Jim Thorpe ghost walks reveal spirits from the nineteenth century

If you want to meet Madeleine, Nurse Sara, Asa and Mary Packer, and a host of others who lived in the 19th century, take a guided ghost walk through the town of Jim Thorpe, courtesy of the town's Rotary Club.Sarah Dalton, a guide for the past three years, and dressed in Victorian garb, brings a lantern along with a plethora of supernatural tales.On one moonlit night, she directed a group of nine tourists to particular locations where spirits have made their presence known.Dalton, who claims she has never seen a ghost herself, was married 13 years ago inside the Ashland mine."My husband said it was a good place because it had its own temperature control built in," she says with a laugh.She passed around a photograph taken in the mine during the ceremony that displayed what looked to be several sets of eyes and noses from what looks like the faces of miners."Whoever it was, they came to my wedding without an invitation," she says. "It certainly arouses one's curiosity."The ghost walk begins up Broadway and Dalton selects a volunteer to carry the lantern so they can be visible to street traffic."I don't want to make a ghost out of any of you when you cross the street," she tells her group.Never the two shall meetDalton stops the tour at the Inn at Jim Thorpe and informs the group that paranormal energy is at its peak from October through February.She tells a story of a young woman named Madeleine who set plans to secretly meet her lover at the Inn, formerly known as the Swan Hotel.They were to reserve rooms next to one another on the third floor, but when her lover arrived, he was told that men had to stay on the first floor. Unaware of the situation, Madeleine, thinking he was not arriving at all, was so distraught that she, well, you'll have to take the tour to find out what she did. Guests of the Inn have reported when lights go out unexpectedly, a girl with no face in a flowered dress can be seen within the building."A ghost with no face is a harbinger, and if you see one, it is sending a message that you need to change something in your life," says Dalton. "It was obviously too late for Madeleine."An epidemicand an orbJust up the street, Dalton pauses to talk about Sarah, a nurse who treated many patients during the cholera epidemic of 1854.In this guest house, visitors claim that toiletries have been moved and they even found them stuffed into a toilet and that the electric mysteriously shuts off in a room that was used by Nurse Sara to treat her patients. Dalton concludes that Sarah's work is still incomplete and she's still trying to take care of the guests in the house.Perhaps she does not want people to touch things that could bring disease.A recent tour taker took a picture of an orb, a white circle of paranormal energy, that appeared over Dalton's shoulder in the store window at Daisy's Boutique. When the flash met the orb, a crack in the glass window was formed.To smell a ghostAs the group pauses at the old jail, Dalton points out that the scrollwork in the iron railing that surrounds the steps is in shapes of nooses.She tells the story of the Molly Maguires and the hangings of Irish coal miners who were charged with the murders of nine mine bosses.Dalton speaks of Charles Sharpe in particular.As his wife screamed at the locked door of the building that housed the jail, she held his stay of execution in her hand. It was too late. Charles was hanged and his wife was left grieving at his body. Witnesses said she carried a fragrance of lilac that would have eased her husband's anxiety if his life had been spared. Dalton explains that spirits can be smelled as well as seen and every now and then visitors who tour the old jail will notice a strong scent of lilac near the area beneath the gallows.Spirits in high placesThe group is told that Asa Packer, a railroad tycoon when the town was called Mauch Chunk, still sits in the cupola of his mansion up on the hill staring out at the big town clock, waiting for the coal carrying trains to arrive.His daughter, Mary Packer has been observed inside The Episcopal Parish of St. Mark and St. John that her father had donated money for extensive renovations. Mary wanted to be the first to ride the newly installed elevator up to the church floor and she was, but unfortunately, she was carried in her casket after she died in 1912.Today, churchgoers claim that Mary appears to be watching over everyone who attends services.Pennies from heavenStepping aside from the world of ghosts, Dalton tells her guests that they should always pick up a penny from the ground because it's a "penny from heaven" and it means guardian angels are nearby protecting them.Smiles from the tour visitors suggest this is a story for children. As Dalton presents each one with a penny, they listen more closely as she offers evidence."A couple of years ago, I spent the day outside doing different things and I kept finding pennies, the number 23 to be exact. That night I led this ghost tour up Broadway when we heard gunshots ring out. I found out later that a policeman had been killed in his car right in front of the library."Dalton paused a moment."I knew why I found 23 pennies that day," she said. "There were 23 people with me on the tour that night, all kept safe by their guardian angels."Hanging aroundthe townAs the tour concluded, Dalton explained that when we die, there is a "window of opportunity" for us to travel into the next dimension."Some of us will not be ready just yet," she says."So we will hang around as ghosts until we are ready to go, and for some the wait could be hundreds of years or even longer."She encourages her guests to enjoy the rich history of Jim Thorpe."Jim Thorpe has never become a ghost town," she remarks. "It has become a town of ghosts."The one-mile round trip walks start at the Inn at Jim Thorpe, 24 Broadway. Led by a costumed storyteller with lantern, the walks, all outside, last about an hour, unless the spirits have other ideas. Tours are Friday through Sunday evenings through December. Cost for adults is $12, and children, 7-12; $6. Proceeds from the GhostWalk help support community and international service projects of the Rotary Club of Jim Thorpe. Visit

www.jimthorperotary.org.