From historic ghost walks and haunted storytelling to sunset cruises aboard “Ghosts on a Boat,” the locally owned company brings the Eastern Shore’s restless spirits to life for Halloween.

SALISBURY, MD — October 9, 2026 — This October, the ghosts of Maryland’s Eastern Shore are coming out in force. Chesapeake Ghost Tours, home to one of America’s largest regional trails of year-round ghost walks, will offer approximately 70 guided tours and haunting experiences throughout October, inviting visitors to discover the mysteries, legends, and unexplained encounters hidden in the region’s historic towns.

Founded by Maryland author and storyteller Mindie Burgoyne, Chesapeake Ghost Tours brings local history to life through documented accounts of paranormal activity, regional folklore, and chilling tales of those who may never have left.

Ten Historic Towns, Hundreds of Ghost Stories

Chesapeake Ghost Tours offers guided walking tours in ten historic Eastern Shore communities: St. Michaels, Easton, Denton, Cambridge, Salisbury, Princess Anne, Pocomoke City, Snow Hill, Berlin, and Ocean City.

Each tour reveals the darker side of local history, from haunted inns and restless prisoners to tragic lovers, mysterious deaths, ghostly apparitions, and unexplained encounters reported by residents and visitors.

Additional ghost storytelling events will take place in Easton and Berlin, Maryland, and Clayton, Delaware.

New This Season: Ghosts on a Boat

One of the company’s newest experiences takes the ghost stories off the streets and onto the water.

“Ghosts on a Boat” combines the natural beauty of Ocean City’s Coastal Bays with eerie tales of pirates, restless sailors, mysterious deaths, and the area’s infamous “Haunted Trifecta”—places associated with murder, suicide, and accidental death.

These sunset cruises will be offered every Wednesday in October, with an additional special cruise on Halloween night, October 31.

It All Started with a Haunted House

For founder Mindie Burgoyne, the journey into ghost storytelling began with something much more personal—moving into a house she believes was haunted.

“My husband and I never thought much about ghosts,” Burgoyne recalls. “But when the chandelier started moving, plates started jumping off the sideboard, mirrors fell off the walls, and my adult children were randomly poked and pushed down the stairs, we had to rethink things.”

While attending a travel writing conference, Burgoyne consulted a psychic medium from Denver. After a brief meditation, the medium delivered a startling assessment.

“She looked at me and said, ‘Ma’am, you have HUNDREDS of spirits in your house!’” Burgoyne remembers.

That experience sparked a fascination with the paranormal and ultimately inspired Burgoyne to research and write four books published by The History Press about ghosts, hauntings, and unexplained events on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

The books led to the creation of Chesapeake Ghost Tours in 2014, which has since grown into an interconnected trail of historic ghost walks spanning the region.

Professional Storytellers Bringing History and Mystery Together

Chesapeake Ghost Tours employs a team of ten storytellers, including five guides certified through the National Association for Interpretation (NAI). Burgoyne, herself an NAI-certified guide, is a lifelong Marylander and Eastern Shore resident whose research and writing form the foundation of the company’s tours.

“Our ghost tours are about much more than things that go bump in the night,” says Burgoyne. “They’re about the people who lived here, the tragedies and triumphs that shaped these communities, and the stories that refuse to disappear. We want our guests to come away feeling connected to these historic towns—and perhaps wondering whether the dead are really gone.”

Unlike a traditional haunted attraction, Chesapeake Ghost Tours focuses on real locations, documented history, local legends, and eyewitness accounts of unexplained phenomena.

With ten interconnected walking tours, the company describes its network as the largest trail of year-round ghost tours in America.

October Tours and Reservations

October is the company’s busiest season, and advance reservations are encouraged, especially for Halloween week, weekend ghost walks, and the limited-capacity “Ghosts on a Boat” cruises.

For tour schedules, tickets, storytelling events, and information about Mindie Burgoyne’s books, visit https://chesapeakeghosts.com.

About Chesapeake Ghost Tours

Founded in 2014 by author and travel writer Mindie Burgoyne, Chesapeake Ghost Tours is a locally owned Maryland company offering year-round ghost walks, paranormal storytelling experiences, and specialty tours throughout the Eastern Shore. Its interconnected heritage trail combines authentic local history, folklore, and accounts of unexplained phenomena to introduce visitors to the region’s mysterious past.

