HGB Ep. 530 - Kitty Knight Inn

Moment in Oddity - Little Debbie Park (Suggested by: Michael Rogers)

Little Debbie is a popular snack cake company and just saying the name may make our listener's mouths water. I know Diane is salivating as I read this. Their company began in the 1930's by the McKee family and were featured as "The Official Snack Cake" of the World's Fair in 1982. Through the years the tasty pastries garnered all sorts of popularity, even producing a vinyl record in 1965 with the Little Debbie commercial jingle on one side and children's stories recorded onto the B side. Today, if you visit Collegedale, Tennessee, you may just happen upon a most unique park. This is the "Little Debbie Park" which features giant sized Little Debbie snacks. The sculptures were created for children to play upon and they include a huge cosmic brownie, oatmeal cream pie, and Christmas tree snack cake. The park is 10 acres in size and also features a large pavilion with restrooms, swings, benches, playground and picnic tables. The acreage was donated to the city by the McKee Foods Corporation. Little Debbie Snacks are iconic, but a park featuring giant sized replicas of the tempting tasty treats certainly is odd.

This Month in History - Birth of Sam Houston

In the month of March, on the 2nd, in 1793, Sam Houston was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia. As a teen, Sam ran away from home and spent 3 years living with the Cherokee, adopting the name Raven. During the war of 1812, Houston served under General Andrew Jackson. Despite his time spent with the Cherokee, Houston presided over the mass removal of the Cherokee from Tennessee. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1823 and he heartily supported Andrew Jackson's presidential run. In 1827, Houston was elected governor of Tennessee, later resigning in 1829. Sam Houston moved to Texas in 1832 and led the Texan Army to victory at the Battle of San Jacinto. Following that, he won the 1836 Texan presidential election. He played a vital role in the annexation of Texas and thus, was elected to represent Texas in the United States Senate. In 1859, Houston won the Independent vote for governor of Texas with a 56.8% to 43.1% margin. Sam Houston was forced out of office in 1861 after refusing to swear an oath of loyalty to the Confederacy. He died just two years later in 1863 and is honored in many ways, the city of Houston which was named for him being the most noteworthy.

Kitty Knight Inn (Suggested by: Steven Saint-Amour) 

Located along the Chesapeake Wine Trail and a scenic byway is the Kitty Knight Inn in Maryland. Kitty Knight was an amazingly brave woman who saved this house from destruction at the hands of the British. She went on to buy the house and apparently, is still caring for it in the afterlife. Join us for the history and hauntings of the Kitty Knight Inn!

Galena is located on Maryland's Upper Eastern Shore and is home to the inn. The town was originally named Downs' Cross Roads when it was founded in 1763. The name was for early settler William Downs who established a tavern in the town. The town later became Georgetown Cross Roads and then eventually Galena, which is a type of silver extracted from lead ore. Town legend claims that a mine near the town had galena extracted from it, but there is no actual record of this. Galena is also home to the 301 Devils Playground haunted attraction. This attraction is Maryland's number one haunted attraction and has four areas: House of Hell, 3-D Phobia (3-D blacklight experience), The Barn of Torture and The Harvest. Plan a visit and make sure to book a room at the Kitty Knight Inn, which is a tribute to a woman who made a name for herself during the War of 1812.

In 1803, the Napoleonic War started between France and England. To stick a thumb in the eye of England, Napoleon negotiated the Louisiana Purchase with America, giving the new country all the French territory west of the Mississippi River. This helped build tensions between England and the United States. On top of that, Britain was boarding American ships and forcing the men aboard into conscription with their military. Britain needed more bodies because they were having trouble with desertion. Congress responded with demanding reparations and a cessation of impressment of Americans. They also expelled British ships from American waters. And then they passed the Embargo Act of 1807 to help avoid war, which eventually would come with the War of 1812. That war lasted for almost three years and didn't accomplish much for any side. But there were many stories that spawned from this conflict and several are connected to the state of Maryland, like the writing of the National Anthem and the valiant tale about Kitty Knight. 

Catharine Knight was known to everybody as "Kitty." It is believed that she was born in 1775 to John and Catherine Knight, who were both very active in the area. Kitty was said to be beautiful woman, who was tall and graceful. Her family was prominent, with her uncle serving in the General Assembly and as a member of the United States House of Representatives, and so when a ball was hosted in Philadelphia during a session of the Continental Congress, she attended. George Washington was one of the men who punched her card for a dance. Anger was growing in the area, just as it was on much of the east coast, towards the British. President Monroe and Congress declared war on Britain in June of 1812. Maryland wouldn't get much attention until the spring of 1813. The British had their eyes on the Chesapeake Bay. Britain saw this as a den of thieves and pirates.

