Williamsburg Ghost Tour

19. Ludwell-Paradise House

Williamsburg, VA

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The house that you see dates back to at least 1755 and is built in the Georgian architecture style. However, it is famous for the ghost of Lucy Ludwell, known as one of the most estranged and eccentric women in Colonial Williamsburg. Some called her crazy, but she was the subject of conversation among the upper class in England and Williamsburg in her day, due to her energetic and mischievous personality. Lucy spent most of her life in London until she married John Paradise. In London, Lucy, threw a tea urn of boiling water on two men that had annoyed her. The Williamsburg property that Lucy inherited from her family was confiscated during the Revolutionary war because her husband was a loyalist supporting England. Lucy returned to Williamsburg in 1805, ten years after her husband passed away, and was permitted to live in what you now see in front of you, the Ludwell-Paradise house. It was here that Lucy spent the remainder of her days, where she considered herself superior to the other residents due to her position in London. She was also obsessive and impulsive. When young James Monroe came to Williamsburg years before he became President, Lucy ran up to him and declared "Sir, we have determined to make you President." Lucy was also known for borrowing her friends clothes, especially hats. However, Mad Lucy is most well known for her unusual carriage rides. She had a carriage assembled in the back yard and she would invite visitors and callers inside, where she would have a servant move the carriage back and forth to simulate a carriage ride to an imaginary destination. Lucy's carriage rides became so frequent and her other strange behaviors worsened to the point that she had trouble differentiating reality from fantasy. In 1812 Lucy was committed to the asylum at Eastern State Hospital, yet another haunted stop in Williamsburg. Mad Lucy died in 1814, but many believe that her estranged spirit remains in the home. Strange and unexplained sounds are often reported. Lucy was a clean freak and took many baths each day. Many say they still hear the sounds of someone bathing upstairs. A retired Vice President of Colonial Williamsburg remarked, "My wife and I each experienced the same odd phenomenon on several different occasions. Maybe 8, 10, or 12 separate times. And that is, we would be downstairs when we would hear the water running in the second floor bathtub. Then we would hear a splashing sound in the tub as if someone were taking a bath. The first few times we heard it we went up the stairs to take a look, but there was never anyone or anything there. And no water was running in the tub. So after awhile, we wouldn't even check when we heard it. We just laughed and said 'it must be Lucy pouring a bath for herself.'" Sources: Penguin Press, Jackie Eileen Behrend The Hauntings of Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown: http://www.amazon.com/The-Hauntings-Williamsburg-Yorktown-Jamestown/dp/0895872102 and http://www.hauntedhouses.com/states/va/williamsburg_colonial.htm