Follow the Spirits Across the Chesapeake.

Media Contact

Chesapeake Ghost Tours
Salisbury, Maryland
Phone: 443-735-0771
Email: tours@chesapeakeghosts.com
Website: https://chesapeakeghosts.com

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For the months of August and September, Chesapeake Ghosts guests are offered a chance to win their choice of a reflective ball cap or a Tee-Shirt both emblazoned with the Chesapeake Ghosts logo.

Our guides are asked all the time about how guests can buy one of the caps or Tees that they wear on their ghost tours. But they aren’t for sale … until now… sorta.

Guests are challenged to send a short video review of their experience on a Chesapeake Ghost tour.  It could be in the past or as recent as last week.

Here are some thought starters:

Put your smartphone in selfie mode and talk about your experience on a Chesapeake Ghosts ghost tour  (30 seconds maximum, 15 seconds minimum).

Did you like the tour?

Was your guide awesome?

Did you capture spectral images in pictures?

Were you scared?

Did you like the history?

What was the most memorable story?

HOW TO ENTER

VIA EMAIL: Send the video via email to tours@chesapeakeghosts.com

OR –

VIA FACEBOOK POST: Post a 30-second video review of your Chesapeake Ghosts experience on your Facebook page and tag us.facebook.com/chesapeakeghosts

Videos should be a minimum of 15 seconds, a maximum of 30 seconds, and should be a review of your experience on a Chesapeake Ghosts ghost tour.

Entries will be accepted through September 30, 2026.

HOW YOU WIN

For every 5 submitted video reviews we receive, we’ll draw one name, and that person will win their choice of a T-shirt or cap.

ALL ENTRANTS who do not win will be allowed to purchase either a shirt or hat for $25. The option to buy a hat or shirt is not open to anyone else. This is a limited offer for guests who have sent in a video.

DISCLOSURE: Some videos will be shared on our social media channels as a promotion. By entering the challenge, you give Chesapeake Ghosts the right to share your video in promotions.

For more information, reach out to us by phone or email. 

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Travel Writer and author Mindie Burgoyne takes you through the town of Easton, Maryland, pointing out several highlights of the Easton Ghost Tour.

For tickets to the Easton Ghost Tour, visit our Ghost Tours page.

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The Easton Ghost Tour, one of the eleven ghost tours on the Chesapeake Ghosts Eastern Shore Trail,  is back on our schedule through October.

The tour, which features the Tragedy Triangle, explores murders, suicides, and accidental deaths that all occurred in a three-block quadrant in the historic downtown. “Those highly charged emotional events leave a mark on a place,” says author and owner of Chesapeake Ghosts, Mindie Burgoyne. “High emotional charges like these can wear thin that veil that separates this world from the eternal world.”

The Eastern Capital of Maryland

Easton got its name for being the “Eastern Capital” of Maryland back in Colonial times when the mode of travel between places was by boat. To carry out legal matters on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay, people had to travel by boat to Annapolis. Eventually, an eastern capital was named and a courthouse erected. An enlarged, updated courthouse now occupies the same spot in the center of Easton … and it’s HAUNTED.

So is the old jail (now the State’s Attorney’s Office). So is the Avalon Theater around the corner. So is the Tidewater Inn, and the old Old Fellows building. And all of these buildings have malfunctioning elevators … or rather … elevators that seem to operate on their own.  There’s an old haunted orphanage, a haunted pub, a haunted restaurant, and a cemetery with two trees that seem to have therapeutic or “healing” energy.

Join our guides who will regale you with stories of Mr. Grymes, Colonel Tilghman, and the actress Marguerite, as well as the phantom spirit who seems to move from building to building, riding the elevators in the wee hours.  You’ll get an up-close look. The Easton Ghost Tours are held on Friday and Saturday Nights. Easton is about an hour’s drive from Annapolis and Salisbury, and 1.5 hours from Baltimore.

Book your EASTON GHOST TOUR NOW!

VIDEO:  virtual ghost tour of Easton with Mindie Burgoyne

Book Your Easton Ghost Tour NOW

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Ghost Tour Guests Get 15% off Dinner Bill

Book your dinner at Foxy’s Harbor Grille before your St. Michaels Ghost Tour and receive 15% off your dinner bill. Simply show your server your digital ghost tour ticket before paying to get the discount.

