A Spooktacular Season Arrives in Colonial Williamsburg
The Edgewood Plantation brings in tourists world wide.
As the chilly nights arrive in Williamsburg, so too do thoughts turn to the eerie mysteries of Colonial Williamsburg. Each year, tourists come from all over the world to experience spooky CW, and they aren’t disappointed.
Colonial Williamsburg offers ghost tours to those who are brave enough to experience the haunted parts of Colonial Williamsburg. Even the locals get spooked by their encounters with the ghosts inhabiting CW. A variety of haunted houses in Williamsburg, Virginia rest in Colonial Williamsburg. Edgewood Plantation, Peyton Randolph House, and The Public Hospital for Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds are just few places where the ghosts like to spend their days.
Edgewood Plantation is where Elizabeth “Lizzie” Rowland is said to be roaming the halls, waiting for her lost love to return from war. Her cries of sorrow have allegedly plagued the halls she accompanies. Both tourists and locales have reportedly seen an apparition standing in the second floor window appearing to be very sad and grim. Lizzie is the reason many tourists continue to visit this little bed and breakfast each year.
The Peyton Randolph House is said to be the most haunted location in Williamsburg, Virginia. Each year people report numerous unusual and supernatural encounters here, and it appears that the number grows significantly. Tourists come during the time of Halloween to see if they experience any creepy or scary encounters. The most disturbing encounter made there was when an employee was grabbed by something and almost thrown down the stairs. A house of tragedies, it is believed that about 30 people have died in this house from children to adults. Sir John Randolph purchased the house in 1772 and passed away 1737. His son took over the house and expanded it. Later, the Peachy family moved in and began experiencing many tragedies. One of their sons fell and died while climbing a tree, while their daughter fell out of a second story window and fell to her death. People have reported hearing growling and feeling an “angry presence” while being near the Peyton Randolph house. Visitors have reported seeing apparitions standing over them or limbs being pulled by something when no one is around.
The first American insane asylum was built in Colonial Williamsburg and was appropriately named The Public Hospital for Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds. Patients were admitted there to be “cured,” but were secretly treated inhumanely. Some patients were forced to take drugs, some stayed submerged in freezing cold water, or in extreme cases, some were even induced to electric shock to “cleanse their systems of evil”. In 1862, DR. John Galt was forced out of the hospital by Union soldiers and later died of a drug over-dose, causing his brain to explode. The Lee family moved into the place where Galt died, detailing a graphic scene of blood stains on the floor and their children claim to still see Dr. Galt in their rooms. It has since become a museum.
The many spooky encounters are what make Colonial Williamsburg worth visiting. A lot of strange, paranormal activity lies in CW and brings ghost hunters from all over to town. Another haunted place in CW would be the Ludwell-Paradise House . John and Lucy Ludwell had gotten married and bought this home later on. After John’s passing, Lucy went back to the home and began to show signs of insanity. She was eventually admitted to the Public Hospital for her insanity. Although she took her own life, it is believed that if you can visit the house, you can hear someone running the bath water upstairs or sometimes can see her and John’s spirits lingering in the windows.
The haunted houses in Colonial Williamsburg make it one of the most haunted locations in Williamsburg, Virginia. “The ghost tours are my favorite part of Halloween in Williamsburg, I love the spooky nights in CW” said Senior, Laura Walker, who has lived in Williamsburg most of her life. Be sure to come by and see the spooky spirits roaming the houses of CW. You might even be able to capture a picture with Lucy or the children in the Peyton Randolph house.
