2019 Oak Level Road Halifax, Virginia 24558
804-476-2550
____________________________
OAK LEVEL FIRE DEPARTMENT
5th
Annual Haunted Trail
Dates to be announced Coming October 2002!!!
1st Trailer Leaves at Dark (about 7 PM)
Rides run until the last customer is scared to
death!!!
All Kinds of Food and Drinks available - Plenty
of Parking!
Please dress for the weather - This ride is
over 1 mile long and takes at least 30 minutes to complete. There will be
multiple trailers. We can accommodate approximately 20 persons on each trailer,
so bring a whole group with you! Each trailer has an adult narrator that is an
expert in "Aunt Tabby" history. Your hair will be standing up on you
neck before you even see your first spook. The ride actually takes you through
the old Anderson plantation where you will see the old Anderson home (yes it's
still there) and you will actually pass directly by the Anderson cemetery, but
BEWARE - ONE OF THE FAMILY MEMBERS SEEMS TO BE MISSING FROM THE GRAVE!
Directions from Halifax: Take Old Route 360 West
towards Danville for 10 miles. Turn left on Oak Level Road. Take the first
right onto Hummingbird Trail. Parking is 1/4 mile on right! About a 15 minute drive
from Halifax!
Directions from Danville: Take Old Route 360 East
towards Halifax or take 729 Kentuck Road to 360 (you actually have to turn left
on 729 about 10 miles out of Danville - just follow signs to Birch Creek
Motorsports Park) and turn right on 360. Turn Right nto Oak Level Road just
past the Vernon Hill Post Office. Take the first right onto Hummingbird Trail.
Parking is 1/4 mile on right! About a 35 minute drive from Danville!
Or Click the Address to Email for More Info - tboelte@halifax.com
Story Of "Aunt Tabby"
When the Oak
Level Volunteer Fire Department sponsors a haunted trail ride in October, you
may be in for some REAL haunts.
The ride, located on the Anderson
Plantation in the Oak Level vicinity, (better known of old as LickSkillet),
will not only entertain you but also educate you on some local history. 
The ride will be leading you to the Anderson
plantation in route to the Anderson homeplace, the home of Tabaitha Whitworth,
better known as "Aunt Tabby" the Oak Level witch.
Aunt Tabby was born in 1810, and was raised
on the plantation. She would later marry John Anderson in 1830 and have a son,
Joe. They owned and lived on the
large plantation in the Oak Level area. Her son Joe would grow up and be
drafted into war. He was not pleased by this and did not show up before the
board. He concealed himself in a gully behind the house and Aunt Tabby, feeling
quite ashamed of the fact that her son did not want to serve, told officials
when they arrived at her home as to the location of her son.
When they brought him back, he cursed
his mother and stated he would haunt her to her dying day, if he should perish
in battle. Joe in fact did die in the Civil War, in the Seven Days Battle
around Richmond in June of 1862. He succumbed to infection after losing a leg
in the battle.
Shortly after his death, strange things
began to occur at the Anderson home. Aunt Tabby then decided she must go
retrieve the body of her dead son to bury him at the homeplace.
When the family arrived, officials
advised them where to dig and to look for the man without a leg. They dug up
three bodies before finding one that was missing a leg. She then brought the
body home and buried it in the Anderson Cemetery. She planted a Red Bud tree in
the middle of his grave which represented blood and tears and every year when
it bloomed, it was said to have dropped real blood from its' leaves.
Around this same time the people of Oak
Level witnessed some very strange occurrences. Large rocks would fall on top of
the house and then objects would appear underneath the doors. The cupboard
doors would open and shut at intervals and the furniture would move around the
room. The door leading upstairs would open and shut at intervals on its' own
and was actually witnessed by an Oak Level man.
Washing would fly off the line and blow
into the trees with no wind blowing. Heavy chains could be heard dragging
across the loft floor with no one upstairs. Joe's clothes would fly out of the
trunk, out the window and into a nearby tree. Hunters beware to this day if you
treasure your dogs. The dogs have been known to tree something and then return
to their masters as if they have been whipped.
Aunt Tabby was said to have a little
slave girl who was killed after the plow horses broke free and drug her to
death. To this day, they say you can see the little girl walking with a lantern
in the fields on the plantation, only to fade from sight as you approach.
Farmers who have farmed Aunt Tabby's
land in the later years would put their horses in the stable with the doors
fastened tightly at night. In the morning, they would find the doors still
locked and the horses inside wet with lather and their manes and tails tied in
witches' knots. The farmers would say, "Oh well I guess Aunt Tabby's been
riding again."
When Aunt Tabby was hungry, she is said
to have enjoyed ham and would wish for it and a ham would appear in the
cupboard upon the doors being opened. One day when she was out walking with a
friend, a chilly breeze began to stir, she wished for her shawl...and the shawl
appeared and wrapped around her shoulders.
On September 14th, 1886,Aunt
Tabby's husband died and was buried in the Anderson Cemetery. Later Aunt Tabby
would be frying food in a pan over the fire and nails would fall into the pan.
She would remove the nails and place them on the mantle. Soon the nails would
disappear.
Aunt Tabby died on August 8th,
1887 and was buried with her son and husband in the Anderson Cemetery. Some
hunters have been brave enough to hunt the land at night and the dogs would
tree something. Upon their arrival, there would be nothing in the tree to find.
The people of Oak Level still have great
respect for Aunt Tabby, the Oak Level Witch, and pass down the legends of the
Anderson Homeplace to their children.
The Fire Department would like to thank
the local citizens of the Oak Level community for sharing this information and
helping with this fundraising project and we hope to see y'all there!
__
GOD
BLESS AMERICA
Copyright (c) 2000 - OLVFD
All Rights Reserved
Webmaster: Tim Boelte - tboelte@halifax.com