Williamsburg Ghost Tour

25. Dora-Armistead House

Williamsburg, VA

Book Now

There are two Armistead houses, but this is the haunted Armistead house. The house feels out of place because this is not its original location. It used to be where the Charlton Coffee House is now, next to the capital building. The Armistead family dates back to 1635 and was one of the founding families. The Armistead family amassed wealth until their estate was seized shortly after the Civil War. Years later in the late 19th century, Cary Armistead and his wife Endora had five children and built a home in Williamsburg. During the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg, Endora strongly resisted selling the family home. After Cary and Endora's deaths, the decision to sell the estate rested with their last surviving child, Dora. Like her mother, Dora refused to sell the home. She converted the home into an inn for extra income; but she was never fond of tourists. Dora died in 1984 and the property was purchased by Colonial Williamsburg in 1995. The house was later moved to this location. Many believe that Dora Armistead's departed spirit remains in the house, where she shows her displeasure at the family home's new location. Many accounts include violently swaying curtains in Dora's bedroom, despite sealed windows. Some say that Dora haunts the house in protest of the house's use as a tourist attraction. Source: Penguin Press, Jackie Eileen Behrend The Hauntings of Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown: http://www.amazon.com/The-Hauntings-Williamsburg-Yorktown-Jamestown/dp/0895872102