Spirited Colonial Williamsburg, A Perfectly Spooky Halloween



Ghostly specters are supposedly still seen in historic Colonial Williamsburg.  Photo Source: Colonial Williamsburg  Tour and Ghost Walk web site

Legends of witch trials and ghostly hauntings abound in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia!  At the center of Colonial Williamsburg is The Revolutionary City, a historic and educational re-creation of life in Colonial Williamsburg during the American Revolution, which lasted from 1775 - 1783.  

The city looks and feels very authentic.  American “Colonists” not only dress in period costume but wander the town in character, re-enacting scenes from life during the era and engaging tourists in 1700’s conversation!  One such gentlemen approached us, eyeing our Siberian Husky, Icy, curiously “That’s a fine looking animal you have there, sir!” and proceeded to make us an offer to purchase her for 100 quid!  We had some really fun banter with him, explaining that our precious FurKid was NOT for sale at any price!   

Spending Halloween or Christmas in Colonial Williamsburg is certainly fun and educational, but some of it’s history can be downright scary!

American "Colonists" discuss & debate the issues of the day

One of our favorite activities was a guided candlelight Tavern Ghost Walk.  A small group of us met late in the evening in front of one of the historic taverns to begin the tour.  Our guide fascinated us with bizarre ghost stories, where people have sworn they’ve seen and heard ghosts that still haunt the old buildings.  It turns out the historic Revolutionary City, with many of it’s original buildings still in tact, has quite a haunted past!

Oh, Daddy, I told you not to practice witchcraft here!  The Colonists do NOT like that!

As we walked thru the Revolutionary City by candlelight, listening to our guide recount stories of the ghosts that supposedly still haunt the taverns and historic buildings, our dog Icy started to become antsy.  This was very out of character for her, but we chalked it up to being in a strange place, walking around in the darkness of night.  

As our tour wound down people left the group, slowly making their way back to their hotels.  After a few minutes we realized there were hardly any people left on the cobblestone streets of the Revolutionary City.  It was eerily quiet and dark.  Icy was becoming more and more agitated. 

Suddenly, Icy started barking wildly for no apparent reason, lunging at one of the deserted historic taverns!  It was so eerie, it made us a little jumpy ourselves.  We quickened our steps and hightailed it back to our hotel!  

When we made it back to our room we breathed a sigh of relief – Whew!  That was weird.  It took a few minutes for Icy to calm down, but she soon settled down on her blanket and fell fast asleep.

What made Icy act so weird??  Was it just the cold night air and the unfamiliar darkened streets?  Or had she sensed something else, perhaps something from the spirit world that only she could sense?  Hmmm…. I guess we’ll never know for sure!

Have you visited Colonial Williamsburg?  Tell us in the comments!

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