BONUS: Foxy’s is haunted!  And it is where the St. Michaels Ghost Tour begins and concludes. You’ll learn all about Sarah … or maybe meet her in at the bar or in the bathroom (places she’s been known to present herself).

Chesapeake Ghosts operates the Original Saint Michaels Ghost tour, dubbed “The Spirits of Rowdy Women” because many of the featured spirits are female with an apparent “attitude” even in death. The tour operates on weekends 10 months of the year in Saint Michaels and has been in business since 2013.

Foxy’s Harbor Grille is a flagship haunted site. The apparent spirit in the restaurant – Sarah (seriously rowdy) has connected with more than a dozen servers and staff over the years.  All experienced her mischief from time to time. The tour was researched and written by local author Mindie Burgoyne, who is also the founder and owner of Chesapeake Ghosts.

Get on a Saint Michaels Ghost Tour with Chesapeake Ghosts and have an awesome dinner at a haunted restaurant beforehand.

Book Now

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This is the first year Janet has worked on the Chesapeake Ghosts Storyteller team.  During that time, she has also completed the National Association for Interpretation’s Certified Interpretive Guide program, making her one of Chesapeake Ghosts’ five guides to hold CIG (Certified Interpretive Guide) status.

Janet was born in Washington, DC, and moved to Ocean Pines in October 2022. She currently works for the Worcester County Office of Tourism and Economic Development.

While Janet has always had an interest in scary things and horror movies, her interest in the region’s haunted history was piqued when she read “Haunted Ocean City and Berlin” by author and owner of Chesapeake Ghosts, Mindie Burgoyne. Later, she met Mindie at a social gathering and pitched the idea of being a tour guide. She was hired to the Chesapeake Ghosts team that year and has become one of the best tour guides (according to guest reviews) in the company’s history.

Janet is one of the guides for the Ocean City and Berlin ghost tours. She received a commemorative plaque commemorating her achievement, along with a $250 bonus. Congratulations, Janet.

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Florence Martus, often referred to as the Waving Girl, is a beloved figure in Savannah’s maritime history. Born in 1868, she became a local legend for her daily ritual of waving to ships entering the Savannah River from 1887 until 1931. Standing on the bluff at Fort Pulaski or the nearby lighthouse, she greeted sailors and travelers with a white handkerchief, a simple yet heartfelt gesture that symbolized welcome and connection.

Her story began when she fell in love with a sailor who promised to return. While waiting for his return, she took to waving at passing ships, an act that soon became a cherished tradition in the community. Over the years, her dedication and warmth earned her the affection of sailors and townspeople alike, who would look for her wave as they navigated the waters.

After her death in 1943, the city honored her legacy by erecting a statue of Florence Martus on River Street, ensuring that her spirit would continue to greet visitors to Savannah. Today, the Waving Girl is not only a symbol of hospitality but also a testament to the enduring connections formed by those who work at sea. Her story is a poignant reminder of love, hope, and the ties that bind a community.

Watch Mindie Burgoyne in the on-location video talk about Florence Martus, the Waving Girl.

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Is there a Ghost in the House?

How do you tell if a place is haunted?  While there are tools to record images, sounds, phantom lights, and apparitions, most people get a general “feeling” or experience something without using paranormal equipment.

It’s a question raised on ghost tours often: “Is there a ghost in the house?” or “How do you know if the house is haunted?” Sometimes guests say, “It’s not haunted. I’ve been to that place and have never experienced anything.”

My response is always, “Have you ever experienced a haunting anywhere – ever?” I rarely get a yes response. When they say “no” or look at me blankly, I always say, “One must have an open heart to experience the spirit world.  You have to believe in the possibility and be open to it.  A person who is closed will rarely have an experience.

My own experience with living in a haunted house taught me this.  If you’re open, the spirits – if present – will make themselves known.  We lived in an old Victorian house for twenty years, constantly in the presence of spirits. I experienced them, my husband experienced them, and all of our children and grandchildren at one time or another connected with the paranormal in that house.  Living there compelled me to write my first book (and subsequent 3 books), and it moved me to start a ghost tour company.

