Westminster’s 'Most Haunted' No. 2: Ascension Church Graveyard

If you look up ‘haunted places in Westminster, MD’ you’ll come across numerous stories about an evil man named Legh Master.  There is even a book by George Donald Riley, Jr. entitled Ghost of Leigh Furnace available in the Historical Society, describing the life and legends that surround the man buried in the Ascension Church cemetery. 

Known to be a cruel man, Master (1717-1796) moved from England to Maryland in 1765 after the death of his wife.  In what is now known as the Furnace Hills area, near Wakefield Valley Golf Course, he built a mansion with wealth he accumulated in the iron business. 

One well-known tale explains how Master began doting unwanted attention on a young slave girl.  Enraged when the girl refused his advances, it is said that Master bricked her up in a kitchen oven.  The tale goes on to say how Master then bound the young slave named Sam, who had been the girls betrothed and threw him into a fiery furnace. 

When Master died at the age of 80 he was buried in New Windsor near his mansion, Furnace Hills.  The legend goes that soon his bones were found risen to the surface.  The bones were re-buried, but again they were found, risen to the top of the grave.  On the third occasion that the bones were buried and rose again, it was decided that his remains should be moved to consecrated ground. 

In 1876, Master's remains were moved the Ascension Church cemetery on North Court Street in downtown Westminster. 

Master's grave was boxed in brick and a large stone slab was placed on top to keep them in the ground once and for all. 

Soon after the grave was finished, the stone slab covering the grave cracked in half.  Some say the earth was once more trying to reject him; others feel it is the result of the evil spirit, vying once more for freedom.  Rumor has it that the slab was replaced but it cracked once again and that is how it remains today. 

The legend goes that on windy nights, Master rides on a dark grey horse that has fire flaring from its nostrils.  He is led by a devilish imp who holds a lantern and dances madly.

Legend maintains that it is Master's fate to endlessly ride the roads between New Windsor and Westminster, crying out and searching for his lost soul. 

Master’s is also credited as being the “Ghost of Furnace Hill” or is sometimes referenced as the haunting at the Avonlea Bed and Breakfast.

For more details about this legend check out Ghost of Legh Furnace sold at the Shop at Cockey's or read more in the Carroll County Times article, Resident Lives on in Ghost Stories by Mary Ann Ashcraft. 

This story was recounted from the Carroll County Ghost Walk Tour brochure, located on www.westminstermd.com. Visit the site to get more details and read about other haunted places in Carroll County.

Check the Westminster Patch tomorrow to read about the most haunted place in Carroll County. Can you guess what it is?