Oppenhagen Column: Ghostly goings-on in Brentsville

I believe in angels. And I have good reason to. When I was in Spain walking the Camino de Santiago several years ago, I was in dire need on two separate occasions on the first day. I was ready to call it
quits; I felt like turning back, that I wasn’t worthy of trying such an impressive endeavor, that I couldn’t do it.

At one point, about a quarter of the way up the Pyrenees Mountains, I was really struggling. A woman in a car passed me going up the hill. I smiled at her and wished I was in the car. Then, a few
minutes later, she came down the hill. And then, she turned around and came back up the hill, stopping next to me.

In halting English, she asked if I was okay, then offered to take my backpack to the hostel that was further on. It was exactly what I needed at that point — not someone to drive me up the mountain, but
just to have my burden relieved so that I could travel up the mountain.

Then, several hours later, almost to the hostel, my feet shouted at me to stop. Yes, I made the rookie mistake of wearing boots that hadn’t been fully broken in. But I did have double socks on. I sat down
on a rock and took off my boots.

My heels had huge blisters upon other blisters. The sock liners were actually sticking to a couple of places on the tops of my toes. I was exhausted, discouraged, in pain. I slowly started walking again —
shoeless. It was slow going, over a dirt switchback with rocks and roots all over.

As I was going up the mountain, I heard a man singing. As I continued walking up the mountain, the singing grew louder and soon I saw him walking down the mountain. We met in the middle, and as
travelers will, stopped and talked to each other for a few minutes. He saw my feet and noticed I was barefoot. He took a pair of sandals out of his bag and gave them to me. They were worn and too big;
but they got me to the hostel and beyond.

I mention a belief in angels because I also believe in ghosts. I’ve never seen a ghost, although I have talked to people who have. I’ve been on ghost tours and heard the stories. But I have to admit that I
had never heard the ghost stories that surround the Old Brentsville Courthouse Centre. Not until Wednesday night when I watched an episode of “Ghost Hunters” on the SyFy Channel.

I don’t usually watch “Ghost Hunters.” I think it’s silly, the way they call out to ghosts and expect them to materialize. And, although they were here in Brentsville, I still think they were a little silly. But it
was very cool to hear the stories that circulate about eerie sightings and a little of the history of the courthouse and jail.

It was equally cool to see it on television — someplace that I’ve actually been, there on the television screen. And it was cool to hear them say that there might be ghosts in Brentsville.

It was interesting, also, to see the difference in the courthouse and the jail. The courthouse has been renovated. It was beautiful inside and easy for any visitor to imagine a scene from the 1800s. There
are rumors of a ghost in the judge’s area upstairs; the Ghost Hunters didn’t seem to find anything there.

But the jail — now that’s a different story. The jail is unrestored. I’ve never been inside or even peeked through the windows. It looked a mess on the television screen and even the Ghost Hunter guys
mentioned the floor seeming a little weak. The really interesting story is from this building — a story of James Clark that you should really look up and read about. The Ghost Hunters found a lot of action
in this building.

Now whether the action was the result of real ghosts or the creaking and groaning of an aging building, I don’t know. One way to find out would be to renovate and restore the building on the inside.
Unfortunately, that costs money; money that the county doesn’t have.

It has been a long, hard fight for the citizens of Prince William County to get archeological digs and historic site renovations paid for. There finally was money several years ago, but that source dried up
when housing prices fell.

It would take a major effort on the part of private citizens, working together and raising funds to put toward the jail renovation, for us to see it as it looked like when Clark was killed. But it would be
worthwhile. It would put us on the map with other ghost hunters, and with tourism. Imagine Halloween at the jail or ghost walks through the area — a great way to raise money and to show off our county.

Prince William County is known for many things — Potomac Mills mall, Manassas Battlefield, Prince William Forest Park. Why not make us a stop for ghost hunters? Who knows what other ghosts we
may find lurking in other historical areas of the county?

Denise Oppenhagen is a longtime resident of Prince William County and can be reached at DenOp1@comcast.net.