Haunted Potomac River Valley

Book excerpt: Before European colonists first dipped their toes in our "Nation's River," it succored generations of American Indians, who added their own stories and often stained its banks with their blood. Revolutionary War ghosts haunt its length, from Shepherdstown to Saint George's Island. Harpers Ferry is home to more than one nineteenth-century haunt, and ghosts of Civil War soldiers linger in the river's upper reaches. Former residents still reside in historic buildings in Sterling, Arlington and Alexandria. Point Lookout, at the mouth of the river, is the most haunted site in Maryland. While the Potomac has weathered horrors and tragedies, many residents did not. Author David W. Thompson tells their stories.