On September 23, 2023, join Transcend Paranormal for an evening unlike any other.
We're peeling back the curtain on over 200 years of history to see what haunts the buildings and streets of Ashland, Virginia.
The Slashes of Hanover sat as wet, swampy ground for countless years until the 1830s, when a small company named the Richmond Fredericksburg & Potomac Railway Company purchased the land. By 1836, RF&P had built tracks on the grounds, and a town sprung up around it. By the 1840s, a mineral sprints resort and racetrack called the newly named town of Ashland home. Just a short 20 years later, Ashland found itself transformed from a vacation destination, to Camp Ashland - a training grounds for the Confederate Cavalry.
“𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑦 𝑣𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐴𝑠ℎ𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑, 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑, 𝑤𝑎𝑠—𝑜ℎ ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑑! 𝑇𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠, 𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠, 𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠, 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑠. 𝑁𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑛. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑠 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑠, 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑝𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑜𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑, 𝑠𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑝𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑦 𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔-ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙, 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑠. 𝐼𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒-𝑦𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑙𝑠𝑒.” From Life in the South from the commencement of the war by a blockaded British Subject.
Soon after the Cavalry left for war in late 1861, Ashland became a place of refuge from the war-torn areas in the north. Civilians brought entire families to Ashland, renting rooms in hotels and private houses to stay safe. The war was brought daily to their doorsteps, as they listened to cannon-fire and Yankee yells from outside their very own front doors.
On June 1st, 1864, the town of Ashland became a war-zone. As the Union army advanced towards Ashland from the north, they took up positions on the north, east, and south sides of the tracks, and were placed in and around the homes along the railroad tracks. The Confederate army knew that the Union was trapped, and moved in. The Confederate Cavalry that trained here in Ashland just 3 years prior charged back into town, dismounted, and attacked. Hand-to-hand combat broke out in the streets, as Union forces attempted to flee.
As soldiers were wounded in Ashland and the nearby Hanover county battles, they were whisked away to the hospitals established in Ashland - private homes, part of a hotel, and the old Ashland Baptist Church. Those soldiers who arrived and never left Ashland are buried right in town - over 400 fallen soldiers; their final resting place, the Woodland Cemetery.
We'll be investigating two historic and prominent buildings in Ashland, Virginia:
The Ashland Theatre
The Hanover Arts & Activities Center
Your evening begins at the Ashland Theatre. The Ashland Theatre celebrated it's grand opening August 10, 1948 - and stood as a center of the community for decades. Guests of all ages frequented the Theatre - and there are some reports that some of those guests may have never left.
Next, we're making our way to the Hanover Arts & Activities Center - formerly known as Ashland Baptist Church. Built in 1869, it was the second permanent church in Ashland. Church services were held in the building until 1967. In 1962, the building briefly became a Civil War field hospital, where numerous soldiers took their last breath.
Both of these locations are home to a slew of haunting tales and paranormal experiences, ranging from EVPs, audible talking, footsteps, and even seeing shadow figures walking through the halls.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨... 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙚?
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This is a Fundraising Event.
100% of the proceeds of this event will go directly to the Hanover Arts & Activities Center and the Ashland Theatre for their continued efforts in restoration and preservation, as well as supporting the community outreach both of these organizations provide daily.
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𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄:
You are welcome to bring your own equipment to investigate.
We will break into small groups at each site to investigate. Each group will be led by an investigator with equipment to assist on the investigation.
We will be outside for a portion of the investigation, so please dress accordingly.
We will begin the evening at the Ashland Theatre.
We will travel from the Ashland Theatre to the Hanover Arts & Activities Center via personal vehicles.
Please do not put on fragrances before the investigation. Smells are often reported at both locations and it will be difficult to identify if we are wearing fragrances.
Please do not wear loose jewelry, baggy clothing, etc. These often make extra sounds and noises that will make listening to and identifying EVPs difficult!
There will be identified spots if you need to smoke a cigarette. Please make sure you dispose of your cigarette butts accordingly.
Please do not plan to investigate under the influence of drugs or alcohol. We will ask you to leave the premises if so.
Weapons of any kind are strictly forbidden.
Bring your equipment! We'll have some that you can use within your groups, but you are welcome to bring any equipment you have for investigating that you can carry with you. A flashlight is highly encouraged. Additionally, if you do not have an audio recorder, bring your phone! We'll ask you to put it in airplane mode, but you can still record audio onto your cellphone - a large number of people on our investigations have recorded EVPs on their phones!
Most importantly, have fun! This investigation is for you, so bring your ideas and thoughts for investigating! You never know what, or who, you will run into, and we value your unique ideas and suggestions for investigating these locations! We urge you to be ready to be involved in the investigation! Think of some questions you'd like to ask in advance, if you have any theories that we can test out, and more!
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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲.
With this in mind, we will be doing our due diligence to ensure we meet the regulated guidelines at the time of the event, and we need your help too.
It is strongly recommended that those without the COVID vaccine to please wear a mask at all times while indoors.
Hand sanitizer will be available for all to use during the evening.
We also ask that you stay with your specified group for the duration of the investigation.
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For more information, questions, or concerns please contact Transcend Paranormal at TranscendParanormal@gmail.com