Ghosthunters Hope to Prove Annapolis Tavern Has a Ghost

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - For nearly two years, the employees at Reynolds Tavern have endured exploding glasses, mysterious footsteps and eerie singing. Come Feb. 19, they hope to prove once and for all where it's coming from: the ghost of Mary Reynolds.

That evening, 34 members of the Maryland Ghost and Spirit Association will descend on the Church Circle location in downtown Annapolis wielding cameras, infrared sensors and other spirit-hunting tools to document whatever is bugging Reynolds Tavern.

English nationals Jill and Andrew Petit, bought the old Reynolds home in April 2002, set on re-creating a British tea room.

"We had looked in various places," Jill Petit said. A friend in real estate eventually suggested the 257-year-old Georgian building. By June they were renovating the house, which had stood empty for about four years - or so they thought.

Soon a power drill moved on its own. Then a rug catalog disappeared for three days before appearing atop a tall armoire in the Jefferson Suite. And chef David Ludwig, started getting unwanted kitchen help.

"We had some soups we were cooling on the kitchen table," he said. "Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the cream of crab soup just kind of fall."

The pieces of the puzzle came together for the Petits after an old employee of the building stopped by.

"We weren't quite sure what to think," Jill Petit said. "He started to tell us the story ... and it all dropped into place."

Built in 1747, the brick building was home to tavern keeper William Reynolds, said Jean Russo, a historian with the Historic Annapolis Foundation. He died in 1777, leaving the business to his wife Mary, who died in 1785.

Little is known about Mary Reynolds, except that she was William Reynolds' housekeeper be fore becoming his third wife, Russo said.

"If there is a ghost," Russo said with a hint of skepticism, "that might be who it is." It's up to Beverly Litsinger, president of the Maryland Ghost and Spirit Association, to figure that out. The 3-year-old Randallstown group has about 4,000 members across the country. When she read about the tea house a year ago, she called the Petits.

The investigation was arranged after others were completed.

"They invited me," she said. "I turn them into fun events, I have dinner there and then do the investigation."

Forget all your early '80s "Ghostbusters" notions: Real ghost hunting has more to do with senses than with fancy equipment, she said.

"Some people can feel when there's a spirit around," said Litsinger, a Salisbury native who said she's seen apparitions her entire life. Of course, sound recorders, heat gauges and infrared sensors are also useful in locating and documenting the specters, she said. This is not, however, a de-haunting mission.

As far as Jill Petit is concerned, Mary's like an old friend.

"We talk to her. We say `OK, Mary, we're not doing any harm,"' she said. "Everybody thinks that's who's looking after the building."

Well, not quite everybody.

Peg Bednarsky, innkeeper for the Historic Inns of Annapolis, thinks the ghost investigation might drum up business, but little else.

"I've walked the halls of all these buildings for 35 years," she said, pointing out that ghost rumors have plagued the Maryland Inn as well. "I never saw a ghost."

Litsinger, however, has collected tales of ghosts from Truxtun Park to the State House. She's compiling the tales in a book due out later this year. Even the Rams Head Tavern is said to be haunted by a young girl named Amy, said Kris Fraser, general manager. He's holding off on scheduling a ghost investigation. "I'd have to hear a little bit more about it," he said.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)