But before we lived in that old Victorian, a Baptist preacher and his wife lived there for almost 40 years.  They never experienced anything.  But they were closed to the possibility.  They had a firm Christian belief system that didn’t allow for the presence of  “spirits.” So they never had paranormal experiences.

The two families that owned the house before the Baptist family suffered mental illnesses and tragedy. One family member committed suicide, and another was committed to a mental institution and died there. Another fell six feet to the ground out of a bathroom window.

While the Baptists had a peaceful and happy experience living in that house, the other two families experienced continuous tragedy.  The emotional traumas wore a hole in the veil separating the worlds – a vortex where spirits easily pass in and out.

Rackliffe House – the Haunted Trifecta

The Rackliffe House, built in 1740, is known for hitting the “haunted trifecta,” meaning that the house was the scene of a murder, a suicide, and an accidental death.  Such a combination almost always wears a hole in the veil and creates a kind of vortex similar to the one in my old home. It has a 200-year legacy of being haunted and was finally restored with love and care in the early 2000s.

Though the stories of it being haunted were well-known in the community, several of the Rackliffe House Board members took issue with my putting the house and the stories on our Berlin and Ocean City Ghost Tours . They felt that being referred to as haunted detracted from the integrity of the historic property.  And …. yes…. they said they had never felt anything in there. Never had an experience. Never saw a ghost. They said – It Wasn’t Haunted.

When I asked a few of those doubting members if they’d ever had a paranormal experience in any other place, at any time in their lives. The response was as I expected. No.

I told them they were likely not open to such experiences therefore, they were closed. And that’s okay. But it doesn’t limit others from having experiences. Then I identified some of the stories of Rackliffe House hauntings and paranormal activity.

Several teams of paranormal investigators had data supporting a wide range of paranormal activity. The majority of people who lived at Rackliffe House or visited there prior to the restoration had detailed stories of activity – one such story was printed in a local paper… AND Rackliffe House’s beloved historian, Tom Patton, who supported the restoration and chronicled much of its history in his book Listen to the Voices, Follow the Trail has an entire chapter dedicated to the ghost stories at Rackliffe.  Other members of the Board and docents who serve at Rackliffe (now a museum) have privately said there are unexplained events that occur there … all pleasant, nothing super scary … but definite.

That scenario is repeated so many times when researching and chronicling the history of haunted properties.  While no one can prove the point of either side, those open tend to sense the difference in the two worlds.  And some are so sensitive that they seem to walk in both worlds at once.

Get on the Berlin or Ocean City Ghost Tour and hear more about the Rackliffe House.

Or Visit the Rackliffe House Museum yourself and get the “feel” of the place.

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Ocean City Tour Guide Glenn Irwin
Recognized as Storyteller of the Year for 2024

Glenn Irwin, Chesapeake Ghost Tour guide for Ocean City Ghost Tour has been recognized as Storyteller of the Year for 2024. Glenn gained this recognition by receiving the most 5-star reviews from TripAdvisor during the 2024 season. Glen received a commemorative plaque – created by a local business, PlakThat located in Berlin, MD . Glenn also received a $250 bonus from Chesapeake Ghosts.

Glenn joined the Chesapeake Ghosts’ guide team two years ago after retiring as the Executive Director of the Ocean City Development Corporation. His knowledge of Ocean City’s history and deep connections within the local community has empowered his tour presentation and storytelling capability as a ghost tour guide in his hometown – Ocean City, MD.

Glenn also guides the Sunset Ghost Story Cruise that departs out of Old Town Marina.

Chesapeake Ghosts has been operating ghost tours for over ten years in Ocean City and nine other towns – including Berlin, Snow Hill, and Pocomoke in Worcester County. The company was founded in 2014 by Mindie Burgoyne (current owner) after a year-long research effort with countless interviews and deep diving into library collections, museum archives, and the Nabb Research Center at Salisbury University. The company operates ten months of the year providing walking tours, paranormal investigations, private tours, and storytelling sessions – all focused on Eastern Shore folklore and ghost stories.

The company is proud to have Glenn Irwin on the team and we look forward to another successful season with Glenn on board. For those interested in booking a tour of Ocean City, please visit Chesapeakeghosts.com

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Why do historic theaters always seem to be haunted?

