Crawford Road Yorktown Va

Repost from Oct. 2007
Crawford Road in Yorktown..
Here is what Shadowlands Haunted Places has to say about this road

Yorktown - Crawford Road - A woman hung herself from an overpass on her wedding day. Her spirit has been seen her spirit, hanging in her wedding dress. Also, African Americans were hung down the road. A lot of spirits dwell on this road. - February 2005 Correction - Formerly listed under - Poquoson - Crawford Rd - There have been other stories about the part of the road where the Tour Road crosses over Crawford Rd. There is a story that on some nights that you can see a black lady in a white dress walk up on the bridge onto the ledge, then she falls off and then she stops in mid air and swings like she was hung. There have also been stories of your car cutting out and not starting. If you drove down it at night you could see someone hanging from the bridge where someone was hung years ago and that cars have shut off underneath the bridge. - December 2006 additional information: Before you come to crybaby bridge that runs about halfway down from the roads entrance on either side of the vast woods lies a fenced off road that actually heads back into a clearing if you're daring enough to cross the threshold. If you enter the clearing, you will find a solitary building that is long since abandoned with no doors. If you watch, there are red eyes that may appear in one of the open doorways (most likely the very last door all the way to the right) 'watching' you as you move around. Should you get close they may end up vanishing before you can locate them. Going into the building itself, however, yields the very eerie feeling of more than one 'being' watching your every move. It has been seen on film of shadow people walking around along the walls without actually anything being in front of the light source (always in the shape of a tall male creeping along). There have also been reports of people feeling like they have had their feet stepped on, voices whispering, and even hands lain upon the middle of their backs. This experience is random, but best done on a clear, moonless night. But you never know what you might find if you actually go to the radio station once the sun is down.

Well let me tell you it was creepy. We did not get out of the car and go walking in the woods there. The bridge was painted with lots and I mean lots of graffiti..We drove under it and kept going..After driving a few minutes and the road not coming out anywhere I told Dean to turn around so we could go back the way we had came. After we crossed under the overpass bridge again I had him stop and this is what we captured on the camera







Enlarge these photos one by one and you will see a bright white light in the first one..Remember we were in front of the bridge and I was standing beside the car shooting BEHIND me towards the bridge, no one else was on the road..So where did the light come from?

Enlarge the second photo and you will see the light has moved forward and now appears as an orb near the car

Enlarge the last photo and you will see several orbs floating around the bridge, also you can see the grafetti

*sorry, some of the photos were lost when I had my computer crash and can not be put back*

The Ambler House-Jamestown

Lydia Ambler was the oldest daughter of the wealthy Ambler family, living in Jamestown VA around the mid 1700. It was here that she met Alexander Maupin a young soldier. Soon after they met they married in Aug. 1776. Lydia wore a beautiful while, lace covered gown with a long training . As was the custom the family gave a large dowry to the groom. Soon after the marriage Alexander left for war, leaving Lydia behind believing he loved her. Everyday Lydia would stand on the pier near her home waiting for her beloved. Months went by and not a word came from Alexander.. She didn't know if he had been killed in battle or simply did not want to return. As time passed she grew more and more angry.
In 1781 /the Amblers large Georgian Mansion was burned to the grown. It was rebuilt that same year and Lydia would stand for hours gazing out on the James river. Lydia couldn't shake the feeling that Alexander had married her for her money and eventually the fury caused her to take her own life.
The home burned again during the civil war and again in 1895. Today on the shell remains.
It has been reported that at night Lydia can be seen walking around the ruins of the mansion, still waiting the return of her beloved Alexander.

Haunted Governors Mansion

In August of 2006 my husband, daughter and I went on a "ghost walk" in Richmond VA. While a bit on the boring side one thing did stick out that I enjoyed. We were taken to the gates of the Governor of Virginia's home. I had heard the stories that the mansion was haunted, and was really excited to read this newspaper article that was printed just a few months after I took my photo showing some orbs.
Here is the article along with some additional information on the "mystery lady" that haunts the home.




Mr. Governor, it’s the ghost again
By CHRISTINA NUCKOLS, The Virginian-Pilot
© December 8, 2006



If there’s a paranormal “Do Not Call” registry out there, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine would like to sign up.

The governor told radio listeners Thursday that the ghost who supposedly has haunted the 193-year-old executive mansion in Richmond for more than a century seems to have taken up telemarketing.

“The telephone will ring once in the private quarters that we have at a very inconvenient time. It rings once, pick it up, there’s nobody there,” Kaine said on his monthly radio call-in show. “It’s always at the exact same moment.”

Legend has it the Gray Lady took up residence in the executive mansion in the 1800s after dying in a carriage accident as she was returning from a party at the governor’s home.

“The story is, she came back to the mansion because that was where she had her last happy moments in life,” said Amy Bridge, director of the executive mansion, the oldest continuously occupied governor’s residence in the United States.

Kaine wouldn’t reveal the precise timing of the calls to avoid “copy-cat poltergeists,” but spokesman Kevin Hall said they occur just after midnight on the same day of the week. Bridge said former Gov. Mark Warner also received the spooky phone calls.

Realizing that his listeners might be unnerved to hear about their governor’s supernatural adventures, Kaine assured them he has never seen the Gray Lady.

“I could have just really unwound my whole term as governor by launching into a description of my communing with the spirits,” he said.






