If you’re looking to get spooked this Halloween weekend, here are a few places on the Route 1 corridor that will likely give you the creeps.
First up is the Bladensburg Dueling Grounds, also known as “The Dark and Bloody Grounds,” located in what was formerly Bladensburg, now part of Colmar Manor, at 3505 38th Avenue. The area runs along the Dueling Creek, a tributary of the Anacostia River, once known as “Blood Run.”
This small piece of land was a popular spot for settling personal and political differences in the 19th century, because of its close proximity to Washington, D.C., and more than 50 duels between military officers, everyday citizens and politicians occurred between 1808-1850 on these grounds. Some even say a ghost-like figure of Commodore Stephen Decatur, who was killed here in 1820, can be seen. While Congress passed an anti-dueling legislation in 1839, reports document duels took place here until just before the Civil War.
You can find more about the Bladensburg Dueling Grounds in the book “Haunted Places: The National Directory: Ghostly Abodes, Sacred Sites, UFO Landings and Other Supernatural Locations.“
There is also the legendary story of the Mount Rainier exorcism incident, which took place at several locations in Mount Rainier in 1949, including the St. James Catholic Church. The home where the main incident took place was recently sold to an unsuspecting couple who see the occasional superfan in their driveway.
Another site associated with the exorcism is a park at 3210 Bunker Hill Rd., where a long-running (and incorrect) urban legend held that the original house was before it burned down. Neighborhood kids long referred to the park as “Satan’s Lot” and some parents refused to let their children play there.
If monsters are what you seek, various legends about the Goatman of Prince George’s County hold that this horrifying half-man, half-monster was created at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, or you could check out the location of a number of sightings at Fletchertown and Lottsford roads.
Several historical sites in Bladensburg that date back to 1743 carry a long history of their own and, while not necessarily haunted, have the right atmosphere if you’re looking to be spooked.
There are also sites on the University of Maryland campus said to be haunted, including legends about fraternities and sororities witnessing paranormal activity. You can read more about this in the Big Book of Maryland Ghost Stories. There’s even a UMD ghost tour with an official map of all the haunted and spooky places on campus.
Other spooky places along the Route 1 corridor include a Revolutionary War-era cemetery hidden on 41st Avenue in University Park, where the Deakins family has tombstones for 19 of its members, including Revolutionary war leader Leonard Deakins, who was born in 1746. The cemetery is located on private property, but you can see it from the street.
If you want to explore a little further off Route 1, Governor’s Bridge, near Bowie, also known as Crybaby Bridge, is another site associated with a number of urban legends, though it’s been closed since 2015 because of structural problems, It’s said to be one of the most haunted roads in Maryland.
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