Titles in the America’s Haunted Road Trip Series:
Ghosthunting Florida
Ghosthunting Kentucky
Ghosthunting Illinois
Ghosthunting Maryland
Ghosthunting New Jersey
Ghosthunting New York City
Ghosthunting North Carolina
Ghosthunting Ohio
Ghosthunting Ohio: On the Road Again
Ghosthunting Pennsylvania
Ghosthunting Southern New England
Ghosthunting Texas
Cincinnati Haunted Handbook
Haunted Hoosier Trails
More Haunted Hoosier Trails
Nashville Haunted Handbook
Spooked in Seattle
Ghosthunting Virginia
COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Michael J. Varhola
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any fashion, print, facsimile, or electronic, or by any method yet to be developed, without the express permission of the copyright holder.
Published by Clerisy Press
Distributed by Publishers Group West
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, second printing 2011
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Varhola, Michael J., 1966–
Ghosthunting Virginia / by Michael J. Varhola. – 1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-1-57860-327-5
ISBN-10: 1-57860-327-7
1. Ghosts–Virginia. 2. Haunted places–Virginia. I. Title.
BF1472.U6V37 2008
133.109755–dc22
2008034998
Editor: John Kachuba
Cover design: Scott McGrew
Cover and interior photos provided by Michael J. Varhola
Clerisy Press
P.O. Box 8874
Cincinnati, OH 45208-0874
www.clerisypress.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome to America’s Haunted Road Trip
Introduction
NORTHERN
CHAPTER 1 Arlington National Cemetery (Arlington)
Many locations at this burial ground for America’s military personnel are said to be haunted by the spirits of those who have fallen over the past two centuries in the service of their nation.
CHAPTER 2 Bunny Man Bridge (Fairfax Station)
This site is reputed to be linked to a serial killer, whose spirit is said to make itself known if Bunny Man is uttered three times. Bunny Man Bridge has also influenced scenes in at least one movie and one video game.
CHAPTER 3 Gadsby’s Tavern (Alexandria)
A beautiful young woman who died at this historic tavern nearly two hundred years ago is sometimes still seen there, as are strange occurrences like lanterns that glow without being lit.
CHAPTER 4 Manassas National Battlefield Park (Prince William County)
Site of the first major battle of the Civil War, ghosts of fallen soldiers have long been seen roaming the fields where they fell during the bloodiest conflict in U.S. history.
CHAPTER 5 Historic Occoquan (Occoquan)
This charming waterfront village is reportedly home to a number of ghosts, including a murdered Indian who haunts a restaurant and whose likeness has been seen in the restaurant’s chimney smoke as well as in the mirror of the ladies’ restroom.
CHAPTER 6 Rippon Lodge (Woodbridge)
The oldest house still standing in Prince William County, this tragic lodge was the scene of more than one murder, and spirits who should have moved on to another world, are said to linger there.
CHAPTER 7 Weems-Botts Museum (Dumfries)
Originally the home of Mason Locke Weems, who fabricated the story of George Washington and the cherry tree, this site is now a museum and is said to be haunted by the ghosts of two sisters who both lived their lives in misery there.
CENTRAL
CHAPTER 8 Berry Hill Road (Pittsylvania County)
Creepy under ideal conditions, this seven-and-a-half mile stretch of road and the surrounding areas are home to ghosts, abandoned farmsteads, blighted woodlands, gravitational anomalies, and “Satan’s Bridge.”
CHAPTER 9 Civil War Hospital Museum Exchange Hotel (Gordonsville)
Once a hotel that served as a battlefield hospital during the Civil War, this site is now a museum that is said to house the spirits of soldiers who died from their wounds during the bloody conflict.
CHAPTER 10 Edgar Allan Poe Museum (Richmond)
Not far from where Edgar Allan Poe lived and worked, this museum is located in a historic house and contains a shrine to the troubled American author. Though the museum’s curator is skeptical, others have seen evidence of hauntings, including prankish ghosts who pinch and toss things at visitors.
