Frederick County Legends: South Mountain Legends

June 23, 2020

Today I am going to share with you three short stories from the book Ghosts and Legends of Frederick County by Cannon and Whitmore. Images are not mine.

Hope you enjoy!

White Woman

“There are several accounts of a banshee called the “White Woman”, who roamed South Mountain some years ago. Apparantly, her appearance was very much dreaded, as it was considered a harbinger of death or some other disaster.”

There was a young, simple mountain girl who lived in a hut with her grandparents and her Unkle Ike. Her name was Annie. “One summer day, she was looking out on the road” when she saw a shrouded woman rise from the road, seeming to pass through the house. Her Uncle Ike died two days later. Not long after, the hut burned to the ground.

Another time, a grandmother sighted the banshee woman. She was caring for her nine month old grandchild at the time. The child’s mother had recently passed away, her ghostly figure seen leaning over the baby’s cradle. The baby died soon afterwards.

Ghostly Lovers

Back in 1817, a company of Army regulars stopped at South Mountain House for a nights rest. They were on their way to fight Seminole Indians. Most of the men joined the local residents in the bar for pleasant conversation.

One soldier remained in the kitchen near the fire, admiring the tavern keeper’s young daughter, Sadie. The soldier was from Michigan. He absolutely did not want to leave in the morning.

“Sadie, I wish I could die for you,” the young soldier said to Sadie.
“Die for me? Ain’t I worth living for?” She asked angrily.

At that, the soldier decided he would desert his company and hide in the forest. Sadie agreed to bring him food and would signal to him, crying like a wildcat, whenever danger was near. They would marry when it was safe for him to return.

“His company searched for him for days, never considering that he had deserted.” The company finally left, convinced that he was dead. The young soldier returned for Sadie, they were married and lived and died on South Mountain.

Some say the young lovers can still be seen, their footsteps heard and a cry of a wildcat often breaks the silence on south Mountain.

A Strange Creature

“Residents of South Mountain were often frightened at night by strange, screaming noises. Cats, chickens and cattle were often found dead in the morning, often times, eaten.” Any attempts to hunt the creature proved in vain. One father hunted the creature with a rifle until so frightened that he had to return home. Dogs would refuse to hunt the animal, hiding under the porch if they sensed its presence.

One day, a young girl was out in the field when she saw a strange creature coming down the field. It resembled a dog, with the face of a cat. It had a bristle-like, hairy coat. She watched it as it moved in her direction, she could her it making a low, murmuring sound. She jumped from the tree and ran to the house, screaming. It must’ve been frightened away, because when she turned around, it had vanished. A few large paw prints leading nowhere was all that could be found in the underbrush.

There are stories of a strange dog-like creature floating around South Mountain and Middletown Valley…these creatures are sometimes called the Black Dog or Snarly Yow.

~ Images are not mine!