Like jails, courthouses, battlefields, and graveyards – places where there is a high injection of human emotion tend to have a thin veil between the two worlds. You can almost see the old soldiers walking, running, and dying on the Gettysburg Battlefield. The energy of their deaths and suffering is palpable. The negative emotions of old jails and courthouses where people have been judged, condemned, and punished give off a fearful, anxious presence. People even pick up on the negative energy of hospitals.

Old theaters, like the Mar-Va Theater, have a high level of collective emotion because people come together and engage their imaginations collectively to appreciate an art form. The actors use their emotions to get into character and perform, and we – the audience use ours to fire up our imaginations and live in the moments they create.

Someone Died on Stage at the Mar-Va.

Pocomoke City mayor, Curt Lippholdt, was influential in the restoration of the theater and loved it. He was known for his deep love of Pocomoke City. Mayor Lippholdt loved the old theater and saw it as a treasured asset to the people of the town. He never met a stranger. Joanne Lusby, who owns a hardware store located across the street from the Mar-Va, said of Lippoldt, “He was a friend to everybody in Pocomoke, whether he knew them or not. People loved him because he couldn’t do enough for you and he was the same way with the theater. He just had to do more than his part.”

They say that Mayor Lippholdt was speaking on stage at an event in 2011. He was presenting an award – then suddenly he stopped talking – looked up to the balcony, stared a few seconds, and then dropped over – right on stage. He died one day after his 85th birthday.  What a great place to pass into the next life.

Mayor Dawson Clarke was a huge influence in town, sometimes referred to as “Mayor for Life.” He started as the piano player for the silent movies that played at the Mar-Va and eventually purchased the theater. Years ago when the Marva showed movies, some say Dawson would cover the eyes of kids when the movie showed parts he thought were inappropriate. Others say he spliced or blacked out the scenes he thought they shouldn’t see. Mayor Clarke collapsed of heart attack on the street in front of the theater. Many who work in the Mar-Va think Dawson is still there … helping them. They’ll lose things and ask him to help find them. Sometimes the lights go out in the back of the theater … sometimes they come on by themselves.

Toilets Flushing, and Curtains That Will Swallow You Up

The cleaning ladies believe that there are many spirits at the Mar-Va. One of them was cleaning the stage area when she brushed against the stage curtain and it began to swallow her up. As she tried to break free, the curtain wrapped even more around her and restricted her movement. She thought it was person behind the curtain attacking her, but once she broke free the curtain just hung there – as still as when she first walked up to it.

She later stated that none of the cleaning crew would work in the stage area alone, and that she won’t enter the theater alone, nor will she enter without wearing her cross necklace.

Allie, a person who works in the theater said that the toilets flush by themselves. They all have motion sensors as a flushing mechanism, and when no one is in the theater but the staff, the toilets will arbitrarily flush. She recounted an instance where she unlocked the door to come into the empty theater, and just after securing the door behind her all the toilets in the restroom started flushing.

Lights come on in unused parts of the theater, and on one occasion she turned a light off, then left the room, and then saw that it had come on again. When she returned to the room the light switch was in the OFF position… but the light was on. So she turned it on again – and then off, and it finally went out.

Allie shared another story about a time that she was alone in the theater before a show was to start. She was popping popcorn in the concession stand. She heard a noise in the lobby and went out to see if someone had come into the theater. The doors were locked and no one was there. So she returned to the concession stand and closed the door. Then the knob started to rattle on its own.

She said, “The fewer people we have in here, the more crazy stuff we get. Lord, help the one person who is here alone. We move about the theater in pairs now.” Allie said the most disturbing thing that happened when she was working a movie. Everyone was gone and Allie was locking up. All the doors had been locked. Then she heard a noise in the dressing rooms under the stage. She called out to see if someone was in there. No one answered. She heard it again and then investigated. She went into the dressing rooms and checked the bathrooms in there. She found nothing. Then as she walked into the theater she saw a little girl standing there… just staring at her. She didn’t respond to Allie, she just stared. Then she vanished.

Today the Mar-Va is an active theater and shows movies every other weekend for a $5 admission. Learn more about the Mar-Va Theater

The Mar-Va Theater is on our Pocomoke Ghost Walk – and sometimes they let us inside.  Check for tour times on our website.

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