Ghost of the Governor's Mansion in Richmond

By Mary Moss, published Aug 06, 2007

The Governor's Mansion in Richmond, Virginia seems an implausible place for a ghost to be seen, heard and felt. But in fact the earliest sighting of a ghost in the mansion is a young lady sitting in a window. This sighting took place in the early 1890's by then Governor Philip McKinney. He is surely a credible witness! Reportedly, the Governor had come inside, washed up in a bathroom, and entered a bedroom. He was startled to see a young lady sitting in the window. He checked with his wife and was told she had no visitors. When he rechecked the bedroom, the lady was gone. A search of the mansion ensued, but turned up no lady or any clues to her identity.

On another occasion, the ghost of the woman was seen by a Capitol police officer. The officer reported seeing a woman standing at the window of an upstairs bedroom where visitors were not authorized to be. He went up to the room to tell her she was not allowed in the room. When he entered the room she disappeared before his eyes, like a ghost.

In 1972, during the tenure or Governor Linwood Holton, a curious incident occurred that added to the ghost's credibility. Hurricane Agnes tore through Richmond that year, and caused a blackout in downtown Richmond, including the Capitol and the Governor's Mansion. Governor Holton reported that during the blackout someone or something moved several of the paintings in his bedroom. Could it have been the ghost of the Governor's mansion?





Another ghostly incident that occurred during the blackout was reported by Ann Compton, then with ABC television. She was ABC's White House correspondent at the time and was on assignment at the Capitol. She was called to the house by one of Governor Holton's staff secretaries. The woman showed her that the entire mansion was dark except for one light bulb in the ladies' stairwell of the mansion. It continued to shine throughout the blackout. They tried every light switch in the mansion to no affect. Compton reported that Mrs. Holton had told her she always thought there was a ghost in the mansion.

Another Capitol police offer had a hair-raising experience with a ghost in the basement of the Governor's mansion during Governor Dalton's tenure. The officer became curious when the Governor's dog, with hair raised on his back, began barking furiously at a nearby window. As he approached the window he felt a cold chill in the room. There was a summer heat wave at the time, but the officer noticed the window had frosted over and the curtains were swirling. Within moments the curtains stopped swirling and the frost on the window disappeared.

Who is this mysterious ghost? No one has ever determined the answer to that question. But her presence was apparently real enough on one occasion to scare a Capitol police officer so badly he quit his job! The officer was in the basement of the Governor's mansion one night and claims he distinctly felt something or someone touch his face. He was apparently so terrified he threw his badge down on the floor on his way out of the house.

The ghost of the Governor's mansion is one of the most famous ghosts of Richmond, Virginia. She has never been identified and apparently means no harm. The ghost of this poor woman recently endured the complete remodeling and refurbishing of the Governor's mansion. Since no reports of her presence have surfaced lately, maybe she's finally satisfied with what they've done with the place!

Is there life after death? I believe there is. I hope so, anyway, because I have a lot I want to accomplish, and I'm not sure I can do it all in one lifetime!

It Made It!

Look whose photo made the
Ghost of America web page

Yippie!!

The Difference Between Ghosts and Spirits

The Difference Between Ghosts and Spirits

Courtesy of Jennifer
Peninsula Paranormal
Investigators Hampton Roads VA.


Yes, there is a difference between Ghosts and Spirits. GHOSTS are earthbound spirits that haunt locations or people. They may or may not know they are dead. Some are intelligent spirits that interact with the living. Some like to scare people on purpose. Others are just misunderstood. Some Ghosts are "residual" and don't even know we are their, it's like a record playing over and over again, which could
also just be their residual Energy from past events. Some ghosts don't even know they are dead and will hang on to a place. Others hang on because they have
committed suicide and feel guilty and are afraid of going to hell. Other's have other reasons for hanging on and haunting an area: They may have cursed a person or place, and pledged to haunt it, they may be looking for a lost lover, they may be trapped in a spot because they may have had a violent death, they may have murdered
someone, they may feel guilty about something else and are afraid to
cross over.

SPIRITS that are not earthbound have crossed over, but are not ghosts. They are not trapped in any spot. They can visit us in dreams or while we are conscious, and we can see apparitions of them and communicate with them like a ghost. Their appearance is different than a ghost. A Spirit that has crossed over to the light will be surrounded by light,look younger and healthier and vibrant, where as an earthbound Ghost will look dark like a shadow, or may even still show the scars of how they died. Also, they walk on a different plane of existence. Spirits float, because they are not earthbound. Ghosts that are earthbound, can look like people and their feet are at the same level as the ground...and don't necessarily float. The other main
difference, earthbound ghosts are restless spirits, unsettled, and unhappy, tormented, or torn between one place and another and unsatisfied with themselves. Spirits that have crossed over to the Light, are full of love and light and are complete in themselves.
Those are the main differences between Ghosts and Spirits.

Something to look forward to

It will take me awhile, but I have decided as part of this blog to include The Ghost of Williamsburg.
What I would like to do is go to each of the houses/areas, that are listed as "haunted" in Colonial Williamsburg. I plan on taking a photo and telling a little bit of the history or story of why the place is haunted. I think that will be fun and hopefully you my readers will enjoy the stories as well as learn about our local history.

