Secret Virginia

Hidden in the woods along Telegraph Road in Stafford County sits the Brent Family Cemetery, the last remaining vestige of the first English Catholic settlement in Virginia. The Brent family came to Colonial Virginia in 1647 and thrived for over a century before moving on. In the 1930s, the Catholic Archdiocese of Richmond built a brick and stone altar in the cemetery in their honor. But with its isolated location, and discovery of a woman’s remains along the trail in 1998, rumors swirled that Satanists used it for darker purposes. A local legend tells of a witch named Edith who was executed and thrown into the pond. Since then, visitors come back with stories of strange sounds and shrieks from that vicinity. Storytellers say the water turns red in the spring, and some visitors have described seeing Edith’s spectral form flickering around the pond and in the nearby cemetery. #virginia #haunted #paranormal #ghoststories #hauntedplaces #supernatural #spooky #creepy

The Wayside Inn & Larrick’s Tavern on Main Street in Middletown, Virginia has a claim on being the oldest continuously operating inn in America, and why not? It opened along the Old Wagon Trail through the Shenandoah Valley in 1797. Later, the Valley Pike and U.S. Route 11 brought a steady stream of traffic past its doors, ensuring its longevity. Its proprietors stayed neutral during the Civil War, serving both sides equally and thus avoiding the fiery fate of so many other homes and businesses in the Valley. Soldiers of both sides died and were buried on its grounds. Since then, patrons and staff have reported chilling encounters with phantom soldiers dressed in blue or gray. Others have heard a baby crying in the Old Servant Kitchen. #virginia #haunted #paranormal #ghoststories #hauntedplaces #supernatural #spooky #creepy

Roanoke, Virginia’s City Cemetery, off Tazewell Road in the Belmont Neighborhood, was established in 1876. It is a small cemetery, but contains a few notable interments, including Patrick Henry’s granddaughter, Maria Antoinette Hambrick. It is also home to one sorrowful ghost. It’s said on certain nights passersby can see the apparition of a sobbing woman sitting on the low wall surrounding her family plot. She is said to have died in a flu epidemic in the early 1900s and is sad to have left her family at such a young age. #virginia #haunted #paranormal #ghoststories #hauntedplaces #supernatural #spooky #creepy

Sometimes ghosts are said to move with an object, and that’s certainly the case for Michie Tavern southeast of Charlottesville, Virginia. Scottish immigrant John Michie (pronounced Mickey) originally raised this tavern in 1784 approximately 17 miles from Charlottesville along Old Buck Mountain Road. He was a supporter of the patriot cause during the American Revolution. A local entrepreneur named Mrs. Josephine Henderson moved Michie’s tavern to its current location at the foot of Carter’s Mountain in 1927 and opened it as a museum. At least a few revelers enjoyed their time at Michie Tavern so much they never left. Over the years, guests and staff have heard the sound of carousal coming from the third-floor ballroom, even when it is empty! #virginia #haunted #paranormal #ghoststories #hauntedplaces #supernatural #spooky #creepy

An unassuming family cemetery sits along U.S. Route 11 in Rockbridge County, Virginia. This graveyard hides an interesting piece of colonial history, a piece that may have been forgotten entirely if not for the strange tales told in its vicinity. During the mid-1730s, Sir William Gooch, colonial governor of Virginia, negotiated a treaty between the Iroquois Confederacy and their southern enemies, which opened up the Shenandoah Valley to European settlement. The new settlers and the Iroquois did not always get along, however, and in 1742 open conflict erupted. Capt. John McDowell and over a dozen others were killed in what became known as the "Massacre of Balcony Downs". McDowell's remains now lie in this graveyard surrounded by a low brick wall. Visitors to the otherwise lovely spot report feelings of dread and of being watched by unseen eyes. An old legend states that the headless ghosts of Capt. McDowell and his men appear in the graveyard, lamenting their grisly fates. #virginia #haunted #paranormal #ghoststories #hauntedplaces #supernatural #spooky #creepy

The Cork Street Tavern in Winchester, Virginia has a long and colorful history that many believe contributes to its bevy of active spirits. Originally private residences, it’s rumored the ground floors became home to several businesses prior to Prohibition, including a feed store, Baptist church, and even a speakeasy. In 1932, John Hockman and William W. Warrick opened The Rustic Tavern at the location and added a log-cabin façade. Their pub was so popular it survived the Great Depression. To this day, one of the ghosts thought to linger there has been nicknamed “John” after this original owner. Items moved by unseen hands, disembodied voices, and an unnerving feeling in the basement are just a few of the strange phenomenon reported by patrons and staff. The presence of an unknown woman, nicknamed “Emily”, has also been seen and felt around the tavern. #virginia #haunted #paranormal #ghoststories #hauntedplaces #supernatural #spooky #creepy

