McRaven House

McRaven Tour Home, Vicksburg, MS

by Brian Riley- MPI Vicksburg

　

Seated in Vicksburg, Mississippi, behind a large wrought-iron gate and an overgrowth of bushes and weeds, sits Mississippi’s most haunted home McRaven Tour Home. Looking at it from the outside, one would think that it is home to restless spirits, and that person could not be more right.

The history of McRaven goes back to 1797, when the Vicksburg area was known as Walnut Hills. The back portion of the home, which consists of a kitchen downstairs and a bedroom above it, was built by a highway bandit named Andrew Glass. He and his brothers would go up and down the Natchez Trace robbing, raping, and murdering those that traveled through the area. Glass’s portion of the home consisted of only two rooms: a downstairs kitchen, and a bedroom above it. The only way you could get upstairs was by ladder, which he pulled up so other bandits and the law would not be able to get to him. One night, when he and his brothers were out wreaking havoc on the Trace, Andrew Glass was mortally wounded by a gunshot. His brother’s got him home to his upstairs bedroom, pulled up the ladder, and so he wouldn’t be hung before he died, Andrew had his wife finish him off.

Years later, in 1836, Sheriff Stephen Howard of Vicksburg, acquired the property, closed in the balcony, added a set of stairs, added a dining room and a bedroom up above it in the Empire style architecture. He also added two side balconies to the home, of which only one remains. Sheriff Howard’s wife, Mary Elizabeth, died in their upstairs bedroom a day or two after giving birth to their son. A couple of years after his wife’s death, he left McRaven.

　                            Mary Elizabeth’s Bed at the McRaven House

The final part of McRaven was built in 1849 by John H. Bobb, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mr. Bobb added a front entry area facing the railroad tracks that runs in front of the home, parlor, flying wing staircase, upstairs bedroom, and gentlemen’s dressing room. In 1863, Union General Ulysses S. Grant laid siege to Vicksburg for 47 days. During those 47 days, McRaven was used as a hospital for both Union and Confederate soldiers. A year after the siege, Mr. Bobb was out walking the grounds and came across some Union soldiers destroying his prized rose bushes. Some reports say that Mr. Bobb threw a brick at one of them, knocking him down. The soldier swore vengeance on him. Later that night, the soldier came back with some buddies, took Mr. Bobb down to a small creek at the edge of the property, and shot him repeatedly, killing him. Mrs. Bobb soon put McRaven up for sale and left Vicksburg.

McRaven stood vacant until 1886, when William H. and Ellen Flynn Murray bought it. The Murray’s was the only known family to have raised kids there. They had three boys and four girls. William Murray died in 1911 and his wife in passed in1921. Their children kept the family home running until the remaining ones in Mississippi had passed. In 1946, Ida passed away, and then in 1950, one of the sons followed. This is when the two spinster sisters, Ella and Annie Murray lived in McRaven until 1960. The two ladies were viewed as odd around Vicksburg, and they were also hoarders. Ella passed away in 1960 at the age of 81, and Annie put the home up for sale after moving into a nursing home where she passed away a few years later.

When McRaven was put up for sale, a lot of the town residents didn’t even know there was a home behind all the overgrowth. Some didn’t know that it was a 2-story home. The vines took over so bad on the second floor that vines broke the glass growing through one window, and broke the glass out of another.

McRaven was sold in 1960 to the Bradley family, who restored and put on tour. National Geographic Magazine called the home the “Time capsule of the South” because there was still no running water in the home. The only modern conveniences added were a telephone and a few electrical plug-in. The home was also placed on the National Register of Historic Homes.

In 1984, Leyland French, bought the home, and was the first person to live in the home since 1960.

With so much history on the grounds, and within the walls of McRaven you can’t be surprised that the home is haunted. The first reported incident was actually a year after the siege of Vicksburg. A reporter for the Vicksburg Herald wrote the story of a turncoat Confederate soldier appearing to the Union soldiers that occupied McRaven after the siege. That same soldier has been seen many times in the parlor, and out on the front porch.

He isn’t the only one that has been seen. There have been written accounts from tourists, tour guides, the current owner, his family and friends as well as a few paranormal investigating groups that have conducted investigations there. A few of the spirits identified in the home have been Andrew Glass, Mary Elizabeth Howard, a young slave boy, Mr. Bobb, Mr. Murray, Ella and Annie Murray, and a few other soldiers from the time of the 1863 siege.

