Haunted Heritage: An Interview with Mitchel Whitington of the Grove

Mitchel Whitington is a talented speaker, history buff, tour guide, and the author of several books about the supernatural. He's perfectly qualified to write about the topic, since Mitchel also owns The Grove, a historic home that just happens to be the most haunted house in ghostly Jefferson, TX.

I went on a tour of The Grove in 2009. It was quite a bargain for the price, with over an hour of historic facts, fascinating anecdotes, and true accounts of ghostly encounters. When it was over, I vowed to ask Mitchel for more information.

Ever the gracious host, he agreed to be interviewed. Here are his observations about life at The Grove, a place where things really do go bump in the night.

Janna: Did you know The Grove was haunted when you bought it?

Mitchel: We first looked at the house in 2001, and then spent a year trying to talk ourselves out of buying it. After all, we already had a nice, suburban home in Garland, Texas. The thought of taking on a historic 1861 house seemed overwhelming.

We kept coming back to the fact that we really felt like we were supposed to own The Grove, though, and in the end that's exactly what happened. In the course of that year, however, we looked at it a few more times, and heard many of the ghost stories about the place.

One of my writing fields was the supernatural, and I'd already come to a place where the idea of ghosts didn't frighten me - instead, I'd become very curious about them. The idea of the house being haunted therefore wasn't a big plus or minus one way or the other for us.

Janna: Could you describe the first paranormal experience you witnessed in the house?

Mitchel: We've often looked back and tried to pinpoint exactly what the first experience in the house was, but it's difficult - things started happening from the moment that we signed the papers.

One of the initial memories that I have was about an evening when we both arrived at the house separately. We had loaded up both cars with things from the other house; [my wife] Tami was going by Wal Mart on the way, and I was planning on stopping at Lowe's to get a window unit air conditioner. There was no a/c at all in the house, and that was going to be our short-term solution until we could have central heat and air installed.

I arrived at The Grove first, and carried the unit into the blue room, which is where we were sleeping at the time. As I was unpacking it, I heard a rustling out in the side gallery, and assumed that Tami had made good time and had just arrived. I attributed the rustling to those plastic grocery sacks that Wal Mart uses.

I started talking to her as I rounded the corner, but then saw that the gallery was empty. It was half an hour before she arrived, and when I told her about the sounds, she laughed and said that old-fashioned petticoats would make the same kinds of sounds when the ladies wearing them were walking. We therefore assumed that one of the former ladies of the house was strolling down the hallway to greet me.

Janna: How many ghosts are currently in residence?

Mitchel: We don't know for sure. There are a few that are very pronounced, but other activity that happens can't be specifically attributed to one particular spirit.

Of those that we are sure about, probably the most rare is the Lady in White. I've seen her only three times since we bought the house, but stories about her go back through several owners. She walks along beside the house, steps up through a wall, and then walks across the house in the same path every time. The wall that she steps up through was added in 1870, and before that there was probably a back porch there - so it's likely that she's not stepping up through the wall, but instead up onto a porch that was there in her lifetime.

Another spirit seems to linger in a corner of the front parlor, and we've had several psychics tell us that it is a former lady of the house as well, who loves the place and is very protective of it.

Speaking of protective, there is an old man in a dark suit that shows up when unwelcome visitors are here, but the owners aren't. We've never seen him, and probably never will, based on the experiences of some of the previous owners.

Yet another spirit is a man who is seen out in the garden, but never in the house. Those are some of the more pronounced spirits, but there are others. Some we just don't know about, though.

For example, on a recent tour of the house, a young woman had her hair stroked by some unseen hand - it's impossible to know if it was one of the spirits that I described, or someone else entirely.

Janna: Do any holidays or events seem to cause a spike in paranormal activity?

Mitchel: We've never been able to see any real patterns for the activity related to holidays or special occasions. The lady in the corner of the front parlor seems to make her presence known in the afternoon hours, but not on any regular schedule.

The blue room has footsteps that walk across somewhere around 4 AM, but again there's no set routine.

We have friends who want to spend the night or come over at some specific time so that they can experience some type of supernatural activity, but we have to tell them that it's a right-place-right-time kind of thing.

One friend from out of town had come up for the weekend half-a-dozen times with nothing happening to her, and so she just stopped looking for it. She had an experience on the very next visit.

Janna: You've had plenty of strange experiences at The Grove. Could you tell us about one that really sent chills down your spine?

Mitchel: Let me be quick to say that there's nothing bad or evil at The Grove. I've never felt threatened or in danger at all. Some things that happen are very low key, while a few are a little more extreme.

Some time ago on the tour I was telling the story of Charles and Daphne Young, former owners of the house, when a young lady passed out. When we woke her up, she said that all she remembered was that she was talking to a woman.

Two weeks later, in the same point in the tour, at the same location, another lady passed out. Neither of them were hurt or scared, but nevertheless my wife and I had a long, stern talk with the house about it.

Janna: How do people react when they find out your house is haunted?

Mitchel: People react to The Grove in different ways, depending on how generally skittish they are about the supernatural. We've had people step inside and immediately turn around and leave, while we've had others talk about how warm and welcome they feel there.

Those with psychic abilities have always found it interesting. One person, however, has seen several disturbing things in one particular mirror in the house, and will no longer go near it. We also go through periods where the activity of shadow people is prevalent, but again, not threatening - at least to us.

In general, we find it to be an extremely active place, usually to people who come with no expectations other than to be open to any experiences. Those who come with an ironclad belief that the supernatural does not exist, or who approach the house in a frenzy of wanting to "see a ghost," are the ones who go away disappointed.

Janna: Thank you, Mitchel, for taking the time to answer my questions!

To learn more about The Grove and see photos of the house, visit Mitchel's web site, The Grove - Jefferson, TX. While you're there, be sure to check out some of his books at the Grove Emporium. (He's a talented writer, too.)