Baltimore gets most of the attention in Maryland when it comes to the War of 1812, but the Eastern shore was very involved and paid a heavy price with two battles, seven skirmishes and 14 British raids. Whole towns were burned to the ground. This is what would happen in the Galena area. Turner's Creek was a village of about 60 people that was an important port for flour and grains. British Rear Admiral George Cockburn had a plan to squelch any resistance in Maryland. He would severely punish any resistance. On May 6, 1813, he landed several barges on the small village of Turner's Creek and told the residents that if they cooperated, they would be left unharmed. The British loaded up on supplies and claimed that they paid "full value" for those supplies. A man named John Stavely was forced to be a guide up the Sassafras River to Fredericktown, Georgetown and Galena. Local militia fired on the British from both sides of the Sassafras River. They were quickly overcome and retreated to Fort Duffy. Fort Duffy no longer exists, but a memorial marker was erected listing the names of the men. Because all of those towns resisted, Cockburn turned them to ash, save for a few locations in Galena because he met a brave woman, Kitty Knight.

So the British went on to the Galena area and they were marching to a hill where two brick houses sat, along with a church. We aren't sure if Kitty lived at one of the houses that ran as a boarding house or if she was just protecting two of the homes in her community, but as the British approached, she stood her ground. A sick and destitute elderly woman lived in one of the houses and the British started to put flame to it when Kitty rushed up and stamped out the flames. She declared to Admiral Cockburn, "I shall not leave. If you burn this house, you burn me with it." The British attempted again to burn the house and she stamped the flames out again. Her heroism greatly affected Cockburn and he ordered his men to stand down. He directed them to load back up the barges and the group left, leaving the church and two houses unburned. Kitty later bought the house that now bears her name in 1836. When she passed at the house in November of 1855 a newspaper wrote, "Her heroism at the burning of Georgetown...she saved several families from being made homeless and friendless by the fire and sword." She was buried at Saint Francis Xavier Shrine Cemetery. 

Sueann Hall bought the inn in 2018 from Ford and Ralph Hall. Jamestown Hospitality Group owns the property today. The two houses on the hill that were saved, were joined together in the 1930s. The older one was known as the Archibald Wright House and was built between 1773 and 1783. A white plank fence leads up the hill to the three-story red-brick inn with columns. The Kitty Knight Inn was probably built in 1800 and was known as the William Henry House. The inn was recently renovated and features 11 guest rooms. Along with the rooms, there is the Deep Blue Restaurant that also is an event venue. And... there is the ghost. 

April Doughty who is the director of marketing for the Jamestown Hospitality Group said, "We definitely have chatter about the house being haunted. Guests say that doors will shut, or you’ll hear voices when no one is there. While it’s always exciting to view the findings of paranormal investigation teams, the haunting of Kitty Knight remains a mystery." The house embraces the hauntings and not only has had members of the Mid-Atlantic Paranormal Project (MAPP) come and investigate the inn several times, but the group hosts public investigations. Our listener Steven who suggested this location participated in one of those hunts. He wrote, "We stayed there for a paranormal investigation and it was very active - cat balls and flash lights - lighting up on request. It has at least four spirits to include Kitty Knight herself." He shared a picture of one of the cat balls going off.

Tony Avallone is the Founder of the MAPP team and he said, "We strongly believe that there’s a presence that could be Kitty Knight herself." The group feels her presence most prominently in the room that bears her name and was apparently her actual room at one time. Avallone has overnighted in the room and had unexplained occurrences happen. He shared, "Our team investigated the room all night, and I ended up sleeping in the bed after we wrapped up around 3:30 a.m. At about 6:30 a.m. I woke up feeling a tugging, and I was freezing cold. I could see my breath. The thermostat was entirely off, but when we watched the footage, no one had touched it.” The rest of the Inn was at a normal temperature. 

The team has picked up orbs that they believe are supernatural in origin because the orbs seem to move with purpose and a couple have had distinct human features. Another spirit that they believe is in the house belongs to child and they have played ball with it, rolling the ball back and forth. Children are heard laughing and crying down in the basement. 

A Washington Post article from 1992 by Mary Z. Gray talks about the haunts in Kent County and the inn came up. She wrote, "In recent years, the manager's husband found the bathroom door blocked after he had showered. He was alone in the house. With great effort, he got the door open and found that a large TV set had been pushed against it. Later, a guest locked his door, only to see it open by itself, the hall light streaming in. He locked it again, propping a chair against it. When it opened once more, knocking over the chair, he packed his bags and left."