Also just so you know. I have been invited to go to a meeting of one of our local paranormal groups as a guest speaker. I will be talking about my grandson and how he "sees" the Ghost Lady and other happenings he seems to talk about.
It isn't coming up for a few weeks, but I will be sure and mention how the evening goes.
Probably sometime tomorrow I will make a list of the Williamsburg Ghost stories and post some information.

Check The IV

The following EVP can be found at paranormal.com
Harry is a friend of mine and this is his EVP



"Harry, you can check...Thelma"
I have received several EVPs from my Mom who passed away on Nov 30, 2001. She passed away in a nursing home and there were questions because I had spoken with her that night. She was in excellent health, but had a problem with a nurse that was stealing items from her room. It's not uncommon for things to happen to patients in this situation. There are horror stories about these activities. I told my cousin that I wanted to check on this. Here's one of three messages I received from Mom. My name is Harry and her name is Thelma. The message says: "Harry, you can check... Thelma." And when played in reverse, it saye, "Quick, check the IV (intravenous) – Harry D. Flagle

The Ghost Who Cleans

My daughter called me about 11:15 tonight to report that my grandson is telling her that there is a Momo (grand mother figure) in his room. When ask what she is doing he replies that she is cleaning. He was upset and asking to sleep with mom (daughter)
I told her to have him tell the lady to GO AWAY. She said she did but he was still upset. I had her put him on the phone with me, and I asked him what was wrong. He was crying and said " There is a Momo in my bedroom". I told him TELL HER TO GO AWAY..Ok he sniffled cried harder. My daughter then took the phone and said bye. It's been an hour and she hasn't called back. Either the Momo went away, or he fell asleep crying. It has really un-nerved me to think that he sees these "things". I'm thinking of nailing a cross/and or a pentacle above his door.
It's just down right creepy, besides I don't know why she is haunting him. My house is the one that needs cleaning. My daughter keeps a spotless house.

Ghostlady

BE SURE AND CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO ENLARGE THEM TO SEE THE IMAGINE




Ok tell me I am crazy, but do you see the ghost in the forest?
Here is a close up view.





Like I said maybe I am crazy, but I see a ghostly outline of a lady in a long dress facing sideways with her arm on her hip.
Just so you know...I took this photo today right after my grandson told me he saw a lady in the woods. He told me this about three minutes after we stopped here today.

The woods were behind us as I took the photo of the graves. We were not talking about ghost. We were simply looking around. Just out of no-where my grandson pointed to the woods and told us he wanted to go in there. My daughter asked him if someone was in there..Yes he answered, Who we asked. A lady he replied. Where did she come from we asked..He pointed to the sky. I ask him if it was a ghost. Yes, he said. Needless to say we left. This is not the first time we have been near graveyards to have my grandson suddenly started talking about seeing people that we can't see. I have to admit even with my belief in the paranormal I find it a bit un-nerving. When we got home and I loaded my photos from today the image of the woman was the first thing I saw in the photo. I quietly sat my grandson on my lap and asked him where he saw the lady in the woods at. He pointed right to the same area of the photo that I was seeing the "ghost" in. Shit I thought, so I asked him, Cody what was the lady wearing. Did she have on a dress or pants. A dress he said..hmmm I thought, what color was her dress. Blue he said..Ohh ok I said..Well was the dress up here (pointing to my mid thighs) or was it down here (pointing to my shoes). Down here he said touching the ground..
Ok, now I ask you again. Am I nuts? Or do you see a ghost in my photo?

Real People and Answering A Question(Re-post)

REPOST 4/11/08


I know your all probably tired of reading about my ghost story, but I want to share some thoughts with you.

It is driving me crazy thinking Is this real? Do ghost really exsit. Is my grandson really seeing something. I have tried unsuccessfully to find any information on the net about hauntings in that area. I was just about to give up, when I got to thinking about it this way.

Just for the sake of argument lest say it is a ghost.
Ok with that established we all know that before you can be a ghost you had to be alive. So I pondered over it awhile thinking to myself Just who was this woman (and man/the papa). What were their names, how did they die. What did they do when they were alive.

If I look in the mirror and I see myself I know that I have hopes and dreams, a home, children .And when I die, someone is going to know who I was.
So I realized, that this "ghost" must have been the same way. Someone had to know who they were. So I thought about it some more and I asked myself, ok where do I start. I wondered who owned this land. What happened there all those years ago. How did they die and Why are they haunting it.

Yesterday I took the bull horns and went to our local library. We have a special room dedicated to Virginia history so I knew I could at lest find something on the land.
So in I go, march up to the desk, and tell the librarian my story. Of course she looks at me like I have two heads, but she produces a file with newspaper articles in it. And guess what. It is all about the farm and who owned it and the names of the people who were buried in the graveyard there.

I won't give you a last name to protect there privacy, but I will tell you that it is a family cemetery.

the names and dates are as follows
Margaret born 1797 died 1835
*I think she is our "lady". The timing for the dress the "ghost" is wearing would be about right. Margaret would have died in her early 30's. My ghost lady looks young.

Philip was born in 1845, he died at age 68 in 1913 of a heart attack after coming in from the fields. I believe he is our papa/and the farmer seen by the worker at the farm. A farmer in 1913 would certainly be wearing overalls as she described.

I have different last names for Margaret and Philip, but I feel like they are related. Perhaps she was his grandmother or an Aunt of either Philip or his wife who is also buried in the cemetery.

