Williamsburg Ghost Tour

27. Steam Tunnel

Williamsburg, VA

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Look down this grate if you have a flashlight on your phone. Unless it's been raining, you will see a cobblestone path below you. It is said that the College Camp had an underground tunnel system constructed from the Crypt underneath the Wren Building during the Revolutionary War. Some say that the tunnel stretched about one mile down to the capital building, but there's no evidence to suggest that was true. The tunnels went mostly unused after the war until the section of campus called "old campus" was built. Old campus was the first major expansion of the college, which took place from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, and included the buildings on either side of the Sunken Garden. To heat these buildings, steam tunnels were built underground. Parts of the original tunnel network were incorporated into the tunnels. The steam tunnels were easily accessible to the public in several different areas. In the 1960s and 70s, the tunnels became a problem for three reasons. One, homeless would use certain areas, including unstable areas prone to collapse, as shelter. Second, several crimes such as rape and murder took place in the tunnels. Finally, some fraternities and secret societies would make their pledges to break into the Wren crypt by way of the steam tunnel to steal a bone from one of the graves as part of their initiation process. The tunnels posed a problem for the City and the College, so most entrances to the tunnels were sealed, and the others are now difficult to access. This is one of the few more easily accessible entry points into the steam tunnel, and you will notice metal bars welded to the grate to make entry more difficult. Any student that goes into the steam tunnel today is automatically expelled from the college. The sounds of sinister laughter, screams, or even cries can be heard coming from the tunnel. After rain, when the tunnel's floor is covered by an inch or two of water, onlookers on the colonialghosts.com ghost tour have seen footprints on the water, as if someone was walking on the water in the tunnel.