The Haunted Lafayette Inn, Stanardsville: The Confederate Soldier and the Bloodstain

The Lafayette Inn & Restaurant stands on Main Street in Stanardsville, the small county seat of Greene County, Virginia, about 15 minutes from Skyline Drive and the Swift Run Gap entrance to Shenandoah National Park. The three-story Federal-style brick building went up around 1840 as a hotel and trading post. Since then it has been a saloon, a boarding house, a Civil War hospital and the town’s telephone exchange before becoming an inn again, with six rooms and suites and a restaurant that was named Virginia’s Restaurant of the Year in 2006.

Most of Virginia’s haunted inns have friendly ghosts. The Lafayette’s story is not one of them. Local legend says a Confederate soldier took his own life in the building after learning that his wife had been unfaithful with a Union soldier, that a bloodstain marks the spot and keeps coming back, and that he still walks the halls in a gray uniform with a pistol in his hand. This short guide covers the story, the history of the building and what to know before you book.

The ghosts of The Lafayette Inn & Restaurant

The soldier and the bloodstain

The story told about the Lafayette Inn is a Civil War tragedy. A Confederate soldier, the legend says, came home to discover that his wife had been seeing a Yankee soldier. In despair he shot himself inside the building, and the blood he left on the floor could never be cleaned away. Some versions say the stain reappears every day, however often it is scrubbed or covered.

No record has been published naming the soldier, his wife or the date, and the inn itself does not tell the story on its website or listings. As OnlyInYourState put it when it retold the tale, rumors are not always true.

The man in the gray uniform

Guests have described seeing a man in a Confederate uniform holding a pistol in the upstairs halls, and some versions of the legend say he is still looking for his rival. It is a striking image, and it is the reason the Lafayette turns up on lists of Virginia’s haunted inns, but there are few first-hand accounts in print.

Why the stories gather here

The building’s real history gives the legend somewhere to grow. It was taken over as a hospital during the Civil War, and it has spent most of its more than 180 years as a place where strangers came and went: travelers, traders, boarders and drinkers. Stories of soldiers and of sudden death are attached to many buildings with that kind of past.

The most haunted rooms and places to look

• Rooms in the main inn: The historic rooms are in the 1840 building, where the soldier is said to walk. Several have fireplaces and all have private baths and antique furniture.
• Suites and cottage: In past years the inn has also offered a suite across the street and a two-story cottage with a kitchenette. Check what is offered when you book.

History of The Lafayette Inn & Restaurant

Stanardsville was incorporated in 1794 and named for William Stanard. It became the seat of Greene County, a quiet town at the foot of the Blue Ridge on the road west to Swift Run Gap and the Shenandoah Valley.

The brick building on Main Street was built in 1840 by William Lafayette Pritchett, whose middle name it still carries, as a tradesman’s hotel for travelers on the road west over the Blue Ridge; today’s smaller dining room was then the company store. Over the next century it changed with the town’s needs. During the Civil War it was taken over as a hospital. Afterward it was a hotel again, then a boarding house with a saloon where the store had been, and the town’s telephone exchange. From about 1910 to 1960 it was a private home, before returning to its first use as a hotel.

Kaye and Alan Pyles bought the inn in 2005 and renovated it while keeping its antiques and period feel. The restaurant, with a comfort-food menu and a list of Virginia wines, was named Virginia’s Restaurant of the Year in 2006.

In February 2024 the inn was listed for sale as a turnkey business with six guest rooms and suites, a 40-seat dining room and a 24-seat tavern. It was still advertised for sale at $2.2 million in later broker listings, which say the current owners have run it for about two decades. It remains listed on Booking.com, but a sale could change rooms, breakfast and dining hours, so confirm before you travel.

Tips for a haunted stay

• Confirm the inn is taking guests on your dates before you plan a trip; it was listed for sale in 2024.
• Ask the innkeepers which room the soldier story is tied to, and whether they have any stories of their own.
• Book dinner in the restaurant if it is open; it was the reason many people found the inn in the first place.
• Drive Skyline Drive in the afternoon, then come back down through Swift Run Gap for the evening.
• Stanardsville sits on the northern stretch of the Monticello Wine Trail, and Charlottesville is about half an hour away.

More haunted hotels nearby

• By the Side of the Road, Harrisonburg: over the Blue Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley
• The Wayside Inn, Middletown: Lord Fairfax’s moan and soldiers on the Valley Pike
• The Jefferson Hotel, Richmond: Richmond’s grand hotel and the woman in the pale gown
• Haunted hotels in Virginia

Sources

Facts on this page are checked against the hotel’s own website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. Read how we rate haunted hotels.

• Richmond Magazine: Anything but standard (2010)
• The Hook: North star: Old Lafayette Hotel beckons
• Wikipedia: Stanardsville Historic District
• LoopNet: The Lafayette Inn, 146 Main St (sale listing, 2024)
• BizQuest: Historic inn and restaurant for sale with real estate, Central Va
• OnlyInYourState: Haunted hotels in Virginia
• Booking.com: The Lafayette Inn & Restaurant

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