Have you ever considered that you may be living near several haunted locations? If you haven’t, you’re in for a surprise. There are over 30+ spots in the Southwest Virginia area that residents have reported eerie activity for years. Since Halloween is right around the corner, why not engage in some local ghostly storytelling? Get ready to be spooked by these haunted histories!
- Patrick Henry Hotel, Roanoke
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The Patrick Henry Hotel has been around since 1925 and currently resides in Roanoke’s downtown historic district. In its heyday, the hotel served as a luxurious stop for traveling businessmen and featured a fancy ballroom and lobby. Since 2009, the hotel has been used as an apartment complex. Now, for the haunted part: since the place has been around, guests and residents have reported ghostly activity like lights switching off on their own and feeling cold spots in the hallways. Many have also noted the presence of a ghostly male figure smoking a pipe on the second floor. Not only that but like every haunted hotel story, there is one room that appears more haunted than the rest. Back in the day, a stewardess was apparently stabbed to death in room 606 and since then guests have reported seeing a female ghost in the room who attempts to interact with them. Creepy, right?
- St. Albans Sanatorium, Radford
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This abandoned asylum only 12 miles from Blacksburg is known as one of the most haunted places on the east coast. Now a venue for haunted attractions and tours, St. Albans was once used as a psychiatric infirmary from 1916 to the 1990s. During that time, patients lived in ill-equipped conditions and were subject to electroconvulsive therapy, lobotomies, and other experimental treatments that occasionally resulted in death. Ghost hunters now believe that many of the patients who died there still remain in their cells to haunt those who visit. Tourists have noted seeing the occasional shadow or apparition floating around the sanatorium among other creepy sights.
- Former Blacksburg Holiday Inn, Blacksburg
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The Blacksburg Holiday Inn that used to reside on 900 Prices Fork Road is said to be a hotspot for hauntings. This site used to be home of a plantation called Jacob’s Lantern and guests of the hotel have reported hearing strange voices and music coming from the hotel bar even though it when it closed. Even though the hotel is now closed, ghosts may still be around to haunt the new buildings in the area like Panda Express and CVS, so watch out!
- Lyric Theatre, Blacksburg
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Some of you may already know about some of the spooky stories that have come from the Lyric. When going out to see a show, visitors often notice eerie sounds of footsteps, strange mumbling, and cold breezes throughout the theatre. Some say that when the theatre was built in 1930, a worker died on-site and has since been stuck there haunting the place. Customers have heard a strange male voice coming from the balcony and sounds of a shrieking woman yelling, “let me out!” The Lyric has had so many paranormal occurrences that author Barbara Smith wrote an entire chapter on it in her book “Ghost House Books.” So, the next time you go to see a movie, look out for some of these creepy hauntings!
Prepare for spooky season and visit some of these haunted sites! Who knows? You might just start believing in ghosts!