VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — For most, stepping into the Ferry Plantation House is like stepping back in time. But for a few otherworldly characters, it's just home.
Cody Green was a paranormal investigator with Acid Paranormal before coming to work with the museum. He said he originally came to investigate the home but ended up falling in love with the place.
Now, he works as vice president of the board of directors with the "Friends of the Ferry Plantation House," the nonprofit that looks over the home.
“It’s super active, but it’s also super positive. There’s nothing negative here that’s going to harm anybody,” Green said about the home.
The oldest section of the house was built in 1735, and was once the Princess Anne Courthouse. The house you see today was built in 1830 by George and Elizabeth McIntosh.
According to Green, the house was practically abandoned from 1987 until 1996. And if you were a teen in Virginia Beach around that time, Green said chances are you probably tried to sneak in at some point.
“People would break into the house, you know, because it was abandoned," he said. "They would sneak in here to see if there was a ghost or something because, of course, all the stories."
But Green said none of the spirits are dangerous. In fact, he said one spirit in particular, a little girl named Bessie McIntosh, is quite friendly.
“She’s actually my hug when I come into the house every day. When I come in, I say, ‘Hi house,’ and I get a hug right around my thighs,” Green said.
Green said Bessie died just one day before her 5th birthday, and the official record said she died of consumption. However, some museum workers believe she died of yellow fever, which was running rampant at that time.
Green even showed me a photo of the young girl, which was taken post-mortem, which is weird to us today but was a common practice during that time.
But Bessie isn't the only spirit rumored to haunt the Virginia Beach house. Eleven spirits frequently make their presence known to workers and guests, according to Green.
According to Green, more than 600 paranormal investigators have visited the home, some even catching ghostly figures on camera.
“Just because it’s paranormal, doesn’t mean it’s scary. You know, people come in here expecting to be scared because it’s a haunted house. That’s not how it works. They aren’t always there to scare you,” Green said.