The Haunted Maryland State House

Posted: 12.10.2024 | Updated: 12.10.2024

Whenever you delve into a ghost story from one of the thirteen original colonies on this site, you can expect a captivating blend of history, larger-than-life characters, and eerie, unusual events.       

And that’s certainly the case for this strange tale in Annapolis, Maryland. 

Today, we’re covering the strange case of the Maryland State House. It’s a famous building with a lot of history behind it. However, we’ll mainly be focusing on one bloody incident at this building and how that event affected the people around the area, even today. 

For fans of architecture, ghost stories, or true crime, it will be a fascinating read. 

As always, learning about the ghostly history of America shouldn’t just stop with reading our blog. Be sure to take one of our in-person ghost tours with Annapolis Ghosts to get an up close and in-depth look at some of the buildings that make up haunted America. Happy ghost hunting! 

Who Haunts the Maryland State House? 

Who haunts the shadows of the Maryland State House, refusing to rest?  It’s a compelling mystery with no easy answers. While many agree on the identity of the spirit believed to haunt this historic colonial building, the finer details remain a matter of debate and speculation.  

Who is this ghost? What motivation could he have to remain near this building that caused him so much pain? And, perhaps the most important question of all, is there a ghost at all at the Maryland State House? Whatever conclusion you come to, we’re confident you’ll find this tale fascinating, if nothing else. 

It’s a story steeped in mystery, foul play, and spooky happenings. It has given rise to several theories about why a restless spirit might wander the halls of the nation’s oldest continuously operating state capitol. 

Sit back and enjoy this tale that seems like it came out of an Edgar Allen Poe story instead of the lovely town of Annapolis, Maryland. 

Maryland State House History

The Maryland State House isn’t just notable for being the oldest capitol building still in use today. It also has the distinction of once serving as America’s capital. Before the establishment of Washington D.C. as the nation’s capital, a number of different cities were floated around as a possible capital city. 

As a result, the early Continental Congress bounced around between different cities. Early capitals included Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Trenton, New Jersey, and Annapolis, Maryland. 

Not only that, but this building was also the site where George Washington tendered his resignation as Commander-In-Chief of the Continental Army in 1783, signaling an end to the Revolutionary War and the beginning of the United States of America.

Annapolis’ capitol building had been constructed almost a century prior in 1690. Or, rather, the first version of it was built then. Like many wooden buildings, it caught fire in 1704 and was rebuilt on the same foundation a few years later. This second version would exist until 1772 – only a few years before the American Revolution – in order to create a capitol building more in line with the popular Georgian style of architecture at the time. 

That 1772 version is the one that still stands today and is still in use. However, even though construction started in 1772, Maryland’s state congress wouldn’t actually meet in this building until 1780. However, that wasn’t the only significant development of the Maryland State House in the 1780s. Indeed, in 1785, the original dome outside the building was torn down and replaced by a larger one. To this day, the new dome remains the largest wooden dome constructed without nails, and it is where the haunted history of this building really begins.

Capitol Hauntings

However, before we delve into the turbulent history of the construction of this wooden dome, it’s important to look at some of the unfortunate events that kept popping up throughout the Maryland State House’s history. 

There were so many scary and unexplained things that happened to this building that many people claim that it’s been haunted long before the cursed dome ever topped the building. For one, the fire that burned down the first capitol building? That wasn’t caused by an errant candle or clumsy custodian – it was a one-in-a-million lightning strike that did it. 

The second building was known for its many infrastructure issues, almost as though it was barely being held together. Thomas Jefferson wrote about how the place was falling apart and said, “Judging from its form and appearance, [it] was built in the year 1.”

And over the years, it’s somehow survived rare event after event, from earthquakes to fires to hurricanes to even the extremely rare derechos. It’s almost as if the Maryland State House is a magnet for some trouble. 

Perhaps the most famous of the capitol’s troubles is the tale of Thomas Dance. Dance was a plasterer – one of many such craftsmen who were employed by the state to get to work updating the capitol’s dome. While working there, Dance fell 87 feet to his death on the marble ground below. 

However, many have reported spotting a figure that looks very similar to Dance many years later. The figure is dressed in colonial garb and is often blamed for lights flashing on and off, blasts of cold air in the State House. He normally hangs around after hours on the top of the dome, smoking a pipe. 

A Destitute Widow 

These descriptions match what we know about Dance, his dress, and his habits. Plus, given that this ghostly figure haunts the dome, it gives credence to the theory that this ghost is none other than Dance himself. More importantly, Dance would have ample reason to haunt his former workplace. 

Some believe that reasoning is bitterness and revenge. Some believe that he didn’t fall and, instead, was pushed. While plausible, there are no suspects for who pushed him. 

However, what is known is that Dance’s widow came to visit the contractor who employed him. The grieving widow had a simple ask for the contractor – for him to give her Dance’s tools back. She also asked him to pay her Thomas Dance’s pension and outstanding salary that was due.

The reason she wanted the tools is unknown. Perhaps she learned enough from her husband to become a plasterer herself. Maybe she thought that they would be a fitting inheritance for her children. Or she just wanted to sell the tools to recoup some money, given the hardship that Thomas’ death caused. 

In any case, Dance’s cold-blooded overseer didn’t alleviate that hardship. He refused to pay, and Thomas’ widow and children soon suffered economic hardship. Perhaps, that’s why Thomas chose to stay in this world after death, to look over his descendants and ensure they were protected. 

Or perhaps, it was a matter of revenge – there’s a chance that he was so furious at how his family was treated that he hung around the building, hoping to eke out vengeance on the overseer’s descendants. Or maybe he was just a consummate professional who wanted to hang around and admire his last work for all eternity. 

Haunted Annapolis

What do you believe about the ghost of Annapolis? Could it be Thomas Dance? Is there another explanation? If it is Dance, why do you think he hangs around that famous dome of the Maryland State House? 

Let us know what you think. And be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and keep reading our blog for more real Maryland hauntings. And, if you want to explore Annapolis in person, take our Annapolis Ghost Tour!

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