The encounters Leyland French had were so bad that they led him to contact a local Episcopal priest and had the house blessed. One encounter was when he saw Mr. Murray following him up the staircase. French turned and looked, noticed Murray from the pictures, and ran into the bedroom. Soon after, French was walking across the parlor when an unseen force pushed him face first to the floor, breaking his glasses. French had to have stitches around one eye. Some time went by with no physical altercations until a drawer was slammed shut on French’s thumbs, breaking one of them. After that, he bought a small home down the street, and lived in it.

The blessing did help get rid of some of the negative activity in McRaven. Some of the encounters were unnerving for a few tour guides. One tour guide fell asleep on the sofa in the entry area, and when he woke up, Mr. Bobb was standing over him staring. The tour guide wan out and quit on the spot. Doors would slam, lights flicker on and off, the alarm would go off in the middle of the night, and sightings of the former occupants.

For me, I worked there as a tour guide in 2001. Every day was different, but a day would not go by without experiencing something. In the 1797 bedroom, I always got a feeling of not being wanted in there. One day, Glass showed me that he didn’t want people in his room when a chair tilted back and slammed forward. Mr. Bobb showed himself to me twice. One was during one of my tours in the parlor. As I was talking, he appeared behind the group I was giving the tour to. The other time was early one morning when I opened the door and saw him standing there. I had a tour group in the 1836 bedroom, and the door on the armoire began to open and close by itself. I remember looking at it, thinking that there may be a logical reason for it to do that, but there wasn’t. Another time I was giving a tour in the same room. I was standing by the bed, and was talking about Mary Elizabeth Howard. As I was talking, an impression was made on the bed as if someone sat there. It remained there until I stopped talking about her.

The encounter that led me to conduct a paranormal investigation happened at closing one night. I was going from room to room turning the lights off. As I walked into the 1836 bedroom, I saw a teenage girl standing in the middle of the spinning wheel looking out of the window. I guess I made some kind of noise making her to take notice of me and disappearing. I immediately called my team, Mississippi Paranormal Society, and we had an in-prompt-to investigation. That night when we were setting up equipment and waited for dark, the activity picked up. All four members had personal experiences from hearing footsteps, having a door slammed in our face and behind us, and two of us were scratched. I got mine on my shoulder, and another got his on the lower back. When we went over audio and video, we had hard evidence to show that McRaven is the most haunted home in Mississippi. We got 4 video clips and over 50 EVPs with a 7 hour investigation. I have never had that much evidence from one investigation before or since.

As a final note, Leyland French no longer lives in Vicksburg, and has McRaven up for sale. He is no longer opening the home up for tours as well as paranormal investigations. Word is that he had let some parts of the insurance on the home laps.

To read more from Brian Riley or to check out the Mississippi Paranormal Society in Vicksburg go here: http://mississippiparanormalsociety.weebly.com/

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SPARS Invades Vicksburg

Coming off the heels of several historically relevant investigations, including one in Greenville, MS during a time when flood waters were reaching the highest they had ever been (thankfully the levee’s held this time), and the next a site in an old hotel in Jackson where Bonnie Blue Flag was only a hairsbreadth from the battlefield of Jackson and where battery exploded killing women and children, the Mississippi Chapter of SPARS invaded Vicksburg, MS.

 

On Memorial Day weekend, MS SPARS along with Truthseekers, a Vicksburg based paranormal group, investigated the house of Dr. William H. Lindley as well as the entrenchment and sniper lines held by the 57^th Georgia Infantry between which the home is nestled. We were joined by the Crystal Springs SCV, Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Walking onto the site, with the honor flags flying and the soldiers fully uniformed and armed, witnessing them marching in the footsteps of their long gone brethren was a sight to behold. You would catch them out of the corner of your eye and get chills as you were faced with an eerie echo of the past as the fully-uniformed soldiers walked onto the site paying homage to their long lost brethren.

 

The SCV Commanding officer read off an honor list of the 57^th that died in Vicksburg, as a stirring rendition of “I am Their Flag” was performed. Ultimately, under the orders from their commander, they were called to the line and to the staccato rhythm played out by their regimental drummer, 3 volleys were shot in memory of those who died. The sound of muskets and drums echoed across the hills and gullies that make up the lay of the land as the smoke faded away, the haunting strains of Dixie played.

 

The principle site was a house, built in the 1960’s, by William H. Lindley a well-known, much-beloved veterinarian who raised his family and ran his practice out of his home.

It is unknown how much Dr. Lindley knew about the history of the land on which he had settled. I imagine that he had to know a good bit considering his property butts up against the Vicksburg National Battlefield Park. One could imagine that he believed that it was not only a wonderful place to make a home as well as an equally important part of history.

