By Dana DiSante
For more than 20 years, Jean Woolsey has studied and conducted more than 350 investigations across NoVA, the Shenandoah Valley and along the East Coast, documenting paranormal experiences at haunted locations.
Jean Woolsey, director of Ghost Tours in Winchester and Berryville, puts her studies of Civil War history to use to uncover the stories of spirits remaining in NoVA. In her new book, Ghost Diaries of the Shenandoah Valley, which landed at the beginning of the month, she writes that “young, tragic, untimely death” creates a “recipe for spirit activity.” NoVA in particular, Woolsey says, is a hotbed of paranormal activity due to its place in history and the war.
Woolsey approaches her work through scientific analysis. “There is a lot of data collecting, researching and sharing information to reach the goal of getting a concrete answer,” Woolsey says.
The paranormal spirits in NoVA, Woolsey says, present themselves when, where and to whom they choose. Woolsey is working toward bringing people one step closer to knowing more about the lives and afterlives of people who remain as ghostly spirits. // Ghost Tours Of Old Town Winchester Virginia: 103 E. Piccadilly St., Winchester,540-827-9948
Can’t travel to Winchester? Find a paranormal investigator or ghost tour near you:
City of Alexandria
200th Anniversary of the Death of the Mysterious Stranger
Gadsby’s Tavern Museum: 134 N. Royal St., Alexandria
Oct. 14, 6-10 p.m., $25-$75
Alexandria’s Footsteps To The Past: Historical Haunts
Ramsay House Visitor Center: 221 King St., Alexandria
Friday & Saturday through Nov. 15, 7 p.m. & 8:30 p.m., $5-$10
Alexandria Public Ghost & Graveyard Tour
Alexandria Colonial Tours: 201 King St., Third Floor, Alexandria
Friday & Saturday, 7:30 & 9 p.m. and nightly in October at 7:30 p.m., $7-$13
The City of Fredericksburg
Ghosts of Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg Visitor Center: 706 Caroline St., Fredericksburg
Additional tours starting Oct. 7, 8 p.m., $11
Olde Towne Carriage Ghost Tours of Fredericksburg
706 Caroline St., Fredericksburg
Sept. 1-Oct. 31, 5-9 p.m., $17
Loudoun County
Middleburg Ghost Tours
Parking lot at South Liberty Street, Middleburg
Dates vary, $20-$40
Paranormal Tours at Oatlands
Oatlands Historic House & Gardens: 20850 Oatlands Plantation Lane, Leesburg
By appointment, costs vary
Near Prince William County
Haunted Occoquan Tours
Visitor Center: 200 Mill St., Occoquan
Oct. 25-Oct. 31, 8 p.m., $7-$14
Hospital Horrors By Nights
Ben Lomond Historic Site: 10321 Sudley Manor Drive, Manassas
Oct. 29, 7-9 p.m., $10
Spirits of Manassas
The Manassas Museum: 9101 Prince William St., Manassas
Oct. 29, 6:30-8 p.m., $7.50-$15
Spirits of Rippon Lodge
15520 Blackburn Road, Woodbridge
Oct. 21 & Oct. 22, 7-9:30 p.m., $10
