The Most Hair-Raising Haunts in Williamsburg, VA

A city known for its striking fall foliage and meticulously preserved buildings, Williamsburg, Virginia, remains a town where history feels very much alive. Here, the spirits of soldiers and colonists refuse to rest, occupying their stations well into the afterlife as if unaware of the passing years.

Weird Williamsburg Facts

It was here that the Battle of Williamsburg was fought in 1862 — a fray that ended with about 4,000 casualties.
The Fort Magruder Hotel was constructed atop the Williamsburg battlefield. To this day, guests still report peculiar incidents of spectral gunfire and men marching in the night.
Of the more than 300 restored buildings that make up the 301 acre historic area of this colonial capital city, 89 are from the 18th century.

What Makes Williamsburg One of America’s Most Haunted Cities?

Founded in 1699, Williamsburg is a colonial city with over three centuries of history to its name. Unsurprisingly, not all those years were pleasant. An incredible number of buildings from the 1700s still stand in Colonial Williamsburg, some with pasts much darker than others, making this East Coast town one with a strange and otherworldly heartbeat.

America’s First Insane Asylum (The Public Hospital)

Although the name “the Public Hospital” may sound unassuming, when you learn this dwelling was actually the first hospital solely dedicated to treating people with mental illness in North America, you’ll realize why it’s considered one of the most haunted buildings in Williamsburg.

The Public Hospital for Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds began seeing its first patients in 1773, although its so-called “treatments” were quite questionable. The place that would come to be later known as the Eastern State Lunatic Asylum often subjected its patients to crude treatments like electroshock therapy, overmedication, and submersion in icy waters to shock the system.

Today, the hospital is said to be haunted by these wretched patients, along with the spirit of Dr. Galt, who died in his home on the hospital grounds by overdose. Their unearthly presences are felt in cold gusts of air, inexplicable noises, strange smells, and apparitions.

Wythe House

A Georgian brick structure with a striking presence, the Wythe House contains an air of the uncanny even from the outside. Once home to George Wythe, a man who held the honor of being the first to sign the Declaration of Independence, he lived within this two-story structure until 1787, when his wife Elizabeth died. Yet it’s not her ghost that haunts these halls.

George Wythe returned to Richmond after his wife passed away, only to be murdered by poisoning two decades later, likely by his great-nephew. It seems George has returned to join his wife, filling his former home with an eerie aura. According to local legends, his spirit becomes particularly active around the day of his death, pressing his cold and ghostly hand on people’s foreheads who linger uninvited in his room.

Public Gaol

Now a museum, the once-misery-filled public jail that housed an overcrowded population of pirates, debtors, and criminals remains a place of undeniable creepiness. Countless individuals were once imprisoned in these decaying walls, only to die before they could even be tried for their crimes.

Now the walls hum with the uneasy souls who were once confined here, trapped for a second time in the afterlife. Unlucky visitors have witnessed moans, heard loud footsteps, experienced intense emotions, and seen sinister shadows within these crumbling rooms — all echoes of the ghosts of the Public Gaol.

Peyton Randolph House

Considered to be Williamsburg’s most haunted house by many, the Peyton Randolph House seems to be a cursed property. Built in 1715, it has seen nearly 30 deaths in its 300-year history, with casualties spanning from accident to illness and suicide.

In the 1800s, the Peachy family was especially unfortunate. One child passed after falling from a tree, followed by several more from illness. A relative of the family died by suicide in the drawing room. No wonder the property is often referred to as the most haunted house on the East Coast.

Those who dare step inside this seemingly doomed home have heard spectral singing and been pushed by unseen hands. Some have even spied the ghostly apparition of the grieving Mrs. Peachy, sobbing over her lost children.

The Wren Building

Part of the College of William and Mary, the Wren Building stands as the oldest college building in the United States, starting construction in 1695. It also might be the most ghostly, according to students and staff.

The Wren Building is certainly one that holds a heavy past. Serving as a hospital during not one but two wars, it is no stranger to the screams of dying men. Victim to fire three separate times in addition to standing atop a 1729-era crypt that was looted by Union soldiers during the Civil War, this resilient structure has suffered through much of its history.

Now haunted by the disturbed souls who once sought rest here, witnesses have heard bizarre shrieks emanating from the crypt and spied soldiers walking the halls late into the evening. Currently home to faculty offices and classrooms, the building known as the soul of the campus remains one that continues to carry a formidable reputation.

Crawford Road

Although technically located in nearby Yorktown, the long and winding thoroughfare called Crawford Road is a site well-known to Williamsburg residents for its spine-tingling stories. Although several bodies have been found on the road since the 1990s, most of this creepy lane’s lore is centered around the bridge it passes underneath, where a bride was said to have hung herself.

Sometimes called Crybaby Bridge in reference to the legendary tale that a woman threw her baby in the nearby river, it sits as a nexus of superstition. It is believed that those who pause underneath this graffiti-covered bridge are vulnerable to strange happenings.

Occasionally, their car stalls, strange sounds emit from the stereo, or electronics malfunction. Others have seen apparitions in the road or a figure hanging behind them, swaying to and fro in their rearview mirror. Either way, few pause here for long, with the ominous woods closing in around them and the weight of unseen eyes seemingly bearing down.

Ghosts of the Colonial Capitol

As a city with dozens of buildings dating back to the 18th century, Williamsburg stands as a truly unique travel destination. Some come for its history, others for its ghosts. Ultimately, the Burg remains an ideal destination for either enthusiast. One just needs to book a Williamsburg ghost tour to experience the perfect blend of history and horror that this storied town has to offer.