How many ghost stories do you remember hearing about local areas within your community or town? Every neighborhood has them and these urban legends are mostly the same story just recycled and told differently in a couple of places. Every town has some small bridge that if you stop on and turn your lights off late at night supposedly your car will not start back up and you will be visited by the dead ghost (perhaps the mourning mother that grieves for her son that was killed in the lake by taunting school children) that haunts that area. Ghost stories help attract many visitors to certain tourist spots, look at Luray Caverns or the mysterious Winchester Mansion. Many old bed and breakfast love to have some jealous love enraged murder that happened within their walls so that they can draw as many people who are just as interested as staying in the exact bed that someone was killed as those who just want a quite relaxing weekend away. Plantation ghost stories though happen to be the best, it allows us to hearken back to an earlier era of American life, where imprisoned slaves were practicing voodoo and mysticism from their previous lives or tragic and repressed women who tragically commit suicide because they are forced into a loveless marriage so that they can reach a certain status.Located twenty minutes away from my house, Charles City Virginia actually has two of these plantations, Shirley Plantation and Edgewood Plantation, that hundreds of visitors each year flock to in order to witness some supernatural occurrence. The one that I would like to focus on in this blog is the more famous Plantation, Shirley.
Shirley Plantation is a well known estate located on the banks of the James River. Settled in 1613 and built in 1738 it is the oldest active plantation in Virginia as well as the oldest family operated business in America. The Carter family has lived in the home for ten generations with the eleventh generation currently residing on the top two floors; the bottom floor is open to daily visitors.
During the building of Shirley Plantation, in 1723 by Edward Hill, Hill's daughter, Martha, left for England to study and left an unsigned portrait of herself. Though Martha decided to remain in England after marrying the picture however remained up at Shirley Plantation daring anyone who entered the room to ignore it. About 1858, almost a century after Martha's death, the picture remained up until it began to rock and shake violently above the mantle on the third floor bedroom. The picture was finally moved to the attic where it began to shake and rock more violently than before and word around town began to spread about the haunted painting. Things quited down during the Civil War when the field at Shirley Plantation was used as a field hospital. Since the painting was finally at peace it was moved to the second floor bedroom where things stayed quite until about another century.
Interesting and scary. Though I personally have never believed in things of the supernatural, I can never give an answer to why these things suddenly shake or move across the room. Are these just coincidences or do you think they are actually haunted? Does having a haunted picture or room at these historical sites make them more interesting to visit, this could explain why many historical attractions have supposedly haunted or supernatural occurrences. Please share any local hauntings that you like to visit in your community or what your take is on them, I would love to hear. Below is a video of the haunted picture at Shirley Plantation as well as other links that you might find interesting on this topic, if for some reason it is not working I have included the link. Enjoy and Happy Haunting.
Shirley Plantation is a well known estate located on the banks of the James River. Settled in 1613 and built in 1738 it is the oldest active plantation in Virginia as well as the oldest family operated business in America. The Carter family has lived in the home for ten generations with the eleventh generation currently residing on the top two floors; the bottom floor is open to daily visitors.
During the building of Shirley Plantation, in 1723 by Edward Hill, Hill's daughter, Martha, left for England to study and left an unsigned portrait of herself. Though Martha decided to remain in England after marrying the picture however remained up at Shirley Plantation daring anyone who entered the room to ignore it. About 1858, almost a century after Martha's death, the picture remained up until it began to rock and shake violently above the mantle on the third floor bedroom. The picture was finally moved to the attic where it began to shake and rock more violently than before and word around town began to spread about the haunted painting. Things quited down during the Civil War when the field at Shirley Plantation was used as a field hospital. Since the painting was finally at peace it was moved to the second floor bedroom where things stayed quite until about another century.In 1974, the Virginia Travel Council loaned the portrait an exhibit at Rockefeller Plaza in New York. There on display the picture began to rock so violently that the seal of Virginia began to sway back and forth in front of visitors. A reporter for NBC-TV on his way to lunch heard the commotion and capture the rocking on tape. Since it caused such a disturbance the picture was crated up and removed from the exhibit. During the night shift, guards reported hearing crying from inside the crate and the same rocking ensued. The next morning the picture was found on the floor outside of the crate. After being repaired from the damaged the frame received from its turbulent rocking the picture was placed back on the second floor bedroom mantle where it is still seen today by visitors. …
Interesting and scary. Though I personally have never believed in things of the supernatural, I can never give an answer to why these things suddenly shake or move across the room. Are these just coincidences or do you think they are actually haunted? Does having a haunted picture or room at these historical sites make them more interesting to visit, this could explain why many historical attractions have supposedly haunted or supernatural occurrences. Please share any local hauntings that you like to visit in your community or what your take is on them, I would love to hear. Below is a video of the haunted picture at Shirley Plantation as well as other links that you might find interesting on this topic, if for some reason it is not working I have included the link. Enjoy and Happy Haunting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmsYTKISHRE
This is the official link for Shirley Plantation
Here is another for Shirley as well as other Plantations along the James River, many have haunted stories as well.
http://www.jamesriverplantations.org/Shirley.html
This website gives you information on haunted sites around Virginia as well as the United States. Check it out!!!
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