The Ghosts of Nottoway and Other Southside Virginia Tales
When I moved to Nottoway County at the end of 2005, I never imagined I would one day write a book about its ghost stories.
Almost immediately after moving into our home—one that dates back to the late eighteenth century—I experienced something I couldn’t explain. Over the years we heard stories from previous occupants and neighbors, and we experienced a few extraordinary events ourselves. Some of those stories appear in the book, but they were really only the beginning.
Professionally, I work full-time as a web administrator. Outside of work I’ve always been an artist, writer, and student of history. The paranormal has fascinated me for as long as I can remember, not because I set out to prove ghosts exist, but because ghost stories often preserve pieces of local history that might otherwise be forgotten.
Living in Nottoway only deepened that fascination.
Many stories found their way through Old Nottoway Antiques, the shop on our property operated by my partner, Mark Derr. Customers would wander in looking for antiques and leave telling stories of strange lights, unexplained voices, haunted houses, or encounters that had stayed with them for decades. Before long, I realized I was collecting more than antiques—I was collecting the folklore of the county.
Around that same time I met Trish Herring, who shared a CD she had produced with the Nottoway Historical Association. It contained interviews with longtime residents who recalled ghost trains, mysterious accidents, haunted plantation homes, and local legends passed down through generations. One of those voices belonged to Larry Williamson, who spoke about Woodland, his family’s historic home. Last fall, Larry graciously gave me and my friend, Mike, a personal tour of the house, bringing another chapter of Nottoway’s history to life.
I also began gathering stories from older sources such as W. R. Turner’s Old Homes and Families of Nottoway County, L. B. Taylor Jr.’s Ghosts of Virginia series, newspaper archives, historical records, and interviews with local residents. The more I researched, the more I realized something remarkable.
For one county, Nottoway possesses an extraordinary collection of ghost stories, legends, mysteries, and historical accounts.
Last fall I finally decided it was time to bring them together in one volume.
Although the title is The Ghosts of Nottoway and Other Southside Virginia Tales, it is about much more than ghosts. Some stories explore unexplained experiences. Others tell of strange creatures, UFO sightings, forgotten murders, Civil War memories, Native American traditions, or people whose influence still seems to linger long after they are gone. In many ways, the book is as much a history of Nottoway County as it is a collection of paranormal stories.
I often say there are really two maps of Nottoway County.
There is the map we see today, with its roads, towns, and buildings.
Then there is the map of the past—a landscape of vanished plantations, forgotten churches, old taverns, Native villages, abandoned cemeteries, and places where remarkable events unfolded. Those two maps exist side by side. Once you begin learning the stories behind them, you realize the past is never very far away.
That is what I hope readers take away from this book. Whether they believe in ghosts or not, I hope they come away with a deeper appreciation for the history, folklore, and people who shaped this remarkable county.
The Ghosts of Nottoway and Other Southside Virginia Tales will be available through Amazon in both paperback and Kindle editions. Signed copies will also be available at Old Nottoway Antiques, with hopes of making the book available through additional local businesses and museums throughout the county.
Do I believe in Ghosts?
I believe people have experiences they genuinely can’t explain. I am one of them. My goal wasn’t to convince anyone that ghosts exist. It was to preserve the stories, document the history behind them, and let readers decide for themselves. Whether you call them ghosts, memories, or folklore, these stories are part of Nottoway County’s heritage.