Bruton Parish Church

One of the oldest Episcopal churches in America, in continuous use since 1715. Many of Virginia's most prominent colonial figures worshipped here, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry.

Bruton Parish Church stands as one of America's most haunted colonial landmarks, its churchyard and sanctuary harboring spirits that span nearly four centuries of Virginia history. The parish was established in 1674, and the current cruciform brick structure—designed by Governor Alexander Spotswood and completed in 1715—served as the "court church" where George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and other founding fathers worshipped during sessions of the House of Burgesses.

The most enduring ghost legend centers on the tragic tale of Reverend Scervant Jones and his first wife. When complications arose during the birth of their first child, the doctor informed Jones that his wife would not survive. On her deathbed, the reverend proclaimed his undying love and promised to wait for her in heaven, vowing he could never imagine life with another woman. After her death, parishioners began seeing her apparition sitting peacefully in the church pews and wandering the cemetery grounds, seemingly waiting for her beloved husband.

Three months later, Reverend Jones returned to Williamsburg—with a new wife. The peaceful spirit transformed overnight. Witnesses reported seeing Mrs. Jones weeping and wailing, her anguished cries echoing through the cemetery at dusk. Adding insult to injury, when Jones died, he had his second wife's grave placed between him and his first wife, permanently separating them even in death. To this day, people hear the church organ playing late at night when the building is empty and locked, along with the disembodied sobs of a broken-hearted woman.

The Civil War added another layer of tragedy. After the Battle of Williamsburg on May 5, 1862, the church served as a makeshift hospital for wounded Union and Confederate soldiers. Isabella Thompson Sully of Richmond nursed dying soldiers here, promising them burial in consecrated ground. When she later returned to honor that promise, she was horrified to discover that "instead of a dozen bodies being removed there were bones of nearly, or quite 100 men" in mass burial pits. These soldiers now rest beneath a granite obelisk in the churchyard, erected in 1893.

Two Colonial Williamsburg security guards experienced one of the most dramatic paranormal encounters. Late one night while sitting in their patrol car, they observed a tall, shadowy figure approaching from Palace Green. The man wore a black suit with a vest, but what struck them was his strangely elongated neck and glowing red eyes. Many believe such apparitions belong to those who died by hanging. When the guards pursued him into the church, they heard a strange "whoosh-thud" sound. Switching on their flashlights, they witnessed hymnals levitating from the pews, flying across the room, and slamming into the walls. The guards fled immediately.

Charles, a former Colonial Williamsburg security guard, witnessed what experts call the rarer of the two church apparitions. Walking down Duke of Gloucester Street late one night, he observed a figure that appeared "construction paper black—like as a kid if you ever cut out silhouettes." The male figure stood about five foot ten with a ponytail, dressed in unmistakable colonial attire: knickers, stockings, shirt, and vest. As the apparition approached a tree near the church entrance where a light hung, it simply vanished—nothing materialized on the other side.

The church's 1755 pipe organ has its own reputation. An organist who regularly practices at Bruton Parish reports feeling an unsettling tingling sensation on the back of their neck. On April 10, 2014, around 11:30 PM, video footage captured the organ playing by itself while the church remained locked and empty. Curtains have also been observed moving without explanation inside the sanctuary.

The churchyard contains one of the finest collections of table tombs in North America, with graves dating to the 1630s. The oldest marked tombstone belongs to colonial secretary Thomas Ludwell, who died in 1678. Among those interred are John Blair (a signer of the Constitution), Cyrus Griffin (last president of the Continental Congress), and two infant children of Martha Dandridge Custis, who would later become Martha Washington. Each grave carries its own stories of colonial life, Revolution, and tragedy.

Today, Bruton Parish Church remains an active Episcopal congregation with over 2,000 members. Services continue every Sunday in the same sanctuary where founding fathers once debated revolution. Ghost tours regularly stop at the churchyard, where visitors peer through the iron fence hoping to catch a glimpse of Mrs. Jones still wandering among the headstones, forever waiting for the husband who betrayed her dying wish.