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hunters report seeing her wander about her beloved home, speaking in a soft voice or singing quietly.
Behind the scenes
There’s a lot to do in this pretty city. Earlier in the day, Rosie and I took a sightseeing tour aboard a mahogany trolley. We rolled along brick streets and passed impressive Victorian homes. We learned about the Start Westward Monument, commemorating the Northwest Territory’s creation in 1787; the Ohio River Museum; and the Mound Cemetery. The cemetery has an ancient burial mound, called Conus, at the center
Opposite and previous page: The Anchorage, built in 1859, is the home of the Washington County Historical Society — and maybe a few ghosts of previous residents. This page: True believers say the ghost of a previous owner still watches over the Lafayette Hotel (below), while many a paranormal experience has been reported at the Mound Cemetery, which was developed around an ancient burial mound.
that’s surrounded by a graveyard brimming with the graves of more Revolutionary War officers than in any other cemetery in the country. Harley Noland, operator of Historic Trolley Tours and a longtime Marietta resident, is a bit skeptical of all the supernatural hype. “I don’t believe in ghosts,” he says. “I give history tours in Marietta.”
Yet the area’s rich history makes it ripe for spooky tales. Hidden Marietta offers three ghost treks downtown, from June through October. The original Front Street Ghost Trek includes a stop at the 77-room Lafayette Hotel, which was built in 1918. The ghost tour ventures into areas that are normally off-limits, such as the servants’ staircase and the
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Chef Tommy Hickey hints of ghostly activity at the Levee House that may relate to the building’s allegedly lurid past; left, ordinary objects can take on a spooky air in the right setting (above), while the Lafayette’s paranormal activity is centered on the third floor. Opposite page: Hidden Marietta’s Harmar Ghost Trek begins at the old Harmar Bridge.
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basement. “I’ve never heard anything scary,” says Sheila Rhodes, general manager of the Lafayette. “It’s usually something funny or the ghost is trying to mess with you. If we have a ghost, it’s friendly.” But the Lafayette’s third floor is one mysterious place. Former owner Durward Hoag and his family lived in the hotel’s penthouse, and rumor has it that he’s still watching over his domain. If you’re in Room 312, you might hear rumblings from Hoag’s son, who spent a lot of time there sobering up. Or so it’s said.
The Lafayette’s ballroom is the site of the annual Paranormal Expo in January,
when enthusiasts of the supernatural gather to share experiences and tour the area’s haunted offerings.
Tales abound
Everywhere you go in Marietta, it seems someone has a ghost story to share.
We met Tommy Hickey, chef at the Levee House. “From what I understand, at one time this was a brothel, and I guess this pretty wealthy oil tycoon used to come here and frequent the bar and then head up to the brothel. His teenage son didn’t like his father’s infidelity, so he cut his father’s head off with an ax.
“One night I was bent over the kitchen sink, and I saw something pass by the door. I thought it was customers, so I came running out, but there was nobody here. It’s happened to me four times.”
Once would have been enough for Rosie and me, but, fortunately, we made it out of the Anchorage unscathed.
Do you believe in ghosts?
Hidden Marietta, 424 George St., Marietta (at the dead end of George Street), is open 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The Curiosity Shop is open 6–10 p.m. Fridays and 10 a.m.–8 p.m. Saturdays and offers monster- and paranormal-themed books, paintings, ghost-hunting equipment, spooky jewelry, and more. The group offers a variety of regularly scheduled spooky tours on most weekends through summer and fall, including both daylight and flashlight tours of the Anchorage, behind-the-scenes tours of the Lafayette Hotel, and ghost treks through various areas of the city.
