Bacon's Castle
Bacon's Castle was Built in 1665 by Arthur Allen, Bacon's Castle is the oldest documented brick house in America. In 1676 it was taken over by Nathaniel Bacon and his men, who rebelled against the governor of Virginia and burned down Jamestown.
It took four years before Mr. Allen got his home back. The house had been passed down several generations and owned by numerous families. Additions to the house have been made at lest three times.
The family owning the home in the 1800's had both indentured servants and slaves who worked in the house and the adjourning fields. An original slave house is still on the property.
Several of the windows in the home had initials or names etched into them, including one which had an entire love letter from one of the young owners to his wife.
I am sorry I can't remember their names, but it was a bit of a sad story. They were only married about four years before she died at the age of 25 (or so)
Also we saw two previously hidden pieces of wall which was covered with sketches and signatures of the house's previous occupants.
This was by far one of the best tours that I have been on. The guide was very knowledgeable and took us to three different levels of the home, and the basement. The basement was the original kitchen.
The top level was where both indentured servants and slaves slept. One room was furnished to show a bedroom. The door was roped off so no one could go in, but as I stuck my head in the door I felt the energy in this room was "different". I made the comment that the room felt weird. My daughter seemed to pooh pooh this idea until about three minutes later when she was carrying my grandson down the stairs. She took one step and fell down the remaining stairs. (about 4 steps)I screamed out her name and rushed to her. Thankfully they were both ok and she jumped right up, more embarrassed than hurt. On the next level my grandson seemed to trip over his own feet falling to the floor. We all got the giggles at how clumsy they both were, but when we got outside my daughter swore to me that a ghost pushed them. She said "mom we never fall" I asked her did she really feel as if she was being pushed. She said she wasn't sure, because it happened so fast, but swore the rest of the day it was the ghost. I later read on the Internet while searching for more information on the home that during another tour someone had fallen down those same stairs.
this is also the same stairway that the young lady who haunts the house was said to trip on in the video at the end of this post.
Could it just be coincidence? Perhaps, or perhaps there is a ghostly presence that pushes young ladies down. You be the judge.
Just a side note here. While in the home on the main level, my grandson told his mother that he saw a papa outside near a tree, There was no one out there, or at lest no one we saw.
In my opinion, I did feel as if Bacon's Castle had some activity. I would love to get into this house at night with a ghost hunting team. I plan to make another visit back there soon.
In the meantime here is a
podcast of one of our local radio stations Halloween Haunts talking abut the castle
for photos of the house and grounds itself see my blog at Autumns Meadow
Also there are photos there of Lawnes Creek Church Cemetery where the mysterious fireball is said to have some from.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWP7woe6QrQ&hl=en]
It took four years before Mr. Allen got his home back. The house had been passed down several generations and owned by numerous families. Additions to the house have been made at lest three times.
The family owning the home in the 1800's had both indentured servants and slaves who worked in the house and the adjourning fields. An original slave house is still on the property.
Several of the windows in the home had initials or names etched into them, including one which had an entire love letter from one of the young owners to his wife.
I am sorry I can't remember their names, but it was a bit of a sad story. They were only married about four years before she died at the age of 25 (or so)
Also we saw two previously hidden pieces of wall which was covered with sketches and signatures of the house's previous occupants.
This was by far one of the best tours that I have been on. The guide was very knowledgeable and took us to three different levels of the home, and the basement. The basement was the original kitchen.
The top level was where both indentured servants and slaves slept. One room was furnished to show a bedroom. The door was roped off so no one could go in, but as I stuck my head in the door I felt the energy in this room was "different". I made the comment that the room felt weird. My daughter seemed to pooh pooh this idea until about three minutes later when she was carrying my grandson down the stairs. She took one step and fell down the remaining stairs. (about 4 steps)I screamed out her name and rushed to her. Thankfully they were both ok and she jumped right up, more embarrassed than hurt. On the next level my grandson seemed to trip over his own feet falling to the floor. We all got the giggles at how clumsy they both were, but when we got outside my daughter swore to me that a ghost pushed them. She said "mom we never fall" I asked her did she really feel as if she was being pushed. She said she wasn't sure, because it happened so fast, but swore the rest of the day it was the ghost. I later read on the Internet while searching for more information on the home that during another tour someone had fallen down those same stairs.
this is also the same stairway that the young lady who haunts the house was said to trip on in the video at the end of this post.
Could it just be coincidence? Perhaps, or perhaps there is a ghostly presence that pushes young ladies down. You be the judge.
Just a side note here. While in the home on the main level, my grandson told his mother that he saw a papa outside near a tree, There was no one out there, or at lest no one we saw.
In my opinion, I did feel as if Bacon's Castle had some activity. I would love to get into this house at night with a ghost hunting team. I plan to make another visit back there soon.
In the meantime here is a
podcast of one of our local radio stations Halloween Haunts talking abut the castle
for photos of the house and grounds itself see my blog at Autumns Meadow
Also there are photos there of Lawnes Creek Church Cemetery where the mysterious fireball is said to have some from.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWP7woe6QrQ&hl=en]
Labels: Local Hauntings, Personal Experience
posted by Patty at
Saturday, June 21, 2008
5 Comments:
My husband is a paramedic for Surry Co. and so many times I've passed through Bacon's Castle.. and never knew of the history of the house!! Never would have thought it was haunted! Your post was so intresting, we're deffinatly going to stop!
RTL PARANORMAL is a group from newport news/williamsburg that would love to go there with you! look us up on myspace or e-maol me at raphi71@aol.com
I read your post today and found it most interesting. My family is from the Hampton Roads area and my Grandmother has always said that Bacon's Castle was haunted. She swore that everytime she was there, it made her feel ill and as soon as she would leave the house she would feel better. My father says, every time he has ever tried to go to Bacon's Castle it has been closed, like he's not supposed to go there. I myself have never been able to go. But I have always wanted to. Thanks for your detailed explanation.
I had the opposite experience from Rebecca. My family recently went there thinking the place opened at 10:00 am. We went up to the entrance (which is located in the back), turned the doorknob and walked it. We didn't see anyone inside but figured that they must be doing something around the house. We walked around, looking at the things for sale, used the restroom, even tried to call the information number to see if someone would come down and notice us...all to no avail. Anyway, we finally decided to just walk around in the garden and look at some of the outbuildings. When no one had shown up after about half an hour, we decided to leave. However, the gardener then showed up, went to the door we had left earlier, inserted a key and went in. I went to the door to find out why they weren't open yet. She told me that the new hours start at noon. I explained that we had walked in earlier as the door was unlocked. She looked at me with a horrified look on her face and told me that the door had been locked the night before AND had been locked when she put the key in this morning...but we hadn't locked the door. Very strange.....apparently the house wanted us to come in for a visit!
Susan, my name is Kelli, i live in colorado and i know what you mean about your experience the place did want you to come and visit because the spirits liked your energy, the reason i know this is because im a pyschic and ive had the same kind of experiences like at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, colorado.
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