Richmond is home to many haunts, and many of Richmond’s historic homes are haunted. Here we have compiled a list of the five most haunted houses across the city, along with some of the hair-raising experiences that the living have had in these places over the years.
Old Stone House
The Old Stone House, cornerstone of the Poe Museum, may be small, but its paranormal activity is anything but. Staff and visitors alike have encountered the playful spirit of a young boy named Jonathan, who haunts the residence that was home to the Ege family for over 150 years.
Known for his racing footsteps and playing with shop supplies when the house was the museum gift shop. He behaves much like any child, even when gently scolded for his actions. Psychic investigations and eerie recordings hint at a deeper story, including a mysterious woman who comforts Jonathan, and has even appeared to startled staff.
Additionally, disembodied footsteps, unexplained knocks from inside solid stone walls, and voices caught on tape make this historic home a hub of supernatural intrigue. Whether Jonathan is seeking attention or companionship, one thing is clear: he’s not alone, and neither are you, when you step inside this haunted house.
For more haunting tales of this residence and the surrounding Shockoe Bottom neighborhood, join Haunts of Richmond for a Shadows of Shockoe Ghost Tour.
Executive Mansion
The Virginia Executive Mansion, in continuous use since 1813, is not only the nation’s oldest governor’s residence, it’s also home to a lingering guest who never left. For over a century, staff and officials have reported sightings of a beautiful young woman in a blue dress. She is often seen drifting through halls, vanishing into mirrors, or lighting stairwells in moments of need.
First spotted by Governor Philip McKinney in the 1890s, she’s believed to be a party guest who died tragically in an icy carriage accident many years ago. Some say she returned to the last place she felt joy. From startled butlers to grateful governors, the stories span generations—whispers of a graceful spirit still wandering the mansion’s historic halls.
The Lady in Blue, as she is known, is far from alone. A butler has also been spotted in numerous places between the Executive Mansion and Virginia State Capitol, leading people to believe that he is the spirit of a man who was once a part of the governor’s personal staff. His no-nonsense demeanor is enough to give anyone pause-just long enough for him to vanish before your eyes.
For more haunting tales of this residence and the other historic structures around the Virginia State Capitol, join Haunts of Richmond for a Haunted Capitol Hill Ghost Tour.
Ellen Glasgow House
Ellen Glasgow, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and champion of women’s rights, spent her life, and perhaps her afterlife, at 1 West Main Street in Richmond. Since her death in 1945, strange happenings have persisted in her former home, including the rhythmic clack of invisible typewriter keys, disconnected servant buzzers ringing, and ghostly footsteps pacing in frustration.
Furthermore, visitors and residents alike have seen a glowing woman on the stairs, believed to be Miss Ellen herself, still guarding her legacy—and her beloved view. Some say her loyal maid and butler linger, too, keeping watch over the home just as they did in life. Whether mourning the changes of the surrounding neighborhood, or still writing from beyond, Ellen Glasgow’s presence endures.
For more haunting tales of this residence and the surrounding Monroe Ward, join Haunts of Richmond for a Phantoms of Franklin Ghost Tour.
John Marshall House
John Marshall, the influential Founding Father and first long-serving Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, built his Richmond home in 1790 with his beloved wife, Mary “Polly” Ambler. Though Marshall helped shape the interpretation of the Constitution from his bench, his house tells a more haunted tale.
Polly suffered from chronic illness, migraines, and heartbreak. Four of the couple’s ten children would pass away in their infancy. Polly, broken by the repeated losses, would retreat to seclusion, spending most of her last 30 years in her bedroom. Her spirit may still dwell within the confines of this room, where investigators report equipment malfunctions, sudden cold breezes, and unseen hands brushing against visitors.
Additionally, a child’s ghost, perhaps a lost son, is also said to linger. Witnesses have seen a small figure peering from a closet, and inexplicable lights flicker at candle height in empty windows. Furniture has moved on its own, and disembodied voices echo through the halls. One investigator recorded footsteps, creaking wood, and a ghostly sigh on a recorder left on a roped-off bench.
Even in daylight, guests have reported seeing a sorrowful woman in period dress drifting across the upper floor. The John Marshall House remains a place where love, loss, and justice refuse to rest quietly.
For more haunting tales of this residence and the Court End neighborhood, join Haunts of Richmond for a Specters & Shades of Court End tour, or keep an eye out for the Ghosts of the John Marshall House and the Spirits of Court End special event.
Elmira Royster Sheldon House
Edgar Allan Poe’s tragic romance with Sarah Elmira Royster Shelton began in their youth and rekindled just before his mysterious death in 1849. Though her family once kept them apart, they reunited in Richmond after both were widowed.
Poe would court Elmira in this Church Hill neighborhood house, eventually becoming engaged, but fate would again object to the romance. Poe left on a business trip, and to retrieve his mother-in-law for the wedding, but never returned. Poe died under strange circumstances in Baltimore, leaving a heartbroken Elmira behind.
Still, their love story continues in the afterlife at Elmira’s former home, along with several other spirits that have taken up residence. Shades of Poe and Elmira appear on the staircase, each reaching out for their soulmates. The children from Elmira’s marriage that did not reach adulthood linger in the one-time nursery. And a maid watches over all, occasionally hiding small objects to remind the living of her presence.
For more haunting tales of this residence and the eerily beautiful Church Hill neighborhood, join Haunts of Richmond for a Church Hill Chillers Ghost Tour.
