St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

Posted: 04.24.2025 | Updated: 04.24.2025

Believe it or not, Norfolk, Virginia, is one of the 100 most populous cities in the United States. It’s even bigger than Virginia’s capital of Richmond. 

That fact is quite indicative of Norfolk as a whole – it might not be super well-known outside of the Chesapeake Bay area, but it’s definitely full of surprises.

Nowhere are those surprises more evident than in the case of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. It’s a curious aspect of the curious town of Norfolk, and it has become an integral part of both its cultural history and local folklore. And, some say, that this old church may even be haunted by ghosts too!

Keep reading on to learn just who these ghosts might be. After you’re done, we’re sure you’ll want to learn even more about the haunted Virginia Beach region, and the best way to do that is by booking an in-person ghost tour with us at Neptune Ghosts.

Is St. Paul’s Episcopal Church haunted? 

Depending on which ghost hunter, historian, or St. Paul’s parishioner you talk to, you’ll get a different answer to that question. But after you read all of the following accounts, we’re sure that you’ll be hard-pressed to admit that something strange isn’t going on in this Norfolk church. 

Church History

While there are quite a number of churches and cathedrals named after St. Paul, the one in Norfolk, VA, stands out for its steadfast endurance throughout American history and its ghostly history. Virginia’s St. Paul’s Episcopal Church has early origins, which can be traced back to 1636.

It was this year that King Charles I of England, wanting to expand his colonial territory, granted the land of Norfolk to settler Thomas Willoughby. Like almost every town in Europe at the time, the church was one of the first buildings constructed, given the significant role the church played in everyday life. 

A “chapel of ease” (probably a temporary wooden church) was built in 1640. However, as Norfolk began expanding in terms of buildings and population, a second church was constructed in the late 1600s to accommodate the growing needs of the town. 

The Church Continues to Survive

Along the way, it survived a number of historically devastating events in the American South’s history, such as the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War. During the latter, Norfolk was captured bloodlessly by Union troops in a campaign that was personally overseen by President Abraham Lincoln himself. Once Norfolk was secured by Northern forces, the Union used St. Paul’s Episcopal Church as a chapel for their army until the war’s end in 1865. 

Despite being steeped in history, St. Paul’s has shown itself to be surprisingly adaptable over the years. It weathered the 1855 Yellow Fever Epidemic, even after it claimed the life of its rector, Rev. William M. Jackson. They even founded an asylum in his honor. 

The asylum wouldn’t be the only new building, either, as it added a Georgian Revival-style Parish House and modern stained glass windows in the 20th century to reflect the changing times and shifting attitudes about the church and architecture. 

Hauntings at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

St. Paul’s has proven itself to be so resilient and adaptable that it has even been able to weather all the ghostly activity that has emerged in recent centuries. One of the more commonly reported apparitions is that of Dr. Nicholas Albertson Okeson, and his story is tied to a “curse” that seemed to follow the church in the 1800s. 

Dr. Okeson served as the rector of St. Paul’s for many years. By all accounts, including his obituary, he was a beloved member of the Norfolk community, with many friends and admirers. He was the most beloved minister in the entire diocese, and he was even asked to be the rector of many other churches on the other side of the James River due to his success and popularity in Norfolk.

But, unfortunately, such adulation could not protect him. He died of the malaria epidemic in 1882 while he was away in Perryville, Pennsylvania. 

Tragically, he was the second rector of St. Paul’s to die from a pandemic after the Rev. William M. Jackson died three decades earlier, which gave rise to the idea that a “curse” followed St. Paul’s rectors. The whole community mourned Okeson’s death, but his burial would not be the last time that people saw him.

Indeed, his ghost pops up constantly in St. Paul’s. When people spot him, he’s still decked out in his 1800s garb and is often seen walking along the tree-lined paths and tombstones of the churchyard, always under the cover of night. 

Perhaps he keeps his activity confined to twilight out of a desire to maintain his privacy. Or maybe he just likes keeping an eye on his church to ensure it’s always protected, even at night. 

The Cannonball 

We’d also be remiss if we didn’t mention the curious case of St. Paul’s cannonball. Although it’s not strictly a haunted tale, it’s worth mentioning as it’s, by far, one of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church’s most unique features. 

It can be tied to a very impressive fact about the church – the fact that St. Paul’s was the only building in downtown Norfolk to survive intact after the British attacked it during the Revolutionary War. 

Norfolk, you see, was the site of a retaliatory strike by the British forces led by Virginia’s last royal governor, Lord Dunmore (who stayed loyal to the ground). Norfolk was seen as a fiercely Patriot city (the Loyalist population having mostly fled), and so, Dunmore ordered the city shelled and invaded. 

Although the Patriot forces were able to repel the invaders by sea, they weren’t able to stop the shelling. The burning of Norfolk rampaged through the town, leaving only St. Paul’s standing downtown. 

Perhaps some of the ghosts might have protected it during the fighting? That certainly seems plausible, considering that the church was, by no means, not targeted by the British.

In fact, a cannonball from this attack was fired at the southeastern wall and promptly lodged itself harmlessly in the church wall. To this day, that cannonball has not been removed, and it serves as a living testament to the resilience of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. 

Haunted Virginia Beach

On your next trip to Norfolk, maybe you’ll have better luck removing the cannonball than the many hundreds of people who have tried over the years. While you’re there, maybe you’ll be able to get to the bottom of the mystery behind the orb lights, too!

If you liked this story and want to learn similar tales, check out our Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. They spotlight other offbeat ghost stories all over the United States. Checking our blog is another good way to stay up-to-date with all the latest ghost stories and haunted spots in Virginia.

If you want to explore Norfolk ghosts up close, a ghost tour with Neptune Ghosts is the best way to do that. Our guides are knowledgeable and enthusiastic and can provide even more information on the area. 

Sources:

• https://stpaulsnorfolk.org/about-us/history/
• https://www.visitnorfolk.com/attraction/st-pauls-episcopal-church/
• https://www.visitnorfolk.com/blog/haunted-norfolk/
• https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/cannonball-in-saint-pauls-episcopal-church
• https://www.iheart.com/content/2020-10-29-5-of-the-most-haunted-places-in-norfolk/
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40149310/nicholas-albertson-okeson#view-photo=271809121