Inside the building, staffers have reported hearing thumps and clangs late at night, witnessing toilets flush on their own and faucets turn off and on, elevators going from floor to floor with the doors opening, but no one inside.

"When the sun sets and the moon rises, Peter Suman once again takes center stage at Courthouse Square and in the old courthouse," Angleberger said.

Former Frederick Alderman David "Kip" Koontz was told that a shadowy figure attired in black Victorian garb had been seen entering his office late at night.

Koontz had also been told that city staff had their calendars switch months ahead on occasion, and pictures hanging on the wall would be slanted in the morning.

"From the people who told me and witnessed that, I don't think they would be prone to making it up," Koontz said.

Suman was executed Aug. 17, 1781, with two other British sympathizers in front of a crowd of 2,000 spectators. Accused of high treason, Suman was hanged, beheaded and then drawn and quartered. The gruesome punishment involved being hanged and then cut down before he was dead.

After the crowd witnessed the event, they begged for mercy for the remaining prisoners. It worked: The other two were only hanged.

"Right before his execution, Peter Suman put a curse on the old courthouse," Angleberger said.

Shortly after Suman's execution, the courthouse caught fire and burned to the ground. A second courthouse built at the same location burned down in 1861.

The fire started simultaneously in multiple locations, according to Angleberger.

"When the fire brigades arrived, they found the water supply had been mysteriously turned off," he said. "They watched helplessly as that courthouse burned to the ground."

Angleberger believes that the shadowy figure seen outside of Koontz's office was Suman's wife, who stood by her husband's grave for days after his execution to protect what was left of him. Koontz said it could have been someone who was in the courthouse when it burned in 1861.

Although those who work in City Hall are aware of the stories, not everyone is a believer.

"There are always rumors, but it's just an old building," said Susan Harding, the city's public information officer.

Joe Adkins, deputy director of planning, had an office in City Hall for more than 15 years. While working late at night, Adkins investigated some of the weird noises heard, but never found anything.

"It is one noisy building at night. Whether it's the bats in the belfry or rats in the basement, it's a very noisy building," he said. "It has all of the possibilities and the elements of having ghosts in there."

Judy Arnold, the city's facilities manager, has had members of the cleaning staff tell her stories of the elevator going up and down and opening at random floors and office lights turning on by themselves. While sharing an office on the second floor with the legal department, Arnold's radio turned on while she was working.

"I didn't have it on. It just started playing, but that is the only time anything weird happened to me," she said.

Secretary Chuck Thompson has heard many of the stories associated with ghosts in the building, but has yet to have any encounters of his own.

"Fortunately I haven't seen anything," he said. "I don't want to."