CHAPTER 11 Trapezium House (Petersburg)
This house contains no parallel walls, having been so constructed according to the guidance of a West Indian servant who advised that building it in this way would ward off evil spirits. According to some, however, the house is nonetheless haunted by the ghosts of former inhabitants.
CHAPTER 12 Wreck of the Old 97 (Danville)
Immortalized in the first recorded song to sell a million copies in the United States, the Southern Express train No. 97 plummeted into a ravine in 1903, killing eleven people and injuring seven others on board. The ghosts associated with its story, however, may not be those of people who were actually on the train.
COAST
CHAPTER 13 Assateague Lighthouse (Assateague Island)
Assateague Island’s rich history, rugged coastline, and population of wild horses is interesting enough, but the lighthouse, which was originally constructed in 1867 and later rebuilt, is said to be haunted by its former keeper and perhaps Spanish sailors who drowned near the islands’s shores.
CHAPTER 14 1848 Island Manor House (Chincoteague Island)
Built by two affluent professionals in 1848 as an impressive manor house, this home played an important role during the Civil War and is today the most historic B&B on Chincoteague. No fewer than three ghosts are believed to haunt its chambers.
CHAPTER 15 Colonial Williamsburg (Williamsburg)
One of the oldest municipalities in the United States, Colonial Williamsburg is the site of numerous 18th-century buildings said to be haunted by ghosts—a female ghost who fled a party, losing one shoe along the way, another female ghost who was hit by a speeding carriage, and even George Washington himself (or is that just another man in a wig and frock coat?).
CHAPTER 16 Fort Monroe (Hampton)
In continuous usage by U.S. military forces for more than 170 years, this coastal redoubt is the site of several hauntings and could be the inspiration for Edgar Allan Poe’s story, “The Cask of Amontillado.”
MOUNTAIN
CHAPTER 17 Barter Theatre (Abingdon)
Opened during the Great Depression, this theatre allowed people in the isolated town of Abingdon to trade homegrown produce for tickets to live entertainment. It is believed by some to be home to the ghost of its founder, and has a “Scary Room” that puts actors on edge to this day.
CHAPTER 18 Carroll County Courthouse (Hillsville)
In 1912, a murderous spree at the conclusion of a trial claimed the lives of five people, including the sheriff and presiding judge. The site of those attacks, the Carroll County Courthouse, is believed by some to be haunted by the spirits of the slain, forever searching for justice.
CHAPTER 19 Devil’s Den (Fancy Gap)
This cold, damp cave in the Blue Ridge Mountains has a history as a hiding place—perhaps for the Underground Railway and also for some of the gunmen in the 1912 shooting at the nearby Carroll County Courthouse. It is also defin
itely the site of multiple unquiet spirits.
CHAPTER 20 Octagon House (Marion)
This crumbling brick edifice, built in the shape of an octagon, was home to slave-owner Abijah Thomas, who is said to haunt the place every December 1; and many say the spirits of his tortured slaves haunt it too.
CHAPTER 21 U.S. Route 58 (Lee, Scott, Washington, Grayson, Carroll, and Patrick Counties)
While it may not be actually haunted itself, the western stretch of Route 58—a mountainous road that runs along Virginia’s southern boundary—goes through numerous ghost hamlets and is a useful thoroughfare for those hunting for haunted sites in this most isolated part of the Old Dominion.
VALLEY
CHAPTER 22 Belle Grove Plantation (Middletown)
Once a grain and livestock farm, today Belle Grove Plantation is a tourist site. But watch out for the ghost of Hetty Cooley, who was reportedly brutally murdered by one of her husband’s slaves.
CHAPTER 23 Cedar Creek Battlefield (Frederick, Shenandoah, and Warren Counties)
This battlefield has been the site of numerous apparitions in the years since one of the Civil War’s bloodiest battles was fought on it.
