{"id":616,"date":"2025-11-07T15:55:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T15:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/scua\/?p=616"},"modified":"2025-11-07T15:55:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T15:55:04","slug":"ghosts-in-the-margins-buried-and-renowned-tales-from-the-archives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/scua\/2025\/11\/07\/ghosts-in-the-margins-buried-and-renowned-tales-from-the-archives\/","title":{"rendered":"Ghosts in the Margins: Buried and Renowned Tales from the Archives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Ella Hathaway, Special Collections Student Assistant<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mace and Crown Weekender cover “All Hallows Eve” <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Demented Lover of Lake Drummond\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Within ODU\u2019s Special Collections and University Archives lurks not just any eerie old literary tale, but a rather local one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even without the presence of ghosts, the Dismal Swamp is a bizarre enough anomaly on its own, possessing a reputation for various disappearances throughout the years, with one even as recently as 2024. In fact, the archive houses an undated black-and-white video news report <\/a>from a local station, WTAR, now known as WTKR. The report covers two lost marines who were last seen searching for missing hunters within the swamp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The swamp is also known for its weird science and biological oddities. According to former ODU Professor Betty Yarborough, whose rare book The Great Dismal<\/em> is stored here in the archive, she writes that \u201cwithin this great Natural Phenomenon\u2026remain remnants of ancient shapes and forms of the forest primeval\u2026 some scientists have suggested that the swamp might have been created by a meteorite\u2026\u201d (Yarborough 1). Yarborough also notes that the swamp is home to many unusual anomalies that differ from other swamplands. For example, most swamps possess high levels of bacteria; yet, the Dismal Swamp has a mysteriously low level of bacteria production in its water, which produces its signature brownish\/amber-like coloring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no surprise that the swamp\u2019s history and peculiarities have yielded their share of folklore.  Virginia supernatural tales : Ghosts, Witches, and Eerie Doings<\/em> is a novel published in 1977 by George H. Tucker. Tucker was an avid lover of local Virginia history, as he was a Maury High School graduate who penned columns for the Virginian-Pilot and was a charter member of the Norfolk Historical Society (Goodreads). Tucker\u2019s book is imbued with popular tales and first-hand accounts of witches, hauntings, prophetic dreams, and other bizarre happenings local to Virginia. A particularly beckoning tale was one by the name of \u201cThe Demented Lover of Lake Drummond\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Great Dismal Swamp\u2019s marsh-laden wetland extends from Suffolk, Virginia, all the way to North Carolina, and at its heart lies Lake Drummond, the \u201clarge cypress-bordered body of clear brown water\u201d (Tucker). Tucker\u2019s book recounts a centuries-old story of a young indigenous girl who lived on a farm (in what\u2019s now considered Chesapeake) who contracted malaria and tragically died while her lover was away. When her lover returned, his grief for her drove him to delirium. Determined he could find his lost lover within the depths of Lake Drummond, he constructed a fragile raft of dead branches. As he sailed through the lake, his brittle raft disintegrated, leading him to drown. Since the story’s occurrence, countless trappers and woodsmen have claimed to have witnessed the spirits of the two lovers paddling a \u201cspectral white canoe on dark and silent nights\u201d (Tucker). This story, as Tucker states, is the only known Virginian ghost story to ever be written about internationally. Tucker then includes the poem written by Irish author Thomas Moore about the ghost story that haunts our very own Great Dismal Swamp.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Demented Lover of Lake Drummond” excerpt from Virginia supernatural tales : Ghosts, Witches, and Eerie Doings<\/em>, 1977<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite its uncanny qualities, the Dismal Swamp has been home to special wildlife and scientific miracles for thousands of years, and was even a refuge for thousands of enslaved people before the Civil War. Numerous conservation efforts have been made to preserve our Dismal Swamp, and many reports of these efforts can be found here in the archive as well!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LGBTQ+ Ghost Stories<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Our Own Community Press Article “Halloween Special: Gay Ghost Stories” 1989<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In an October 1989 issue of Our Own<\/em> is a headline titled \u201cHalloween Special: Gay Ghost Stories\u201d, written by Sabina Ayne. The publication contains 5 brief tales.