Ghosts of Bethlehem
What is this fascination with ghosts? I know some people just enjoy being frightened, but for me, seeing a ghost would be a way to connect with history. I love the idea that the past is always with us.
Join me for a look at some of Bethlehem’s famous haunted spaces and see if we can find that intersection between the past and the present.
The Moravian Book Shop’s Helpful Ghost
The Moravian Book Shop on Main Street in Bethlehem is the oldest bookstore in America (established in 1745) and the oldest continuously operating bookstore in the world. They offer Historic Haunts Ghost Tours that are great fun, but the book shop has a ghostly history of its own. These are some of my favorite ghosts because they tend to be friendly rather than frightening (probably book lovers in their former lives). And one even averted a potential disaster.
A popular story tells of a dark figure seen running toward the back of the book shop at closing time. Two staff members raced after the interloper into the kitchen, but the figure seemed to have disappeared into thin air. However, they did discover a lighted burner on the stove and were grateful to the helpful ghost!
The Silent Ghost of God’s Acre
God’s Acre, the Moravian Cemetery in downtown Bethlehem, is the oldest perpetually maintained cemetery in the country. It’s such a tranquil place that some of the residents seem to be in no hurry to leave. Two visitors reported seeing a young woman in white trying to call out to them but unable to make a sound as she pointed helplessly toward her neck. The silent ghost had appeared near the grave of a young woman who died of a respiratory illness. Another tourist took a picture at the exact same spot and was shocked when the photo revealed the shadow of a woman peeking out from behind a tree.
Beware Hotel Bethlehem’s Room 923—but keep an eye out for singing sensation May Yohe!
Going up to Room 923, anyone?
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Negative Space
Historic Hotel Bethlehem has an impressive list of past guests, including Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, the 14th Dalai Lama, and Amelia Earhart. However, there are also other guests who have no desire to leave. The ghostly happenings in Hotel Bethlehem’s room 923 have earned it the name “Room with a Boo.” Guests staying in this room have reported all kinds of paranormal activity from a ghost asking, “What are you doing in my room?” to unexplained events like papers flying off the desk and the bathroom wallpaper turning pink. It’s one of the hotel’s most requested rooms!
My favorite hotel ghost is singer and dancer, May Yohe. She had a successful career, but an unhappy personal life riddled with scandals. Many believe the happiest days of May’s life were the ones she spent singing and dancing in the lobby of Hotel Bethlehem, and several guests have reported that she still performs there today!
The Sun Inn and the Preservationist Who Can’t Let Go
Photo by Sneaky Head on Unsplash
The Sun Inn, built in 1758, has hosted a Who’s Who of famous American colonists, including George and Martha Washington, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin. But guests of the ghostly variety began to show up after a renovation in the 1970s. Popular ghosts include Brother Johann Albrecht who may be guarding secret treasure, and Sarah, an innkeeper’s little daughter, who has been seen playing with her toys in the third floor attic. The Sun Inn has so much paranormal activity, it has even appeared on the SyFy television show Ghost Hunters.
My favorite Sun Inn ghost is Hughetta Bender, who founded the Sun Inn Preservation Society Association. She was committed to restoring and preserving the inn, and even thought she died in 1995, Hughetta may still be at it. Famous sitings of a ghost at the window wearing a white apron is suspected to be Hughetta. Even though hundreds of photos have been taken of her image, none have resulted in a picture of the determined preservationist.
The Ghost of Liesl Boeckel at McCarthy’s Red Stag Pub
Photo by Photos_frompasttofuture on Unsplash
I saved the best for last. McCarthy’s Red Stag Pub, my favorite Irish tavern, sits on the site of the Frederick Boeckel family home, where the Marquis de Lafayette recovered from his battle wound in the fall of 1777. As many of you learned when you read The Bookmark, Lafayette was cared for by Frederick’s daughter, Sister Liesl Boeckel, and gossips of the time speculated of a romance between the young Frenchman and the Moravian maid.
According to the staff at the pub, a ghost haunts the second floor, and motion detectors go off frequently for no reason at all, often at four o’clock in the morning. Other than the early morning disturbances, the ghost, who is described as female, is considered friendly. Many believe the ghost is the spirit of Liesl Boeckel, searching for her unrequited love. I prefer to think that Liesl simply likes to return and relive the happy days she spent with Lafayette.
Sorry to say the photo was not taken at McCarthy’s; however, I like to envision Liesl’s ghost looking something like this!
Discover More
To learn more about the ghosts of Bethlehem, take one of these hair-raising tours:
Cemetery Tour: Death and Dying
References
The Lehigh Valley's most notorious haunted places
Ghosts of the Sun Inn help keep history alive
In the video below, owner Neville Gardner talks about the ghost that haunts his McCarthy’s Red Stag Pub (begins at the 8:00 minute marker):
