All documented legends

South — Documented legend filings

Documented legends in Virginia

Virginia keeps 55 documented legends — stories that trace to a published or recorded telling, the shelf where folklore earned a citation. What is verified is the telling: the book, the article, the record that carried the story into print. What the story claims is filed as reported, not endorsed.

55 dossiers0 counties covered69% open to visitorsHollywood Cemetery — deepest file

Also filed documented legend:Hawaii76 Louisiana65 Arizona60 Texas58 Michigan52 Illinois50 New York49 North Carolina48

Other Virginia shelves:local folklore44 anecdotal reports34 media-reported hauntings10 investigation claims8

High confidence

Hollywood Cemetery

Richmond, Virginia

Cemetery associated with published local folklore.

3 claims · 2 legends→

Ferry Plantation House

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Historic house associated with published local folklore.

3 claims · 2 legends→

Cedar Creek and Belle Grove

Middletown, Virginia

October 19, 1864—Sheridan’s ride and the dawn surprise.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Blandford Cemetery

Petersburg, Virginia

Thirty thousand Confederates—the Memorial Day that started here.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Yorktown Battlefield

Yorktown, Virginia

October 1781—the siege that won the war, on the York River.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Cape Henry Lighthouse

Virginia Beach, Virginia

The 1792 first federal lighthouse—where the Chesapeake meets the sea.

2 claims · 2 legends→

City Point

Hopewell, Virginia

Grant’s 1864-65 headquarters—the port that fed the siege.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Tredegar Iron Works

Richmond, Virginia

The Confederate arsenal—the forge that armed the South.

2 claims · 2 legends→

St. John’s Church (Richmond)

Richmond, Virginia

"Give me liberty or give me death"—the 1741 church on Church Hill.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Agecroft Hall

Richmond, Virginia

The 15th-century Tudor manor that crossed the Atlantic in 1925.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Wilton House

Richmond, Virginia

The 1753 Georgian on the James—moved 14 miles in 1933.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Cumberland Gap

Cumberland Gap, Virginia

The gap where the West opened—Boone’s road through the mountain.

2 claims · 2 legends→

High confidence

Exchange Hotel Civil War Medical Museum

Gordonsville, Virginia

Museum associated with published local folklore.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Former Hospital

DeJarnette Sanitarium

Staunton, Virginia

Staunton landmark with a published haunting reputation.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Cavalier Hotel

Virginia Beach, Virginia

1927 oceanfront grand hotel that hosted Capone and—per lore—keeps a guest or two.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Fredericksburg Battlefield

Fredericksburg, Virginia

December 1862—the Union army’s worst day, at the stone wall.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Chancellorsville Battlefield

Fredericksburg, Virginia

Jackson’s flank attack—and the wound that killed him, May 1863.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Wilderness Battlefield

Locust Grove, Virginia

May 1864—the woods that burned with the wounded inside.

2 claims · 1 legend→

New Market Battlefield

New Market, Virginia

May 15, 1864—the VMI cadets’ charge in the Field of Lost Shoes.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Stratford Hall

Stratford, Virginia

The Lee family seat—where Robert E. Lee was born in 1807.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Westover Plantation

Charles City, Virginia

Byrd’s 1730s James River palace—Evelyn’s ghost in the garden.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Shirley Plantation

Charles City, Virginia

The 1613 working plantation—where Aunt Pratt’s portrait won’t stay put.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Sherwood Forest Plantation

Charles City, Virginia

John Tyler’s 300-foot house—the president who joined the Confederacy.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Maymont

Richmond, Virginia

The Dooleys’ 1893 Gilded Age mansion—where the maid still serves.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Scotchtown

Beaverdam, Virginia

Patrick Henry’s Hanover house—"give me liberty" written in its rooms.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Bacon’s Castle

Surry, Virginia

The 1665 brick house that gave a rebellion its name.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Chatham Manor

Fredericksburg, Virginia

The Georgian manor that saw Washington, Lincoln—and the war’s hospital.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Colonial Williamsburg

Williamsburg, Virginia

The 301-acre living capital—where the ghosts are part of the program.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Berkeley Plantation

Charles City, Virginia

The 1619 "first Thanksgiving"—where Taps was born and a president was born.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Fort Monroe

Hampton, Virginia

The moated fort where freedom began—Contraband of War, 1861.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Centre Hill

Petersburg, Virginia

The 1823 mansion where Lincoln visited—and the ghost steps sound.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Trapezium House

Petersburg, Virginia

The 1817 house built without right angles—to keep the spirits out.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Edgar Allan Poe Museum

Richmond, Virginia

The 1740 Old Stone House where Poe’s relics live—and the raven still calls.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Moses Myers House

Norfolk, Virginia

The 1792 Federal house of Norfolk’s first Jewish family.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Thoroughgood House

Virginia Beach, Virginia

The 1719 brick house—one of Virginia’s oldest surviving middling homes.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Southwest Virginia Museum

Big Stone Gap, Virginia

The 1895 stone mansion where the region’s history—and ghosts—are kept.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Devil’s Bathtub

Fort Blackmore, Virginia

The swimming hole the devil is said to use.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Historic St. John's Church

Richmond, Virginia

Church associated with published local folklore.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Blackburn Inn

Staunton, Virginia

Staunton landmark with a published haunting reputation.

1 claim · 1 legend→

American Hotel

Staunton, Virginia

Staunton landmark with a published haunting reputation.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Devil Monkey country

Saltville, Virginia

The aggressive giant-primate reports of the Appalachians.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Stonewall Jackson Shrine

Guinea, Virginia

The outbuilding where Jackson died, May 10, 1863.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Gadsby's Tavern Museum

Alexandria, Virginia

Museum associated with published local folklore.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Bracey General Store

Bracey, Virginia

Store associated with published local folklore.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Peyton Randolph House

Williamsburg, Virginia

Historic house associated with published local folklore.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Rosewell Ruins

Gloucester, Virginia

Ruins associated with published local folklore.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Bruton Parish Church

Williamsburg, Virginia

Church associated with published local folklore.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Historic Kenmore

Fredericksburg, Virginia

Historic house associated with published local folklore.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Full Virginia record → state index· Every documented legend filing → evidence shelf

Record last amended October 2, 2026 · shelves recounted with the archive