Peyton Randolph House

One of Williamsburg's oldest and most architecturally significant homes, built in stages beginning in 1715. Home of Peyton Randolph, considered by some to be the first President of the United States as President of the Continental Congress.

The Peyton Randolph House stands as the most haunted building in Colonial Williamsburg, with an estimated thirty deaths occurring within its walls since 1715. Built by William Robertson as a modest colonial dwelling, the house was purchased by Sir John Randolph in 1724, who expanded it with an eastern wing connected by a two-story passage. His son Peyton Randolph—the first President of the Continental Congress—inherited the property in 1745 and lived there until his sudden death from a stroke in Philadelphia on October 22, 1775.

The house's dark history encompasses multiple eras of tragedy. During Peyton's ownership, at least four enslaved servants died from smallpox, including members of a household that numbered twenty-seven enslaved people. Among them was Eve, valued at 100 pounds and later sold for "bad behavior" after attempting escape to the British in 1781—her fate remains unknown. The property served as a field hospital during both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, with untold numbers of soldiers dying within its blood-soaked walls during the Battle of Williamsburg in 1862.

The Peachy family, who occupied the house from approximately 1802 to 1858, experienced particularly devastating losses. A young boy fell from a large tree in the yard and died from his injuries. A girl fell from a second-story window to her death. A male relative committed suicide in the drawing room. Another visitor contracted tuberculosis and died in prolonged agony. A Confederate veteran attending the College of William and Mary suddenly fell ill and died mysteriously within the house. Two visitors shot and killed each other during a heated argument. The matriarch Mary Monro Peachy, devastated by the loss of multiple children, died in 1836.

The most famous paranormal encounter belongs to the Marquis de Lafayette, who stayed at the house during his 1824 American tour. He wrote: "Upon my arrival, as I entered through the foyer, I felt a hand on my shoulder. It nudged me as if intending to keep me from entering. I quickly turned, but found no one there. The nights were not restful as the sounds of voices kept me awake for most of my stay."

The basement harbors the most malevolent activity. A Colonial Williamsburg security guard became trapped there when he heard a large, terrifying growl. He felt something grab his legs, holding his feet firmly to the ground. The shutter doors slammed shut, and his flashlight turned off simultaneously—leaving him in complete darkness with an unseen presence. The basement is notorious for disembodied voices, the sensation of being watched, and shadow figures that move independently.

The Woman in White appears most frequently—a young woman in a white nightgown who materializes in an upstairs oak-paneled bedroom. According to L.B. Taylor Jr., author of "The Ghosts of Williamsburg," she seemingly warns visitors of impending tragedy. A thirteen-year-old guest awoke to find a teenage girl in a white nightgown peering at her from the darkness. When she investigated, mysterious boot-like footsteps stomped upstairs three or four times, though no one was found.

Lady Peachy (Mary Monro) remains the most interactive spirit, reportedly calling visitors by name and appearing increasingly distressed over time. A Colonial Williamsburg maintenance worker encountered a man in colonial clothing in the basement, shaking his finger with loud mumbling that grew increasingly agitated. Upon speaking to the figure, it vanished instantly. An employee singing Christmas carols noticed a woman in colonial dress seated at the foot of the stairs, swaying rhythmically to the music—when the worker moved past her, the figure disappeared.

In 2014, security guards and firefighters responded to a fire alarm and discovered a fire extinguisher fully discharged in an unconnected eastern section of the house. No mechanical cause explained the discharge, and the safety pin was never located. One firefighter, who "does not like to use the word paranormal, does not like to use the word ghost," eventually admitted: "the only thing I can deem it to be is a paranormal ghost experience."

Colonial Williamsburg has repeatedly denied attempts by the Ghost Adventures crew to conduct a "lock-in" investigation at the property. The house remains one of the most original structures in Williamsburg and is open to visitors daily as part of the Colonial Williamsburg experience. Ghost tour operators from Spooks and Legends, Colonial Ghosts, and US Ghost Adventures all feature the property prominently, with guests frequently reporting their own unexplained encounters—from phantom touches to disembodied conversations in empty rooms.