Bucks County is a place where you can live your best life , and maybe your best afterlife.
The rich history here includes the first residents, the Lenni Lenape Native Americans whose influence has been woven into local history. The Founding Fathers who made history and made homes here, as did some of America's first rich and powerful families.
The county was also a stronghold for the Quaker community, which provided sanctuary for runaway slaves using the secret Underground Railroad.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it's been reported that some of those original visitors and residents are still hanging around.
Here is a list of some of the most well-known haunted places in Bucks County.
The Golden Plough Inn
The first postmaster of Lahaska, Thomas Betts, is reportedly still on
duty after 200 years at what is now the a popular Peddler’s Village tourist stop.
One of the strange stories about Betts' spirit involves a night auditor who returned to the lobby to find a trail of coffee stirrers arranged on the floor forming a line from the coffee station across the room to the front desk.
Guests have also reported seeing what appears to be a man at the end of the second-floor hallway, just outside Room 202.
Another time inn staff was alerted to loud noises coming from an unoccupied Room 202. When employees investigated they heard the television, and as they entered a deep voice reportedly asked, “What do you want?”
Go: 5886 Lower York Road, New Hope.
McCool's at the Historic Red Lion Inn
The Quakertown inn opened in 1740, under the ownership of Walter McCoole during the Revolutionary War period. The tavern’s name was changed to Enoch’s Tavern in 1793.
The inn was used as a meeting place for the organizers of Fries Rebellion, a rebellion by German Pennsylvanians against a tax imposed to fund the war with France, according to its website.
The inn was part of the Underground Railroad with tunneled that stretch across Quakertown, and some exist underneath the inn today. "Lassie Come Home" author Eric Knight ate lunch at the restaurant with his famous Rough Collie.
Employees and customers have reported glowing orbs appear in photos taken int he restaurant and the theater next door. Some people have reported seeing full body apparitions. A ghost child is said to have spooked employees.
Go: 4 South Main Street, Quakertown
The Pen Ryn Estate
The ghost of a distraught and disinherited son of a wealthy Philadelphia shipping merchant reportedly haunts this estate.
Robert Bickley, the heir apparent to his family's fortune, it is said, infuriated his father, Abraham Bickley, when — depending on the story — he either married a commoner or fell in love with a woman who opposed British rule during the American Revolution.
Either way the story ends the same: On Christmas Eve, father and son fought and Abraham Bickley kicked him out of the waterfront estate. Robert Bickley was never seen or heard from again.
The legend goes that Robert Brickley waded out into the Delaware River, where he drowned. Each Christmas Eve near midnight, it is said that Robert Bickley rises from the river, makes his way home and furiously pounds on the front door.
If it's opened, a slime-covered Robert Bickley stands in the entrance cursing his father. If slammed shut, the ghost circles the house, appearing in each window and rapping the glass before disappearing.
Go: 1601 State Road, Bensalem.
The Continental Tavern
The Continental Tavern has been a home, a tavern, a hotel, a restaurant, a speakeasy and a stop along the famed Underground Railroad. The pub has also been the scene of two murders.
During renovations, items were found from the Prohibition era, including a pistol and a corset covered in bloody bullet holes. Numerous spirits have supposedly been seen on the property, including a young boy trying to find his mother. Objects have also reportedly moved on their own.
Go: 2 N. Main St., Yardley.
St. James the Greater Episcopal Church
The church is supposedly home to numerous spirits and is also whereGertrude Louise Spring was buried. Spring died in 1935 when her car entered Penn Warner Lake, also known as Van Sciver Lake.
Some people believe she is the ghost known as "Midnight Mary." More on that later.
An another urban legend tied to the cemetery centers on Merrit and Sarah Wright.
When Merrit Wright died in 1911 at the age of 51, he had a wrought iron chair placed in front of his tombstone so his wife could rest during her visits. The chair has been the subject of local ghost stories with some people believing it's link to Sarah was that she was a witch.
Adding to the mystery is that Sarah Wright's date of death is missing from the tombstone.
Go: 225 Walnut St., Bristol.
