Ghosts
and Haunted Houses
in Madison Virginia
Table of Contents:
What Do Ghosts Look Like?
A ghost is an alleged spirit of a dead person. Ghosts may be visible, though only a small percentage of cases involve visual images. Generally, ghosts make their presence known through mysterious noises, smells, sensations of cold, and the movement of objects. Some apparitions seem real and solid with definable form and features; others seem fuzzy, luminous, transparent, wispy, and ill-defined--nothing more than streaks or patches of light or a mere bloodstain. Apparitions appear and disappear suddenly. They can move through walls and objects, or walk around them. They can cast shadows, and their images can be reflected in mirrors.
Salubria, which was built in 1742 and is located in Culpeper Virginia, has a reputation for being haunted. Many people have seen ghosts or witnessed strange and unexplanable phenomena while in this house. Mrs. Jennie Thornley Grayson lived for a time at Salubria. One night while she stood combing her hair before the mirror in her room, the same room where a former resident Lady Spotswood died. Mrs. Grayson describes the ghost that she saw:
A white mist seemed to have enveloped my form. I could not move nor utter a sound. As I looked intently the mist slowly took the form of a face peering over my shoulder and reflected in the glass before me. (qtd. in Lee, 141).Mrs. Grayson describes the ghost that she saw as "a white mist," but there have been many different descriptions of what a ghost actually looks like from many other people. What exactly does a ghost look like? It is hard to give a general description since ghosts can appear in any form or even be invisible.
Interview with Douglas Campbell, Ph.D.
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© 2000 Teresa Mills. All rights reserved.