CHAPTER 24 Poor House Road Tunnel (Rockbridge County)
Local legends have branded this out-of-the-way tunnel as the site of horrible events in the past. Various ghosthunting expeditions have collected evidence that it might, indeed, be haunted by troubled spirits.
CHAPTER 25 Virginia Military Institute (Lexington)
Often called the West Point of the South, VMI has a wealth of ghost lore associated with it, including a weeping statue, a mural with moving figures, and the sounds of ghostly cannon fire.
CHAPTER 26 Ghosts of the Valley (Winchester)
This town at the northern end of the Shenandoah Valley may very well be the state’s most haunted city, and includes numerous sites with haunted histories. These include the Fuller House Inn, the Union Bank, the Cork Street Tavern, Mount Hebron Cemetery, and virtually every historic building along its pedestrian mall.
CHAPTER 27 Wayside Inn (Middletown)
For more than 210 years, this inn in the heart of Virginia has catered to the needs of travelers. Visitors and staff members alike have had numerous experiences with the ghosts that have remained behind in its storied rooms.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
CHAPTER 28 America’s Greatest Haunted City (Washington, D.C.)
An overview of haunted sites in the nation’s capital reveals it to be a city rife with ghosts and places where inexplicable events have been known to occur.
CHAPTER 29 Decatur House (Washington, D.C.)
Located near the White House on Lafayette Square, this two-hundred-year-old house was tainted by slavery and untimely death and is reputed to be one of the most haunted places in the capital city.
CHAPTER 30 Ford’s Theatre (Washington, D.C.)
Ever since President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated here by actor John Wilkes Booth while attending a showing of Our American Cousin, this small, historic theatre has been the site of strange sightings and occurrences.
Visiting Haunted Places
Ghostly Resources
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Welcome to America’s Haunted Road Trip
DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS?
If you’re like 52 percent of Americans (according to a recent Harris Poll), you do believe that ghosts walk among us. Perhaps you’ve heard your name called in a dark and empty house. It could be that you have awoken to the sound of footsteps outside your bedroom door, only to find no one there. It is possible that you saw your grandmother sitting in her favorite rocking chair, the same grandmother who passed away several years before. Maybe you took a photo of a crumbling, deserted farmhouse and discovered strange mists and orbs in the photo, anomalies that were not visible to your naked eye.
If you have experienced similar paranormal events, then you know that ghosts exist. Even if you have not yet experienced these things, you’re curious about the paranormal world, the spirit realm. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be reading this preface to the latest book in the America’s Haunted Road Trip series from Clerisy Press.
Over the last several years, I’ve investigated haunted locations across the country and with each new site, I found myself becoming more fascinated by ghosts. What are they? How do they manifest themselves? Why are they here? These are just a few of the questions I’ve been asking. No doubt, you’ve been asking the same questions.
You’ll find some answers to those questions when you take America’s Haunted Road Trip. We’ve gathered some of America’s top ghost writers (no pun intended) and researchers to explore their states’ favorite haunts. Each location is open to the public so you can visit them yourself and try out your ghosthunting skills. In addition to telling you about their often hair-raising adventures, the writers include maps and travel directions to guide your own haunted road trip.
It is said that “Virginia is for lovers,” but Mike Varhola’s Ghosthunting Virginia proves that the state is fertile ground for ghosthunters as well. The book is a spine-tingling trip through Virginia’s sleepy small towns and historic sites, with a side trip to the District of Columbia thrown in for good measure. Ride shotgun with Mike as he seeks out Civil War ghosts at the Cedar Creek and Manassas battlefields. Travel with him to Belle Grove Plantation in Middletown where the ghost of the murdered Hetty Cooley still roams the house that was once hers. And who belongs to the disembodied voices that whisper in the Poor House Road Tunnel in Rockbridge County? Hang on tight; Ghosthunting Virginia is a scary ride.
But once you’ve finished reading this book, don’t unbuckle your seatbelt. There are still forty-nine states left for your haunted road trip! See you on the road!
