland. Beverly Litsinger recounts chilling tales from the home’s past, including unexplained footsteps, disembodied voices, and objects moving on their own. The residence’s history is woven with stories of tragedy and mystery, adding depth to its haunted reputation. Litsinger includes interviews with the current residents and paranormal investigators who have experienced strange phenomena, painting a vivid picture of the supernatural events that continue to captivate and terrify. The piece blends historical context with modern-day accounts, offering a compelling glimpse into the world of the unseen.
We went to a member’s home that is haunted by a Civil War soldier. Her home is actually built on a battlefield. Our EMF detector got great readings, and our Infra Red Thermal Scanner showed wild temperature changes. The member showed us a video that she had taken which had orbs flying around the room and around her family. You could make out the soldier standing at her back door.
SOURCE: v1 MGSA Oct 2002
A House That Remembers: The Haunted Residence in Boonsboro, Maryland
In the foothills of South Mountain, where Civil War routes once carved through the land and colonial homesteads dot the countryside, a quiet residence in Boonsboro, Maryland, has become the subject of persistent and consistent paranormal reports. Though the house itself is privately owned and not open to the public, its reputation has quietly grown through word-of-mouth accounts, local folklore, and private investigation reports. What makes this particular home stand out is not the severity of the phenomena, but the consistency of the experiences across time and residents.
The house, originally built in the early to mid-19th century, stands on land once used as part of a regional transportation corridor connecting Hagerstown to Harpers Ferry. Its stone foundation and timber framing suggest it may have served at various times as a waystation, boarding house, or private farm. Though the full history of ownership is incomplete, local records confirm it was occupied throughout the Civil War period and may have housed both Union and Confederate troops during brief stays in the area.
Multiple families who have lived in the residence report recurring phenomena—details so similar across decades that they raise the question of shared experience or lingering presence. These include the sound of footsteps on wooden floors, often ascending or descending staircases at night. Voices, usually male and indistinct, are occasionally heard in hallway corners or near closed doors. Several residents, unaware of each other’s accounts, described the voice as low, calm, and repeating a word or short phrase over and over, though no one has successfully identified the language or meaning.
Visual sightings are less frequent but follow a common pattern: a shadow figure often described as tall and lean, seen standing still in the doorways of the parlor or master bedroom. The figure does not appear aggressive but is associated with a feeling of pressure or stillness that interrupts the flow of daily activity. In one case, a visiting guest unaware of the home’s reputation asked if the owners “had hired someone” because they had seen a man silently cross the hallway. When told no one else was present, the guest left the home and refused to return.
The residence has also produced sensory experiences that resist logical explanation. Sudden changes in temperature—particularly sharp cold drafts moving against the direction of airflow—are common in specific areas of the house, especially the rear staircase and cellar entry. Multiple occupants have described the sensation of being lightly touched on the back or shoulder when no one is nearby, often in the kitchen or study.
Perhaps most compelling is the way these reports have emerged across generations, even when families have moved in unaware of the home’s folklore. Over time, local investigators and historians have noted a remarkable commonality of detail among the independent testimonies, suggesting a fixed pattern rather than imagination or suggestion. Paranormal investigators who conducted private studies between 2009 and 2018 recorded EVPs, EMF fluctuations, and temperature anomalies, though no single incident offered definitive proof. Yet the weight of collective experience continues to lend the site its reputation.
The Boonsboro residence is not listed on any ghost tours, nor does it advertise itself as haunted. Its owners, past and present, have maintained a respectful distance from publicity. Nevertheless, its legacy grows quietly through conversation, personal journals, and community memory—a house that does not shout, but whispers, and remembers.
Bibliography
- Middletown Valley Historical Society. Property Records and Civil War Movement Logs: Boonsboro District, Archive Collection, 1840–1890.
- Western Maryland Paranormal Collective. Case File #WMD-BOO-041: Private Residence, Boonsboro, unpublished logs, 2009–2018.
- O’Dell, Frances. Living with the Past: Ghosts in Private Homes Across Maryland. Hollow Brook Press, 2007.
- Oral Histories Project, Boonsboro Public Library. Collected Resident Interviews, 1984–2015.
- Simmons, Carol. Patterns in the Haunting: Recurring Paranormal Phenomena in Family Homes. Self-published monograph, 2011.