This time of year, spirits high at Haunts of Richmond

For most business owners, finding a ghost in your building would be a nightmare. But for Sandi and Scott Bergman, owners of Haunts of Richmond, it’s to be expected.

The undead visitor was discovered last year when local radio station Q94 did its Halloween broadcast from Haunts of Richmond’s facilities at 11 N. 18th St. A psychic was brought in to do a reading of the building and reported that the spirit of a young woman was roaming the halls.

It was the spirit of a woman named Mary, who had been strangled to death.

“I’ve never run into her, but I’ve definitely been in the house and have been creeped out,” said Kappy Anklam, an actor at Haunts of Richmond and an English major. “There’ve been times when I really felt like someone was in the room with me, and I know that I’m in there by myself.”

Supernatural occurrences aside, Haunts of Richmond is a haunted house based on myths and legends that abound in historic Shockoe Bottom.

“We wanted to base it on the history of the area,” said Scott Bergman. “So, we said let’s see if we can combine your traditional haunted house – a walk through in the dark with live actors and special effects and things jumping out at you – but let’s base it on actual events and ghost stories and legends.”

To gain inspiration and ideas about how to be scary, the couple traveled to England and visited The Dungeons, an attraction that depicts some of the more macabre moments in London’s history.

“London Dungeons is a little bit more on the museum side, less on the haunted-house side,” said Scott Bergman. “But since I was a haunted house enthusiast, I said: ‘Let’s add a little more drama to it.’ ”

In order to make this dream a reality, the Bergmans began researching Richmond’s ghost stories, which, as it turned out, were plentiful.

“We’re so old. We have almost 400 years of settlement by the English, especially in this area where Richmond was founded. You’ve had a tremendous amount of trauma and struggle, between the Civil War and colonization and battles with the Indians,” said Scott Bergman.

According to Sandi Bergman, there were several dozen Civil War-era hospitals located in Shockoe Bottom alone, three of which were on 19th street – a block from Haunts of Richmond.

Before they became entrepreneurs, both Sandi and Scott worked as computer systems analysts.

“After spending 20 years in the information technology industry, I decided to pursue my dream of opening a haunted house, and started learning about the industry and visiting a variety of haunted attractions and conventions,” said Scott Bergman.

Sandi Bergman, who had experience as a tour guide at Maymont Gardens, leads walking tours of Shockoe Bottom that explore some of Richmond’s darker events. As she began giving these tours, she found out that many businesses in the Bottom have ghosts of their own, and that people were eager to share their experiences with her.

“I was walking down the street one night in my cloak giving a tour, and a policeman in front of Tiki Bob’s said, ‘Hey! Tiki Bob’s has a ghost. Let me tell you about it,'” said Sandi Bergman.

Naturally, October is the busiest month of the year for the Bergmans. Visitors from near and far are coming in droves to have the pants scared off them – and to learn a little in the process.

“This time of year we’re getting into two tours a night,” said Sandi Bergman. “I counted: There are only five days this month I’m not giving a tour.”

As for their own ghost, the couple has never seen it. But they aren’t ready to rule it out.

“I don’t want ghosts to be true, because they’re creepy,” said Sandi Bergman. “But I’ve heard way too many plausible, believable stories for them not to be true.”