Unsolved Mysteries: The Mysterious Black Aggie
by Christine B.
In 1926 General Felix Angus placed a statue on the site of his family’s plot in the Druid Ridge Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. The statue is composed of a black metal, and not of stone, as was customary with most other cemetery ornamentation. Throughout its stay at the Druid Ridge Cemetery many strange and unexplained events occurred on and near the statue. Because of these mysterious events, the stature was dubbed, “Black Aggie.”
There are several urban legends associated with this dark statue. No grass will grow in Black Aggie’s shadow. If a pregnant woman should walk within the statue’s shadow, she will lose her baby. (This legend is due to the fact that the original statue [Black Aggie is said to be a copy of a monument created for Marian Adams] was commissioned for a woman who passed away who could not have any children.) A near-by college used the statue as a hazing procedure. A young man had to spend the night at the statue in order to pledge to a fraternity. One of the unfortunate gentlemen was found dead the next morning with his appendages twisted in an unnatural fashion. Other legends include that at midnight Aggie’s eyes open and glow as if the inside of the statue was on fire. Others believe she moves during the night, as well.
Because of the many people who would break into the cemetery at night to view the statue, in 1967 it was donated to the Smithsonian. It sat there for years in storage at the National Museum of Art.
When the gardens around the Dolly Madison House on Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. were created the statue was moved there. She has remained there ever since. No one can be sure if the Angus family plot was haunted or if the statue is, but Aggie lives out a relatively quiet life where she is now.
Although Black Aggie no longer sits at the Druid Ridge Cemetery, she remains the topic of much interest. A spokesperson from the Druid Ridge Cemetery reports,“We still have people coming to Druid Ridge, asking for Black Aggie all the time. I don’t think there’s a week that goes by when we don’t get a call about it.”