Philips daughter is also buried there and believe it or not she died just three days before he did. All that I have listed is she died suddenly. She was 40.
At first I thought maybe our lady was her, but she didn't die until 1913 so I think the dress style does not fit.

Anyway I also found out that Philip was born and raised there, and served in the civil war.

Conincident, maybe, interesting thoughts Yes.
So what do you think?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REPOST FROM 4/12/08

Suzie ask me an interesting question about our "ghost". Did I want them to stay or go.

I thought Well, as long as they stay on the farm and not follow me or my daughter home. I think they should stay, after all this was there farm for hundreds of years. At this point I don't feel like they are harming anyone. This is after all a children's farm, run by the city and if bad things are not happening there then I think it is ok for them to hang around.

I can't help but wonder though if other kids have seen things and told there parents and no one has come forward and reported it for fear of being laughed at or worst.
Let's face it even in today's society where this type of thing is more widely accepted people still band you as a kook. As for me. I don't care. I say bring it on. I would love to have a full investigation out there. Get your camera's, voice recorders, heat sensors and all the other equipment. Whoo hoo, can you see us now on Taps
Ok back to the serious side.
Suzie also suggested that I talk some more to our friendly ghost asking them to give me some sort of sign as to who they are by making a noise such as a tap. Only problem is this is woods and open field. So short of dropping a tree branch on my head I am not sure what kind of noise they could make. In fact I have been twice with a EPV recorder but so far nothing more than the wind. I do plan on trying agin

In the mean time I am going to do an investigation of a different sorts this weekend.
It has nothing to do with this man and lady and is on an entirely different piece of land.
I will tell you more about it later

Things that go bump in the night

REPOST FROM 3/30/08

The phone rang about 10:30 tonight and it was my daughter telling me that my grandson was upset and telling her that there were people in his room. It was no surprise to me since this type of thing has been going on for a while now. It started with the lady in the woods (photo a few weeks ago) and seems to be increasing. Last weekend my daughter took him to the park and he saw the lady again (I think I mentioned this) then the next day we took him to Newport News Park.
During the American Civil War, the current park was the site of the Battle of Dam No. 1, part of the Battle of Yorktown (1862). In the days prior to the battle, the Confederate forces constructed rifle pits and other earth works from which they held off the Union Army forces commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan. The earth works were preserved; though overgrown with woods, they are accessible from the White Oak nature trail on the camping side of the reservoir.
While we were there he said he "saw two men" sitting down, and then he saw lots of men in the distance.
We told him to tell the men to stay there, and we left. Just as we got to the exit he looked out the window and said. THE MEN, Lots of men....Hurry Mama
Sine then we has ask more questions and he said he plays with kids and also a lady.
Now I am not sure if we need a psychic or a psychiatrist but when my daughter called I knew I had to do something.
I had already been preparing, so my husband and I jumped in the car and went to her house. Her boyfriend is working over night tonight and I knew she was afraid.
When we arrived I went straight to work. I planned on doing a cleansing of the home.
First I told my grandson what we were going to do. I explained that the people he saw had to GO AWAY. He wanted to help, so we started at the front door and place sea salt in all four corners of all the rooms in the house. He really enjoyed this. As we finished each room he jumped up and down yelling yippee. At one point he was making noise hitting the tables and doors. It was his way of saying go away!
Once we finished the salt I lit some sage and once again walked the house, using a special feather to fan the smoke. My grandson help fan. Once we were finished I said in a loud voice. Nothing but good and love can live here. Bad things go away!
He was so excited and with in a few minutes he was ready for bed. I had brought a hematite stone with me and he put that under his pillow. He also wanted to wear my hematite necklace I had on to bed. I left it with him. It is now 1 am, the phone hasn't rang and all is quiet. I am hoping the house cleansing will release any negative energy at my daughters and leave things protected there now. I plan on doing my house this next week. I want to do some cleaning first. I have never had any problems here but I have protection around me all the time. One can never be to safe though so I will still do it. Right now the only annoying thing here is my husband snoring in the other room. Hmmm I wonder if sage will work on him ha ha

He sees dead people

Does anyone have the number for ghost busters? Seriously I think we might need one.
Do you all remember the photos of the lady in the woods, and how my grandson said he saw her? Well, it seems lately that he is "seeing" other spirits. My daughter took him back to the farm over the weekend and when he got to the area where the graves are he started talking about "the lady" She said he became quite excited pointing to different areas where he was seeing her when they would asked him about her.
Later that evening, he came over to my house and I asked him if he had fun seeing the cows. Yes, he said. and the lady. I said oh you saw the lady again. Unn huh he said. Did she talk to you this time I asked. Yes, he said, What did she say I asked..
He told me she liked the water. This didn't surprise me since every time he has "seen" her it has been near the lake there. After a few seconds he added...
She lived a long time ago.
Ok, now this is getting creepy, so being the type of person I am I started searching for more history of this farm. I emailed the farm via there website and enclosed the photos. I only told them that I captured something in the photos and did not tell them about my grandson. What a surprise I got when I received a response from a lady that works there telling me that she is the founder of a local paranormal group.
I immediately emailed her back telling her everything. I haven't heard back from her yet, but I was off today so I took a little trip out to the farm. I recently purchased a digital voice recorder, and went with the intent of trying to pick up some EVP (Much to my disappointment they were closed. The office however was open.so being the brave little ghost hunter that I am I went in and asked for the lady who I was emailing. She wasn't there, but I went ahead and told them my story, showing them the printed photos and ask if I could go out to the graves. I took several photos, but nothing showed up. I really didn't expect it to. However it makes me wonder. Was the first photo a fluke, or do you think the lady simply did not manifest because my grandson was not with me. Is he a conductor somehow? I haven't evaluated the recordings I did yet. I have a special program on my computer that wipes out the excess noise, and my husband knows how to use it. He will be home in a couple of hours so if anything shows up on tape I will post it here.

