Black Aggie

If you lived in Baltimore and you are interested in urban legends than one of the stories that you would have heard from childhood was the legend of Black Aggie. Black Aggie was a monument that was placed on a grave site at Druid Ridge Cemetery in Pikesville, MD. She was placed on the General Felix Agnus family plot.

It was rumored that no grass would ever grow at her base. She was made of black marble and sat viewing the grounds. The legend grew to those who believed in a dark side. As urban legends grow it was stated that at midnight Black Aggies eyes would glow red. The legends kept growing and it was stated that if a person looked into Black Aggies gaze, they would be struck blind. The legend went that is a pregnant woman were to pass the shadow of Black Aggie, the woman suffer a miscarriage. The stories and legends of Black Aggies kept getting weirder, a college fraternity wanted to include Black Aggie in their initiation rites, all fun and games no harm right?, some of the stories claim that one student was found dead the following morning, He had died of fright. After the death of the student the news spread like wildfire. It kept getting worse, people would come to the cemetery and write on the statue, one even cut off one of her arms and claimed that the statue had given him the arm. The family had finally had enough. They took the monument down and turned her over to the Smithsonian Institute. The Smithsonian claimed that they never received her. It seems that they gave her to the National Museum of American Art. Black Aggie now sits at the Federal Courts Building in Washington, near a rear courtyard of the Dolly Madison House. I wonder if her eyes still glow red at midnight.

One night in the late 50’s, a group of us met, as prearranged by one of our friends, Arthur (now a psychiatrist, then needing one). Most of us had our dates with us and we met at midnight at Black Aggie. We got out of the cars and milled about, not knowing why we were there except for the Black Aggie experience. All of a sudden, from behind Aggie herself, came a ghostly figure. It was Arthur, all dressed in white, with his shirt buttoned over his head so he looked like a headless ghost, running wildly and screaming at us. Needless to say, he was developing future patients! Everyone panicked, screamed and left in a hurry.

This was a memorable experience! Fifty years later I’m still telling the story…