If you’ve ever been to the Hilltop House Hotel in Harpers Ferry you probably thought it was haunted. If you ever worked at the Hilltop House, you knew it was haunted. There were stories from employees and guests. We even had strange things show up on the surveillance video.
I worked on the desk, as the night auditor several years ago and then the desk manager more recently. So I had the opportunity to work the 11pm-7am shifts when need be. I didn’t mind. There was plenty of time to get things done. One night I was working 11-7 to cover for someone. I had a lot of paper work to do that night and thought I’d have some peace. About 2:00am, I heard a sound in the large dining room like chairs being thrown across the room. I went in and looked around and nothing was disturbed. Therefore, I went back to my work. About 45 min later, I heard the sound again. Again I looked. Again, nothing was disturbed. This time though I took my camera that I always took in with me when I worked over night. I took some shots and got a couple of orbs.
Over the next hour, I heard what sounded like chairs scraping on the floor off and on. The floors are wood in that room and it was set up with multiple large tables of eight. No chairs were pulled out from any tables in the room. At about 4:30 am I went into the waitress pantry, which opens into the large dining room to make coffee. I had just ground the coffee beans and turned to put the coffee on and standing in the doorway to the pantry was a man. He was about 5’9″ tall, red wavy shoulder length hair, red full beard, mustache, full face,(nice looking face) blue/gray eyes, stocky but not fat, gray tunic like jacket with shiny brass buttons, gray pants with rough looking fabric, black boots. He looked at me, I looked at him for several seconds, and then he disappeared. I can still see his face as plan as day and would know it if I were to ever see it again.
True West Virginia Ghost Stories eBook
Our complete story collection is now available as an 880 page digital ebook that you can download to your computer or mobile device. After downloading your copy of the ebook, you can read it anywhere without needing an internet connection.
... or feel free to make a contribution.
I worked in the kitchen at the Hilltop House over 30 years ago. I remember seeing an album at the front desk full of photos of ghosts seen there. I know there is a lady in white who is seen on the steps going upstairs. My family spent the night there seven years ago when my son got married at the Hilltop House. My mother reported at breakfast the next morning that she saw a young man at the foot of her bed. She went on to describe a Zoave soldier – right down to the buttons on his shirt!
I was lucky enough to get to spend the night at the Hilltop House many years ago…but unfortunately, I was too young to remember if anything spooky happened, lol. Later visits to Harpers Ferry usually consisted of visiting the hotel, but I never again actually stayed the night.
Sadly, I’ll never get another chance to experience something at this wonderful location; as of March 2010 the structure suffered a partial collapse, and will finally be torn down. Hopefully, the plans to build a historically accurate replacement will come to fruition…and any lingering ghosts will move in to the new structure!
I worked the night auditor position in 2004 for about 7 months. One night while I was doing my paperwork I heard what sounded like people dancing and partying on the second floor. I was a bit startled because the hotel only had a couple of guests that night. I went into one of the office’s to use a computer and I heard the sound of a little girl laughing. I went into the main foyer and didn’t see anything. I went back to the office only to hear her again. I was a bit startled once again when the room suddenly went cold. It was not a normal cold but almost like being in a deep cave cold. I was a little freaked out and went outside to gather my thoughts. As I approached the front door something pushed me, like a sudden rush of air. I almost ran to get out of the building. I sat on the curb and kept telling myself that I was just tired and hearing things. I had my head in my hands and when I looked up there was a man standing in one of the windows off the large dining area. He was dressed in a gray long coat with shiny brass buttons. He just stared at me and I looked away. When I looked back he was gone.
There are a few more stories of encounters I had while working there but this one stands out the most.