I have another ghost story that has happened in the last few days but I am saving it. I will post about it soon,.

EVP from Cave

Remeber a couple of post back I told you about Cornwallis Cave?
Well we did a recording that day and look what I picked up from
Corwallis Cave
If you listen to the recording in winamp look at the top where it counts down.
at -0137 seconds into the tape I hear HELP
Tell me what you think

Peyton Randolph House Williamburg VA

This small photo was "borrowed" off the web, but the next two were taken yesterday when my daughter and i visited Colonial Williamsburg. This is her standing in front of the Peyton-Randolph house.
We did not go in the house because it is a ticket only entry, but I have this place on my list of must see. I hope to go back soon and take more photos.

 

FRONT


SIDE



In Williamsburg Colonial Village, the home faces market square, and is one of the original structures. This two story Colonial mansion was built in 1715 by Sir John Randolph. His family lived there throughout the 1700's, and was eventually sold to someone outside of the family. In 1824, Mrs. Mary Monroe Peachy owned the house. One of her children died after falling from the tree.

After the Civil War, a young orphaned soldier stayed with the Peachy family while he went to William and Mary College. He came down with tuberculosis and died there.

Many have heard the shattering of a mirror and the sound of heavy footsteps. In an upstairs room residents have awakened in the middle of the night, to see a white, shimmering, male figure.


Late at night in the small rear 2nd floor bedroom there have been reports of a thin old lady in a gown and laced night cap. Visitors reported that she would wake them up politely by calling them by their names, and then she would wring her hands and cry. Could this be Mrs. Peachy?

Allegedly, the Peyton Randolph House is home to as many as 23 ghosts. Many of the house’s most famous ghost stories center on children. In one such story, a little girl was killed after her ghostly best friend, Elizabeth, grew angry with her and threw her down the stairs. Doctors claimed that superhuman force would have been required to cause such a death, given that she had only fallen from the second floor

Histrical information on the house:


The original structure of the Peyton Randolph House was built in 1715. Colonial Williamsburg's primary restoration of the home began in October 1938 and was completed in April 1940. More restoration of the main section was undertaken in June 1967 and was finished 12 months later. The center and west portions of the house opened for exhibition on July 1, 1968.
Original structure located at the corner of Nicholson and North England Streets
Built in 1715 by William Robertson
Sir John Randolph purchased the west wing in 1721
House willed to son Peyton Randolph
First restoration 1938-1940
Further restoration began in 1967
Center and west portions opened in 1968
Construction of outbuildings began in 1997
Rochambeau, Lafayette, and Washington among notable guests at the home

The deep red Peyton Randolph House is one of the oldest, most historic, and without doubt most beautiful of Colonial Williamsburg's original 18th-century homes.

The west wing of the impressive house has stood at the corner of Nicholson and North England Streets since about 1715. Among the historic figures that took shelter in the house were General Rochambeau and the Marquis de Lafayette.



William Robertson built the house that eventually became the west wing of the Peyton Randolph house. Sir John Randolph purchased the west wing in 1721. He bought the east lot for £50 on July 20, 1724 and had a home constructed there as well.

Sir John's son, Peyton Randolph, built a spacious and well-appointed two-story central section between the two houses. A hall with a large roundheaded window and a grand staircase connect single rooms on each floor. The first-floor parlor measures 19 feet square, and the bed chamber above has the same dimensions.



The southern face of the center section matches the appearance of the 29-foot-square clapboard house that makes up the west wing. The low-pitched hip roof of the west wing was extended across the addition but ends abruptly when it reaches the high gable of the dormered roof on the east wing.

Although the west and center sections of the house were connected by doors on both floors, there was no opening through the brick wall to the east wing. The east wing may have served as an office or a service building, or it could have been rented out. Demolished in the 19th century, the east wing was reconstructed by Colonial Williamsburg after the property was purchased in 1938.

The roof of the west wing was designed to funnel rain to two concealed two-log gutters, which apparently carried the water to a cistern. Only traces remain of this contrivance that may have leaked and was later covered by the roof. A chimney rises through the center of the wing, venting corner fireplaces in three rooms on each floor. The stairway passage is located in the southwest corner of each floor.



The center section contains some of the best surviving paneling in the city — some of it walnut — while unusually fine brass hinges and locks trim the parlor doors. The floor is mostly made of original edge-cut pine

Outbuildings supported household activity

A full complement of outbuildings stood to the north (in back), including a two-story brick kitchen, a stable for 12 horses, a coach house, and a dairy.



Sir John Randolph, the only colonial born in Virginia to be knighted, died in 1737. He left the house to his wife, Susannah Beverley Randolph, until their second son, Peyton, reached the age of 24. Their first son, Beverley, inherited property in Gloucester County; their third son, John, inherited acreage on the city's southern edge; and their daughter, Mary, received a dowry of £1,000. Susannah Beverley Randolph remained in the home until her death sometime after 1754.

