The Story Behind Virginia's Most Haunted House Will Give You Nightmares
By Beth|Published April 06, 2016
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Beth
Author
A lifelong Virginia resident, Beth loves exploring different parts of the world and currently resides in Charlottesville. She holds a degree in English Literature and one of her short stories has been featured in the Shenandoah Review. Other interests include hiking, songwriting, and spending time in the mountains.
Virginia has its fair share of haunted dwellings – and then some. Whether it’s the age of the buildings, the history experienced there, or something else altogether, nearly every city has at least a handful of truly terrorizing stories. Perhaps one of the scariest of these is the Major Graham Mansion in Grahams Forge. In its day, the mansion was known as Cedar Run. Legend has it that Confederate soldiers used to gather in secret in the attic of the house to discuss battle tactics. Major Graham’s Mansion holds a lot of local history, lore, and most likely a spirit or two. Learn about why paranormal investigators have been coming here for over 10 years.
The story begins with this young gentleman. Before the Grahams lived in the estate, the land was owned by a distiller named Joseph Baker (pictured above) and his family. Slaves were kept in the estate under the cruelest of conditions: chained in the basement. In 1786, two slaves named Bob and Sam brutally murdered Baker with an ax and ran off into the night.
The slaves were caught and found guilty, sentenced to a hanging back on the property. The tree where they were hanged still looms over the estate. There have been reports of both Baker and the slaves, wandering the property late at night. Pictured above: Baker's living quarters.
In 1826, Squire David Graham (pictured below) purchased 2,000 acres of land where the mansion would be built. In 1838, he and his wife have a son who would later be known as Major David Graham.
Many of the property's visitors have reported Squire Graham as an angry spirit, especially towards unaccompanied women. Based on his expression in this photograph, it stands to reason that this man would be an unfriendly ghost.
The 11,000 square foot mansion took four different installments to complete. As the Grahams continued to have children, additions were needed. The statuesque antebellum home shows characteristics of early Greek Revival architecture.
The home may have been beautiful, but for Mother Martha Graham, it must have felt like a prison. Martha suffered from depression, which led to eventual insanity because she was not allowed to leave the household. As pictured above, her initials are etched in windows and other areas of the property.
Paranormal investigators have been visiting this property for years, and many have found what they believe to be evidence of true hauntings. EVP (electric voice phenomena) recordings have tracked numerous voices. One audio clip is of a little girl asking, "What's your name?" This happens to be the room where an adopted young girl by the name of Clara used to live. Very chilling...
The Major Graham Mansion is the quintessential haunted house. Not only does it have a tragic history, but it also has had several current phenomenons that would suggest it to be incredibly haunted.
What do you think about the Major Graham Mansion? If you’ve visited, be sure to share your experience there with us.
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