The McRaven House

Night settles on the porch, the river hums in the distance, and we follow that sound to a Vicksburg mansion that refuses to grow quiet. McRaven House isn’t just “the most haunted home in Mississippi”—it’s a three-part time machine where an outlaw’s bedroom, a grieving mother’s lullaby, and a war-torn hospital all occupy the same breath. We walk the Great River Road, trace the Natchez Trace, and pull at the threads linking moving water, old brick, and stories that won’t lie flat.

We start with Andrew Glass’s two-room hideout, its buttermilk-blue walls and pulled-up ladder designed to stop ambush—until a razor did the job from inside. The story shifts to Sheriff Stephen Howard and Mary Elizabeth, who add grace and light before childbirth steals her future, leaving a soft song many still hear at night. Then the circle widens: the Devil Reverend John Murrell rides the Trace, sermons as disguise, theft as vocation, a conspiracy that boils over in Vicksburg. Names and dates stay anchored even as the uncanny slips through: lynchings, exile, and a city bracing for more violence than law can hold.

McRaven’s architecture becomes evidence. Empire style bridges pioneer bone to Greek Revival polish under John H. Bob, who opens his home as a Civil War field hospital and pays with his life during Reconstruction—dragged to Stout’s Bayou after a garden confrontation, shot in the back and face. The balcony keeps his presence, cigar smoke and orders no one else hears. Union officers take over, and Captain McPherson’s absence ends with a flooded apparition describing a murder and the Mississippi swallowing the proof. Decades later, the Murray sisters choose isolation over modernization, burning furniture for heat as vines erase the house from view. Restoration brings fresh bruises and broken bones, as if the walls have opinions about change.

What remains is a layered account of Southern folklore and American history sharing a single address: haunted Mississippi, Vicksburg siege, Natchez Trace outlaws, Reconstruction violence, and a river that remembers everything. If you love ghost stories anchored by documented lives and places—where the timeline aligns and the impossible refuses to leave—press play, then tell a friend. Subscribe, rate, and share your take: skeptic, believer, or somewhere in between?

Chapters

• 0:00 Dusk, Folklore, And A Warning
• 3:08 The River’s Memory And The South
• 5:06 Enter McRaven: Origins And Design
• 8:12 Murdered In Bed: Andrew And Mary Glass
• 10:32 Mary Elizabeth’s Lullabies And Loss
• 12:28 The Devil Reverend And The Trace
• 15:34 Lynchings, Plots, And Aftermath
• 18:06 Architecture As Timeline: Three Styles
• 20:06 Siege, Field Hospital, And Burials
• 22:07 John Bob’s Killing And Return