Peyton Randolph, Speaker of Virginia's House of Burgesses in the years leading to the Revolution, brought his wife, Betty Harrison Randolph, to the home by 1751. It became a hub of political activity, and its owner Peyton Randolph was elected the presiding officer of the First Continental Congress at Philadelphia in 1774. An inventory taken at Peyton Randolph's death in 1775 indicates how the house was furnished and equipped.

Widow Betty Randolph opened her home to French general Jean-Baptiste-Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, when he arrived in Williamsburg with General George Washington to prepare for the siege of Yorktown in 1781. The house served as the French headquarters until they moved to the field.


Peyton and Betty Randolph had no children and, after her death and according to directions in Betty Randolph’s will, the house was sold at auction on February 19, 1783. A newspaper advertisement described it as "pleasantly situated on the great square." It was conveyed to the highest bidder, Joseph Hornsby, on February 21, and the proceeds were divided among Betty Randolph's legatees.

By 1824, the house was in the possession of Mary Monroe Peachy. She had the honor that year of lodging Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, when he visited the city on October 20 and 21 during a tour of America.

Colonial Williamsburg's primary restoration of the home began in October 1939 and was completed in April 1940. More restoration of the main section was undertaken in June 1967 and was finished 12 months later. The center and west portions of the house opened for exhibition on July 1, 1968.

House Clearing for Ghosts and Spirits

House Clearing for Ghosts and Spirits
Adapted from The Pleiadian Workbook, by Amorah Quan Yin (Inner Traditions, 1996).

Simple Solution
There are lots of reasons to do an energetic house clearing for your home now and then. While many will want to do a house clearing because they intuit that their homes are haunted, others are moving into houses that are new to them, and desire to remove all the energy of the previous owners. Transitions in one’s life are another good time to do a house clearing, such as after a divorce, or even after an unpleasant argument, or if someone has died.

Here are guidelines for a six-step house clearing. It only takes about ten minutes, and you don’t need anything except a clear mind:

Repeat this process about twice weekly for a few weeks. Doing this process at bedtime may give you a better night’s sleep.

1. Using your imagination, put a grounding cord of light on your entire house or apartment at the floor level. Extend it to the center of the Earth.

2. Visualize a golden sun about two feet in diameter in the center of your home.

3. Expand the golden sun gradually until it fills and surrounds your entire home space.

4. Surround the golden sun with a four-to-eight-foot-thick wall of violet light.

5. Affirm: “This ball of violet light will remain intact until I do this process again. So be it.”

6. Next say this invocation: “In the name of the I Am That I Am, I command that this home and grounds be filled with golden light from the City of Light where the Ascended Masters dwell. Only that which is divine may enter. All that is less than divine, which is illusion, must leave now. This will remain so. So be it.”

Ghost Alley-Fort Monroe

 

The Woman in White


A famous area contained within the walls of Ft. Monroe is what they have dubbed as "Ghost Alley." Here is the story of the famous Woman in White ghost story begins. A beautiful woman had married a captain of the military who was nearly twice her age. With her husband being away most of the time, this woman befriended a captain that was closer to her age. The couple became fast friends but soon their friendship was much more than friends. The couple consumated their love for each other. The husband came home only to find the lovers in bed together. The husband became outraged and chased the man off. Still angry, the husband murdered his wife. It is said that her spirit roams ghost alley. Looking for her true love that she had lost on the fateful night. Will she ever find him or will she be doomed to roam the streets of Ghost Alley?


The Ghost Who Hates Roses


In another part of Ghost Alley, stands an officers' home. Past occupants have stated how someone or something detests roses. If a boquet of roses are placed anywhere in the home, the next morning, rose petals are strewn all over the floor. There are no other signs of this strange act and no one knows who is doing it. Perhaps a scorned lover has decided the roses are a grim reminder of the love they had lost and in a fit of rage, rips the petals off. Nothing like holding onto the past and taking the anger out onto the living of the present.

Chamberlin Hotel-Fort Monroe

More than one spirit is said to walk the halls of this large establishment, but the most famous is the ghost of a young woman named Ezmerelda. Her father, a fisherman, went to sea one day and never returned....and she's still waiting for him to return. Her spirit has been haunting the 8th floor since the 1920s. Her appearances were so freqeunt and so distrubing to the guest that the floor was once closed. She has been quite in recent years but you find yourself hearing the sound of footsteps or spotting an apparition or a coldness in a room. Maybe you'll even hear the playing of a piano.

Haunted Yorktown-Grace Church

Cornwallis cave isn't the only place that is haunted in Yorktown Va.
We also visited the historic Grace Church. Originally built in 1697 the church has had several changes. In 1781 it was used as a storage facility by the English troops who broke out the windows and all but destroyed the church. In 1814 it was burned, rebuilt and then burned again during the Civil War. The church was once again rebuilt and is use today.



We did not go into the church itself, having arrived on a Sunday just as morning services were letting out, but we did tour the grave yard. We did not see anything unusual, but local folklore history tells us that there have a phantom Colonial era funeral seen in this same cemetery. The first recorded sighting of this was in 1791.
There are also reports of an apparition woman holding a dead infant inside the church.
It makes me glad we went in the day time.

