Meet Ann Khiel Fern – your guide on the Charles Town Ghost Tours.

Ann Khiel Fern – “The Ghost Lady”
Guide and Proprietor of Charles Town Ghost Tours

Ann is an historian, public speaker, educator, freelance writer, and Certified Tourism Ambassador.

She is a huge Civil War buff who has published two books on haunted Jefferson County, West Virginia – Charles Town, WV – A Haunted History (now out of print) and Jefferson County, WV – Sometimes the Dead Speak: Haunted Tales of an Historic County, which is available on her tours, as well as the John Brown Wax Museum in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. More information on these books can be found on the Books page.

Ann has been guiding her Charles Town Ghost Tours since 2009, and she enjoys most the look of enlightenment when a patron learns something new – and the look of amazement when a participant captures a “one of a kind” picture on the tour.

She loves the interaction between herself and the patrons. “I don’t believe a tour should be a monologue. I also love the end of the tour when people who previously didn’t know each other leave as friends!”

Her favorite moment on one of her tours involves the spirit of a child. “I had researched and become quite passionate about a young girl who died without family. While I was standing at her grave and telling her story, several patrons got photos of a child-size pink mist surrounding my body. An older woman spoke up and said, ‘She’s not without family. She has you.’ It was a very emotional moment.”

Ann’s favorite stop is Edge Hill Cemetery. “There is so much history (and hauntings) and the cemetery art is incredible.”

What can participants expect on her tour? Expect the unexpected!

“No two tours of mine are ever the same! I don’t speak to spirits, (and I prefer they not speak to me) but whenever I lead a tour, the ghosts come out to play.”