Penn Warner Club
The reputed stomping grounds of “Midnight Mary," a teen girl who allegedly died with her prom date when their car careened Tullytown Lake at the Penn Warner Club. Only her date's body was found.
It's been said that her spirit, wearing a pink dress, walks near the lake and hitchhikes along nearby Bordentown Road in Bristol and overpass bridge at Main Street in Tullytown. The legend is that if she's picked up by a kind stranger, she disappears into a large puddle of water.
Go: 111 Bordentown Road, Morrisville.
King George II Inn
Visitors of the King George II Inn have reported slamming doors and the unexplained moving of chairs, silverware and lamps. An apparition of a man wearing a top hat and dressed in 19th-century clothes has been supposedly seen here. Other reports include the sounds of babies crying.
Go: 102 Radcliffe St., Bristol.
Bolton Mansion
This Pemberton estate, originally built in 1683, is reportedly visited by Civil War-era ghosts. The most frequent reports are of a girl peering from the upstairs windows, and a woman who wanders the grounds crying to herself.
Some believed that these may be spirits of a mother and daughter. Another female spirit is assumed to have committed suicide after losing her loved one.
Go: 85 Holly Drive, Levittown.
Margaret R. Grundy Library/Keene Mansion
Before the Margaret Grundy Memorial Library along Radcliffe Street in Bristol was built in 1966, the land was the former home of a mansion owned by the Keene family.
Its most famous resident was Sarah Lukens Keene, a lifelong bachelorette. Her most famous rejected suitor was Joseph Bonaparte, former king of Spain and brother of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.
Local legend holds that the ghost of Joseph Bonaparte is seen rowing along the Delaware River, waiting for his love to meet him.
Go: 680 Radcliffe St., Bristol.
Craven Hall
A young soldier from the 1700s is believed to have been buried on the grounds. He's reportedly been seen through the windows of the first floor, banging on the windows at night as if trying to escape.
Go: 599 Newtown Road, Warminster.
Temperance House
Constructed in 1772, the Temperance House hotel and restaurant is believed, by some, to be haunted by three children. In 2015, paranormal investigators spent an evening at Temperance House, and footage appeared to show a man floating up through the ceiling.
Go: 5 S. State St., Newtown.
Tyler Hall
Stella Tyler, the granddaughter of oil and rail tycoon William Elkins and wife of banker George Tyler, is said to still wander around the Bucks County Community College administration building that was once her home, setting off alarms and turning on appliances.
She's allegedly seen mostly at night and is believed to take residence in Tyler Hall because it was the place she was happiest during her lifetime.
Go: 275 Swamp Road, Newtown Township.
The Inn at Phillips Mill
The ghost of a woman has been reportedly seen wearing a long high-collared dress throughout the inn. She has often been allegedly seen in the second-floor hallways sitting in a rocking chair, and has been felt brushing past guests on the stairs.
Go: 2590 River Road, New Hope.
1870 Wedgwood Inn
The 1870 Wedgwood Inn bed and breakfast building was built in 1720 and rebuilt in 1860. Later, the discovery of the hidden staircase, a hatch door and stone tunnel under the property have led some to believe it was a station on the Underground Railroad.
Legend maintains that the ghost of a 12-year-old girl named Sara, believed to be a runaway slave, can be heard calling out for her parents.
Go: 111 W. Bridge St., New Hope.
Pineapple Hill Inn Bed and Breakfast
Three spirits are reportedly seen in the two oldest bedrooms and sitting area of the River Road bed and breakfast.
An elderly woman who allegedly passed away in the attic suite is one. There have also been reports of a spinning wheel being heard in the guestrooms in that area. Another spirit is a boy seen playing in the inn.
The spirit of the original homeowner, John Scott, has been reportedly seen waking up women who spend the night in the original bedrooms with a kiss on the cheek in the morning.
Go: 1324 River Road, New Hope.
Van Sant Covered Bridge
The legend of “Cry Baby Bridge” centers on the story of a young mother supposedly shunned by family and friends, throwing her baby off the bridge before hanging herself from the rafters.
Those who have approached the bridge at night have reported hearing the sounds of a baby crying or the sounds of the young woman’s feet sweeping across car roofs.