Grace Sherwood The Witch of Pungo Virginia

I have had a fasination with witches since I was a small child. I first heard about Grace Sherwood as a teenager. I attended high school not far from where her home stood. I remember a group of us kids riding out to the old house when it was still standing. It was an eerie feeling. I put my thoughts of Grace on the back burner for years, until my own children came along. Once again her name came to mind. After all she is a local legend. When my oldest was young I bought a book entitled The Witch of Pungo. It told the story of Grace along with other local history. My kids grew up hearing about her. I never forgot her. I have gone down the road where she was dunked in the river many times.

Here is her story.

Grace Sherwood was the wife of James Sherwood and the mother to three sons. She was said to be strikingly attractive, strong-willed, and a non-conformist by nature. These traits were resented by her neighbors, who began spreading rumors about her witch-like behavior. Being a very tall woman, she was threatening to many. She wore men’s pants and did not wear dresses.
She was accused of bewitching a neighbor's crop in 1698. Allegations grew over time until the Princess Anne County government charged her with witchcraft. A jury of women were ordered to search her body for suspicious or unusual markings, thought to be brands of the devil himself, and naturally the jury found, “marks not like theirs or like those of any other women.” However, neither the local court nor the Attorney General in Williamsburg, would pass judgment on declaring her a witch. It was finally decided that Grace, “by her own consent, be tried in the water by Ducking, (dunking).” Water was considered to be the purest element and the theory was that it would reject anything of an evil nature. Based on this theory, the accused was tied up and thrown into the water. If the person drowned, he was declared innocent of witchcraft; if he could stay afloat until he could free himself, he was declared a witch.


On July 10, 1706, Grace Sherwood, was marched from the jail (which is located near the present day site of the local Old Donation Church) down the dirt road (now the every day traveled Witchduck Road), tied and cast into the Lynnhaven River. This portion of the river has since been named Witch Duck Bay in memory of the occasion. Grace Sherwood was tied crossbound with the thumb of her right hand to the big toe of her left foot, and the thumb of her left hand to the big toe of her right foot, and thrown into the water. As predicted by her accusers, Grace managed to stay afloat until she could free herself and swim to shore. After she reached the shore she told the on lookers."Before this day be through, you will all get a worse ducking than I!". A torrential thunderstorm rolled in after Sherwood was pulled from the water. She was jailed and awaited trial for witchcraft for nearly eight years, when the charges against her were dropped due to the softening of her accusers hearts, and she was set free. After her release, Grace paid the back taxes on her property in 1714, returned to her farm, and worked the land until her death at age 80 in the autumn of 1740. Her husband had died in 1701, so her children had been sent away to live with relatives. Grace Sherwood, Virginia's only convicted witch tried by water.

On Saturday, April 21, 2007 After 300 years to the hour, at 10 a.m., Grace Sherwood was exonerated by Governor Timothy Kaine.

Grace Sherwood is known today, 300 years belated, as the only deceased person in Virginia to be exonerated.

Cornwallis Cave

Yorktown Virginia is where British General Lord Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington, bringing an end to the last major battle of the American Revolution.
Local legend tells us that General Cornwallis hid in this cave on the bank of the York River during the artillery bombardment of Yorktown.
The legends also tell us that this cave is haunted.
Orbs have been photographed and distressing sounds have apparently been heard emanating from within its walls. We tried recording a EVP today and nothing really showed up. If I really use my imagination I think I hear a few whispers, but nothing worth posting. One photo however did show a few orb type lights. (click on next to the last photo to enlarge) It is hard to photograph or try to get voice recordings because the cave is not open to the public, but it was still a interesting place to visit.
Also, the cave does go in further than it looks. The blocked off area is the front of the cave and the other photo shows the cave itself. From what I understand it goes back at lest 10 ft. More than enough room from someone to hide.
Also we climbed on the top and it is very dense and goes off into the woods. As you can see from the last photo, it over looks the river.

To answer a question

Suzie ask me an interesting question about our "ghost". Did I want them to stay or go.

I thought Well, as long as they stay on the farm and not follow me or my daughter home. I think they should stay, after all this was there farm for hundreds of years. At this point I don't feel like they are harming anyone. This is after all a children's farm, run by the city and if bad things are not happening there then I think it is ok for them to hang around.

I can't help but wonder though if other kids have seen things and told there parents and no one has come forward and reported it for fear of being laughed at or worst.
Let's face it even in today's society where this type of thing is more widely accepted people still band you as a kook. As for me. I don't care. I say bring it on. I would love to have a full investigation out there. Get your camera's, voice recorders, heat sensors and all the other equipment. Whoo hoo, can you see us now on Taps
Ok back to the serious side.
Suzie also suggested that I talk some more to our friendly ghost asking them to give me some sort of sign as to who they are by making a noise such as a tap. Only problem is this is woods and open field. So short of dropping a tree branch on my head I am not sure what kind of noise they could make. In fact I have been twice with a EPV recorder but so far nothing more than the wind. I do plan on trying agin

In the mean time I am going to do an investigation of a different sorts this weekend.
It has nothing to do with this man and lady and is on an entirely different piece of land.
I will tell you more about it later

Real people

I know your all probably tired of reading about my ghost story, but I want to share some thoughts with you.

It is driving me crazy thinking Is this real? Do ghost really exsit. Is my grandson really seeing something. I have tried unsuccessfully to find any information on the net about hauntings in that area. I was just about to give up, when I got to thinking about it this way.