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of these stories is titled \u201cRadiant Boy\u201d. The article described the boy as a glowing apparition who appeared to gay men in the middle of the night. Seeing this boy was supposedly a foretelling of your eventual passing. The article introduced Captain Robert Stewart, who was caught in a thunderstorm and took refuge in a \u201cnobleman\u2019s home\u201d (Ayne). During the captain\u2019s slumber, he suddenly awoke to find that the \u201centire bedchamber was aglow with an eerie light\u201d (Ayne). The captain suddenly saw the glowing boy, who shortly vanished. Years later, the captain went on to gain \u201cwealth and esteem\u201d but died tragically by his own hand (Ayne). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upon some research, the \u201cnobleman\u2019s home\u201d the captain took refuge in could have likely been the Howard Family Manor, home to John Howard. Ian Topham, a paranormal researcher of over 25 years, notes that \u201cTraditionally the radiant boy was associated with the Howard family, if seen by a family member that person would rise to a position of great power but meet a terrible end.\u201d (Topham). In fact, John Howard himself supposedly recorded his sightings of the ghost-boy in his own journal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another tale within the article tells of a young girl from Scarborough, England in 1600. The girl would frequently visit and help out at a local farm. However, the girl began sneaking off into the hayloft with the farmer\u2019s daughter. When the farmer eventually caught the two girls together in the hayloft, he was livid. The girl was met with \u201cfurious accusations of witchcraft\u201d and forced to leave town (Ayne). She  returned to town a few years later to gather mushrooms, but was never seen again. There has since been speculation over what may have happened to the girl. After her disappearance, there were multiple supposed sightings of the girl\u2019s ghost wandering from the farmer\u2019s house towards the hayloft, where she would then disappear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To read more of these stories, browse the Our Own<\/em> Community Press<\/em> <\/a>collection in our digital archive!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ghent Apartment Haunting<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Mace & Crown<\/em> article \u201cMy Apartment is Haunted by a Ghost\u201d 1989 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An article written by one Brian Powers in the October 1989 issue of the Mace & Crown<\/em> is titled: \u201cMy Apartment is Haunted by a Ghost\u201d. Powers described his experience living in one of the old apartments in Ghent, Norfolk, that was \u201c…built in 1916\u2026equipped with black iron fire escapes and steam heat\u2026\u201d (Powers). Powers noted that the first time he noticed something strange unfurling was when he had heard his roommate, or what he thought was his roommate, \u201ccome down the hallway\u201d (Powers). However, Powers soon realized his roommate wasn\u2019t even home. He began to notice kitchenware out of storage despite never being used, the same picture repeatedly falling every now and again, and even socks magically moving into other rooms. At first, Powers felt extremely paranoid, and \u201cthat anything misplaced was a deed by a ghost. It gave me the creeps\u201d (Powers). However, Powers came to accept his new roommate, even claiming the ghost had tried to fix his broken doorknob! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However true Powers\u2019 ghost story may be, there\u2019s no question that Norfolk (and many other areas of Virginia) are home to historic, out-of-shape buildings. Whether or not ghosts exist, there is still something especially harrowing about being inside a building that has housed visitors for centuries. This is why it may come as no surprise that other historic buildings in Norfolk and beyond have been subject to ghost sightings. Some known locations in Norfolk with alleged unearthly occurrences include the Myers Historic House, the Freemason Abbey Restaurant, and even the Wells Theater (Floyd). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other local cities, such as Portsmouth, take advantage of their haunted houses. As it happens, Portsmouth hosts a \u201cGhostwalk\u201d; a tour of various historic houses that are supposedly haunted. This event has been long-running, as there were even murmurings of the Ghostwalk in a 1986 issue of the Mace & Crown<\/em>. Even if you don\u2019t believe in ghosts, the many aging and lively structures around the area serve as a befitting setting for the Halloween season! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Ghost Walk” 1986 issue of the Mace & Crown<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n