GHOST STORIES FROM POPLAR HILL MANSION

One of the perks of living in a historically rich area is the whisper of paranormal activity that reverberates across the Eastern Shore. Ghost stories, ghost walks, ghost hunters…if you do a quick Google search or a little perusing on social media, you’ll find that Delmarva is in fact overflowing with paranormal enthusiasts. Of course our interests our always piqued by notions of the paranormal, so when Aleta Davis (Chair for the Board of the Friends of Poplar Hill Mansion) contacted us about the publication of her recent book on the paranormal activity at Poplar Hill Mansion, we scheduled an interview.

“We have had mediums from all over the county, internationally actually, that have come to the house and everyone sees pretty much the same things in the house…which was corroborating what was happening in the house for us,” Davis said as we walked through the historic Salisbury home. For those of you not familiar with Poplar Hill Mansion, the federal-style house was built in 1795 (thought it wasn’t completed for several years) and was home to Dr. Huston and his wife Sarah and later, the Waller family, who lived in the mansion from 1882 to 1945. The City of Salisbury has owned the property since 1974 as a house museum in public trust.

Davis has been working with the Friends of Poplar Hill Mansion for the past seven years, during which time she and other volunteers have witnessed a number of hair-raising incidents, including being witness to several mediums experimenting with EVPs in the house. In one instance, an EVP recorded a child saying “mama, are you there?”

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