Tales of History & Haunting
at The Berkeley Castle

Old castle’s often have many shady stories in their past. Stories of secret loves, murder, dark tunnels, and ghosts just to name a few. The Berkeley Castle is no different. Its past contains many dark crevices which hold it together, like the mortar holds the stones. From the tales of Rosa and her many loves to that of the ghosts that haunt the castle, we shall explore them all. Let’s begin with how the castle actually came to be in Berkeley Springs.

The story starts with a wealthy businessman named Colonel Samuel Taylor Suit. Colonel Suit had made his fortunes by first working for, then building his own, whiskey distillery. He also owned and operated his own hotel and was acting president of Anacostia Warf & Docking Co., Washington & Chesapeake railroads, and Washington City & Point Lookout Railroads. He later became interested in politics and served a term as a Maryland Senator. Colonel Suit had already been married twice, his first wife having died and his second marriage ending in "unhappy differences", when he met Rosa Pelham. They first met at a debutante ball, the Colonel was 46 and Rosa a mere 17. They would weeks later meet in one of the hotels that was located in Berkeley Springs, or the Town of Bath as it was formally known, a resort town that some newspapers coined "sin city." The colonel had fallen in love and proposed marriage to Rosa, but due to the age difference she turned him down.

Five years had passed, but they had kept in contact, and were once again in the Town of Bath. While at a luncheon in one of the hotels, the subject of castles had come up. Rosa mentioned how she would love to own a castle and the colonel quickly seized the opportunity and told Rosa that if she would marry him, he would build her a castle. She quickly accepted this time and they were married three days later in Washington D.C. The plans for the castle were quickly drawn up and the land purchased. In 1883, the castle was in the beginning stages and was going to take about five years to finish. Colonel Suit had hoped to be in his "cottage" by August 1, 1888, but unfortunately he never was. He died only months before it was finished, Rosa had the castle completed and moved herself and her three children in.

Word traveled fast and many of the townspeople wondered if perhaps Rosa had something to do with his death. After time, the rumors stopped and Rosa went on with her life and began throwing elaborate parties. She would invite friends to her parties and have them brought in by train, sometimes filling whole cars and booking entire hotels. Rosa also had many suitors at this time, but she never remarried. A clause in the will had stated that had she remarried, she would lose everything bestowed upon her. Her parties were notorious for starting at dusk and ending at dawn. But, Rosa would only make her grand entrance, stay long enough for one dance, then leave with one of her suitors.

Some of her guests were actually lucky enough to be invited to stay in the castle. Late in the day she would have them gather around the dining room table and have their fortunes told by gypsies she had hired. The truly fortunate one would be invited to join her at the after hours gambling parties which she held in the Drawing Room. In fact, at one of the parties, Rosa and her suitor, who’s nickname was Jawbone, had gotten into a heated argument. The fighting had progressed and Jawbone and Rosa ended up on the roof, where Jawbone fell to his death. Guests say that in his dying breath he muttered, "Look at what you’ve done to me. I’ll be with you forever."

Eventually, her parties started to decline and funding was running short. Her children had also went their separate ways. So Rosa was left alone except for the occasional visit from a suitor. Time went by and Rosa lost all of her money and slowly went insane, a condition they say ran in her family. Visitors were now unwelcome at her castle. When she saw people coming, she would run to the roof and throw rocks at them. Many locals called her a witch, some people saying it was true, she never discouraged this belief. She eventually lost the castle. Her son took pity on her and took her out west to finish out the few years of her life.

This isn’t the end of the story, for many people say that Rosa, and her suitors, are still here. Visitors that have toured the castle reported seeing and hearing odd things. Several reported hearing their name being called as they walked by the Drawing Room. Could it be that someone still lurks within this room, calling out to anyone who will listen? The room is believed to be the most haunted in the castle and definitely where most of the paranormal events occur. The most infamous being the spinning feather quill pen, which still rests in the original ink well on the desk that Rosa would sit and write her correspondences. This is not the only thing that happens, for pictures taken of this room strangely appear to have a ghostly man standing in it, or so it is reported.

The groundskeeper also has heard several strange things from laughter and the sounds of partying on the roof; to the most horrific, the sound of something piercing a human body followed by a loud thud on the solarium floor ending with the sound of dragging. There are others still who claim to have seen a women standing looking out of the tower windows in Rosa’s room. Interestingly enough, this something Rosa did often. The owners have heard what can only be described as a child’s laughter coming from the dining room, when no one else is in the castle. As well as the chime of a crystal bowl being tapped gently. There have also been several reports of images being seen on the staircase in photographs as well as by visitors is person. Employees have gotten locked in rooms, the door being held by some unknown force only to be released when disturbed by a passerby.

Perhaps, in the end Rosa is still here. She left knowing full well that one day she would return to her beloved castle. Then she would be able to relive all of her grand and glorious parties, but with what has been reported, perhaps she has company... company she didn’t plan for.