Residence in Pittsylvania County

In a house off of Vandola Road, a family of three experienced several different paranormal happenings.

One of the family members saw an apparition of an old man twice while home alone.

While in the basement apartment, they could hear footsteps and things moving around, even when no one was upstairs. Doors would also open and close by themselves.

Previous owners of the property also reported witnessing the same activities.

Residence in North Danville

Note: No pictures or house numbers for residences will be used to respect the privacy of the homeowners.

Former residents of a home in North Danville reported strange experiences for the entire time they rented the house. 

At the time, the young couple were living together before their marriage. They rented the house that the man's great-grandmother used to live in.

One closet door in the house always opened by itself, even though the door closed completely and there was no problem with the latch. After the couple got married, the door stopped opening by itself. They joked that it was the husband's great-grandmother, who was expressing her dismay about the couple living together before marriage. 

After the couple had their first child, a girl, the baby would stare at the same closet door when put in the baby swing. This made the couple uneasy, so they turned the swing so that the back would face the closet door. However, the baby would turn herself around in the swing to stare at the closet door. 


The wife would often come home at night and open the door to hear people talking. The first time this happened, she thought she had left the TV on when she left, but the TV was off. This happened so often that when she came home and heard people talking, she would go back to her car, baby in tow, and wait at her mother's house until her husband got off of work. 

The couple never felt threatened but were relieved when they moved. 

Lanier House

The Lanier House was built in 1830 and is the oldest documented residence in Danville.

The house was built by the city's first mayor James Lanier.

Since then, the building has been a private residence and a pediatricians office. Today, it is home to law offices.

There have been reports of apparitions, voices, and footsteps through the building.

Satan's Bridge

On Berry Hill Road, there's a bridge covered in graffiti that is referred to as "Satan's Bridge."

It has been said that this bridge was once a meeting site for a satanic group. The group would sacrifice animals and hang them on the bridge. The bridge was also covered in pentagrams.

There are even reports of hooded figures being seen in the woods near Satan's Bridge.

Today, it is just a place for teenagers and thrill seekers to go visit. However, the whole area is said to be overall creepy to this day.

Residence on North Main Street

Note: No pictures or house numbers for residences will be used to respect the privacy of the homeowners.

On North Main Street, a house has been reportedly haunted by the ghost of the original owner. 

Previous owners report blinds opening after being shut, items being moved around, and figures in pictures taken. 

In addition, visitors also report lights turning on and off by themselves, sound on the television going up and down by itself, and an overall feeling that someone is watching them.

One visitor witnessed an item flying out of a closet and hitting the wall at the other side of the room in a bedroom. 

Residence in Forest Hills

Note: No pictures or house numbers for residences will be used to respect the privacy of the homeowners.

Owners of a home in the Forest Hills neighborhood are sure their house is haunted after experiencing prolonged paranormal activity. 

A family of four, a couple and their two daughters, did not realize that everyone had witnessed strange occurrences until they talked about it years after moving in. 

A few members of the family have seen a man in a blue shirt pass a window that looks into the backyard. Sitters that cared for an elderly family member would ask if anyone had come home during the day because they would hear footsteps and movement upstairs. 

One resident woke up in the middle of the night to a chair turned toward her bed like someone was watching her sleep, with her dog barking and growling at the chair. 

The family believes the house may be haunted by the man who built it. The parents also think that their daughter's use of an ouija board was the cause of increased paranormal activity.

Gravity Hill

Gravity Hill is not quite haunted but still very creepy. On Oak Hill Road, if you stop your car and put it in neutral, your car will be pulled uphill, hence the name Gravity Hill.

An old Folk tale says that there is a witch at the end of the road and that she is pulling your car towards her house.

I've tried this, and it really works. I'm sure there are no actual witches involved, just science! It's a great place to go with friends!

Southerlin Mansion

The Sutherlin Mansion is located on Main Street and is noted as the "Last Capital of the Confederacy."

From April 3-10, 1865, Jefferson Davis stayed in the mansion until he heard the news of the confederacy's surrender on April 10.

The house was the residence of Major William T. Sutherlin and is now the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History.

Footsteps and phantom cigar smoke have been reported here.

Picture credits: Virginia.org

Pritchett Auditorium at Averett University

Another place on Averett's campus that is rumored to be haunted is the newly renovated Pritchett Auditorium.

A former student and staff member told me a story of the time she was working on a project as a theater student years ago. She was in the auditorium alone, and she witnessed a chair slide across the stage. The chair was backstage and moved by itself into the center of the stage. She said it didn't scare her, but it definitely made her aware of the presence there.

Another student shared about the time she was looking at the auditorium from Danville Hall and saw a shadow run across one of the windows she knew no one would be passing by.

A theater student mentioned that the lights in an office would turn on and off, even though they were motion activated, and no one was in there at the time.

While I'm not aware of the story behind this haunting, it's clear that several students have experienced something strange in the auditorium.

4th floor of Main Hall at Averett University

In my first semester at Averett, I heard a rumor about the 4th floor of Main Hall being haunted.

Our professor told us the legend about how years ago, back when the school was a women's college, a girl who lived on the fourth floor jumped out of the window after her boyfriend broke up with her. The window was right in the middle of the top floor and is now bricked up.

I was intrigued after learning the story behind the claim, and I hoped I would never have to go up to the fourth floor for any reason.

That summer, I took a work study job that was mainly filing. As it turns out, there are older files locked away on the fourth floor, so it's my job to get them sometimes.

My first time up in the fourth floor alone was terrifying. It did not help that the decorations from the haunted house for Halloween were still up, including fake blood on the walls and signs saying "GET OUT." Now, I'm used to going up there alone, and I have even learned to take the old school elevator so I don't have to take the stairs.

I have not received any confirmation about the events my professor said took place on the fourth floor many years ago, so I'm not sure how true they are. For now, it just remains a creepy rumor.