Horror Zine's Media Director Trish Wilson spent a couple nights at the Kitty Knight and here are her experiences, "I awakened to a great deal of noise coming from the room next to mine. It sounded like a party was going on in there. Too tired and embarrassed to complain, I checked the clock for the time – 2:30 am – and then tried to go back to sleep. I was surprised there was so much noise. It seemed odd to me, as if something were wrong, but I couldn't put my finger on exactly what that was. I wanted to say something about the noise, but I was too timid to speak up. I didn't want to cause any trouble, and I didn't want to come across as a stick in the mud. I awakened again at about 4 am. The inn was uncannily quiet. The partygoers must have checked out for the night or passed out. I felt a chill of excitement and a little fear as I pulled the blankets and sheets up to my chin. What if I encountered something in the dead of night, alone, in my room? What would I do or say? I had often read that the best thing to do when confronted by a spirit is to ask what it wanted. I was far too frightened to even think of doing anything of the kind! I had read books by legendary ghost hunters Hans Holzer and Elliott O'Donnell. Holzer worked with a medium who helped troubled spirits move on to the afterlife so they were not trapped on this plane. In my experience, demonic themes like those found in the "Conjuring" movies and "The Amityville Horror" weren't very common at that time. Ghosts were more often seen as sad, lost souls who were mostly harmless. So, I felt safe and quite thrilled.

Momentarily, I heard footsteps walking down the hallway away from my room. Who would be wandering about the halls at this late hour? Whoever it was took heavy steps as if wearing boots. Was it a guest of the inn – or a ghost? I wasn't about to open my door to find out! If it was Miss Kitty, she had a heavy step as if she wanted to be sure I knew she was there. While I felt frightened and very excited, I did not feel in danger. According to the legend, Miss Kitty wandered about the halls at night to check on her guests. I suppose she was satisfied I was squared away in my room. Early the next morning, I showered, packed, and walked downstairs to check out. I told the woman at the front desk about the party going on in the room next to mine, and how loud it was. She gaped at me with a deer in the head lights expression on her face. She said I couldn't have heard a party. I was alone in the building all night! The prickly things ran up and down my spine. I had experienced ghostly phenomena! 

While I would love to believe I had encountered one hell of a haunting, I was aware that the kitchen was downstairs from my room. Most likely, I heard the kitchen staff cleaning up for the night after dinner service had ended. It was very late, though. Later than I expected the kitchen staff to still be in the building. So … what if? What were those footsteps I heard clomping down the hallway? I had not imagined them. Even if the "party" was the staff cleaning up, I heard those footsteps moving just outside my room. Thrilled that I had a wonderful haunting experience to talk about after so many years of my own private investigations, I wanted to return. And return I did – with my husband. Our day at the Kitty Knight House was uneventful. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and gazed at the beautiful view of the Sassafras River. The patio was closed because it was nearly winter, but we did walk outside. I had enjoyed coffee on the patio the first time I had stayed. We stayed in the same room I had during my first time at the inn. I was afraid we'd end up leaving and not experience anything, but I was happy to return. We watched a little TV and then went to sleep.

I snapped awake in the middle of the night when someone – or something – had turned on the overhead light. I'm a very light sleeper, so that light turning on woke me up immediately. It was eerily quiet, which made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I remembered my husband had turned off the light before we retired for the night. I was too tired to get up and turn it off so I ignored it and went back to sleep. I awakened shortly before dawn, and the light had been switched off.The next morning, I asked my husband if he had turned the light off before going to bed. He said he had. He had not turned it back on at all during the night. Who had turned on that light? And who came back and turned it off?

I also heard those steps in the hallway again, just like my first visit. There were people staying in the inn that night so it could have been anyone. However, those were the same heavy footfalls I heard the first time around. Was Miss Kitty looking after me again? I recalled reading that her ghost had a habit of flicking on and off the light switches in addition to wandering about the hallways at night. I haven't been back to the Kitty Knight House since, but I would enjoy a return visit. I felt comfortable, safe, and curious. Whether or not my ghostly experiences were real, the inn was beautiful and welcoming. I'd like to think I experienced a haunting. I'm satisfied that I had. And what a haunting it was! Ghosts enjoying a party in the room next to me! Phantom footsteps! Lights turning on and off in the middle of the night! I couldn't have asked for a more thrilling stay. If Yelp were around, I'd have given the Kitty Knight House a great review – ghosts and all.

Less than five miles away, in Millington, there is a Cry Baby Bridge. This version claims that a mother gave birth to a deformed baby and she threw him off the bridge. The child later began to haunt the bridge and the forest near it by knocking over trees with crying fits. Any fallen trees are blamed on him. This area near the Sassafras River sounds beautiful and the inn sounds like a great place to enjoy it and some ghosts. Is the Kitty Knight Inn haunted? That is for you to decide!