We have investigated this world-famous haunted house on multiple occasions and it is every bit as haunted as people say it is. It is probably the most accurate with its list of historical spirits and we captured evidence of many of them during our investigation.
This story is from our very first investigation in 2020. We had very basic paranormal gear compared to what we have now. Julie and I were alone for the entire time except for the guide who stayed in a small room off of the slave quarters and monitored our investigation, and our behavior, using the IR security camera placed throughout the property. The night started out with a quick tour through the house with our guide which lasted 30 minutes and then we were on our own.
We started in the Carriage House which is on the North Side of the property. We brought in all of our gear and began to set up our XCams in the Carriage House. Right away we ran into trouble with our gear. Batteries that were fully charged before we arrived were now dead. SD memory cards that were Empty were now full, and different pieces of gear seemed to break in our hands as we set up for no reason whatsoever. During this time we asked if we could get assistance clearing our cards but our guide was unable to help us for lack of SD ports on the desktop computer. Luckily we were able to erase the previous data directly from the cameras. We changed out our batteries, repaired broken equipment right there on the spot and then stepped outside of the gate for a small break and a cigarette. This wouldn’t be the last time we were forced to leave the property that night.
When we came back onto the property we went back into the carriage house and began our investigation there. We had an Xcam set up on the East Side of the carriage house facing down the long 2nd floor with bunkbeds on either side of it. One thing about this house, there is no where to sit. You cannot sit on the bunkbeds, or on the furniture in the main house. The only place to sit is in the Doctor’s office in the basement and those seats lost their spring a long time ago so it’s like sitting in a bucket, not comfortable at all, but more about that place later…
We began by asking about Molly, the slave who had an affair with Francis Sorrel and who was found hanging in the carriage house a week after Francis’ wife, Matilda, walked in on them and then jumped from the top floor to the courtyard below. The feeling inside Molly’s room is very heavy, and depressing. I spent some time in there but really stayed outside of that room in the common area of the 2nd floor because it didn’t feel very welcoming. Julie spent more time inside her room trying to communicate with Molly.
Notable Captures from this area included an EVP of a man saying “Do you know them, Molly?” we believe this to have been Mr. Samuel, who is know to be very protective of the house and it’s inhabitants. Next we captured an EVP of a women heard screaming and running through the carriage house [as if she had just discovered Molly hanging…] we believe she was the one who found her, she sounds terrified and is calling out “Jesus” and “ my God..” this EVP is really amazing because it gets louder and then fades away as she is apparently running through the carriage house.
We also captured 2 orbs that seemed to move together, as if the two spirits were moving together. We would capture them again in the main house as well as an EVP of a man saying “…maybe we should see if we can follow ‘em..” we believe these to be two sentries, or footman, that still guard the property.
Next we moved through the courtyard and into the basement which is also known as the Slave Quarters. While Crossing the Courtyard we captured an EVP of a man saying “Mmm hmm, God bless you..” it sound like an older black man and we assume he was a slave that worked at the house. It sounds like he is flirting with Julie and believe this was directed at her. This is an amazing example of a spirit’s personality, which we have documented before. They can be funny, serious, mean, and nice. Just like people they come in all different forms and have different personalities.
We also captured a woman saying “Kris” as we crossed the courtyard. She says this right after I say to Julie “I need you to come down here with me and don’t be afraid” and right before Julie says “huh?” because she didn’t hear what I said right away. He voice sounds hollow but it was definitely intelligent. I have no idea who this spirit was and wouldn’t guess just to fill in the blank. Maybe we will find out next time we visit the house.
As we were entering the slave quarters we captured an EVP saying “The Shadowman is in here..” this is an incredible capture which acknowledges the existence of their Shadowman, a being that has been captured multiple times before and is verified to exist. We believe this is him talking about himself in the 3rd person, but that is just a theory based on the feeling when we listened to the evidence. It could be another former slave trying to warn us that he is there, we are not 100% sure either way.
When we walked into the Slave Quarters we announced our presence with a loud “Hello, we’re here to meet you..” after this we captured the sound of a kid’s feet running on concrete and then we are heard saying “it’s okay, we just want to talk with you..” at which point you can hear the sound of small feet coming back towards us. This occurred in the back-right, southern-most area of the basement.
Along the East wall of the basement there is a long corridor where the Shadowman has been seen and is known to walk. I was setting up a Thermal Cam at the South End of that corridor facing north on the small chair that sits in that corner. It had begun to rain outside and I remember trying to set it up on the chair so that it wouldn’t get wet from the rain dripping from overhear (that corridor leaks when it rains, or at least it used to..) I was then explaining to Julie that I “have this set up and if the Shadowman walks here we’ll catch him..” at that point it felt like my stomach had been turned upside down and I felt like I had to throw up. There was nothing proceeding this, I wasn’t sick, didn’t have any of the traditional causes like being sick, eating too much, getting punched in the stomach, seeing or smelling something gross or drinking anything. I just felt like I was going to throw up for no reason whatsoever and Julie noticed my face wince and my voice stop and asked if I was okay. I told her that I just all of a sudden felt sick and had to get some fresh air. We stepped outside for another 5 minute break.
By this point it was roughly 12:15am and we had less than an hour left to investigate. After our break we decided to investigate the Main House upstairs. We carefully walked up the staircase from the basement to the main floor and began to ask questions in the front parlor. We asked “Do you mind us being here” and received a response “The General doesn’t…” which is not exactly a “no”, it felt as if they might have had a problem with it but were okay with it because the General was okay with it. We’re not sure which General the were talking about; it could have been Robert E Lee who had visited the home several times both before and after the Civil War, but was more likely Moxley Sorrel who was Francis’ son, lived in the house, and was also a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army.
We also captured someone whistling the first few notes of “The Ballad of Jesse James” in the main house. This was a very well know song popular with Southern Sympathizers after the Civil War and was almost certainly whistled by someone in that house after the war. After spending some time in the Front and Rear Parlor we crossed the hall and began to investigate the Office and Dining Room area. At some point I was in the hallway leading to the dining room and Julie was still inside. It was dark and I couldn’t see anything but what I heard next scared completely. I heard someone run directly behind me from one room and slam the door further down the hall. It was so close, and so loud, and I shouted out to Julie “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit,,.” And she said “what is it?” and I said “nothing, everything’s okay, but we have to leave now!” so we quickly walked back down the staircase through the basement and out the courtyard to the street for the 3rd time that night.
The rest of the night was seemingly uneventful and we captured little more in evidence but the experience in this house made a lasting impression on us and has been one of the driving factors in our return visits to the house. Now with better equipment, and more experience under our belts we continue to make trips to Sorrel-Weed House in hopes that we will get answers to some of our questions. Who was the Woman Screaming in the Carriage House? Who was the Man who said” Do you know them, Molly”? Who was the Little Boy in the Basement, what that Michael? Who made my stomach sick, was that The Shadow man? Who was the General that didn’t mind us being there? Who was whistling that song upstairs? Who ran behind me and slammed the door? Who were the two orbs following us around and talking about us? These are the questions we hope to find answers to the next time we visit the world-famous, and very, very haunted, Sorrel-Weed House.