TLDR
The Ann Starrett Mansion in Port Townsend houses three distinct spirits: a peaceful red-haired woman believed to be Ann Starrett, her husband George who accompanies her through the halls, and an assertive nanny who smacks guests on the head for rude remarks. Built in 1889 as "The House of Four Seasons," the mansion now operates as an Airbnb where visitors can book a night with the ghosts.
The Full Story
Say something rude inside the Ann Starrett Mansion and you might get smacked on the head. Guests and staff blame the nanny, a spirit who occupies her old bedroom on the upper floor and whose face has been spotted materializing in the mirror. She knocks pictures off walls. She flicks lights on and off in empty rooms. And if you offend her, she lets you know.
The nanny is one of at least three ghosts that occupy this Queen Anne Victorian on Clay Street in Port Townsend, Washington. The house earned the nickname "The House of Four Seasons" for the frescoes George Starrett commissioned in the ceiling, a functioning solar calendar he built as a gift for his wife Ann in 1889. George was a contractor and businessman who wanted the house to be extraordinary. He succeeded. The frescoes track the seasons through painted panels, and the octagonal tower that rises above the roofline became one of Port Townsend's most recognizable landmarks.
George and Ann raised their only child, Edwin, in the house with the help of the nanny and two servants. The family lived there for twenty years. All three adults seem to have stayed longer than that.
A red-haired woman has been seen on the main staircase and wandering through the hallways since the early 1900s. Multiple guests and staff members describe her the same way: calm, unhurried, more peaceful presence than restless spirit. She appears most often near the solar calendar frescoes, as if drawn to the gift her husband built. A male figure accompanies her through the halls and down the stairs. Witnesses believe the couple is George and Ann, still walking through the house they built together 137 years ago.
The staircase sightings have a specific and recurring detail that gives them weight. A woman in a white nightgown climbs the circular staircase with her hair pulled into a bun, carrying a brass candlestick. Several visitors have described this independently, and the details match: the nightgown, the bun, the candlestick. The consistency across unrelated witnesses is notable, even if the woman's identity remains uncertain.
Christian Andrews, who purchased the mansion around 2017, discovered the activity quickly. During his first week in the house, a shortwave radio downstairs turned itself on at 2 a.m. with the volume cranked up. He turned it off. The next night, it happened again. He disconnected the radio permanently.
The nanny's bedroom holds the most concentrated activity. Her face appearing in the mirror. The sensation of being watched. Objects shifting position. The poltergeist behavior attributed to her is specific in its triggers: she reacts to disrespect. Pictures falling when someone says something crass. Physical contact when someone crosses a line. The other two spirits drift peacefully through the house. The nanny enforces standards.
No formal investigation has produced publicly shared evidence, and it may be that investigators have never been granted access. Jeff Dwyer included the mansion in his "Ghost Hunter's Guide to Seattle and Puget Sound," and the house has hosted mystery weekends since 1986 that play on its reputation. The mansion sat on the real estate market for twelve years in the early 2000s and now operates as an Airbnb, meaning anyone can book a night in the nanny's domain.
Port Townsend is full of haunted Victorians, but the Starrett Mansion stands apart because the ghosts have personalities. Ann is gentle. George follows Ann. The nanny enforces standards. Three spirits with three distinct temperaments, inhabiting a house built as a love letter. The Airbnb listing does not mention any of them.
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