The Real Story of The Portsmouth Poltergeist

Posted: 01.04.2025 | Updated: 01.04.2025

It’s believed that some poltergeists are a psychokinetic response to trauma, particularly in children. Such was the case of Cleveland Tony Harmon, a young boy who struggled to cope with the Portsmouth Poltergeist. 

Even in his 70s, Harmon could recount the events that unfolded in the Virginia town of Portsmouth. 

Since the legend of the Portsmouth Poltergeist circulated in the community, his house has earned mentions on Virginia Beach ghost tours. 

The sudden start and abrupt ending to the poltergeist activity suggest a peculiarity within the young Harmon.

Cleveland Harmon’s life may have taken some unexpected turns, but the tale of the Portsmouth Poltergeist will always be his legacy. 

Hear about this haunting occurrence and more haunted houses in Virginia Beach on a Neptune Ghosts tour.

Where did the Portsmouth Poltergeist Happen?

Portsmouth, Virginia, sits between two branches of the Elizabeth River as if clamped in place by its snaking tendrils. The city quickly became a spectacle in 1962, brimming with its quaint, unassuming neighborhood roads. 

The family of three living at 949 Florida Avenue was dragged into this ghost story when inanimate objects allegedly began moving on their own. Before long, their simple abode became a part of local legend. One that many likely have forgotten as time has passed.

The Boy Behind the Haunt

The home at 949 Florida Avenue was like any other on the block. Simple, unencumbered by the expected markings of a potential haunted house. No one had knowingly died on the property. Nor were its owners, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Daughtery, the type to meddle with the unknown. I

Yet, during an exciting September in 1962, the home was anything but typical. At the center of it all seemed to be a young boy, the couple’s great-great grandchild Cleveland Tony Harmon, then only 12 years old.

Everything seemed to happen so suddenly. It started with books taking flight over the young boy’s head. Only Cleveland witnessed this phenomenon, and the matriarch, Mrs. Annie Daughtery, accused him of the ruckus.

Then, the following day, a tobacco can flipped and rolled to the floor. This time, Annie witnessed the untouched can move and was left bewildered. Though the activity started slowly, it soon picked up momentum, as if the poltergeist was gaining strength.

Before long, the ghostly activity spilled outside the home as objects were tossed onto the street. 

It is almost impossible to answer how and why the events became more drastic, but in the case of a poltergeist, all fingers point to the present child.

Cleveland Harmon’s Source of Trauma 

How the young Harmon came to stay with his great-great-grandparents may hold the key to the Portsmouth Poltergeist.

 It’s believed that this kind of activity is tied to a strong emotional response in a prepubescent child. In this case, the young boy’s mother had moved him to the home on Florida Avenue. 

During a 2019 talk with Harmon, he revealed that he was relocated to avoid further abuse at his stepfather’s hands. He then confirmed that he witnessed his mother’s abuse.

Could Cleveland’s childhood trauma have unknowingly manifested the poltergeist activity? 

It’s possible, especially since it all seemed to subside when he and his great-great-grandparents left the home. 

However, it wasn’t the ghost that drove them away. It was the persistent presence of the living drawn to their oddity of a story.

The Portsmouth Poltergeist in the News

In 2013, The Virginia-Pilot Daily newspaper posted an interview with one of Daughtery’s former neighbors. As if the events were mere days ago, Helen V. Davis recalled witnessing household items thrown out of the front door. 

When she entered the home, things only got weirder. According to Davis’ experiences, the sleepless family was plagued by a moving mattress and rocking chair. Before long, word of the Portsmouth Poltergeist stretched beyond Florida Avenue.

Local reporters saw an opportunity for a unique story and ran with it. A family haunted by an unseen force, tortured and terrorized. Joseph V. Phillips from The Virginian-Pilot arrived to report on the activity.

A proclaimed skeptic, Phillips claims his views on spirits changed after his time in the Daughtery home. According to Davis, the house was a veritable circus of flying objects. 

Though Phillips has long since passed, the photographer that day, William Abourjilie, has stuck with their story of a potential haunting.

After Phillips’ article was published, Florida Avenue became the talk of the town. 

Estimates suggest upwards of 10,000 people gathered near the home, desperate for a ghostly encounter. As troublesome as the poltergeist was, Cleveland and his caretakers left to live with relatives because of the crowds.

“I could go [home] and go to bed as quickly as I would here,” Mrs. Daughtery explained in a later article. However, their issues with the ghost aren’t the only thing Annie Daughtery has to clear up.

Daughtery Refutes Old Claims

The more popular the Portsmouth Poltergeist became, the more dramatic the stories became. Mrs. Daughtery wasn’t keen on the liberties taken with her family’s experience. 

Annie broke down the truth in an article titled “Ghost Not Guilty of Half The Things That It’s Being Accused Of.”

One report claimed salt and pepper shakers danced about. Mrs. Daughtery confirms that, among other exaggerations, it never happened.

Could the earlier reports have been seeking the sensationalism? It may explain why one claimed she and Charles were “around 100 years old” when they were only in their 80s.

Finding Cleveland Harmon

The real tragedy isn’t so much the haunted Virginia family. After all, at no point did they express fear over the incident. Just as quickly as it started, it stopped and never returned. 

At the tail end of this real ghost story is a man whose life took a myriad of wrong turns. If not for the curiosity of a former Portsmouth resident who remembered the Portsmouth Poltergeist, Mary Brett, Harmon’s story may have been lost forever.

Curious to find the truth that alluded her for many years, Brett sought out Harmon. She eventually tracked him down. The ups and downs in his life had landed him in a senior home in Ballard, Washington. Though Harmon suffered from addiction and was homeless for a spell, he never forgot the events of that very strange September.

 Even in the 21st century, he could recall knowing that he was responsible for the chaos.

Companions to the Portsmouth Poltergeist

Portsmouth Poltergeist is the forgotten ghost story of Virginia Beach. However, many haunts throughout the area have retained their notoriety. Explore the remembered, the forgotten, the known, and the unknown during a Virginia Beach ghost tour. 

Along with fascinating stories of mysterious poltergeists and unwanted ethereal visitors, the tour can bring you face-to-face with some of Virginia’s most haunted.

To hear more spooky tales out of Virginia, Virginia Beach, and Portsmouth, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and be sure to keep up with our blog.