During the 18th century a famous, patriotic man named Peyton Randolph lived in an ominous manor in the capitol of Virginia. The dark, reddish brown color was actually a fashion statement indicating that the home’s owner had money to afford this very expensive paint, but ultimately it gives the house a foreboding look indicative of its past—and even more menacing at night! Over 200 years later that house would earn a reputation as one of the East Coast’s most haunted houses, and oh the stories they would tell about the ghosts, many of them made up by ghost tour guides as they try to enamor the attention of their clientele. I know this because I have stood outside this house within earshot of other ghost tours and heard these made-up stories myself—as have some of the security guards in Colonial Williamsburg. But please, don’t let that statement divert your attention from the fact that this place is profoundly haunted! I have discovered that there are many ghosts that dwell in this house based on my photographic results, and I know that something dark, and perhaps evil occupies this building as well. I have read, according to information put out by one ghost tour, that the Peyton Randolph House is built on a Native American graveyard, and as a result, the house’s paranormal activity can be explained as the result of the angry, indigenous spirits whose final resting place has been desecrated. But of the many faces that I’ve captured at this haunted location, none of them appear to be Native American—and I have photographed the apparitions of Native Americans in other parts of Williamsburg. So I disagree with the assertion that the Peyton Randolph House’s paranormal activity can be attributed to Native Americans. So who, or what is it?

I don’t claim to have definitive answers, but I can suggest possibilities based on my photographic evidence, including some new evidence that may convince you that house’s namesake may even occupy this dark abode. The very first human apparition I ever captured was at the Peyton Randolph House, but I could not understand why the area around the apparition’s mouth was all black and mottled. According to Colonial Williamsburg’s interpreters, a man came to see Peyton Randolph during the 18th century. While waiting in the parlor to meet with the colony of Virginia’s most important politician, this man decided to end his life by inserting his pistol into his mouth and firing it. Suddenly I understood the appearance of the apparition as well as the possibility that this may be the dark entity (or at least one of them) that dwells in the house. (See this photo in my first book, Haunted Historic Colonial Williamsburg with Breakthrough Ghost Photography) Likewise I have captured a dark apparition that appears just outside the house, and resembles a black skull with eyes. What adds to the intimidation factor of this apparition is its size—at least twelve feet (about 4 meters) high. Is this the suicidal man, or something much more sinister?

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Another possibility that I suggested in my first book was that after the William and Mary Wren Building burned down in 1862, an unknown body would be found in the Randolph’s family crypts beneath the building after the Civil War when the debris was cleaned up. In another blog, I captured the face of a former tortured slave named Eve, who was one of the home’s victims of cruel and unusual punishment. Was somebody murdered in the Randolph House and then hidden in the Randolph crypts? Is the answer as simple as a murder, or even a suicide, or is the malevolent presence the result of some other nefarious activity at the domicile?

Out of all the haunting stories told about the Peyton Randolph House, none of them include any story about the namesake of the massive home, which was at one time two separate homes that were joined by a two-story structure that created a substantial wooden structure for the wealthy lawyer/politician. Peyton Randolph, who was elected to lead the First and Second Continental Congress as chairman and was the first man to be called “Father of Our Country”, died suddenly in October of 1775 of a massive stroke while in Philadelphia. One type of the event that seems to cause a ghost to be “earth bound” is a sudden, unexpected death. Could this be why I captured an apparition that resembles one of our country’s founding fathers, Peyton Randolph? I will show you the apparition right next to the painting of Randolph, so that you can judge for yourself. Peyton was overweight, as you can see in the painting, and the apparition appears to be overweight as well. I would have loved to have captured the apparition’s double chin, but that unfortunately did not happen. Nevertheless, I see enough similarities between the apparition and the painting to state that one resembles the other, but ultimately you will have to make that judgment call yourself. The painting of Randolph is when he was older and wearing a wig; the apparition however seems to be younger with natural hair. I have written that the members of the Williamsburg Masonic Lodge believe that Peyton Randolph, a master mason, haunts their lodge. One mason told me that they always make sure to acknowledge the former head of the Williamsburg Lodge when they first enter. As I’ve said before, ghosts are not locked into one house or building, they are evidently free to move about—and I have captured them walking the streets of Williamsburg. So it’s possible that a ghost can divide its time between two or more buildings, so Peyton may just haunt the Masonic Lodge as well as his former Williamsburg abode, and perhaps even the Wren Building on the campus of William and Mary—which he is buried beneath in his family’s crypts. So no, the Peyton Randolph House haunting is not solved, as one ghost tour in Williamsburg claims, but another page has been added to the home’s haunted history—one that is both intriguing, compelling . . . and continuing.

Some of the compelling faces that showed up at the last photo session of the Peyton Randolph House: 

[image error] Here’s the face in the very next windowpane that reminded me of a young Peyton Randolph:

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Here’s the previous phantom face placed next to the painting of an older Peyton Randolph in a wig; could it be a younger version of Peyton showing up at his former house? Or could it be a Randolph relative? Peyton did not have children, so perhaps a cousin?

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Check out other ghost photo blogs including the following: the ghosts that came out to see the fireworks, the ghost of a small child and others attracted to what is familiar to them, the ghosts in the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond, VA; the ghosts in Julep’s Restaurant in Richmond, Va; ghosts in a Las Vegas casino; dark hooded apparitions in Colonial Williamsburg, the ghosts of Merchant Square, Williamsburg, the ghosts of Jerome, AZ P1, Jerome, AZ P2, the ghosts of Relics Restaurant, Sedona, AZ, the ghosts of the Red Garter, Williams, AZ P1, the ghosts of the Red Garter, Williams, AZ, P2, ghosts in the Barnes & Noble Bookstore that featured my book, Williamsburg’s most haunted: the Peyton Randolph House, the ghosts of Antelope Canyon in Page, AZ, one of America’s most haunted roads: Crawford Road, near Yorktown, VA, Civil War ghosts in my house, Civil War ghosts at Edgewood Plantation, photographic proof that ghosts are attracted to children, the story of how one of my ghost photos was positively identified by a group of friends, and other paranormal posts.

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After 2 years of research, a lot of experimentation, and over 10,000 photographs, check out the world’s first groundbreaking photographic study of ghosts: Haunted, Historic Colonial Williamsburg Virginia with Breakthrough Ghost Photography (Part 1, 2nd Edition) available at both Schiffer Publishing and at Amazon, nominated for consideration in the nonfiction category for the 19th annual Library of Virginia Literary Awards:

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Amazon: http://amzn.com/0764358898

Part 2 of this book features the largest number of ghosts ever captured in a single camera shot, as well as several photos of apparitions that look alien to our world. Here is the link:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/0764355724

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Tim Scullion is a published author, photographer, and musician. He is a graduate of the College of William and Mary, with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree Cum Laude. In addition to the book mentioned above, Tim has written a novel, a series of instruction books on the guitar, a children’s book (all available on Amazon) and has a photo-essay published by the University of Virginia in the book Troubled Times Companion, Vol. III.

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