John Kachuba
Editor, America’s Haunted Road Trip
Introduction
WELCOME TO Ghosthunting Virginia!
When I was asked to write this book, my editors knew me to be an established author of nonfiction books; to have a strong background in history, research, and fieldwork; and to live in Virginia and just outside of Washington, D.C. They had no reason to believe I’ve had an abiding interest in the paranormal for some thirty years. Nor, indeed, could they have known that I had been a “ghosthunter” some years before that term would have meant anything to most people.
Since moving to Virginia in 1991, I had not spent much time contemplating whether it was a particularly haunted state, much less undertaken nearly as many ghosthunting expeditions as I would have liked. My interests in such subjects had largely been subordinated by school, work, and family, and the unseen world I had once relished exploring was out of sight and, increasingly, out of mind. So, when I had the opportunity to turn my attentions to it once again through this book, I eagerly accepted.
Two years after I arrived in the Old Dominion, there occurred something that moved my interest in the paranormal from the realm of the esoteric into that of the mainstream: The X Files. There had been television shows and plenty of movies about the paranormal before this nine-season program—my favorite being Kolchak: The Night Stalker—but nothing before had been quite as successful or universally known. Though the show’s success probably was due in part to our culture’s increasing interest in the topics the show explored, I suspect that other shows about ghosthunting and similar esoteric subjects would not have been as popular in its absence.
My own affinity for the show stemmed from my longstanding interest in the supernatural, which lay not dead but dreaming within me, and I never lost my awareness that there are innumerable things in this world beyond the realm of the mundane. My guiding principal has long been that incisive phrase spoken by Hamlet to his friend Horatio (while holding a skull, no less).
“There are more things in heaven and earth,” Shakespeare wrote, “Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” In short, there are countless things in this world that cannot be adequately explained by any singl
e conventional system of beliefs.
Despite an ongoing awareness of the unseen world and knowledge of things like the ghost tours held in historic Virginia towns such as Alexandria, Fairfax, and Winchester, I was surprised to discover upon starting to research this project just how many haunted sites there are in the state and adjacent Washington, D.C. To say that this book could have a hundred chapters devoted to publicly accessible haunted sites would be a marked understatement, and to say that it could have a thousand if private venues were also included would not be inaccurate. Distilling all of the possible choices into a mere thirty chapters was not the smallest challenge associated with this project.
Suffice it to say, Virginia and the District of Columbia are fertile ground for ghosthunters and have no shortage of potential venues for investigation. And I have spared no efforts to make this guidebook as useful a resource as possible for those interested in visiting haunted sites.
In any event, my goal with this book has not been to prove or convince anyone that any of the places I visited are indeed haunted. It has been, rather, to identify sites that have ghostly phenomena associated with them, visit them, and compile their history and my experiences into a book that other people with an interest in the subject could use as a guide for their own visits. That said, I am willing to go on the record as saying that I believe any of the sites covered in this book could be haunted and am firmly convinced that at least five of them certainly are. Which those are I will leave to readers to determine for themselves.
Ghosthunting as a pursuit has certainly come into its own over the past few years, and it and associated phenomena have become the subjects of numerous television shows and movies. In my experience, however, real ghosthunting bears very little resemblance to what is depicted even in “reality” shows related to the subject. The real thing is generally much less manic, a lot quieter, and—despite the absence of noise, running back and forth, and jerky camera angles—much more intense. It also does not result in evidence of haunting on every expedition.
Many ghosthunters today use a wide variety of electronic equipment, and there can certainly be some value associated with this approach. I do not believe, however, anyone should hesitate to engage in ghosthunting based on a lack of equipment, and am myself more of a “naturalistic” ghosthunter. For various reasons, I use a minimum of equipment in my investigations and not much more than I have ever used as a writer and reporter: a microcassette recorder, a digital camera, a pen and notepad, and a flashlight. I have also found a full tank of gas and some food and water to be useful when heading into relatively isolated areas.
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