Haunted places guide · Virginia Beach, Virginia

The Haunted Ferry Plantation House, Virginia Beach: History, Ghosts and Visiting

A ferry landing from 1642, a colonial courthouse, a manor that burned in 1828 and a brick house built from its ashes, where volunteers say eleven spirits still live. Here is the real history of the Ferry Plantation House, and the stories that have made it Virginia Beach’s most haunted house.

By The Haunted Rooms Team · Updated November 2026 · How we rate places

4.8/5Haunted Rooms Score
1830Present house built
11Spirits named by volunteers

Our nearest ghost hunt: Berkeley Plantation, VAMeet the ghosts

The Ferry Plantation House stands on a quiet lane near the Lynnhaven River in Virginia Beach, a two-and-a-half-story brick house built in 1830 from the salvaged bricks of an older manor. The land around it has been in use since at least 1642, when a ferry began carrying people across the river to the courthouse and nearby plantations, and it has held a colonial courthouse, a plantation, a school and a post office along the way. Since 1996 the City of Virginia Beach has owned it and a volunteer group, the Friends of the Ferry Plantation House, has run it as a museum.

It is also the most investigated house in the city. The volunteers say eleven spirits remain and they know them all by name, the TV series Ghost Hunters visited three times, and the house’s own paranormal nights sell out within minutes. This guide sets out the history first, then the ghosts, and says where a story is history and where it is the house’s own tradition.

Ferry Plantation House at a glance

4.8/5
Haunted Rooms Score
Haunted reputation5
History4
Ghost hunter access5
Visit on a tourGhost toursParanormal investigations allowed
  • Address 4136 Cheswick Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23455
  • Built 1830, on a site in use since 1642
  • Most haunted spots The parlor, the old nanny’s bedroom, Henry’s upstairs room and the back yard
  • Best-known ghosts Henry, Bessie, Eric, Sally Rebecca Walke and the Lady in White
  • Paranormal events The house runs its own paranormal nights and private rentals
  • Registers Virginia Landmarks Register and National Register of Historic Places, 2004 to 2005

Our nearest ghost hunt: Berkeley Plantation, VA Visit / tours

History of the Ferry Plantation House

People lived along this stretch of the Lynnhaven long before the English came; Visit Virginia Beach notes that Native Chesapian communities were here in the 1500s, and renovation crews later found arrowheads in the ground. In 1642 a ferry service began from the landing here, carrying passengers across the river to the courthouse and the plantations beyond. The house’s own history credits its start to Savill Gaskin, and its timeline to Adam Thoroughgood II.

In about 1735 the third Princess Anne County courthouse was built on two acres donated by the landowner, Mr. Smith, and it was the county’s first brick courthouse. It served until 1750, when the court moved to Newtown. The county’s best-known trial, the witchcraft case of Grace Sherwood, came earlier, in 1706, and local accounts place one of the courthouses that heard her case on or near this land. Sherwood was ducked in the river on July 10, 1706, floated, was jailed, and lived to about 80; Governor Tim Kaine restored her good name in 2006.

The Walke family took over the land and in 1751 began a large manor house, turning the old courthouse into a kitchen. In 1828 the manor burned. Two years later George and Elizabeth Walke used its surviving bricks to build the house that stands today, a two-and-a-half-story brick house with a steep roof and dormers. Over the next century and more it was a plantation house, and the property also served as a school and a post office.

Enslaved people lived and worked here for decades. The volunteers’ research has focused especially on one of them, Henry, who was most likely born on the plantation and who, they say, ran into the burning manor in 1828 and saved people. He stayed in bondage for years afterward; after the Civil War the family offered him a room upstairs, where he lived until he died on the property.

By the late 20th century the house was in poor shape. The City of Virginia Beach took it over in 1996 and the Friends of the Ferry Plantation House began restoring it, uncovering among other things a letter “H” carved into a white wooden wall near Henry’s room under about ten layers of paint. It was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places in 2004 and 2005.

The ghosts of the Ferry Plantation House

What is documented, and what is tradition

The names of the spirits come from the volunteers who run the house, from mediums and investigators, and from the stories passed down with the building. Some, like Henry and Sally Rebecca Walke, are tied to real people; others are names given to presences. None of the hauntings is documented. The volunteers say they are not trying to convince anyone, and that is a fair way to read what follows.

Henry

Henry is the most active spirit, the volunteers told WHRO in 2023. Kristen Ellis said of the carved “H” that “it might’ve been the only letter he knew.” Visitors say he still does small chores around the house, and he is the spirit most often named on tours.