Go: Covered Bridge Road, Solebury.
Aaron Burr House Inn
Friends of U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr were said to have hidden him in the house while he was on the run after killing Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in an 1804 duel.
Burr's ghost is reportedly seen peering around corners and wandering throughout the house, especially the second floor and the staircase. Guests have claimed to feel tugging on their clothes as an attempt to stop them from leaving.
Go: 80 W. Bridge St., Route 179, New Hope.
Logan Inn
Room No. 6 is perhaps the most infamous at the Logan Inn, where a previous owner named Emily reportedly appears as guests are sleeping. A male ghost has also allegedly been seen in the bathroom mirror, in addition to sightings of numerous children and Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers.
It's rumored that if you smell the scent of lavender while in the building, a ghost is nearby.
Go: 10 W. Ferry St., New Hope.
Trum Tavern
Built in 1752 and formerly a courthouse, the second floor of the Trum Tavern is reportedly haunted by a former owner. Strange strange noises and moving objects have been reported.
Go: 1 E. Broad St., Trumbauersville.
The Rising Sun Inn
Built in 1739, the former Telford inn briefly housed the Liberty Bell in 1777 on its journey north, and it was a stop on the Underground Railroad network. It is also allegedly haunted by "Scary Mary" (rumored to be an old innkeeper) and other ghosts. Voices and strange noises, including shuffling, footsteps and voices, have been reported on the second floor.
Before it closed earlier this year, many workers claimed to have been startled by Mary's sudden appearance in the lobby. At times, people have heard "Scary Mary" calling to them from the second floor, inviting them to “come upstairs.” The cleaning crew reported that they would pull all the chairs in the dining room away from the tables to vacuum, only to have the chairs push themselves back in.
Go: 898 Allentown Road, Telford.
Black Bass Hotel
The Black Bass Hotel, built in the 1740s, allegedly has a spirit named Hans, a former owner. He supposedly fought with one of the workers who helped build the Delaware Canal in the early 1800s and was fatally stabbed.
The barstool he was sitting in when he allegedly died is still in the main tavern. Some report seeing a pool of blood on the floor and others have seen him lurking near where he was murdered.
A room near the main tavern where the bodies of canal workers who died were kept until a boat retrieved them reportedly has unexplained and rapid drops in temperature. Some have also reported hearing strange sobbing sounds and have experienced feelings of being watched.
The ghost of a woman dressed in white allegedly wanders the halls and has been seen in a guest room with a pearl-handled revolver in her lap. The legend goes that the woman killed her husband, his mistress and then herself in one of the rooms. Some guests who say they have seen her report the scent of lavender, while others experienced a feeling of sadness.
Go: 3774 River Road, Lumberville.
Gravity Hill/Buckingham Mountain
Legend has it that if you stop your car at a specific spot on Holicong Road and put it in neutral, the car will travel uphill. There are two stories suggesting why: One is that it's because of witches or dark magic, and another is that it's the ghosts of soldiers who grouped together to push something up the hill.
Go: Holicong Road, Buckingham.
Mount Gilead African Methodist Episcopal Church
There's a legend of a cursed tombstone in the graveyard next to the Mount Gilead African Methodist Episcopal Church where visitors can challenge the devil to a foot race.
If you feel a gust of wind after completing the sprint, it’s said to be the devil catching up to you, but if you feel a gust of wind before finishing, it’s the devil brushing past you. Winning is supposed to bring good luck for a year, while losing is supposed to bring misfortune.
Go: 1940 Holicong Road, Solebury.
'Ghost Mountain'
Haycock Mountain, known to locals as “Ghost Mountain,” is supposedly where people report seeing glowing eyes and orbs of light.
Near the top of the mountain is Top Rock Trail, where Native Americans and cults supposedly performed rituals and the sounds of whelping animals can be heard in the woods. It's also been said that people who stand by “Table Top Rock” and look to the left experience an overwhelming feeling of dread and despair.
Go: Route 563, near Nockamixon State Park, Haycock Township.
Crime and Courts Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bucks County has a rich 'haunted' history. Do you know these local ghost stories?
