Aaliyah Sharrock, Contributing Writer
With Halloween approaching, ghost stories and tales of haunted places are finding their way back in town. From historic locations surrounded by local legends to paranormal investigators searching for answers, the city’s fascination with the unexplained continues to spark curiosity among residents and visitors alike.
In Richmond, some take their interest in the paranormal further by exploring the history of reportedly haunted locations and unexplained activity.
Transcend Paranormal is a paranormal investigation team based in Richmond. Formed in 2010, they help individuals navigate and understand paranormal activity.
The team conducts investigations at alleged haunted locations. During these events, team members organize participants into smaller groups and lead them through investigations. Many participants are experienced paranormal investigators who bring their own equipment.
The group also conducts free investigations for people seeking help with reported paranormal activity in their homes or surroundings. During these investigations, Transcend Paranormal uses equipment such as K2 meters, maglites and electromagnetic field readers to help examine paranormal activity.
Shenia Wong, Transcend Paranormal investigator and owner of Dunnlora Inn, joined the team about three years ago after previously working with another paranormal investigation team. Wong said the team’s supportive atmosphere, curated by Steve Dills, director of Transcend Paranormal and historian of The Ghost Finders, sparked her interest in joining.
“When doing investigations, sometimes we’ll learn things that we didn’t even know,” Wong said. “Then sometimes you go back and find out that was the name they mentioned on the spirit box or ‘Wow, that really did happen.’”
Haunts of Richmond, a walking ghost tour and paranormal history company founded in 2004, focuses on historical storytelling, folklore and the unexplained. After founders Scott and Sandi Bergman retired in 2016, long-term employees Chris and Beth Houlihan took over the business, according to Haunts of Richmond’s website.
Chris Houlihan, vice president of Haunts of Richmond, spent many years reading ghost stories and visiting haunted locations, eventually leading him to start as a greeter for the haunt in 2009.
Houlihan said there is not a universally accepted answer on what makes something haunted.
“Generally speaking, a location develops a reputation for being haunted when people report unexplained experiences,” Houlihan said. “These might include unusual sounds, apparitions or unexplained movements.”
Shantel Mitchell, Newport News resident visiting Richmond, said she believes in paranormal activity because energy is everlasting. She said she believes that depending on religion or beliefs, energy can determine how deep folklore can go involving demons, urban legends, creatures or just plain spirits.
“We are energy beings and everything has frequency,” Mitchell said. “Because of those reasons, I do believe in the paranormal.”
Beliefs reflect how people interpret unexplained experiences and fuel their curiosity about the supernatural, according to Mitchell.
Karma Chenault, a first-year medical laboratory science student, said hearing stories about others’ experiences contributed to her belief in ghosts, despite not experiencing paranormal activity herself.
“I think I would definitely participate in an investigation,” Chenault said. “It would probably be pretty interesting and it could either further my belief or debunk it.”
Whether through personal beliefs, paranormal investigations or stories rooted in Richmond’s history, interest in the unexplained takes different forms across the city. For believers and skeptics alike, reported hauntings offer a reason to revisit the people, places and events behind the stories.