 

The house itself was built across the line that separated the 57^th Georgia Infantry from the Union soldiers. The 57^th would hold this ground for less than two months, with many dying from wounds, disease, and exposure. The history and the horrors that took place in and around Vicksburg are widely known. The stories that remain tell of a war that was far from civil. Soldiers and civilians alike were all but starved and shelled out of the besieged city. People survived on their own meager stores, livestock, pets, and eventually rats. The Union Generals must have known that capturing this particular port city was a line in the sand they had to draw. They could not allow the Confederates to retake and drive the Federal forces back across.

On July 4^th, 1863, the property that would be Dr. Lindley’s was the site at which Lieutenant General John Pemberton surrendered the starving and exhausted Georgia Infantry. Ultimately those who endured the atrocities in Vicksburg were held as POW’s, then eventually paroled and allowed to return to their respective homes. Some of those who didn’t survive seem are thought to remain on the property still patrolling, still guarding picket lines, still hunting Union soldiers, and sadly still haunting the land and cause they gave their lives for.

 They have been trapped in the ether of time, neither truly dead nor truly alive. Their energy, forced by an odd mix of physics and emotional imprinting has left them continuing their service to the Confederacy and coexisting along a parallel plane with those of us who live today.

 

SPARS Southern Paranormal & Anomaly Research Society was founded by Paula Hayes in 2006.

 “With her drive and determination, Paula encouraged teams and SPARS quickly spread through out the South with chapters popping up in North and South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Texas, and Tennessee. We are also happy to report that late last year SPARS “jumped the pond” and formed our first team in the United Kingdom.

SPARS is diverse team of individuals with different backgrounds including science, history, and film making. We all have a common interest and goal which is the research and study of paranormal activity.

The individuals that make up SPARS are knowledgeable and professional. Altogether we have well over 30 years combined experience in residential, business, and battleground haunts. We perform thorough histories and background research on each case. We do NOT charge clients to investigate or research hauntings.

While we have extensive knowledge and backgrounds in different cultures and religions, we enter each investigation with a scientific view rather than a spiritual view. Our technical team is on the cutting edge of creating and improving equipment to aid us in our investigations.

SPARS Founder Paula Hayes and Mississippi coordinator Cheryl Mitchell were featured along with footage captured in a private residence by our Mississippi team in the current season of Biography’s My Ghost Story.

We are proud members of the TAPS family. South Carolina, Mississippi, & Georgia are the TAPS referral teams for their areas.

 
Carla Lynn Garth
MS SPARS Chapter Historian~Paranormal Investigator

 

SPARS
Southern Paranormal & Anomaly Research Society
www.spars-paranormal.com

 

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Truthseekers Paranormal – Vicksburg Mississippi

In June 2005, David Childers and Steven Ellis founded GHX or Ghost Hunters Xtreme .On a hot summer night the two guys and a group of 6 decided they wanted to try out this paranormal kick that was going around. So they loaded up in a green Astro Van and headed to a local cemetery armed with nothing but 3 recorders, an IR camera, 3 flashlights, and a digital camera.When the group arrived at the abandoned, grown-up cemetery they noticed a thickness in the air and the creepiness of the moss hanging from the willow tree as the light of the full moon reflected off of it. After about 3 hours of multiple questions and picture-taking, the group decided to head home and go over the evidence. After an hour of listening to the recorders we came across a woman’s voice responding to this question. “Did you die in anguish?” The response was “No!” Now keep in mind there was not one single female with us on this particular evening. This was a Class A evp!!!! This sent chills up our spines and from then on we were hooked.

Over the next 4 years we have investigated numerous homes, cemeteries, and local area Landmarks. These would include: Linden Plantation, McRaven, Duff Green Mansion, an old civil war hospital, and so on. In 2009 the group began to fall out of touch with one another. David decided to change the name and move investigating the paranormal to the next level. This is when he met Jennifer Lacey of T.S.P.R.I. Vermont. The Mississippi Chapter of Truthseekers Paranormal Research and Investigation was born. Over the next few years, T.S.P.R.I. Mississippi Chapter has investigated with some great groups such as CSPR, SPARS, MPS, and soon to come Shadowseekers. We have had some great investigations and tons of evidence. We also enjoy interacting with our community by way of charity events, parades, and volunteer work. The group has come a long way over the years and we are looking forward to the future. The future of investigating new places with new teams. Thanks to all who have been there with us present and past your support is the backbone that makes our dream possible. Happy Hunting!!!

Special Thanks to my team : Brandi Tarver, Bobby Rufus, Elizabeth Coody, Wayne Childers, and Rob Hood.

Co-Founder David Childers

Truthseekers Paranormal Research and Investigations

Vicksburg, MS

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