Ghosts II of the Eastern Shore-p

by Andy Nunez

Do You Believe?

In Ghosts of the Eastern Shore, Andy Nunez took you to the haunted corners of the Delmarva Peninsula. This time around, you follow along as he goes with professional ghost hunters as they follow his stories to verify those things that go bump in the night. Using scientific equipment, ghost hunters visit some of the oldest houses on the Eastern Shore and delve into the greatest ghost stories on Delmarva.

As a bonus, Andy takes you around the Shore with a new crop of ghostly experiences, told by the very people who came face to face with the unknown. Profusely illustrated with drawings and photographs, this book has more stories and more detail than any other book on the Eastern Shore’s haunted places. After you put this book down, you might want to leave all the lights on.

ISBN 978-59431-855-9 Folklore, paranormal

Chapter 1

I first read about Vernon Trotter and his amazing experiences in the local newspaper in late September of 2008. I was waiting for the release of the previous volume, Ghosts of the Eastern Shore, when it caught my eye one Sunday.

The article was by my old friend and inspiration for local folklore, Brice Stump. His article was straightforward and unbiased, but the story he unfolded was little short of bizarre. Not far from me, in the sparsely populated stretches of woods in northwestern Wicomico County, a couple of everyday folks were having experiences that were anything but everyday.

Vernon Trotter lived in a house built, according to the article, in 1875. The photos showed a long wooden building surrounded by trees and brush. Vernon and his companion Ann Sturgis, looked like normal, average folks, dressed simply and without guile on their faces. The lengthy article detailed the experiences and I put it aside to follow up later.

I e-mailed Brice about their exact location and phone number, but he was cryptic, and rightfully so. The Trotters are entitled to their privacy. He gave me the road, and that was it.

A couple of months later I was talking to Salisbury historian George Chevalier who called me about a lady near Fruitland with a haunted house. I wrote down her phone number and mentioned I had read about Mr. Trotter and his worrisome ghosts. George let on that he knew Mr. Trotter and gave me his phone number.

As the weather was deteriorating with approaching winter, I put the number aside, promising to follow up when the weather was better. Launching the publicity machine for the new book consumed my time and attention until February, after the National Outdoor Show.

Hearing about some ghostly things at the show, I thought once again of Mr. Trotter, but the weather was cold and snowy, so I left him to lie until March 12, 2009, when he called me. Well, specifically he called my home and talked to my wife. She said he sounded upset when she called me at the office.

“You know he wants to talk to you about the spirits.”