Williamsburg Ghost Tour

18. Raleigh Tavern

Williamsburg, VA

Book Now

The Raleigh Tavern was a place of merriment and entertainment. For many years, patrons came here to drink, gamble and eat. It entertained George Washington and Lafayette, and is the birthplace of the American Fraternity system, through the founding of Phi Beta Kappa. In 1859, the tavern burned and was not rebuilt until the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg in the late 1920s and early 1930s. When Colonial Williamsburg purchased the location where the tavern once stood and rebuilt the tavern after discovering the remains of its original foundation. Even though the parties have long stopped for the living, reports of spectral parties that first surfaced in 1856 continue. Dan Arnold, a custodian for Colonial Williamsburg, was embarrassed to tell of his experience with the tavern, thinking no one would believe him. Finally, Dan reluctantly told his story. He said, "I was working in the back of the Raleigh late one evening, when I heard someone had broken in, so I decided to check it out. As I crept closer, I heard laughter and music. The music wasn't like anything we hear today; it was music of the eighteenth century. You know, spinets and harpsichords. Then I heard the clinking of glasses and the shuffling of feet. The strangest thing of all was the smell of pipe tobacco seeping from the cracks of the window casings. When I looked inside, everything stopped! The tavern was completely empty except for some painting equipment." So, if you are walking down DoG Street and happen to hear music and fun, and maybe smell some tobacco coming from the building, know that it is just the ghosts of long departed patrons looking reliving another good time. Source: Penguin Press, Jackie Eileen Behrend The Hauntings of Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown: http://www.amazon.com/The-Hauntings-Williamsburg-Yorktown-Jamestown/dp/0895872102