The Lady in White of Avenel

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The next town over from my hometown is Bedford, Virginia. It's the epitome of a small, quiet, agricultural Appalachian town. The tiny downtown area is stuffed with charming antique stores and cafes, and rolling outwards from the center are streets of gorgeous Victorian and craftsman homes. Before very long, trees infiltrate the streets like floodwater and eventually the small patch of civilization gives way to the forest. Bedford has been given the nickname of "tiny Ireland" because once you head out of town, you'll find pastures and mountains as emerald as Ireland itself.

And just like Ireland, Bedford is extremely haunted.

One of the most iconic ghosts of Bedford makes her home at Avenel, a historic home not far from downtown. It was built in 1836 by the Burwell family. The home's history has been troubled since day 1, as it was a plantation that exploited the labor of enslaved African Americans in order to turn a profit. The soil was already soaked with human suffering as the Burwell family, one that came from money and status, moved in.

Three Burwell children were born at Avenel to join the two original daughters for a total of five children. James Burwell, the only boy, died in infancy. The family experienced a reprieve from death for many years as they lived on the backs of slaves in comfort. Being slaveowners, the Burwell family supported the betrayal of the Union and southern secession. Robert E. Lee was a close personal friend of theirs and stayed at Avenel with his wife. Mary Frances, one of the Burwell daughters, would grow up and marry a Confederate captain. While touring nearby battlegrounds and campsites, she contracted typhoid and died just four months after her wedding. Her husband would go on to continue to fight against the emancipation of African Americans until the end of the war, when he threw himself in front of enemy fire.

The family would continue to die, one by one, over the next several decades. Their fortunes were squandered until only two daughters, Rosa and Lettie, were left. The sisters fought bitterly about what to do with Avenel, with Rosa eventually suing Lettie, who died during the lawsuit. The house then passed into the hands of the Ballard family. One of the Ballard descendants sold the house to the Avenel Foundation, who keeps it in lovely condition to this day.

The commonly told story about the Lady in White is that she is the ghost of Mary Frances, whose husband went to war and never came back. Of course, we know that Mary passed away years before he did, so this theory doesn't personally ring quite true to me. Other people say that the Lady is Letitia, who died while fighting for ownership of the home, still there in the home she spent her life in. With the length of time the Burwells spent in Avenel and the antebellum gown and parasol the Lady wears, it is quite reasonable to assume that she is one of the Burwell girls. Even before the Lady was sighted, people in the home constantly heard, and continue to hear, the sounds of rustling hoopskirts and taffeta. The apparition of the Burwell patriarch in repose in his coffin has been seen in one of the front rooms, where historical record confirms his wake was held.

However, all four of the sisters kept journals recording the ins and outs of their lives while they lived at Avenel. They all wrote of rappings on the wall that kept the family awake at night. On one occasion, some unearthly force created such a ruckus that Mr. Burwell believed a burglar had broken in and even grabbed his rifle to confront the invisible intruder. These same knockings are still heard today, and in the early 2000's, when a paranormal show came to Avenel to document the hauntings, one of the rooms began to shake so violently that the camera crew fled.

Whatever walks the halls of Avenel did so before any of the Burwells died. The voices of man and children have been heard, and perfume with no earthly source has been smelled inside its walls. To me, Avenel does not seem to be so much haunted as it is... restless.

What stands out to me the most about the story of Avenel is not the deaths of the Burwells, but rather the way they lived their lives. For decades, they chose to maintain a luxurious lifestyle by enslaving people and denying them their fundamental human rights. They were in favor of betraying their country and spilling the blood of thousands in order to preserve that lifestyle. They squandered their wealth on investments instead of sharing it with their community. They fought amongst each other until there wasn't anyone left alive to fight. It is my personal opinion that these choices, the pain and strife that the Burwells caused each other and the community they were a part of, that is more responsible for the restlessness of Avenel than the death of any one person.

Perhaps the Lady in White is Mary Frances, or perhaps she is Letitia. Perhaps she is merely a manifestation of the pain and regret of the Burwells, concentrated in one geographical spot in Bedford, Virginia. I hear she's been moved on, though I'm not sure if it's true. Personally, I don't believe that Avenel will be able to rest until the legacy of the Burwells, and that of the many other families like them, is properly addressed. I don't know of a way to heal that pain, and it's an injury that reaches out far beyond one tiny, quaint town nestled in the Appalachains. Until then, I cannot say that we have seen the last of the Lady in White of Avenel.