Transcript

Carole Townsend: 0:07

It seems that every state in the South has its own stories of haunted places, its own secret corners that hold loss, that hold sadness or violence, grief or execution. This is a region rich in character and folklore. There's no shortage of places that embrace the dead, and places that allow the dead to reach out to us for reasons that only they understand. Mississippi is one of those states with its rivers crisscrossing the land, the mighty Mississippi being the grandfather of them all. As we've learned in earlier episodes, water, particularly moving water and limestone, are conducive to strange phenomenon and odd occurrences. Imagine then what the Grand Mississippi has witnessed in patient silence over the centuries. Is there anything better than a really good story? I mean a story told by a friend among friends. An engaging tale, told in the right place, at the right time, captures us. It captures our imagination. It takes us away from the here and now and carries us to the world of what if. I think a really good story taps into our childhood, that magical time when anything was possible, if we could just close our eyes and imagine it. As adults, we don't hide under the covers anymore, as we listen to the whispered tales of brave knights or beautiful princesses or scary monsters. We don't walk through the woods, talking as we go, telling tales of forest creatures that live among the trees and the animals. We do, however, still spin our tails, and a comfortable front porch is often where we do that. We sit in swings or rocking chairs or rickety woven lawn chairs, and we still gather with friends. At the end of the day, when the soft light of dusk opens its arms to embrace nightfall, we're taken back to a time when the story is real. It's possible. So join me tonight here on my front porch, won't you? As we step into another tale that's rooted in both truth and in myth. And as night swallows the soft dusk, I'll turn on the light. You're gonna want that. The following podcast contains material that may be disturbing. Listener discretion is advised. The Mississippi River runs two thousand three hundred and forty one miles to the Gulf, starting in Minnesota and flowing south through Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and finally Louisiana. It flows through ten states, nearly cutting this country in half. But remember, those ten states the Mississippi River slices through have only been states for about 250 years. It's hard for us to imagine sometimes that there were people and a land that existed long before some English colonists left their homeland, traveled across the Atlantic, and imposed their will on both the people and the land, eventually creating the United States of America. Geologists opined that the river began flowing about seventy million years ago, when a large mountain chain opened up and allowed water to flow south. Old Man River, indeed. Imagine what he's seen. Mississippi is known as one of the most haunted states in the nation. From shuttered plantation homes to long silent battlefields, paranormal experts tell us that the rich earth itself holds troubled spirits and their secrets. Tonight, let's take a look at a place in the Magnolia state that is home to some of these spirits. We'll travel the Great River Road, a road that runs alongside the Mississippi to see what secrets the water flows past. The McRaven Mansion, often called the most haunted house in Mississippi, is a Vicksburg mansion built in 1797 by a man named Andrew Glass. In fact, Vicksburg wasn't even called Vicksburg at the time. It was called Fort Nogales, and it was a Spanish colonial fort. Nogales, by the way, means walnuts, and Vicksburg was also known as Walnut Hills before finally being named for Methodist minister Newitt Vic. The McRaven House, later upgraded to the McGraven Mansion because of its sprawl, became a time capsule of sorts, because it was built in three stages. Two spinster sisters who lived to very old ages in the house never updated it with modern conveniences, so it remained a true snapshot of the three architectural periods during which it was built. Vicksburg is a bustling Mississippi town that was founded in 1811, strategically located on a high bluff overlooking the mighty Mississippi River. It became an important trading port because it was so close to the river and because the Natchez Trace was not far away. Natchez Trace is an important trading route that links Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee. We took a closer look at the trace in a previous episode titled King's Tavern. This 440-mile path was littered with dangerous bandits and thieves, and one traveled it at great peril. Andrew Glass was one of these thieves. Tales have it that Glass built McRaven as a hideout from the law. Glass was a feared highwayman from the Morel gang, and his reputation grew as tales of his legendary robberies spread across the region. He was also a flagrant womanizer. At the time it was built, McRaven was just a two-room hideout with a kitchen on the bottom floor and a sleeping area above. The walls were painted with buttermilk and blueberry paint, and that paint is still on the walls in those two rooms. Glass built the house the way he did because he didn't want to get ambushed. The only way to get up to the sleeping area was by a ladder that he would pull up with him every night before bed. But even that clever design didn't protect him. As it turns out, Glass safeguarded himself from the outside intruders, but not from a jealous wife. Mary Glass slit her husband's throat with a razor blade while he lay sleeping one night, dead drunk. It seems that monogamy was not Andrew Glass's strong suit. Experts today tell us that that room in particular is one in which women do not feel safe. Books fly off shelves, shutters bang open and shut, and the room temperature drops drastically when a woman enters. Women report that their hair is pulled or that they're pinched and shoved while in the bedroom. When Andrew Glass was murdered, the McRaven house was sold to Sheriff Stephen Howard. Howard and his young wife Mary Elizabeth added more rooms, a staircase, and a beautiful patio to the house. Mary Elizabeth was pregnant, and the young couple looked to the future with joy and excitement. McRaven was to be home to a happy family. But tragically, Mary Elizabeth died during childbirth, a common occurrence in those days. Shortly thereafter, Howard sold the house, but it seems that Mary's spirit stayed behind. From the day of her death until now, McRaven Mansion had a pall of sadness and tragedy about it. And still today, Mary Elizabeth's ghost roams the halls, greeting guests and playing pranks. And sometimes at night, guests and caretakers hear a woman, softly singing lullabies and sometimes crying just as softly. Glass's murder might explain some of the strange activity inside McRaven, but death plagued the home without mercy for years after that. We'll take a closer look at McRaven as its construction and tragedies unfolded. But first, I'm going to take a minute to tell you about the gang that Glass was a part of. If you've never heard of the Morel gang, you're missing out. John Morel, who was accused of more than 400 murders, was also known as the Devil Reverend. He'd masquerade as a traveling preacher, moving up and down the Natchez Trace, selling salvation to the poor lost souls he'd find along the way. Despite preaching the gospel to a growing following, Morel stole horses and slaves, selling them to others for his own gain. As a teen, he was accused and convicted of horse thievery. In addition to spending six years in prison, he was flogged and then branded with the letters HT, horse thief. When Morel was released from prison, he set out for Natchez Trace, bent on picking up right where he left