My eldest and I went on the
Philadelphia Walking Ghost Tour, which did not feature any actual walking ghosts. We did the walking and the tour guide told the stories, all from the colonial period.
The tour started in Washington Park which was first called Southeast Park back when William Penn laid out the city plan in the early 1700s.
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| Washington Park |
The park was originally used as a potter's field, meaning that those who could not afford a proper burial were buried here. Many of the combatants, both British and colonial, from the American War for Independence were buried here. The park was renamed after George Washington and a memorial to the unknown soldier was set up, along with flags from the thirteen colonies.
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| Maryland flag |
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| Memorial for those buried here |
The guide told us about two ghosts frequenting this area. One is a soldier who marches about. Mostly his footsteps are heard, though on foggy nights a shadowy figure can be seen. The other is a lady with a pistol. She used to patrol the area at night keeping away grave robbers. The guide advised us not to come back to the park with a shovel unless we wanted trouble!
The tour moved over to Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation and the U. S. Constitution were all crafted. The ghost of Benjamin Franklin sometimes wanders around and Park Rangers either see or smell him. He was a bit gouty and didn't smell too well in real life.
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| Independence Hall at night |
The other ghost that has been spotted is Benedict Arnold. He was a patriot at the beginning of the war but circumstances (like his own pride) drove him to betray the colonies. He died in England though his ghost has come back, maybe to make amends for his wrongdoing.
Franklin's ghost is also a bit of a traveler, because he's been seen across the street at the Library of the American Philosophical Society. He founded the society and donated many books. In the afterlife, he would take books off shelves, sometimes leaving them open on desks or tables. The cleaning lady often had to reshelve them. She put up with the bother for a while because it was the 1930s and other jobs were scarce. Eventually she got frustrated with Franklin and yelled at his ghost to stop the pranks. Her tactic worked!
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| The Library of the American Philosophical Society |
Franklin does some other traveling. His statue above the door supposedly comes to life and walks down the street to City Tavern, where it takes a chair up on the second floor. We did not see him wander off during our tour.
A block or so away is Carpenter's Hall which was used as a bank in the early days of the country. The bank was robbed one night. The authorities arrested the guy who installed the safe, figuring he had the keys and the combination so he had the most opportunity. While he was in jail, one of the bank employees started depositing large sums of money into the bank. The bank officials wondered where he got the cash. They discovered that he and an accomplice had stolen the money. The thief gave back the money and lost his job; the innocent man was freed.
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| Carpenter's Hall |
Long afterward, when the building had some renters upstairs, they would hear people moving around on the first floor. The first time, they called the cops who could find no evidence of intruders. The second time it happened, the renters just listened. Eventually, they assumed it was the ghosts of the thieves re-enacting their crime.
A block away is the First Bank of the United States. The bank was very controversial because the U. S. Constitution did not authorize the Federal Government to start a bank. Alexander Hamilton was in favor of the bank and of repaying many of the debts incurred by the war. George Washington was a bit of a father-figure to Hamilton and often went along with his proposals. Thomas Jefferson was opposed to the idea. The situation was divisive enough that a political party called the Federalists grew up around Hamilton, while Jefferson's side formed the Democratic-Republicans. Thus another non-constitutional institution was created--the two-party system!
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| First Bank of the United States |
Hamilton haunted the bank, often walking past the doors of workers. If any worker was not busy, the ghost would make a mess of the paperwork in the office! The building is currently closed for renovations.
Around the corner is the Bishop White House. Bishop White was a colonial clergyman who had a very tragic family life. His wife died in the house, along with many of the children. Even a few of the servants died there. He moved to the third floor and eventually died there. Sometimes a tall, thin figure is seen in the top-floor windows.
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| Bishop White House (it was a narrow street) |
Down the street is the Todd House. John Todd was a lawyer who married Dolley Payne Todd. He died of yellow fever in 1793. Dolley stayed in the house and was eventually courted by James Madison. When he visited, he often had an uneasy feeling sitting in the parlor, like the late husband was keeping an eye on things. Dolley married Madison and became the first lady. She started the tradition of entertaining at the White House as a way for the introverted Madison to talk with and influence other officials.
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| Todd House and our guide |
Just a block away is Saint Joseph's Church, one of the original Catholic Churches in Philadelphia. William Penn had set up the colony as a place of religious freedom (a very forward-thinking attitude at the time). As long as you worshipped one God and paid your taxes, he was okay with you living in Pennsylvania.
Commodore John Barry, father of the U. S. Navy, was married here. His first wife, Mary Clary, died and was buried at Saint Joseph's. Barry eventually remarried, to a non-Catholic named Sarah Austin. They still attended services at Saint Joseph's, but the new wife often felt pinches and hair pulls. At first, she accused her husband. He denied it, as did others in nearby pews. They moved to the back where no one was near them. Sarah still felt the harassment, so John concluded it was his former wife causing the trouble. They went to a different parish where the pestering stopped!
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| Statue of Barry by Independence Hall |
The tour was really great. It was mostly historical with some colorful anecdotes thrown in. We highly recommend it.
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