Transcending the Paranormal at Historic Hanover Tavern

by Fayeruz Regan 10.2021

Virginia is an old and storied state. Before two wars were waged on her soil, there were a couple hundred years of colonialism and at least 16,000 years of American Indian history. Of all the places rumored to be haunted in Virginia, the Hanover Tavern looms large. 

My husband and I booked a tour to put our skepticism to the test. I feel that too many places are deemed haunted simply for being old. My husband doubts the very existence of the supernatural.  

Hanover Tavern is one of the few surviving colonial-era taverns still operating. The original structure dates back to 1733. It was called Shelton’s Tavern, and Patrick Henry married Sarah Shelton, the proprietor’s daughter. Rebuilt in 1791 as Hanover Tavern, Henry assisted his father-in-law by greeting guests, tending bar, and playing the fiddle.

Other famous visitors were George Washington, Edgar Allan Poe, and Charles Dickens. Across the street is the Hanover Courthouse, where Henry delivered an impassioned speech that questioned the motives of the Church of England, sowing the seeds for the Revolutionary War. 

A group of four people awaited our arrival. Steve Dills is on the Hanover Tavern Board of Directors, and brought along a few people from Transcend Paranormal, of which he is also a director. In a nice touch, member Tiffany Jones was dressed in period costume as Ann Chisholm, a tavern fixture during the Civil War. 

Years ago, Transcend Paranormal was commissioned to investigate supernatural occurrences at the tavern, following sightings reported by guests and employees alike. Using highly-sensitive equipment to gauge motion, magnetic fields, faint sounds, and temperature, it was revealed that the historical site is a hotbed of activity.

The structure itself is handsome. The restaurant features wood beams and rock walls. Occasionally, diners spot fleeting black or white shadows crossing the room during their meal. Guests usually take in a show after they dine, so we entered the Barksdale Theatre, the very first dinner theater established in the United States. The most active ghost in the theater is said to be that of a playful little girl. 

Though Transcend Paranormal researches the history and tenants of the places they investigate, the tavern served as a field hospital, war refugee center, and public lodging, so the young girl could have been anyone. Rehearsing actors grew accustomed to hearing a little girl laugh, and seeing shadowy figures darting around the theater seating. In response, they left a small collection of toys backstage for her. Even when the theater is locked up for the night, employees have confirmed that the toys are regularly scattered about when the tavern is unlocked the next day. Once during rehearsal, a ball rolled across the stage.

The oldest surviving part of the tavern was upstairs, where owners lived and guests lodged. The wide plank floors and steep quarter steps are original. This was the eeriest part of the tavern. It was closed to the public on the evening we visited, so many lights were turned off.  And on that quiet country stretch of 301, you could hear a pin drop.

While we were chatting upstairs, the chandelier dimmed above our heads. No one was near the light fixture, and we were all gathered in the same room. We shrugged it off as old, faulty wiring. We attempted to, anyway.  But a few minutes later, three people from our group heard a playful call from a young woman in an adjacent room. Among those who heard her was my husband, the skeptic. 

Under a full moon, our group crossed the street to the Hanover Courthouse, the third oldest running courthouse in America. Once a site to public hangings, the property was no stranger to tragedy. A wooden prison on site had burned to the ground, carrying with it not criminals, but the poor. It was a debtors prison. 

While in the courthouse, employees and visitors have witnessed apparitions in the room, and occasionally a man’s voice. Things that go bump in the night regularly set off the motion detector, causing the interior lights to flick on at all hours of the night. Locals often witness the lights turning on from the outside windows. 

Given the dramatic history of this site, perhaps it isn’t death that ties a spirit to the living world, but emotion. The tavern and the courthouse, in addition to the adjacent Old Stone Jail (circa 1835) are all included on monthly tours of Hanover Tavern. For more information, visit www.HanoverTavern.org.