Blandford Church was erected on Well's Hill in 1736, making it the oldest building in Petersburg, Virginia. It sat abandoned for 76 years between 1806 and 1882, when restoration efforts began in earnest. Revolutionary War-Era British Maj. Gen. William Phillips is buried somewhere on the grounds. The church itself is believed to be haunted by the ghost of Francis Antomatti, who shot himself inside in 1844 due to unrequited love. His headstone reads “Honour was his only vice.” Veterans of six wars are interred in the cemetery. But its most famous legend is that of Major William H. Jarvis, a fire department engineer who died in 1877. Storytellers say that he was buried in a glass coffin and his grave was left open so his wife could visit him. In time, she remarried, and had a heavy granite slab cover up the grave. No matter how many times cemetery workers would slide the stone into place, however, the next morning it would be ajar. #virginia #haunted #paranormal #ghoststories #hauntedplaces #supernatural #spooky #creepy

Originally a private residence, in the 1790s this building on Caroline Street in Fredericksburg, Virginia opened its doors as the "Golden Eagle" or Rising Sun Tavern. A host of Virginia notables wet their whistles in its parlors. Today it is a museum and National Historic Landmark open to tours. According to folklorist L.B. Taylor, Jr., museum staff blame unusual happenings on the ghost of a former tavern proprietor named John Frazier. Frazier loved to play pranks and goof around--activities he continued from beyond the grave. Unscrewed lightbulbs, flying postcards and moving gift shop items, and tugged clothing are just a few reasons candlelight tours and paranormal investigations remain popular at the historic tavern. #virginia #haunted #paranormal #ghoststories #hauntedplaces #supernatural #spooky #creepy

Arlington National Cemetery along the Potomac River in northern Virginia is the premier burial ground for select U.S. military members and their families. Over 400,000 people are interred within its sloping 639 acres, including President John F. Kennedy, astronaut John Glenn, Major General Philip Kearny, and Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Its origin dates to the American Civil War, when federal troops seized Arlington House from Robert E. Lee and his wife Mary Custis. Tens of thousands of war dead needed a place to be buried, and the estate of a Confederate general seemed like a fitting place. Today, Arlington National Cemetery stands as a sacred memorial to our fallen soldiers from every war, and it is visited by millions of tourists every year. There is a dark side to the cemetery, however. Strange activity has long been reported at Old Post Chapel, including disembodied footsteps and voices, doors opening on their own, lights turning on and off, and mournful apparitions. The ghost of Mary Custis Lee herself is believed to haunt her former home. And, among the perfectly-aligned rows of granite headstones, visitors have reported icy chills, unexplained voices, and translucent figures. #virginia #haunted #paranormal #ghoststories #hauntedplaces #supernatural #spooky #creepy

Josiah Chowning’s Tavern on E. Duke of Gloucester Street is not original to Colonial Williamsburg, but in 1941 preservationists built this replica as closely as possible to its historical namesake. Little is known about the original owner or his establishment, but this attention to detail must account for the strange activity and apparitions encountered by patrons and staff. In one hair-raising incident, unseen hands tugged at a server’s dress. Daniel Hard, a coach driver at Colonial Williamsburg, experienced the unexplained one evening. He was downstairs having a drink while his friend John, who worked at the tavern, was upstairs arranging the dining furniture for the next day's shift. As John was coming downstairs, they heard the furniture move several more times. Curious, Daniel followed John back upstairs to find the furniture rearranged. Daniel watched as John set the room for the next day's shift, but when they left the room, they heard rustling. When they went back in, the furniture was back in its original place. #virginia #haunted #paranormal #ghoststories #hauntedplaces #supernatural #spooky #creepy

Colonel George Hancock lorded over Fotheringay Plantation in Montgomery County, southwest of Roanoke, Virginia for many years. Hancock, who served as a colonel in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and later as a U.S. Congressman, was a tall, imposing man. It is said that he was present when Casimir Pulaski fell mortally wounded during the Second Battle of Savannah in 1779. He died in 1820. According to a widely-known legend, Hancock was entombed on his plantation sitting upright either so he could look out over his land or keep an eye on his slaves. The tomb is set into a wooded hillside and made of granite blocks like a step-pyramid. Many people have broken into the tomb over the years, trying to see if the story is true. Fotheringay owners Robert and Sarah Nutt once called it "rubbish." They report Col. Hancock's remains are in a niche in the wall alongside the other burials. This hasn’t stopped curious trespassers’ macabre pilgrimage. #virginia #haunted #paranormal #ghoststories #hauntedplaces #supernatural #spooky #creepy

