MAJOR GRAHAM’S MANSION
If SyFy’s team of Ghost Hunters deems a house worthy enough to be featured on an episode, then you know it must be haunted. Season 5’s eighth episode, “Moonshine & Madness,” took them to the Major Graham Mansion in Max Meadows, Virginia.
Other paranormal teams (Virginia Paranormal Society, Proof Positive, Black Diamond Paranormal Society, to name just a few) have also conducted investigations there. This is because the house is equal parts historic and “officially haunted,” and everyone wants to see if they can connect the two.
A look at the house’s dark past reveals multiple possibilities for answering what is causing this paranormal activity. But before diving into Major Graham Mansion’s history, book a Williamsburg ghost tour with Colonial Ghosts!
Image Source: Legends of Graham Mansion
What is the history of the Haunted Graham Mansion?
The year is 1826, and Squire David Graham, a prominent figure in Wythe County’s iron industry, has just bought 2,000 acres of land from the Crockett family.
In the 1700s, the property’s previous tenant, Joseph Baker, was murdered by two of his slaves, Bob and Sam. And it was not a pretty assassination; the slaves took an axe to Joseph’s skull, then submerged his grisly remains in a barrel of moonshine. Or perhaps Squire Graham, a rumored alcoholic, was simply too busy drinking and dealing with his depressed wife, Martha Bell, to care.
Image Source: Major Graham Mansion
Slowly but surely, Squire David Graham’s Cedar Run estate began to take shape: slave quarters and barns were erected, lawns were outlined and groomed, iron forges were installed… but of course, the most attention was given to where the family would live. In fact, it took four phases to get the mansion to look as it appears today.
Named after the Squire’s first-born son, Major David Pierce Graham, this spectacular 11,000-square-foot antebellum home includes elements from the late Federal and early Greek Revival architectural movements. The current mansion’s rear section was the first to be made; the next major addition, about forty-five square feet of brick, was eventually built around 1855.
Expanding the Major Graham Mansion
Expansion was necessary; since Major Graham’s birth in 1838, Martha had produced four other children, so things were getting quite crowded.
Image Source: Major Graham Mansion
In the 1860s, Major Graham eventually returned home after an impressive three-year stint as a Lieutenant of the Confederacy. He would begin to spend his time building his father’s booming iron business. Graham ran the family’s forge store with his brother-in-law and further renovated his childhood home.
He would install brick paths and fish ponds outdoors, adding dormers, towers, and more elaborate furnishings to the house. The result is a structure that’s part dwelling, part officer meeting place, and part Confederate recovery center. It’s no big surprise, then, that many claim to have encountered ghosts of soldiers in the aptly dubbed “Confederate Room.”
But the apparition most frequently seen and felt at the house has to be Clara, one of the little girls who Major Graham’s sister, Bettie, secretly tutored in one of the mansion’s bedrooms. It was in this makeshift classroom that Bettie presumably wrapped and stored Clara’s body after her beloved student died from illness one winter. Evidently, her spirit still lingers.
Image Source: HeraldCourier.com
Martha Graham
Mother Martha Graham, whose depression ultimately led to insanity, also continues to lurk in the mansion. When her husband could no longer put up with her fits of madness, Martha’s home became more of her prison.
Evidence of her domestic incarceration can be found scattered throughout the house. Her signature and initials are etched into a window in one of the bedrooms; scribbles discovered in the basement are believed to have been made by her.
Image Source: Major Graham Mansion
Major Graham Mansion Today
In recent decades, the estate has received some much-needed relief from pain and tragedy. Doctor James Chitwood took over the house (and its impressive library of rare books Fulton had amassed) in the 1970s and arranged for it to be listed as a National Historic landmark in 1984.
Today, it is owned by Josiah Cephas Weaver, a native of the rolling hills of southern Virginia. As a young man, Weaver found success in the tile industry in Florida, where Weaver Enterprises currently flourishes.
Weaver added Cedar Run to his already extensive portfolio of property holdings in 1989. Since then, the estate has hosted numerous events, tours, and festivals, celebrating both its haunted past and Weaver’s passion for songwriting and music.
There was the Josiah Graham Fest Music Festival, which stopped operating in 2014. There was also the ever-popular Haunted Graham Mansion Halloween attraction, which is still ongoing but had to cease operation in 2024. It is, however, set to return in 2025. Attendees will have the chance to experience all the horrors (staged and real) Cedar Run has to offer.
Terrifying Tenants of the Major Graham Mansion
Of course, the house’s tenancy didn’t end with the Graham family. Plenty of other odd and interesting characters have made the Major Graham Mansion their home, adding to its current cast of ghosts.
There’s Reid Fulton, an eccentric law professor who moved in back in the 1940s; his cravings for buzzard eggs and preference for Cedar Run Creek over the bathtub make him quite the stinky spirit to encounter. Then there’s the unidentified woman, known as the Lady in the Veil or the Weeping Bride, who hasn’t let death pull her away from her close vigil at one of the bedroom’s windows; perhaps she’s still hoping to catch a glimpse of her betrothed, marching back from war.
Auditory remnants of these two people, among many others, have also been documented. When the Virginia Paranormal Society conducted an investigation at the house in 2007, they recorded several electronic voice phenomena.
Image Source: Haunted Graham Mansion
Although the Ghost Hunters team “can’t say who or what is haunting the mansion,” they were able to separate some fact from fiction:
Reports of a tall 7-foot phantom on the road were found to be an optical illusion as the Ghost Hunters drove several times along the road while a member stood by the old slave quarters holding a flashlight.
The apparition of a gowned woman did not appear in the Confederate Room, although the team thought they heard the rustle of skirts and the sounds of footsteps going down the staircase. The Ghost Hunters didn’t find any evidence of the ghost slaves.
Haunted Williamsburg
Creeped out by the grim Major Graham Mansion? There are plenty more spooky stories waiting for you! These historical spots are rich in eerie legends, ghost sightings, mysterious occurrences, and restless spirits.
Want to dive deeper? Check out our blog for more ghostly tales and book your next Colonial ghost tour today! Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for more spine-chilling content!
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Sources:
- http://www.syfy.com/ghosthunters/episodes/season/8/episode/5/moonshine-madness
- https://gcparanormal.com/major-graham-mansion/
- https://penelopesart.com/2014/09/ghosts-of-major-graham-mansion/
- http://www.heraldcourier.com/news/haunted-history-tours-show-two-sides-of-major-graham-mansion/article_53985c62-fe82-57be-bc1b-321336c70e2d.html
- https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/experiences/virginia/haunted-house-virginia
- https://theclio.com/entry/21553
- https://www.facebook.com/share/18ghiciEuS/
- https://discover.hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/Major-Grahams-Mansion-Haunted-Places-in-Virginia