Why YOU Should Visit Bacon’s Castle in Surry County, Virginia

Ciao lovelies! You may not know this about me, but I’m a bit of a history buff, in the sense that I LOVE touring older buildings, learning the history and seeing the antiques, as well as just seeing old architecture! I also love a good ghost story, and I quite enjoy a random adventure or two: these are facts which I promise are relevant to the story ahead. So when my bestie came up to visit me over the summer, we had a few goals. 1. Go on a real, genuine ghost hunt, and 2. Go on an adventure looking for fossils, preferably at a state park. Our crazy adventure of that day led us to one of the most engaging and fun historical tours I’ve ever been on!

It was early August 2019, and my bestie was visiting me here in Virginia. We were looking for some kind of adventure, and, being avid history buffs and ghost hunting fans, we wanted a spine-chilling ghost hunting adventure- though we would also be fine with fossil hunting. Through our research, we discovered a local state park and drove about an hour and a half there. With no fossils found, and rain driving us out, we were heading home, defeated, when we passed a sign that read, “Bacons Castle,” and we immediately recognized it from our ghost research. Bacon’s Castle is kind of famous among ghost hunters due to “spectral fireballs, floating heads, disembodied voices” just to name a few phenomena there. We were immediately intrigued and decided that the day was still young, so why not check it out?

The beautiful and intimidating building loomed over us as we pulled up and parked. It definitely struck me as the type of place that could be haunted. What sort of spectres would be greeting us as we went inside? Well, as it turned out, no ghosts were to be seen by us that day, instead we would experience one of the most fun historical tours I’ve ever been on!

We stepped inside, unsure of what to expect. Student rates were pretty good, only $7 per person. We decided to go on the guided tour, still pretty unsure of what to expect- but wow, we ended up so impressed!

The tour guided us through the inside of the property, where they had some artifacts and even old writing on the walls. But the most engaging part of the tour was the story.

Our guide weaved and narrated a compelling and at times, ironic, tale about the true story of Nathaniel Bacon’s Rebellion. From the causes to the final twist, my bestie and I were completely immersed the whole time. It was so entertaining and fun at the same time as being greatly educational. My favorite thing was certainly the twist at the end- which I won’t spoil!

Of course, I also loved how our guide was able to look at the rebellion from both past and present lenses. Not only did he discuss the issues with the rebellion and public perception of Nathaniel Bacon, but he also discussed issues like the treatment of Indigenous peoples of the United States. It was highly educational and interesting.

So why should you visit Bacon’s Castle? While I can’t speak to the ghost stories (maybe one day!), I can tell you that the tour experience is amazing and without a doubt worth the trip. My only regret is that we didn’t get to tour the lovely gardens, as it was pouring rain. But maybe one day we will go again! I certainly would love to see everything again and go to hear the retelling of Bacon’s Rebellion again.

Be sure to tell me in the comments what’s your favorite historical site and why! It can be in any country, city, anything! I’d love to know what drew you to it and why you like it so much!

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