The Battle of Ball’s Bluff was fought on October 21, 1861 near Leesburg, Virginia during the American Civil War. The battle was a humiliating defeat for Union forces, including the loss of Colonel and U.S. Senator Edward Dickinson Baker, a close friend of Abraham Lincoln. Americans moved quickly to memorialize the battle, and Ball’s Bluff National Cemetery was established in 1865 to commemorate a mass grave of 54 Union soldiers killed during the battle. There are 25 headstones marking the remains, although only one soldier, James Allen of Company H, 15th Massachusetts Infantry, has been identified. Ever since, visitors have reportedly heard screams coming from the vicinity of the cemetery, seen tree branches shake violently and experienced unexplained car trouble. #virginia #haunted #paranormal #ghoststories #hauntedplaces #supernatural #spooky #creepy

John Shelton, father-in-law to Patrick Henry, owned a tavern at this site in Hanover County, Virginia from 1750 to 1764. It was there Patrick Henry got his start in law and politics. The current Hanover Tavern was an extension on the original, which was torn down in 1822. Dozens of famous characters ate, drank, and slept there, which is why, perhaps, it has a reputation for being haunted. The most commonly reported sightings are of a woman in black, a playful little girl, and a man in a brown suit. The woman in black is believed to be Ann Chisholm, who lived at the tavern in the 1860s. The little girl is thought to be the daughter of a tavern employee who died of an illness. The man in a brown suit is a mystery, but some believe he may be a former guest of the tavern. Paranormal investigators have conducted several investigations at the Hanover Tavern and have captured evidence of some of the reported activity. Whether or not you believe in ghosts, there's no doubt that the Hanover Tavern is a place with a rich history and a mysterious past. #virginia #haunted #paranormal #ghoststories #hauntedplaces #supernatural #spooky #creepy

Welcome to Secret Virginia, a seasonal podcast dedicated to all things curious, strange, out of the ordinary, and sometimes even scary in Virginia, West Virginia, and the Mid-Atlantic region. Season 1 consisted of eight episodes, covering Bunnyman Bridge in Fairfax County, Peyton Randolph House in Colonial Williamsburg, Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, Carlyle House in Alexandria, Crawford Road Bridge in York County, Belle Isle in Richmond, Edgar Allan Poe, and Gadsby’s Tavern in Alexandria. Join us as we explore the mysterious Old Dominion. #virginia #haunted #ghost 00:00 Bunnyman Bridge 05:34 Peyton Randolph House 12:04 Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum 20:02 Carlyle House 26:47 Crawford Road Bridge 33:19 Belle Isle 39:06 Edgar Allan Poe 45:37 Gadsby’s Tavern

Carter's Tavern is located on the banks of the Roanoke River in Halifax County, Virginia. It was built in 1773 by Joseph Dodson and operated as an ordinary until 1843. The tavern was a popular stop for travelers on the Great Wagon Road and it is believed that George Washington stayed there in 1781. It was later abandoned and fell into disrepair. In 1972, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Edmunds purchased the tavern and began a restoration project that lasted for several years. The couple reopened it to the public in 1977 as a museum, however, it is currently a private residence. According to legend, a jealous husband shot and killed another man at the top of the stairs leading to the third-floor ballroom for dancing with his wife. The bloodstains can still be seen on the stairs, and the grief-stricken woman’s ghost remains trapped there, gazing remorsefully from behind the attic window. #virginia #haunted #paranormal #ghoststories #hauntedplaces #supernatural #spooky #creepy

Today, this nondescript building sits on the campus of Virginia Western Community College southeast of downtown Roanoke. But at one time it was the Roanoke City Almshouse. Built in 1925 on the former Persinger Farm, the almshouse served Roanoke’s homeless and indigent population for several decades. In theory, it was a place where they could find food and shelter and be cared for at public expense. In practice, almshouses were often poorly maintained with substandard, even dangerous living conditions. Since being purchased by the community college, visitors report seeing lights and shadowy figures, and hearing noises at night when no one is supposed to be inside. Two campus policemen reportedly encountered a “strange old man” who vanished when they confronted him. #paranormal #virginia #ghost #haunted #supernatural #spooky #creepy #ghoststories

Traversing a necropolis’ winding paths can be an unnerving experience, especially when the light begins to fade and fog rises among the crooked tombstones. Is that a mournful figure in the distance, or are you alone? For many Virginians, cemeteries are a place to visit loved ones long past, but an adventurous few hope to encounter something otherworldly. If you are brave enough to visit any of the following haunted cemeteries, please be respectful, and of course, don’t go alone. 0:00 Introduction 0:43 Hollywood Cemetery 2:08 Fotheringay Cemetery 3:48 Ball’s Bluff National Cemetery 5:06 Arlington National Cemetery 7:05 Blandford Church and Cemetery 8:40 McDowell Cemetery 10:20 Roanoke City Cemetery 11:15 Brent Family Cemetery #virginia #haunted #paranormal #ghost #spooky

