The Druid Ridge Cemetery

Posted: 04.08.2025 | Updated: 04.10.2025

The Druid Ridge Cemetery was once the home of one of the most cursed objects in all of Baltimore. The tale went that if someone laid eyes upon the cursed statue, they would have disasters of all kinds befall them. The hauntingly beautiful statue had an equally chilling name that would produce goosebumps in any child or teen who heard it: Black Aggie. 

While Black Aggie has since moved a few miles down the road, the tales of strange things occurring in Druid Ridge Cemetery remain. Many Baltimore residents refuse to go to the cemetery to this day because the story is so deeply ingrained in them. 

If you find yourself in Maryland and want to see other haunted sites around Baltimore after your Druid Ridge experience, book a ghost tour with Baltimore Ghosts. We’ll explain all the best legends and lore the city has to offer and bring you to some of the most haunted places so you can see them for yourself. 

Is the Druid Ridge Cemetery Haunted?

If you ask any born-and-bred Baltimorean if Druid Ridge Cemetery is haunted, you’ll get a resounding yes. Then, they’ll likely go into their own experience or a story of a friend who had their experience with the statue before it was moved. 

Yet, not all otherworldly experiences happened at the cemetery. The myth of Black Aggie went so deep that kids were trying to summon her at home in their mirrors, much like how other American kids grew up trying to conjure Bloody Mary. 

Black Aggie really is Baltimore’s very own Bloody Mary, and it turns out she was created for a woman who died in her own tragic way. 

Marion “Clover” Adams: The Inspiration for the Statue

Before we get to the cursed statue in Druid Ridge Cemetery, we have to understand why such a statue was commissioned in the first place. 

This goes back to Marion “Clover” Adams, who was married to Henry Adams, the great-grandson of President John Adams and the grandson of President John Quincy Adams. The Adams’ were at the top of the social ladder in Washington, D.C., and were known for the parties they’d throw at their home at Lafayette Square, just across from the White House. Marion was also one of the first portrait photographers in the D.C. area. 

In 1885, Marion was despondent over the death of her father. While her husband tried to console her, Marion’s depression was too severe. One night, she drank the chemicals she used to develop her photographs and died from the poisonous substances. 

Henry was now heartbroken, and he decided to commission the most beautiful monument he could in honor of his beloved wife. He hired world-famous sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to create a statue to sit at his wife’s grave.

The statue Saint-Gaudens created wasn’t necessarily an image of Marion herself, but a symbol of the immense grief Henry was feeling. The final form, called “Grief,” portrays a beautiful woman in a long dress, her arm pushing away a hood from her face. 

The statue gains notoriety

The statue was a huge success, proving to be incredibly lifelike. In fact, it was a little too good, as people began flocking to Marion’s grave at Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C., to see the work of art. Henry obviously didn’t want people gawking at his wife’s gravesite, so he had shrubs and trees planted to try and block the statue from the public. 

Sculptors and art lovers began asking Henry if they could copy the design of the statue, but he refused. However, one artist, Eduard L.A. Pausch, quietly copied the design without Adam’s knowledge. This copy would eventually become known as Black Aggie. 

How Did Black Aggie Get to Baltimore?

Enter Baltimore resident Felix Agnus. Originally from France, the veteran/world traveler/silver craftsman/publisher wanted to make his plot at the Druid Ridge Cemetery really stand out. So, he purchased Pausch’s illegal copy of the “Grief” statue. 

Did Agnus know of the original “Grief” statue? Most likely, as the statue’s fame likely reached Baltimore from D.C. However, when the original sculptor’s wife came after Agnus, he feigned ignorance and was ultimately allowed to keep the sculpture. Over the next several years, Agnus and his wife Annie passed away and were buried at their plot, next to the statue. 

Around the time of the Agnus’ deaths, a rumor started spreading around Baltimore. People were saying that the statue had changed and taken on a demonic form. Only the bravest would face the statue — which, of course, meant everyone began flocking to see the statue, especially at night. 

The Black Aggie Lore Builds

There are several consequences of going to see Black Aggie, which the statue began being called — a nod to the Agnus family she guarded over. 

If you looked into her eyes after dark, they would start to glow red, and you would go blind. Or, if a pregnant woman got too close to Black Aggie, she’d have a miscarriage. If you were brave (or stupid) enough to sit in her lap at midnight, you’d die within two weeks. 

Trying these things became a rite of passage for many Baltimore teens and kids from the late 1920s to the mid-1960s. The lore even expanded beyond the haunted cemetery plot, with people saying that if you said “Black Aggie” in a mirror three times, she’d appear and scratch your face. 

This could have continued indefinitely if not for the Agnus family becoming uncomfortable with the attention their dead relatives were drawing. To allow their departed souls some peace, the Agnus’ family members decided to donate Black Aggie to the Smithsonian Institute in 1967.

The Current Resting Place of Black Aggie

Many were heartbroken when Black Aggie was removed from Druid Ridge Cemetery. She had become an iconic part of Baltimore’s history and culture, and young people wouldn’t get the opportunity to test their guts anymore against the damned statue. 

So, what happened to it after it was donated? Well, since this was technically a copy and not an original piece of art, it sat in storage for many years. (We have to imagine it was similar to the warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark.)

At some point, it was quietly pulled out of storage and placed in a courtyard in Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., the very spot where Marion Adams once lived. 

Haunted Baltimore

While some Baltimoreans believe Black Aggie took her dark magic with her to Washington, others are convinced that the Druid Ridge Cemetery in Pikesville still has otherworldly connections. This is only one of many places around Baltimore that has a reputation for being haunted. 

From former brothels to taverns that skirted Prohibition laws, several sites in Baltimore are known for resident ghosts who poke fun at their living counterparts — and others who seem to have a grimmer motive. To learn about these ghosts and see the locations for yourself, book a ghost tour with Baltimore Ghosts tonight. 

If you want to learn about other spooky statues and generational lore from other cities around the U.S., follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. For more articles about Baltimore haunted sites, be sure to check out our blog. 

Sources:

• https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/culture/things-to-do/black-aggie-statue-baltimore-urban-legend-OCEMDEG5KVEONAAL6HCYZCJYMA/
• https://tourbaltimoreghosts.com/
• https://www.dyingtotelltheirstories.com/home/2017/11/9/black-aggie-the-urban-legend-of-druid-ridge-cemetery
• https://www.dyingtotelltheirstories.com/druid-ridge-cemetery