“McRaven House is a time capsule crammed with the priceless heirlooms and mementos of every family who ever crossed its threshold…Time travel is possible here; follow in the footsteps of each of the prior inhabitants. If you get lost, they will find you.””
The Most Haunted House in Mississippi…
The McRaven House of Vicksburg, Mississippi has earned a national reputation for the amount of paranormal activity said to occur there.
The home was said to be first built in 1797 as the hideout for a notorious highwayman. Over the next 220+ years, McRaven was expanded twice, survived the brutal Siege of Vicksburg during the Civil War, served as a hospital during that same conflict, and been a home to numerous families.
Largely unchanged since the additions were constructed, each section of McRaven House: Pioneer, Empire, and Greek Revival, remain excellent examples of the architecture and lifestyle of the time that they were constructed. This feat is so unique that in 1963 National Geographic Magazine did a feature on the home, calling it a “Time Capsule of the South.” Today open to the public for tours, McRaven House serves as one of the most complete and well-preserved homes in Vicksburg from the antebellum era.
Additional Links From This Episode:
Sources:
“African Americans and the campaign for Vicksburg.” National Park Service. Updated March 15, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/vick/learn/historyculture/african-americans-and-the-campaign.htm.
Brown, Alan. Ghosts Along the Mississippi River. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2011.
Brown, Alan. Haunted Vicksburg. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2010.
Carter, Josh and Jacob Gallant. “We spent a night inside the most haunted house in Mississippi. Here’s what we saw.” WLBT. September 29, 2021. https://www.wlbt.com/.
Coleman, Christopher Kiernan. Ghosts and Haunts of the Civil War. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1999.
Frazier, Terri Cowart. “Haunted History: Several Spirits Supposedly Reside in Vicksburg Home.” The Vicksburg Post. November 19, 2018.https://www.vicksburgpost.com/.
“McRaven.” McRaven Tour Home. Copyright 2021. https://www.mcraventourhome.com/.
“McRaven House: Vicksburg’s Most Haunted Mansion.” Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau. Accessed July 30, 2022. https://visitvicksburg.com/.
Newman, Rich. Ghosts of the Civil War: Exploring the Paranormal History of America’s Deadliest War. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Worldwide, 2017.
Parker, Seth. “The Haunted McRaven / Bobb House | Vicksburg, Mississippi.” Parker Studios (blog). July 28, 2019. https://sethparker.net/haunted-mcraven-house-vicksburg-mississippi/.
Roberts, Nancy. Civil War Ghost Stories & Legends. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1992.
Shoemaker, Mary McCahon. “Bobb House.” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson, November 6, 1978. https://www.apps.mdah.ms.gov/nom/prop/27689.pdf.
Sillery, Barbara. The Haunting of Mississippi. Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing, 2011.
The Vicksburg Herald. “Are There Ghosts in Vicksburg. A Haunted House.” July 22, 1864. Newspapers.com.
