Running with the Ghosties

“Is Williamsburg safe?” As a tour guide, I always get this question from concerned parents, wanting to be reassured that their children will be safe on campus if they attend the College. I could spout off facts proving that Williamsburg is definitely NOT a hotbed of criminal activity, or talk about all the security measures we have in place in town, but a recent event really helped to highlight for me how truly safe I feel in Williamsburg.

The other night, my friend and I decided to go on a late night run down Duke of Gloucester Street (we all call it DoG street here on campus, just so you know!). However, when I reached the top of DoG Street at our set time of 11pm, I found my friend M.I.A., and after waiting for him for a few minutes, it seemed clear he had forgotten about our jog.  Rather than forgo my much needed exercise, I decided to just go ahead and run by myself, and embarked down DoG Street.

Colonial Williamsburg (or CW, as I call it) is a very picturesque and beautiful place to run through at any time, but it is particularly lovely and very peaceful at night (especially without tourists everywhere!). Its a very quaint sort of place after dark, well lit thanks to some charming streetlights and frequented by a few couples, some other joggers, and the occasional ghost tour. On this particular night, especially given how late it was, very few folks were out and about, so I was rather enjoying my quiet and contemplative jog. As I went, I of course did the requisite “horse poo jig,” in that one of the biggest dangers you face in running on DoG Street are spotting the plentiful horse pies that come from the horse-drawn carriages of CW. They can oftentimes be very difficult to see at night, so occasionally you have to jump or leap around them, making it look like you’re dancing. Funny to watch, I’m sure, but not so humorous if you mess that dance up!

Anyways, as I ran, I passed a woman and her daughter walking down the street, and after reaching the end of DoG street and touching the gate at the Capitol Building (something I always do to mark my halfway point in my runs), turned around to run back down the street. As I continued on, I carefully made sure to not look at certain houses flanking the street, thinking about all the ghost stories I had heard and how freaked out I would be if I saw anything abnormal or paranormal. However, much to my surprise, when I was once again approaching the pair walking, the woman actually flagged me down, clearly with a question for me.

“Excuse me,” she said. “Sorry to interrupt your run, but I can’t help but notice that you are a young woman running by yourself at night. Do you feel safe to do that? And do you think my daughter and I will be ok to walk back to our hotel right now?”

I immediately assured her that she would absolutely be fine to walk back, telling her about how police patrol CW all the time, both idling in their cars on side streets and riding around on bikes. In fact, I find those bike cops always seem to sneak up on you and come out of nowhere–gives me mini heart attacks every time they pop up and ride by! But anyways, I explained all the security to her and then sent her on her way, safely down good ole DoG.

As I thought about the exchange when I started running again, I couldn’t help but laugh at myself and my fears. Prior to the woman stopping me, I was more concerned about ghosts than anything else security wise–seriously! That made the remainder of my run much more amusing as I scoffed at my own ridiculosity, finishing up my exercise with a smile on my face. I have to say though, being more scared of ghosts than real people is a good indicator of how safe I feel in Williamsburg, don’t you think? So, needless to say, I certainly plan on running again, but I still won’t look at the Peyton Randolph house at night–who knows what ghosties may abound!