Just for the sake of argument lest say it is a ghost.
Ok with that established we all know that before you can be a ghost you had to be alive. So I pondered over it awhile thinking to myself Just who was this woman (and man/the papa). What were their names, how did they die. What did they do when they were alive.

If I look in the mirror and I see myself I know that I have hopes and dreams, a home, children .And when I die, someone is going to know who I was.
So I realized, that this "ghost" must have been the same way. Someone had to know who they were. So I thought about it some more and I asked myself, ok where do I start. I wondered who owned this land. What happened there all those years ago. How did they die and Why are they haunting it.

Yesterday I took the bull horns and went to our local library. We have a special room dedicated to Virginia history so I knew I could at lest find something on the land.
So in I go, march up to the desk, and tell the librarian my story. Of course she looks at me like I have two heads, but she produces a file with newspaper articles in it. And guess what. It is all about the farm and who owned it and the names of the people who were buried in the graveyard there.

I won't give you a last name to protect there privacy, but I will tell you that it is a family cemetery.

the names and dates are as follows
Margaret born 1797 died 1835
*I think she is our "lady". The timing for the dress the "ghost" is wearing would be about right. Margaret would have died in her early 30's. My ghost lady looks young.

Philip was born in 1845, he died at age 68 in 1913 of a heart attack after coming in from the fields. I believe he is our papa/and the farmer seen by the worker at the farm. A farmer in 1913 would certainly be wearing overalls as she described.

I have different last names for Margaret and Philip, but I feel like they are related. Perhaps she was his grandmother or an Aunt of either Philip or his wife who is also buried in the cemetery.

Philips daughter is also buried there and believe it or not she died just three days before he did. All that I have listed is she died suddenly. She was 40.
At first I thought maybe our lady was her, but she didn't die until 1913 so I think the dress style does not fit.

Anyway I also found out that Philip was born and raised there, and served in the civil war.

Conincident, maybe, interesting thoughts Yes.
So what do you think?

One more photo

After a second look at my photos I wanted to add this one
Do you see the two orbs on the right hand side of the photo. This one was taken in the same area and with in moments of the ones below.
Weird huh

Photos

As you can tell from the following photos that my grandson was hell bent on following "something" today. He became very attached to the papa Which is his word for any older man. That is the main reason I told him he had to tell the papa to stay there. We did not want this following us home. He told the man. Go lay down
How weird is that. As if he is telling him get back in the ground.
He insisted the man was in a hole.
We do know that there is suppose to be an old slave burrial ground somewhere on the property. We asked my grandson did the man have white or brown skin and he told us white, so I am wondering if he might have seen the old farmer that the worker there has seen. That makes sense. The part about the man sitting down at the old railroad shed makes sense too. If he died there perhaps in life he waited for train and got hot and went in search of a coke. I believe coke would have been invented already about time the station would have been on the property. The interestate now divides the land that the farm was once one, and my grandson seemed to see him just standing in the traffic. That was bit un-nerving and he told me to tell the man to get out of the road. I did and that is when he started chasing him down the path you see in the photos.
This farm just gets stranger and stranger.
All I can say is I don't ever want to be out there when it is getting dark

Ghost Man

She orginial post at Ghost Lady

Today We took my grandson back to the farm where he had seen the "ghost lady". Cody would not let us go to the grave yard. He immediately started talking about the lady and said no that she said we could not go to the graves. I went anyway and he called me back and said No...she would hurt me.
We left and I found the lady I had been in contact with a few weeks ago and talked to her. She didn't offer much in the way of information and would not commit to say if she saw the apparitions in the photo I had. She did give me a little information on the paranormal group she heads, stating that they were licensed and bonded. Similar to TAPS. I felt like that is probably why she didn't comment to much, because she felt like I might try to use it and say that they said it was a "real ghost". I respected that so I didn't push. Anyway she did say that she had seen things out there, that once she saw a little boy and another time an old farmer..Both disappeared. She also said that an old storage building is where an old train station use to be so it was part of that.
When we took Cody over there he said he saw a man sitting down. Then he said the man wanted a coke, and said he walked across the interstate. He told me to tell the man to get out of the road.
A few minutes later he started chasing the man and yelled out for the man to stop and hold his hand. He skipped along as if he had his hand in someone's. Then as Rebecca and I approached the "man" seemed to run away and Cody chased him yelling hold my hand, hold my hand, and saying I will catch him, he repeated that about five times then he said I got him. Mama Momo I got him. Now Mama you get him.
The man again ran away and for about 10 minutes we went through weeds and bramble bush to the waters edge. He insisted he was seeing a man. He also told us that the lady was in a boat. He cried when we made him leave and said he wanted to bring the papa to his house. We told him no that he had to stay and Cody said he liked him and cried. Once we got back on the main path he walked in a field pouring coke out every few feet saying that he was giving it to the people in the holes. He stopped about every 6 ft. We told him again to tell the papa to stay and he told him to go lay down....
The entire time I had a recorder on and Cody insisted on holding it himself.
About three minutes into the tape Cody was alone and we can hear him say. Are you here, are you here..hide

http://www.badongo.com/file/8620864


Click on the link above and download the file for yourself
Warning, it is a long file and will take about 15 minutes to listen to all of it, but if your a believer in the paranormal it is worth it.
I am going to put some photos in a seperate post