Williamsburg Ghost Tour

17. Shield's Tavern

Williamsburg, VA

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In 1745, James Shields opened Shield's Tavern and died shortly thereafter around December 1750. Soon after James Shields' death, a local entrepreneur, Henry Wetherburn, lost his second wife. Ten days after his wife's death, on July 1, 1751, he married Shields' widow, Anne Marot Ingles Shields. Less than a month later, Wetherburn advertised Shields Tavern for rent. Some say that the ghost of Mr. Shields remains at his Tavern. More than 120 years later, the Tavern was restored during the Rockefeller funded restoration of Colonial Williamsburg. In order to retain the historical accuracy of the Shield's Tavern and have the location site function as a tavern with a full kitchen, a tunnel system and underground kitchen were built connecting the tavern to the street behind it. It seems that Mr. Shields has stayed to haunt the tavern he once owned, pestering its more recent managers flicking lights on and off and rummaging through the rooms. An account from a former manager who was locking up for the evening is one of many. It is said that when she got through the tunnel system built behind the tavern she turned around and noticed a light on in the upstairs office. The manager thought nothing of this and went back up to turn the light off, but much to her surprise when she got back outside again she looked up at the room she had just come from and the light was back on. She was obviously confused by this occurrence but she went up once more to turn the light off. When she reached the office again she noticed that the entire room was in disarray! Furniture was moved and trash was dumped on the floor. After cleaning up she turned the light off, hoping for it to stay off this time. When the woman left and looked up again to see if the light stayed off, this time it stayed off, but to her horror she saw a silhouette of a man in a tri-cornered hat looking out the window, watching her. Source: iTour Writer