Love is a peculiar thing. It does not come easy and when it leaves, it can take a persons heart with it. Sometimes it causes an otherwise rational person to do the most unrational things. Take, for example, the story of the ghost of a sea captains wife and the tragedy that took place in what is now Alexandria, Virginia…
The story takes place sometime in the 1700’s in what is now Braddock Hill. A sea captain and his wife lived on the hill. When the captain was not on a long voyage across the seas, he and his wife lived a secluded life. The rest of the townsfolk, unable to except that some people are happier by themselves, spread rumors that the couple practiced witchcraft and possibly were cannibals (a habit the people were sure the captain had picked up on a trip to Africa).
For their part, the couple were content with letting people think whatever they wanted. They were in love and only too happy spending their days in each others company. When the captain did sail off on a trip, he swore to his wife that he would indeed return to her. While he was away, the wife would spend her time gardening. When the time grew near for him to return, she waited at the top of the hill for his ship to sail into view.
On one trip however, the captain became sick and had to stay in Europe to recover. Another officer brought his ship home. When the captains wife saw thatr he did not get off the ship when it docked, she became alarmed. When she saw someone walking up the hill towards her she assumed her husband was dead and rushed into her garden where she shot herself before she got word that he was alive and only sick.
It has been reported time and time again that the ghost of a woman with dark hair and a cloak thrown over one shoulder standing at the top of the hill looking out over the water. When spoken to, she vanishes into thin air. Why wouldn’t her ghost be looking for her husband to return? After all, he promised he would.
