Ghost of the Middleton Tavern in Annapolis, MD
Meandering the old streets of Annapolis, Maryland, you’d be forgiven for missing a detail or two in a place so saturated with rich history. A place that has pivoted as a crossroads of America’s hard-earned formation and a time capsule of the nation’s colonial past. Looking out onto City Harbor since the mid-18th century, Middletown Tavern demands closer inspection.
Originally opened as a watering hole for seafaring men, the storied establishment played host to many distinguished characters of the time, including generals, politicians, and reportedly a US President. Long after this centuries-old building has passed through an age of conflict, betrayal, and intrigue, the otherworldly happenings within the tavern walls still frighten and fascinate those unlucky enough to experience them.
WHO HAUNTS MIDDLETON TAVERN?
According to a medium who visited the tavern in the 90s, the shadowy figure taunting staff and patrons is believed to be Roland Johnstone, a mid-18th-century patron who purportedly reveled in being a nuisance to both fellow customers and the unwitting staff of the time.
Keep reading to learn more about this mysterious entity and the antics that keep visitors and staff doing double-takes. Think you have what it takes to visit some of Annapolis’s most haunted locations in person? Book a ghost tour with Annapolis Ghosts!
The House That Horatio Built
When Horatio Middleton established the tavern in 1750 as a lodging for ferrygoers, it’s hard to imagine he could have foreseen its impending future as a backdrop to the American colonial struggle. Although Annapolis was untouched by the brutal hand of the American Revolutionary War, the conflict’s glittering cast consisted of regular attendees at the waterfront watering hole.
The ferry route that funneled business into the tavern in those early years was later used by the founding fathers as they made their trips back and forth to Philadelphia. Pivotal figures such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin frequented the tavern as they went about freeing the United States from British clutches.
Even President James Monroe, who knew Horatio Middleton from his time as a Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress, is believed to have visited after his ascendancy to President after winning election in 1818. These visits are etched in time from local publications of the day and their journals, layering yet more esteem upon the Tavern’s humble beginnings.
Members of the Continental Congress were patrons, on such occasions as after ratifying the Treaty Of Paris and accepting the resignation of a weary George Washington. With Middletown Tavern having seen monumental moments through the centuries, it is hardly surprising that Roland Johnstone may have felt the need to stay beyond the call for last-orders, long after his own time had passed, even if only to perpetuate his monarchy over mischief.
As centuries have passed, the aged wood of Middletown Tavern has been a home from home and a place of comfort for countless travelers and locals alike. However, one such spectral figure has quite the bill to settle. Having trodden the floors and residing within the tavern since the age of lamplight, he carried relentless mischief and an unnerving ability to terrify staff.
Hauntings at Middleton Tavern
Bartenders and waitresses have spoken of glasses and crockery projecting themselves across the room and smashing on the floor, with faucets mysteriously turning on and lamps flickering as if to announce Johnstone’s presence. One bartender tells of feeling a hand on theirs while pouring a drink only to see the drink promptly tipped over.
This eerie presence has been known to send electronic devices, such as the cash register, haywire. Even battery-operated equipment is not immune to the spirit’s tricks. Indeed, some beleaguered staff simply refused to go onto the second floor, where Johnstone was sighted in windows, casting his spectral gaze out onto the street below.
The phantom of the tavern has also been known to steal alcohol and once revealed himself to 2019 night manager Mike Conway. Despite misgivings about all things ghostly, Conway was shocked to see Johnstone’s spectral figure slowly cross the bar room floor in full colonial dress before vanishing into the ether, leaving behind the lingering smell of a cigar.
Despite a strong consensus that the 18th-century spook plaguing staff is the ghost of Roland Johnstone, not all are quite so certain. A local tour guide, Mellisa Huston, offers another intriguing identity for the eerie figure.
In 1876, Middletown Tavern was owned by George Shmidt, who entered into an escalating argument with a local restaurateur inside the building. When the argument spilled outside, Shmidt was shot and killed, the bullet severing an artery and leaving Shmidt to quickly bleed to death in the shadow of his very own establishment.
George Shmidt, Huston believes, has presided over the Middletown Tavern all these years as the living have come and gone. While Roland Johnstone seems the favored of the two, the question of whether it is the ghost of the disgruntled gunshot victim Shmidt will likely remain part of the enduring mystery that draws so many to the scene of that long-past act of violence.
Haunted Annapolis
Jerry Hardesty, who has owned the Middletown since the late 1960s, breathed new life into the Tavern while honoring its glorious colonial history. An extensive 1983 renovation saw, amongst other elements, the addition of the oyster bar and the beautiful and heavily expanded upstairs dining room.
As it seems, time is of no concern to the spirits of the tavern; you may have an extra diner at your table should the mood strike them. As many who have crossed paths with the apparitions would attest, beware of the pranks and mishaps.
Check out our blog for more spooky stories on Annapolis’s most haunted locations, and to see some of them in person, book a ghost tour with Annapolis Ghosts!
Sources:
https://www.beveragejournalinc.com/new/easyblog/entry/middleton-tavern
https://middletontavern.com/annapolis-downtown-middleton-tavern-about