Attachment to Sandy Spring is not confined to those who live here. Ghost stories abound of those whose spirits refused to leave when their bodies had passed on. The residents of some old homes have endured or enjoyed their ghostly boarders for generations. Although most have reportedly disappeared over the centuries, the legends remain, to be repeated by true believers or those who just love a good ghost story.

Avalon

In 1855 Alban and Rachel Gilpin built a "rather somber" brick home in Sandy Spring village. Ever after...footsteps heard walking through the old house at night, a tiny old lady in a long gray dress and steel-rimmed glasses mysteriously appearing... these were said to be the ghostly presence of Rachel Gilpin, long deceased, still haunting now-cheerful Avalon.