In June of 2025 we traveled to Frederick, Maryland, and one of the locations on our list for the visit was the National Civil War Medical Museum. The reason for this stop was twofold. First, Marianne loves museums with medical-related artifacts, and this location is one of the most haunted in Frederick.

We visited the location on a Saturday afternoon, and it was in a somewhat busy area in Frederick. Initially, we struggled to find nearby parking due to the numerous shops and small restaurants lining the street, but fortunately, we managed to secure a close spot.

If you would like to come with us on the tour within the building, make sure you watch our video below, where we went on-site and got some wonderful footage of the museum.

The building that now houses the National Museum of Civil War Medicine wears its age like a silent witness. Its walls date back to the 1830s when it began as a furniture shop and undertaking business, and later it served as a Civil War embalming site. For many, the transformation of a place associated with death and mourning into a museum seems fitting, as if unseen echoes linger in each corridor and gallery.

It was during restoration efforts in the late 1990s that the building’s haunted reputation truly was brought to light. As construction crews knocked down walls and opened stairwells, workers reported hearing anguished cries of Civil War soldiers and glimpsing ghostly figures drifting through the unfinished gallery spaces. The encounters were so disturbing that teams would abandon the work, only for newcomers to experience the same chilling phenomena.

One of the most enduring legends concerns the former staircase, now converted into an elevator shaft. Workers long whispered that the stairwell had harbored a malevolent presence, a phantom, or something darker. Though some believe the haunting was quieted during renovations, the elevator doors reportedly still open and close on their own, as if moved by unseen hands.

Visitors and staff often point to the Camp Life gallery as a hotspot for unusual activity. This section recreates the conditions of a Civil War encampment, and many claim to feel an oppressive chill or a creeping presence along its shadowed corners. One staff member has admitted refusing to enter the gallery alone, convinced that something unseen waits there.

The third floor carries its own unsettling associations. Once used as living quarters and office space, it was also linked to embalming practices. A former executive director, working late one night, reported hearing children running and playing in the empty corridors. He even shouted at them to stop, only for silence to fall immediately after.

Paranormal investigators who have explored the museum often note the same hotspots without prior knowledge of earlier reports. They consistently identify the Camp Life gallery and a particular door on the first floor as places where spiritual energy seems most intense. Voices, shadows, and unexplained sensor readings frequently occur there, strengthening the building’s haunted reputation.

Activity is not limited to sound or sensation. One staff member recounted her phone being hurled across the room from her desk, an event she believed to be the work of restless spirits making their presence known. Such physical encounters are rare, yet when they do occur, they leave a lasting impression.

Guests have also described subtle anomalies that add to the museum’s aura. Some have smelled faint traces of perfume or embalming fluid in empty rooms, while others have reported scratching noises or soft shuffling footsteps when no one was nearby. Many claim that the most unsettling experience is the distinct sensation of invisible eyes watching them.

During the fall season, the museum leans into its haunted reputation by offering ghost tours lit only by lanterns or dim lighting. These tours lead visitors through the darker corners of the building while retelling stories of unexplained happenings. The atmosphere, combined with the building’s history, ensures an experience that feels both educational and otherworldly.

The tours often highlight the fact that the museum once served as an undertaker’s business and embalming facility, a place directly tied to death. For some, this explains why spirits remain, their memories etched into the structure as much as the medical artifacts on display. Visitors depart with a sense of entering a place where the boundaries between the past and present are extremely thin.

Skeptics may view the ghost stories as imaginative tales, bolstered by the building's tragic history. Yet even those who dismiss the idea of spirits admit that the museum carries an energy unlike ordinary places. It is not just a collection of medical tools and exhibits but a living monument to pain, healing, and lingering sorrow.

Whether one believes in the supernatural or not, the National Museum of Civil War Medicine has a presence that is difficult to ignore. The echoes of the past can be felt in its walls, and its ghostly stories continue to fascinate visitors. The National Museum of Civil War Medicine is a place where history and folklore coexist, instilling in guests a sense of encountering something extraordinary.