off. And he did. One day, while Morel preached to a newfound congregation, Andrew Glass and a group of bandits stole all the horses and valuables they could find, leaving only the horse Morel rode in on. The Devil Reverend vowed to exact revenge from Glass, but he'd never get it. Mary beat him to it by cutting her own husband's throat. In 1835, Morel tried to incite a slave rebellion in the South. He intended to gain control of the South as the planned chaos from the rebellion spread. While his plot ultimately failed, it did lead to talks of conspiracy in major southern cities. And on July 6, 1835, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, those talks heated up until they reached a boil. An angry mob exiled all gamblers from Vicksburg, believing them to be part of Morel's treasonous plot. Five gamblers were lynched and shot that day, but Morrell escaped unharmed. In a deathbed confession, years later, Morel admitted to being guilty of most of the crimes charged against him, except murder, to which he claimed to be guiltless. John Morrell died on November 21, 1844, nine months after leaving prison. He was reported to have contracted pulmonary consumption or tuberculosis, and was interred at Smyrna Cemetery in Pikeville, Tennessee. In an odd twist, years after he was buried, parts of him were dug up and stolen by grave robbers. Although the corpse had been half eaten by scavenging hogs, the head was separated from the torso, pickled, and displayed at county fairs. His skull is still missing, but the Tennessee State Museum proudly holds one of his thumbs in its inventory. Sheriff Stephen Howard, a former owner of McGraven Mansion, was involved in squashing what became known as Morrell's Excitement. Because of the tastes of its various owners, the McGraven House is a true architectural gem. Built in three distinct period styles, McRaven's rooms take us on a time travel journey from Mississippi's pioneer era through the Empire and Greek revival architectural styles. Period antiques give us an even better idea of the rich and comfortable lifestyle of the home's troubled inhabitants, whose spirits have chosen to stay on in the house that saw so much of their personal misery. Prominent brick manufacturer and sawmill owner John H. Bob bought the house from Sheriff Howard, who had added to the pioneer style home in the empire style of construction. Bob constructed the home's Greek revival rooms in 1849, transforming the house into an elegant show place. He opened up his house as a field hospital during the Civil War and weathered the bloody Vicksburg siege at McRaben. Many Civil War soldiers died in the McRaven house and were buried on the property. Bob did not live out his years in the walls of his beloved home, though. Rather, he was murdered by Union Reconstruction troops. During the Reconstruction period following the war, Union soldiers were not welcome in the South. One day, Bob saw some Union soldiers walking through his gardens, drunk, picking flowers and being careless about where they stepped. He shouted at them and ordered them to leave, but they refused. From his chair on the porch, Bob reached down and picked up a brick that had fallen off the house during the shelling at Vicksburg. He hurled that brick and hit a sergeant in the head, knocking him unconscious. The soldiers left, vowing revenge. The matter was taken up in court, with nothing truly resolved. But when Bob returned to his home, there he found 25 Union soldiers waiting for him. They forcefully arrested and escorted him to Stout's Bayou, not far from McRaven House. While there he tried to escape, and the soldiers shot him in the back. When they caught up to him and saw that he wasn't dead, they shot him in the face. This was the first recorded act of violence following the Civil War. Bob's widow Selena sold the house following this horrific incident, but like Mary Elizabeth, John chose to stay behind at McRaven. To this day he can be seen smoking a cigar on the balcony or yelling at unseen Union troops out in the gardens. After John Bob was killed, McRavenhouse was then used as Union headquarters. Colonel J. H. Wilson stayed at McRaven House during this time. Wilson was a close friend of a man named Captain James McPherson, and the two met regularly to enjoy brandy and cigars on the balcony. But one night, McPherson didn't meet Wilson at their usual spot. Following an exhaustive search, there were no answers. McPherson had simply disappeared. Weeks later, Wilson swore McPherson appeared to him as a ghost. The apparition was wet, the uniform dripping and puddling water on the floor. The ghost told Colonel Wilson that while he had been attending a bonfire in town, he had been killed by a citizen of Vicksburg and his body dumped in the Mississippi River. This became the first recorded story of ghosts being seen in McRaven House in 1864. But it would be just one of many. Murray lived there with his wife Ellen, their four daughters, and three sons. William died at the house in 1911, and his wife passed away there in 1921. Eventually, all but two of the children passed away. Only two daughters remained. Their names were Annie and Ella, and they were unmarried. Spinsters, they were called, back in the day. The two lived together in the house with no modern conveniences other than a telephone, their entire lives. They had no contact with the outside world other than with their doctor. In 1969, Ella died there at the age of 81. Annie sold the house and moved into a nursing home. By this time, the house had fallen into disrepair and become covered in thick gnarled vines. Nearby residents had no idea it still existed. It was later discovered that the reclusive sisters had even resorted to chopping up expensive furniture for firewood. McRaven House has been bought and sold a few times since then, with each owner doing a bit of restoration. In 1984, McRaven House was purchased by Leland French. French continued restoring the beautiful old home and was the first owner in many years to actually live inside the house. While there, though, he experienced some violent ghostly encounters both inside and outside the house. He was shoved down the stairs and had a dresser drawer slammed onto his hands, breaking his fingers. He had his head shoved into the floor while cleaning it, leaving him with a broken nose. French purchased a home that was only a few houses away from McRaven so that he had a safe place to stay when he wasn't working on the house. However, eventually he moved everything of his out. And who could blame him? The McRaven House still stands a glorious testimony to the architectural styles of each period of its construction. But as with many places with which violence and grief are associated, violence and grief remain. Spirits remain, and tales remain untold, or told with half-truths. And sometimes they are told in utter truth by the very people who live them. Mary Elizabeth, who lost her life giving life to a child. John Bob, murdered for throwing a brick at a Union soldier. And Captain McPherson, allegedly murdered, his body fed to the Mississippi. The ghosts of soldiers wandering through the trees on the grounds. Lost souls, who will forever call McRaven House home. I'm Carole Townsend, veteran newspaper journalist and six-time award-winning author. You can find me on social media and check out my website at Carole Townsend.com. As always, thanks for listening, and if you're enjoying these tales of Southern history and lore, I hope you'll tell your friends. Subscribe to this podcast on Spotify, Apple Play, iHeart, and anywhere you listen. My team and I use the following resources to bring this tale to you Hauntedhouses.com, McGraven House, Supertalk Mississippi Media, Mississippi's most haunted house, Wikipedia, McRaven House, WJTV Vicksburg, A Look Inside the McGraven House.