Ghostly evening tours of historic downtown Staunton, Virginia.
Looking forward to seeing you this season! Welcome to our 9th Season!
Ghosts of Staunton Walking Ghost Tours have recently been featured in the Daily News Leader and the News Virginian
Our aim is to provide a quality tour that blends history and
hauntings. We strive to educate, enlighten, and entertain you with our
own unique blend of the paranormal, science, history, and local
legend.
Friday and Saturday Evenings at 8 PM through October 1st
Friday and Saturday Evenings at 8 and 9 PM October 7th -- October 31st
Please stop by our Ghosts of Staunton Gift Shop for that special souvenir. We have a great selection of shirts, caps, bags, stickers, mousepads, buttons, mugs and more..Fantastic prices and prompt delivery/service is what we offer with every item.
Featured location and Ghost Tour -- Williamsburg Ghost Tours (The Wythe House)
The Wythe House is one of the most famously haunted houses in Williamsburg. Located in Colonial Williamsburg, it was the home of George Wythe, signer of the Declaration of Independence, friend to George Washington, friend and mentor to Thomas Jefferson, and first law professor in the United States at nearby William and Mary. All ghost tours in Williamsburg visit two locations: the Peyton Randolph House and the Wythe House.
The Wythe House is known for the haunting of Ann Skipwith. The stories differ, but Ann and her husband visited their friend George Wythe one week and stayed at his home. They accompanied Wythe to an elegant ball held at the Governor's Palace, and it is said that Ann paraded a beautiful pair of red shoes. During the event she became very distraught, in tears, and visibly upset with her husband, who attempted to calm her. She ran from the Palace back to the Wythe home. Along the way, she lost one of her shoes in the street, so as she ran up the stairs the servants reported that she made an awkward sound with one heel on one foot and barefoot on the other, with a thud, step, thud, step sound.
The story varies here, and while most claim that she died the next day in the house and took her life or was murdered, but the truth is that she passed away three months later nowhere near the Wythe house in child birth, according to colonial records. After her death, Ann's husband married her sister, which is rumored to be the reason why she became so upset at the Governor's Palace ball in the first place she had discovered that her husband was having an affair with her own sister! Some believe that the child birth death is a cover up for Ann's suicide, as she was unhappy in her life and desperately wanted a way out. Or, perhaps she was murdered by her husband, so that he could be with her sister?
Even though she did not die in the Wythe House, Ann Skipwith is the most famous ghost in Williamsburg, and is known to haunt the Wythe House. A tradition among William and Mary students and locals involves placing a red shoe in front of the front door and knocking loudly three times, calling for Ann and proclaiming something like "Lady Skipwith, Lady Skipwith, I've found your red shoe!" Shortly after, you may hear the sound of Ann making her way down the stairs with her thud-step sound coming to claim her shoe.
Employees in the house report that furniture will move and rearrange on its own. Apparitions of a colonial soldier or colonial man wearing a wig are seen, a woman dressed in colonial gown has been seen walking through the back yard gardens before vanishing into air, shutters move indoors behind the windows, and the sound of a woman singing have been heard in the house by security inside the house late at night. Others claim the home is haunted by the ghost of George Wythe, who was murdered at his Richmond home by his grand nephew.
On two different ghost hunts, the name "Ann" repeatedly appeared on a handheld device, and the name "Ann" was also murmured four times through a ghost box within five minutes. And these were heard from outside the building's front door! If you're ever in Williamsburg and get a chance to stop by the Wythe House, bring some equipment and you may catch something, even if you only spend a brief amount of time here. At the very least, it's a beautiful home worth the visit!
Welcome to our 9th Season!
