With Halloween just around the corner, it’s time to start getting in the mood for frights and chills. No need to rush off to the nearest haunted house, though—we have plenty of spooky spots right here on the campus of William & Mary! From haunted academic buildings to our very own cemetery, you can get your heart racing without ever leaving campus. Here are five places to visit for some Halloween thrills!
1) Wren building
The oldest building on campus and the oldest academic building in continuous use in America, the Wren building has lived through a lot of history. It was used as a hospital during the Revolutionary War and again in the Civil War and was burned down three times. Rumors circulate of the ghosts of soldiers who died of their injuries haunting the upper floors. If you listen closely, you can hear their footsteps!
2) Brafferton House
Another building on William & Mary’s “Ancient Campus,” the Brafferton House now serves as the President’s office. However, it was originally created as an Indian school to assimilate Native American boys to colonial culture. Many of the students were reluctant prisoners, who resented their forced assimilation. One such boy was alleged to have attempted to escape multiple times, and his ghost can still be seen running away from the Brafferton House.
3) College cemetery
Many students are unaware that William & Mary has its own on-campus cemetery. You can find a handful of headstones encircled by a short brick fence just in front of Monroe Hall, beside Blow. This cemetery was established in the 1800s for use by professors, their families, and students. It houses the graves of several professors and students from the late 1800s, and more recently two college benefactors, Wendy and Emery Reves, who were buried there in 2007.
4) Tucker Hall
The old English building may have been recently renovated, but that doesn’t mean its ghosts are gone. Throughout the years, students have reported having ghostly encounters on the third floor and in the basement.
5) Abandoned amphitheater
Few students know about the abandoned amphitheater down by Lake Matoaka. It’s a little hard to get to, but if you do some poking around between the art studio and the lake, you may stumble across it. The remains of a small amphitheater slowly being reclaimed by nature look like something out of a post-apocalyptic movie and can make you feel like the last survivor of a ruined civilization.
Photo Credit: Aaron Buncher