Former mayor Fred Jones passed away under suspicious circumstances at his Chevrolet dealership, now four stores and a café. He is said to haunt his old building, sitting at the café table right where his old office used to sit. The shopkeepers here have found their locked doors standing open and their displays rearranged, and strange sounds have been reported. The ghost of a woman who was a cook here has been seen as well.
Fred Jones Building
Holly Theater
Holly Theatre is rumored to be haunted by ghosts who have shown up to watch rehearsals and sometimes play tricks, such as turning lights on and off. One of the ghosts here is believed to be Edwin Booth, a renowned 1800s actor and brother of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth.
Western State Hospital - Dejarnette Building
Western State Hospital, a fancy resort-style asylum called Western State Lunatic Asylum in its early years, was originally built in the 1820s. In 1905 it was taken over by Dr. Joseph Dejarnette, under whose authority patients were tortured. When the hospital moved in the 1970s the building became the Staunton Correctional Center, and in the 2000s, The Villages at Staunton condominiums. Before the change to condos, the building stood vacant for several years. Witnesses reported footsteps, moans, whispers, screams, and doors opening and closing on their own.
Smithfield Station
Smithfield Station is a restaurant frequented not only by the living. Witnesses say the apparition of a man can be seen sitting at the bar late at night when the place is closed. Some say he’s the spirit of a man who long ago left the bar and drowned in the river out back.
Sycamore Grill Building
The Sycamore Grill building, now empty, is a former Civil War hospital said to be haunted by its past patients. Witnesses have reported shadowy figures and apparitions in the dining area and heard strange shuffling sounds.
Hot Dog Heaven
The prankish ghost at this Hot Dog Heaven location is blamed for turning off the hot dog cooker and hurling buns out of locked bins in the middle of the lunch rush.
Aqua Terra Bistro
At Aqua Terra Bistro, witnesses say coffee mugs and wine bottles fly off shelves, voices can be heard in the dining room, and EVPs and a ghostly apparition have been picked up by ghost hunters.
Public House
The Public House, known as Peasant Restaurant in the 1970s, was originally a commissary for the Roswell Mill constructed in 1854. The building housed the Dunwoody Shoe Shop in 1920 and a funeral home upstairs. It was a Union hospital during the Civil War, and as legend goes, is the site of tragedy surrounding a forbidden romance between Michael, a teenaged Union soldier, and Catherine, a Southern Belle nurse. When Michael was killed by Confederate soldiers, some say Catherine hanged herself nearby. Michael and Catherine are believed to linger here, dancing in the loft, playing piano or playing tricks on employees. Glasses have moved across the bar by themselves, shadowy figures and orbs have been seen, and disembodied voices heard. One cook reported an apparition of a woman walking through the kitchen.
Little Gardens
Now a venue for upscale events, Little Gardens was once an 1800s plantation house. Its restaurant is said to be haunted by the ghost of a woman who died here in the early 1900s. According to witnesses, she moves dishes and silverware, sometimes throwing them across tables. She also makes herself known with cold spots, footsteps, and restroom doors that open and close by themselves.
Birdsville Plantation
Birdsville Plantation was built in the 1700s on land that King George III gave to Welshman Francis Jones. Construction on the plantation house began in 1782, but many additions were made over the years. Legend has it that Union soldiers, searching for the family’s treasure, dug up the bodies of the family’s twins and set fire to the house. Ghost stories about the place include the sound of children crying in the night and doors that open and close by themselves.
