Spring Gardens

DISPATCH FROM 414 FRANKLIN STREET


War of the Rosegardens
Revolutionary ghost may be able to solve a modern-day dispute.

The story of Spring Gardens is one of the city's well known ghost stories, chronicled in a number of ghost story anthologies and featured in a 1950s-era painting by Babs Van Swearingen. It's also at the heart of a debate about the history of the property, one that is making headlines now that the house is for sale.

Perhaps the ghost has a message for us. According to Alexandria historian Ruth Lincoln Kaye, the ghost of a Revolutionary War solider led the Yates girls to the back yard where they found a ghost building in a green mist. The next morning, the girls returned to the same spot. But the building was gone, searching the ground, they found the foundation of an old building that had one been a stable.

Perhaps, Kaye suggests, the ghost was leading us to a clue. Is that old stable an outbuilding that was once used at Spring Gardens? Or is it simply part of the Yates family garden business that was later located here? What do you think?

Woodlawn

DISPATCH FROM THE MOST HAUNTED HOME IN VIRGINIA


The Haunted Mansion
Does this plantation home contain a portal to the underworld?

Everybody at Woodlawn Plantation seems to have a spooky story about something strange that has happened at the historic house — a well that’s a conduit to the underworld; the sound of footsteps from otherwise empty rooms or music from a Wurlitzer organ that doesn’t exist; or a notorious portrait that can’t seem to stay on the wall.

Built in 1805 for Martha Washington’s granddaughter Nelly Parke Custis and her husband Major Lawrence Lewis, Woodlawn passed through several owners before ending up as a museum operated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Many generations have passed through its walls, and some people will tell you that their spirits are still wondering around the building.

In his popular “Ghosts of Virginia” series, ghost-hunting author L.B. Taylor referred to Woodlawn as “the most haunted home in Virginia.” What do you think about that? Do you have your own Woodlawn story you'd like to share?

Schafer House

A SHOCKING STORY OF LOVE AND LOSS


Fatal and Melancholy Affair
The tragic tale of Laura Schafer and Charles Tennesson.

Here's something sweet: Laura Schafer's father was a confectioner. Considering the house now haunted by his daughter is a popular candy store off Market Square, there's a fair amount of ghostly synergy happening here. Plus this: Schafer's father was a German immigrant, according to census records. And Candida Kreb, owner of Candi's Candies, is from Central America.

Clearly, there's something going on here.

Kreb says she's had several run-ins with the ghost, and describes the story as similar in many ways to Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." But she's not alone. A handful of ghost tour guides say they've had their own experiences. Perhaps you are one of them. Have you had any experiences here? Have you heard anything strange happening here?

City Hall

BREAKING NEWS FROM THE DISTANT PAST

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Bat in the Belfry
Legend has its roots in a 1976 Bicentennial interview.

The story of the devil-bat is documented in a 1976 publication titled “Alexandria Ghost Stories,” written by Eric Segal and published by the Alexandria Youth Bicentennial Committee. Segal's account stars an Old Town character Louie Robert, who worked in a framing shop.

"As Louie continues delving into his memory, we watch him, pointing and gesticulating in the muted light of his Alexandria framing ship," Segal wrote in 1976. "He is a favorite with the Old Town clientele, having always displayed the attractive moodiness we now see."

Puffing on a pipe in his frame shop, Robert tells Segal the legend of the devil-bat:

“Well, I guess one of the oldest stories goin’ back I don’t know how long is the story of the devil bat of Market Square,” Robert told Segal. “They say it lives up there in the belfry of City Hall. I don’t know much about the story, and I don’t know if anyone says they seen it. But I thought I saw it once.”

According to Robert’s account as relayed by Segal, one account of the devil-bat involved a boatload of rowdy men arrived late at night. The men were whooping and hollering, making quite a ruckus. As the rioting crowd caroused up King Street, breaking windows and screaming wildly, the men apparently stirred the ire of the devil-bat.

“I heard ‘em saying something, believe it or not, about tearin’ down City Hall,” Robert said. “All of a sudden, for some reason, I still don’t know why, I said something like Devil bat, devil bat, keep this crowd back!”

From out of nowhere, according to Robert’s story, a giant devil bat appeared from the clock tower on the Royal Street side of City Hall and attacked the rioting crowd. Seeing this frightening creature, they scampered away. And thus the mysterious animal saved the municipal building.

“I was scared, but I was curious too, so I checked to see what it was and there in the middle of the street was the biggest darn skunk anybody ever saw,” Robert said. “Some say that proves the devil bat doesn’t exist; it’s just some skunk. But other say that it proves it does, it just turned into a skunk to protect its old home. I’m not sure, but, as far as I know, that’s the closest anyone’s ever come to really seeing it.”

Marshall House

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The Lost Cause
Ghosts are prowling about the site of the old Marshall House.

Victors do not always write history. Sometimes the vanquished have their say. Such is the case at the corner of Pitt and King streets, where an old plaque beacons passersby with a headline boasting “The Marshall House.” Those who stay to read the rest of the plaque experience a strong dose of Confederate patriotism honoring James William Jackson, a man whom the plaque boldly tells us “the justice of history does not permit his name to be forgotten.”

Clearly his name has not been forgotten.

People are still taking about James W. Jackson. Some even say he haunts the building. He’s considered by some to be “the first martyr in the cause of Southern Independence,” the subtitle to an 1862 biography published in Richmond the year after his death. Never mind that the others consider Jackson to be a cold-blooded killer responsible for the murder of Col. Ephraim Elmer Ellsworth. From the plaque, we learn that Jackson is “an example to all” who “laid down his life … in defense of his home and the sacred soil of his native state: Virginia.”

Guests at the hotel have long reported strange things happening at the modern-day hotel located where the old Marshall House once stood. It's even been featured by the History Channel. Perhaps you have had some experience with the ghosts? Maybe someone who's been on the tour had some experience you'd like to share?

Colross

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Today the block is known as the Monarch, where high-end condominiums and apartments share space with ground-floor retail establishments like Starbucks and L.A. Boxing. But this block has secrets.

This is the old home of Thomson Mason, who was mayor in the 1820s. His urban plantation was known as "Colross," with a street address of 1111 Oronoco Street. (Mason also had a vacation house Fairfax County known as Huntley Meadows.) For William and Ann, Colross was an idyllic place to grow up. Until tragedy struck.

One day, the children were playing hide-and-seek when a strong gust of wind came through and blew down the chicken coop down where William was hiding, crushing him to death. Ann was devastated by the loss, and her body was later found in the bathtub. The two children were both buried in the family vault on the block. But that's not the end of the story.

People say the two children haunt the block, and many of the later residents at Colross said they could hear the voices of children playing. Also, nobody could seem to keep the vault locked for more than three days.

How do you tell the story? Do you have any personal experiences you could add? What is this story about?

Red Hill

The ghost of Red Hill is beyond the boundaries of Old Town, set on a hilltop now known as Braddock Heights. In the early days of the city, this is an area that was known as Red Hill.

The story involves a captain and his lady. When he failed to return to port one day, the woman shot herself in the garden. Her ghost has been known to haunt the neighborhood ever since. She is frequently seen wandering around her old garden.

In the 1950s, artist Babs Van Swearingen depicted the woman wearing a red cloak. The story has also been chronicled by pioneer female journalist Frances Lide, who wrote for the Washington Post and the Washington Star before retiring in the North Ridge neighborhood.

Do you tell the story of Red Hill? Have you heard from people familiar with the story? Anyone ever seen her?