Bessie and Eric

Bessie is described as a five-year-old girl and a trickster who looks for playmates among visitors. Volunteer Cody Green told WHRO that a reluctant Navy man on one tour was pulled away from the group by an unseen force, which he put down to Bessie wanting to watch the man’s son play a game. Eric is said to be a young boy who died in a fall from a window and plays pranks.

Sally Rebecca Walke and the Lady in White

Sally Rebecca Walke, a Civil War-era daughter of the house, is said to mourn a fiance killed in the war. A Lady in White, described as a former lady of the house who died after falling down the stairs in the early 1800s, is seen on the stairs and in the yard. During a Ghost Hunters investigation, a shadowy figure in a long white dress appeared from behind a tree in the back yard, the team told WYDaily.

The nanny's room and the voices

In 2017 WTKR followed A.C.I.D. Paranormal through the house at night. Director Heather Moore said that when they asked the spirit in the old nanny’s bedroom whether it wanted them to leave, playback caught an older woman’s voice: “When I don’t want nobody in my room, I want nobody in my room.” Ghost Hunters recorded a voice saying “No” when asked if they should leave, and a woman saying “I’m here” in the parlor.

Shipwreck victims, a painter and the Witch of Pungo

Older accounts add victims of an 1810 shipwreck at the ferry landing, a painter who lived here and Grace Sherwood herself, the Witch of Pungo, who some say visits the place where she was tried. Neighbors have described dragging chains, banging doors and cries from a sycamore tree. These belong firmly to local legend.

Where to look

  • The parlor: where Ghost Hunters recorded a woman’s voice and where WTKR filmed.
  • The nanny's bedroom: home of the voice that did not want visitors in her room.
  • Henry's room upstairs: near the wall with the carved H.
  • The back yard and the sycamore: where the Lady in White was seen by the Ghost Hunters team.
  • The room once used for funerals and wakes: where bangs have been heard traveling along the wall.

Visiting the Ferry Plantation House

The house is run by volunteers, so opening times are limited. Check the Tours and Events pages on the official website, or use its contact form, before you visit; the phone is only answered during opening hours. Regular tours cover the history of the land, the courthouse, the Walke family and the people they enslaved.

For the ghosts, look at the house’s paranormal program. Its Friday Night Frights evenings and private paranormal rentals of the whole house sell out within minutes each year, so sign up for news early. Some of these are investigations rather than tours, run by the house itself.

Haunted Rooms does not run events here. Our nearest ghost hunts are at Berkeley Plantation on the James River and the Roanoke Island Inn on the Outer Banks.

  • Visiting Volunteer-run house museum with tours and paranormal events
  • Ghost hunting Yes: the house runs its own paranormal nights and private rentals

Tips for your visit

  • Book paranormal nights the moment they are announced.
  • Combine your visit with the Grace Sherwood statue near Sentara Bayside Hospital and the Thoroughgood House, both a short drive away.
  • Ask the volunteers about the carved H; it is one of the most moving things in the house.
  • Visit in October, when ghost tours are added across Virginia Beach.
  • Bring a small donation: the house depends on its volunteers.

Go ghost hunting nearby

Visiting a haunted place by day is one thing. Investigating one after dark is another. On a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt our team takes you through a historic building with professional ghost hunting equipment, runs EVP sessions and vigils, and gives you time to explore on your own. These are the nearest ones we run.

See all Virginia ghost hunts

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Frequently asked questions

Is the Ferry Plantation House haunted?

Its volunteers say eleven spirits remain, Ghost Hunters investigated three times, and the house runs its own paranormal nights. None of it is documented, but it is the most investigated house in Virginia Beach.

Who is Henry at the Ferry Plantation House?

An enslaved man, most likely born on the plantation, who volunteers say saved people from the 1828 fire and later lived in a room upstairs until he died. He is the most active spirit, they say.

Was Grace Sherwood tried at the Ferry Plantation House?

Her 1706 trial was held at a county courthouse that local accounts place on or near this land. The present house was built much later, in 1830.

Can you do a ghost hunt at the Ferry Plantation House?

Yes, through the house’s own paranormal nights and private rentals, which sell out quickly. Haunted Rooms does not run events here.

When was the Ferry Plantation House built?

In 1830, from the bricks of the Walke family manor that burned in 1828. The site has been in use since the ferry began in 1642.

Sources

Facts on this page are checked against the official website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as staff, visitors and investigators tell them, and we say where records contradict a story.

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About the authors

The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every place in our guides using official sites, historic registers, local archives and news coverage, and we report ghost stories as the stories they are. We review each guide regularly so you are not sent to a place that has closed, changed hands or banned visitors. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.