Virginia

Abingdon

Martha Washington Inn

The ghost of a rider-less horse has been observed on moonless nights waiting for its owner on the south lawn of this inn. In 1864, Confederate
soldiers ambushed a band of Union troops passing through Abingdon. As they made their escape, one of the Union soldiers was hit by a bullet.
He was carried into this building, which served as a hospital at the time. The soldier died about midnight, but throughout the night the horse
waited in vain for its owner on the lawn. By the next day the animal was nowhere to be found. The manor hours were built in 1832 and served as
a women's college and Civil War hospital. It became a sixty one-room inn in 1935.

Amelia

Haw Branch Plantation

This 15,000-acre plantation was one of the biggest in the South. The mansion was built in 1745, but after the Civil War the estate was reduced
and the house fell into disrepair. Today it is one of the most haunted locations in America. In 1964, the property was purchased by the
McConnaughey family, whose ancestors had lived in the house fifty years earlier. On November 23, 1965, they were awakened to bloodcurdling
screams coming from the attic. The horrifying unexplained sounds were repeated every six months, on May 23 and November 23. In 1967, the
apparition of a slim girl in a white full-length dress began to appear in the house. The Lady in White was finally identified as Harriet Mason, their
great-grandmother. In 1969, a cousin gave the family an old portrait of a distant relative named Florence Wright, to hang in the restored mansion.
The portrait was done in charcoal and had only hues of gray, and the McConnaugheys hung it over the fireplace in the library. Soon after the
picture was placed on the wall, strange voices were heard throughout the house. Not long afterward, one of the family members saw the Lady in
White materialized directly in front of the portrait, as if she were admiring it. Gradually, pastel colors began to appear on the drab charcoal
sketch, it was turning into a full color portrait.

Many other odd things have occurred here, including thumping noises from the moat, eerie footsteps late at night, and the unexplained scent of
roses or oranges in various rooms. Once, the phantom of an enormous white bird with a wingspan of over six feet, appeared on the moonlit lawn.
Another time, the ghost of a man carrying a lantern walked out of the bar. As the spirit approached the observers, the ghost disappeared, but
they could still see a lantern levitating in midair. More recently, a visitor encountered two apparitions. One was a thin man who walked with a
limp, and the other was a cavalier gentleman in riding boot, who screamed, "Help me!"

Charles City

Shirley Plantation

Martha Pratt was a daughter of Edward Hill II, who built the great house now called Shirley Plantation in 1723. When she married an Englishman
and settled in England, all she left behind was an unsigned portrait of herself. By 1858, family descendants had noticed an unusual property of
the painting. Whenever Aunt Pratt's portrait was removed from its spot on the second floor, the frame would start shaking violently. They moved it
to a bedroom on the third floor, stored it in the attic, and hung it on the first floor, but he portrait was never "happy" unless it was back in the
second floor bedroom. In 1974, the Virginia Tourist Office put the touchy painting on display at Rockefeller Center, along with other items related
to psychic phenomena in the state. Martha Hills' portrait created quite a sensation. Spectators saw it moving constantly. It swayed back and
forth so violently that the other exhibits were also vibrating. The phenomenon was document on an NBC-TV national news broadcast. The
painting caused such hysteria that it was removed the display. That did not stop Martha Hill. Dozens of office workers near the storeroom, in
which the paintings were locked, heard incessant knocking sounds coming from the room. When officials retrieved the paintings, its frame was
so badly damaged that it was sent for repair to Linden Galleries in Richmond, Virginia. The same eerie vibrations were reported by workers there.
Finally, the portrait of Martha Hill was returned to the Shirley Plantation, where it hangs, peacefully, above a mahogany chest in Martha's second
floor bedroom.

San Diego

Whaley House

The Whaley House was built in 1857 by Thomas Whaley in a section of San Diego known as Old Town. Although the mansion was gorgeous,
Whaley's experiences in the house were far from pleasant. Early on, he rented a portion of the house to the county to serve as a courtroom and
records rooms. Unfortunately, San Diego residents attempting to establish a "New Town" section of the city were upset that the county seat was
perceived as residing in Old Town. While Whatley was out of town one night, several members of the New Town faction stormed his house, stole
hundreds of dements, and threatened the lives of his wife and daughter. Whaley entered an emotionally trying time and made an ultimately vain
effort to receive monetary compensation for the attack, but died without winning his case.

Sadness also found its way into the Whaley home in other forms. Thomas and Anna Whaley's son passed on at only eighteen months, leaving
both despondent. A young neighbor named Annabelle Washburn was running through the Whaley property when she collided with a clothesline.
The impact crushed the girl's trachea and she later died in the Whaley kitchen. The most horrific death involved "Yankee Jim" Robinson, a thief
who was sentenced to death after stealing a boat in 1852. At the time, the Whaleys did not yet own the property, but a set of gallows had been
erected at the site. However, on the day that Yankee Jim was led to the hangman's noose for the public execution, Thomas Whaley was in the
audience. He watched, perhaps as horrified as many others in the crowd, as the trap door on the gallows sprung open. Unfortunately, the rope
did not snap Yankee Jim's neck and he was left dangling, slowly strangling to death as he kicked and swung helplessly. It took Yankee Jim a full
forty-five minutes to die.

These tragedies have resulted in one of the most haunted houses in the United States. Organ music emanates from empty rooms, a black
rocking chair moves on its own, and bolted windows are opened by unseen hands. Thomas Whaley and his wife pace the upstairs rooms, while
their dead son can be heard wailing from beyond. Annabelle still races through the house, and a spectral dog believed to have once belonged to
the Whaleys can sometimes be spotted romping through the property. Most disturbing is the ghost of Yankee Jim, who appears dangling from
the house's main doorway.

Other ghosts at the Whaley site remain unidentified. These include a woman wearing a green plaid gingham dress who frequents an upstairs
bedroom and a well-dressed gentleman standing on the staircase. The Whaley House is still considered an incredibly active site. The most often
sighted ghost is Annabelle, who can usually be found in the kitchen where she died. Yankee Jim is only observed as one enters the mansion,
while Mr. and Mrs. Whaley spend most of their time upstairs.