Westminster Hall and Burying Ground

Posted: 01.22.2025 | Updated: 10.14.2025

Located in Baltimore’s West End, Westminster Hall and Burying Grounds is one of the city’s most historic sites. The burying ground was created only a decade after the Revolutionary War and became the final resting place for some of Baltimore’s most famous residents.

As the burying grounds began to grow, so did the hauntings. Countless eyewitness accounts of full-bodied apparitions, including the author and poet Edgar Allan Poe, have led to Westminster Hall and Burying Grounds becoming known as a paranormal hotspot in Baltimore.

Ready to learn more about what makes Baltimore a must-see destination for ghost hunters? Book a ghost tour with Baltimore Ghosts today to learn all about the exciting and haunted history of Baltimore!

Is the Westminster Hall and Burying Grounds haunted?

It’s said that a variety of spirits haunt both the Burying Grounds and the adjacent Westminster Hall. These include the ghosts of Edgar Allan Poe, a young woman who still haunts her grave, a Revolutionary War hero, and a disgruntled groundskeeper who is still on the job. There’s also a phantom screaming that rips through the cemetery at night, terrifying those who explore the burying grounds and church. 

History of Westminster Hall and Burying Grounds

The First Presbyterian Church of Baltimore created the infamous Burying Grounds in 1787. In the following decades, numerous prominent figures in the American Revolution and the War of 1812 would be buried there.

In 1852, the First Presbyterian Church was built next to the cemetery. Actually, part of it was built over the cemetery, resulting in what quickly became referred to as “the catacombs” beneath the church.

For over a hundred years after the church was built, there was a rumor that it had only been built because a city ordinance required cemeteries to be connected to a church. This unfounded claim persisted until the 1980s when a historian discovered that there was never such an ordinance. 

In actuality, the First Presbyterian Church had a much more practical purpose: recruiting new parishioners. The powers that be saw the rapid growth of Baltimore’s West End and decided to become the place of worship for the new residents. 

The First Presbyterian Church thrived for some time but began losing parishioners who moved to the suburbs. In 1974, the building was designated a historic landmark by the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the church is called Westminster Hall and serves as a public building, and the Burying Grounds are open to the public during the day.

Hauntings at the Westminster Hall and Burying Grounds

There is no shortage of spirits to be found at Westminster Hall and Burying Grounds. One of the more popular ghosts is Lucia Watson Taylor, the Burying Ground’s resident woman in white. Taylor died in 1816 at the young age of 16. Wandering the graveyard in a long white dress, dark hair spilling down her back, Taylor’s ghost is most often seen on her knees praying at the site of her final resting place. 

Visitors have also encountered a soldier in Revolutionary War attire. A former groundskeeper is known to scare away unwelcome visitors. A medical student was hanged outside the Burying Grounds after he was caught digging up a body. His spirit is said to still be trapped there over a century later.

Edgar Allan Poe

Arguably the most famous resident at Westminster Hall and Burying Grounds, Edgar Allan Poe was interred here following his unexpected death in 1849. Over the years, Poe’s ghost has been seen in a 19th-century suit with his hair disheveled. 

He’s usually near his grave, but Poe’s ghost has also been witnessed inside of First Presbyterian Church, which was constructed only three years after his death. 

Poe made his mark on the world writing about death, and his own demise remains a mystery. On October 3, 1849, a man reported Poe was “in great distress and in need of immediate assistance” at a Baltimore tavern. 

A delirious and seemingly intoxicated Poe was taken to the nearby Washington College Hospital, where he died on October 7, 184, at the age of 40. There are many theories about how Poe died, but the actual medical records have been lost to time.

Poe was buried in an unmarked grave until a school teacher started “Pennies for Poe” to erect the marble monument that marks his grave today. Fans of Poe still leave pennies for him on his grave. Flowers, rocks, pens, and notes are also regularly placed at his graveside. 

A Mysterious Visitor

There was also a mysterious figure who frequented Poe’s grave on the anniversary of his death. The figure appeared to be a man in a black suit, his face hidden by a scarf and hat. He walked the burying grounds holding a silver cane and would leave notes at Poe’s grave. 

Sightings of the man began in the 1920s and carried on for nearly a century when the man suddenly stopped showing up in 2009. The man left several notes at Poe’s grave, including ones that read, “Edgar, I haven’t forgotten you,” and “The torch will be passed.” However, it seems no one has carried on this strange tradition.

The Screaming Skull of Cambridge

The Screaming Skull of Cambridge is one of the most terrifying and surreal entities anyone could have the misfortune to encounter in a cemetery. The story goes that the Screaming Skull belonged to a 19th-century minister who was murdered and decapitated. 

Blood-curdling screams were said to come from the severed skull both day and night. The skull was eventually buried in concrete, but many still hear the ear-piercing scream of the skull echoing through the Burying Grounds.

Haunted Baltimore

Baltimore is a city teaming with active ghosts and spirits. Westminster Hall and Burying Ground top the list of haunted locations in the city due to the number of full-bodied apparitions and poltergeist activity that regularly take place there. You can learn all about the many haunted sites the city has to offer by booking a ghost tour with Baltimore Ghosts today!

Sources:

1. https://frightfind.com/the-westminster-hall-and-burial-ground/
2. https://morbidlybeautiful.com/haunted-history-westminster/
3. https://midatlanticdaytrips.com/2024/10/westminster-burying-ground/