Bacon’s Castle
The oldest brick home in North America may also serve as Virginia’s most haunted house
Paranormal Claims at
Bacon’s Castle
- A ghostly fireball is spotted around the property
- Doors are heard opening and closing
- The apparition of a lady in white is seen at times
- Disembodied footsteps are heard
- Visitors report hearing disembodied voices
- Furniture is said to be moved by unseen forces
- People report touched and taps from unseen hands
- Knocks and taps are heard around the house
The Oldest Home Around:
History of Bacon’s Castle
Travel east out of Surrey, Virginia on the Colonial Trail, and you’ll soon find a road with a peculiar name. Follow Bacon’s Castle Trail a short distance, and a long, tree-lined drive will open up beside you.
At the end of that scenic driveway sits Bacon’s Castle, the oldest brick dwelling in North America.
A fixture of the region since the 1660s, Bacon’s Castle might not look like your average fortress. But, the property has still seen its share of military activity.
And these days, the castle is known for its paranormal activity.
Timeline of Bacon’s Castle's History
Swipe or use timeline points to see Bacon’s Castle through the years
1650
The story of Bacon’s Castle begins with the Allen family. Arthur Allen moved to the Virginia region in 1650 and took ownership of the future site of Bacon’s Castle soon after. Allen constructed the ‘castle’ in 1665 around his expansive tract of countryside land. While Allen owned plenty of land, and now a stately manor home, he did not live long to enjoy it. Arthur Allen died in 1669, just three months after finalizing his will.
1676
The castle remained in the Allen family into the 1670s. In 1676, the property earned its name when it became embroiled in Bacon’s Rebellion. The rebellion, a regional uprising against the colonial governor of Virginia, reached far beyond Allen’s land. But soon, supporters of the cause took over the castle. Allen, a supporter of the governor, could only watch as rebels plundered and garrisoned his home for three months before being driven out. And though Nathaniel Bacon never saw the castle, he left a mark on the property forever.
1843
After Bacon’s Rebellion, life went quiet again at the castle. The home would remain in the Allen family for almost two centuries. The home’s title of “Bacon’s Castle” did not appear in records until the early 1800s. But by the time the Allen family sold the home in 1843, its connection to Nathaniel Bacon was becoming well known. The property, largely operated by enslaved people, survived the Civil War relatively unscathed. It would pass through numerous owners after the war and well into the 1900s.
1972
Bacon’s Castle remained a private home for over three hundred years. In 1972, the property was purchased at auction by Preservation Virginia. The organization was focused on restoring it and opening it to the public as a museum. In the decades since, Bacon’s Castle has become a highly regarded and treasured piece of Virginia history. And as the home’s structure has endured for centuries, perhaps the souls who have lived within it endure too. Could Bacon’s Castle be one of Virginia’s most haunted places?
Is Bacon’s Castle Haunted?
The most famous ghost story at Bacon’s Castle tells of a great fireball.
The fireball purportedly appears inside the castle at night, near the stair tower. It rapidly descends the stairs and bursts outside, where it fades into the distance.
Interestingly, some witnesses can’t agree on where the fireball goes.
Some say it moves in the direction of a nearby cemetery. Others say it starts in the cemetery and then rushes inside the castle. To date, no one can explain this odd, fiery activity, though many doubt it has any connection to Bacon’s Rebellion, as no battle was actually fought at the castle.
The Lady in the Tower
Along with the fireball, other strange figures and forms are said to appear in Bacon’s Castle, like the lady in white. Some people report seeing a woman’s white, misty apparition in the stair tower, near where the fireball manifests. Others report spotting her in the castle’s yard.
Allegedly, some staff are so frightened of the lady in white’s appearance that they will quit their jobs over her haunting. And she may not be the only specter visitors and staff might encounter.
Ghostly Voices & Eerie Sounds
Strange sounds and ghostly voices permeate Bacon’s Castle. Visitors touring the castle frequently report odd tapping and knocking noises coming from empty rooms.
Disembodied footsteps are also commonly noted in hallways around the castle. Sounds of doors opening and closing are also reported, as well as the noise of rattling door knobs.
Along with Bacon Castle’s cacophony of spooky sounds, disembodied voices are often heard in the home.
Witnesses can rarely make out words clearly, but the ghostly voices of Bacon’s Castle purportedly laugh, scream, and cry. Past ghost hunts in the home have turned up numerous potential EVP recordings of these voices.
Phantoms Redecorate the Castle
Sometimes, the ghosts of Bacon’s Castle reach out and touch things and people. Tourists often report feeling light touches or taps on the shoulder, only to turn and find no one there. Witnesses say many of these touches come from child height, leading some to wonder if a child spirit might haunt Bacon’s Castle.
Though, whoever haunts the castle seems to like furniture a certain way. Large pieces of furniture are often moved around rooms by unseen forces. It’s as if the spirits are constantly redecorating their afterlife home.
The Old World Spirits
of Bacon’s Castle
Bacon’s Castle today remains largely unchanged from its past. The stately home continues exhibiting artifacts from Virginia’s history, as well as highlighting the lives of enslaved people who once worked the surrounding land.
While the property remains focused on history and preservation, the hauntings can be hard to ignore.
The castle museum has embraced the property’s ghost stories in recent years, offering ghost tours and other paranormal explorations of the house. The castle was even featured on an episode of Ghost Hunters in 2022.
While there are plenty of experiences to find around Bacon’s Castle today, ghosts remain at the forefront of the home’s story. So, if you happen to hear a distant voice or strange knock on your tour, maybe take a peek around the stair tower. Maybe you’ll spot the phantom fireball, rushing out the door to spark a new Virginia mystery.
