Virginia Beach Surf and Rescue Museum
Every year, Virginia Beach welcomes millions of tourists to its shimmering shores. They stroll the length of the boardwalk, soaking in the serenity of crashing waves and the warmth of the East Coast sun. It’s a vibrant summer paradise, but how many of these millions know they’re just steps away from one of the most haunted locations in Virginia? It may seem out of place, as we’re conditioned to think only the dark and gloomy can be riddled with spirits, but this escape is no stranger to stories of tragedy and death.
Sailing the deep blue can be perilous, and the Coast Guard is responsible for watching out for hapless ships at sea. For years, the brave souls of the guard have watched over Atlantic travelers, intervening when necessary. The Coast Guard’s efforts have saved many lives—but sadly, not all.
Though the Virginia Beach Surf and Rescue Mission focuses on the history and culture of Virginia’s maritime heritage, the bounty of shadows, disembodied voices, or unexpected footsteps that plague the museum will draw your attention from the tangible history sitting right in front of you.
Who haunts the Virginia Beach Surf and Rescue Museum?
The museum’s many spirits make it challenging to pinpoint the identities of its ghostly inhabitants. Book a Virginia Beach ghost tour to learn more about the souls tied to the museum.
Who is the United States Life-Saving Service?
Long before the United States Coast Guard was known by its current moniker, it was the United States Life-Saving Service (USLSS). As the name implies, this government agency was tasked with watching over the high seas and saving those who fell victim to their rough waters. Formed in 1848, the service was eventually merged with the Revenue Cutter Service, which managed tariffs and ensured maritime security for the waters just off the United States coastline.
In March 1891, the USLSS experienced one of its most notable rescues: the Norwegian Diktator. The Virginia Beach branch worked out of the small Seatack station on 24th Street, right next to the boardwalk. When word came in of the troubled vessel, Captain Drinkwater, the station keeper, deployed his crew to help.
They navigated the storm to the beach, where they could see the immobile Diktator getting pummeled by incoming waves. What unfolded after their arrival was nothing short of tragic, lending to the haunted lore that lingers in the shadows of the modern tourist paradise.
The Tragedy of the Diktator
Rescuing the crew of the Diktator proved difficult, particularly because of the high winds of the lingering storm. As apparatuses like the Lyle gun failed, largely due to the weather conditions, the USLSS members struggled to bring four crewmembers to shore. The captain of the vessel is said to have stayed behind until his crew was secure, and then he used a ladder with life preservers to navigate the waters, his wife and son on either end.
An aggressive wave crashed down on the family, pulling the captain’s wife out to see. Only moments later, another swept his son away, leaving him the only surviving member of his family when he finally made it to dry land.
You can view a relic of the Diktator at the Surf and Rescue Museum, the memory of that horrible day forever embedded at its core. After the captain’s passing later in life, one can speculate he returned to the artifact to rejoin his family and the five other casualties of that stormy March night.
Strange Storage
Though the Virginia Beach Surf and Rescue Museum chronicles the history of an agency dedicated to saving lives, the building it inhabits has seen several lifetimes worth of death. One room you won’t see during your visit to the museum is the attic, a simple space with a gruesome history.
The USLSS was reactive to shipwrecks, which were abundant just off the Virginia coastline. The coast became part of the Graveyard of the Atlantic, with over 180 shipwrecks accumulated over 41 years. Tragedies continued to amass over the years, ever after the Coast Guard replaced the USLSS and implemented safety measures like a rope to help keep visitors from accidentally swimming out too far. Though helpful for many, it wasn’t foolproof.
Even today, more than 30% of drowning deaths in Virginia occur in open water. One difference over a century has made is now having the proper protocol for the deceased. During the early 20th century, the attic of the old Coast Guard station was storage for bodies pulled from the ocean, waiting to be claimed by a loved one.
It was unceremonious and offered no peace for the deceased, who many believe still remain close to the Surf and Rescue Museum, their vocal cacophony and fits of mad laughter echoing in the space between their realm and ours.
Virginia Beach’s “Witch of Pungo”
Though much of the region’s history has a lot to do with the sea, if we wind the clock back far enough, we’ll find that Virginia Beach, like Salem, was battling its own threat of witchcraft. One of the most infamous cases, and the last recorded conviction of witchcraft in Virginia, was that of Grace White Sherwood.
To locals at the time, she was better known as the Witch of Pungo, a vile creature responsible for the devastation wrought on the town’s crops and livestock. Thirteen years after the Salem Witch Trials ended, Sherwood faced persecution for witchcraft and was tried by ducking in the Lynnhaven River in July 1706. Ducking determines one’s innocence if one sinks when laid out in water. Sherwood floated, resulting in a seven-year imprisonment for being a witch.
Though a better sentence than many accused of sorcery received, Sherwood’s name remained tainted for over 300 years until Governor Tim Kaine offered an informal pardon in 2006. With her legacy marred for so long and her legend still told by locals throughout Virginia Beach, her spirit remains restless, and some believe the maniacal laughter heard around the museum is hers, forever trapped where her darkest days unfolded.
Hauntings of the Surf and Rescue Museum
To look at the white building on 24th Street, its guard tower once a prominent structure now overshadowed by the nearby high-rise hotel, you wouldn’t think much of its past. Not until you step inside can you feel the long and often dark history manifested and hanging heavy in the air.
Artifacts of yesteryear, telling tales of shipwrecks, tragedy, and heroics, retain the energy of horrible events like the sinking of the Diktator. The attic alone is a breeding ground of uncomfortable vibes, and the muted footsteps you’ll faintly hear above are a reminder of the unfortunate souls once stored there like lifeless husks.
The Virginia Beach Surf and Rescue Museum has earned its title as one of Virginia’s most haunted locations and is arguably the hub of all supernatural energy coursing through the beautiful tourist town of Virginia Beach.
Immerse yourself in the spooky side of Virginia Beach’s history with a stop at the Virginia Beach Surf and Rescue Museum as part of a Virginia Beach ghost tour. For more accounts of the paranormal in the beachside town or more stories about the rescue and relief efforts of the USLSS, check out our blog and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Source:
https://uslife-savingservice.org/about-us/history-of-the-uslss/
https://www.visitvirginiabeach.com/blog/post/hidden-bits-of-our-maritime-history/
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=114335
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=165181
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/virginia/virginia-beach-surf-and-rescue-museum-va/
https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/content/uploads/sites/18/2021/10/2019-Drowning-Report.pdf
https://virginiahistory.org/learn/grace-sherwood-witch-pungo
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-witch-of-pungo-statue-virginia-beach-virginia