The origin of Bladensfield, a 2 1⁄2-story Federal style frame building near Warsaw, Virginia in the Tidewater region, is as murky as its demise. Some say it dates back to the late 1600s, others that it was built as ‘recently’ as 1790. It was a private residence until 1854, when it became a female seminary. Students and staff believed the building and its grounds were haunted by the ghosts of its previous owners, including John Peck and his daughter Alice, a beautiful young woman who died before she could marry her sweetheart. The 300-year-old building burned down in 1996. #paranormal #virginia #ghost #haunted #supernatural #spooky #creepy #ghoststories

A tall, cross-shaped memorial in the woods near Pohick Church in Lorton, Fairfax County, is all that remains of an ambitious tomb conceived by architect Charles Mason Remey (1874-1974). Remey was an architect and early American follower of the Baháʼí Faith. In 1937, he contracted with Pohick Church in Lorton, Fairfax County, Virginia to lease land in their cemetery for a sprawling mausoleum complex. It was fitted with luxuries like chandeliers and marble reliefs. In the 1950s, however, vandals broke in and destroyed the interior. Pohick Church reclaimed the site in 1968 and took steps to secure it. Today, the site has been buried aside from this tall, cross-shaped memorial. Remey died in 1974 and is buried in Italy. #paranormal #virginia #ghost #haunted #supernatural #spooky #creepy #ghoststories

Marshy, mosquito-infested, and inhospitable, it’s been said that Old House Woods in Mathews County, Virginia, located east of Diggs near the Chesapeake shore, is home to a cornucopia of ghosts. Among these are a spectral crew of either pirates or British loyalists who buried treasure in the woods during the colonial days. Other sightings involve ghostly cows and a headless man searching for his lost love. #paranormal #virginia #ghost #haunted #supernatural #spooky #creepy #ghoststories

Carter's Grove is among the most well-known haunted plantations in Virginia. Carter Burwell, grandson of Robert "King" Carter, completed this stately home overlooking the James River in James City County in 1755. It played host to many prominent Virginians, and its ghostly legends date back to this time. Most infamously, the parlor at Carter's Grove earned the moniker the "Refusal Room," for being where two ladies of the house turned down proposals from none other than George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Since then, white carnations placed in the parlor are found the next morning torn to pieces, and visitors still find white carnation pedals strewn about, even if no one brought flowers into the room. The property itself was also the scene of a colonial-era massacre of settlers at the hands of Powhatans in 1622. Evidence of the historical settlement was found by accident in the 1970s. Today, Carter's Grove is a U.S. National Historic Landmark but privately owned, closed to the public. #virginia #hauntedhouse #plantation #paranormal #supernatural #ghost #ghosts #ghoststories #haunted #spooky #spookytales

The Commonwealth of Virginia has been called the birthplace of presidents, with storied history around every corner. But with this history comes specters of the past, specters that creep and groan from every shady crevice. Only the limits of your imagination can protect you from the phantasmal horrors at the creepiest places in Virginia. #haunted #spooky #virginia

Shirley Plantation in Charles City County, Virginia is among the Old Dominion's most historic haunted abodes. Sir Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr and first colonial royal governor of Virginia, first settled on this land in 1613, making it older than even the Plymouth colony in Massachusetts. The manor itself, built in 1723, was constructed in magnificent Georgian style. Its most famous ghost story dates back to the seventeenth or early eighteenth centuries with the death of "Aunt Pratt", whose portrait hung in a prominent place on the ground floor. In later years, an owner removed the portrait and stored it in the attic, touching off a flurry of strange activity widely blamed on Aunt Pratt's ghost. After a brief but 'lively' stint in New York, the painting was finally returned to its place on Shirley's walls. The otherworldly activity has since dissipated. #virginia #plantation #paranormal #supernatural #ghost #ghosts #ghoststories #haunted #spooky

Join Secret Virginia for a conversation with Tom Leveille, a Richmond, Virginia resident with a passion for archeology & Mid-Atlantic history. He is a surveyor and antique dealer by trade, as well as an author. Tom has a forthcoming publication in 2024 on antique glass for the Virginia market. He posts his discoveries and excavations on social media at VirginiaBottles.

When two friends visit Petersburg, Virginia to take in the historic sights and nightlife, they never expected to become embroiled in a battle with nocturnal forces. Will a mysterious young woman lead them on the path to heroism or damnation? Story by M.A. Kleen and read by Jason Sullivan. #virginia #petersburg #scarystories