Profs & Pints Richmond: Virginia, Commonwealth of Horror

Profs and Pints Richmond presents: “Virginia, Commonwealth of Horror,” on terrifying tales rooted in the Old Dominion, with Joshua Barton, lecturer in English at Virginia Commonwealth University and scholar of horror.

Virginia is for lovers of a good fright. It boasts one of the richest horror folklore traditions in America, ranging from colonial tales of witchcraft all over the state to the modern legend of Fairfax County’s Bunny Man.

Every whisper of a shadowed plantation, every account of a witch trial, and every rumor of a cryptid said to lurk in the Blue Ridge Mountains offers a window into the Commonwealth’s history, cultural anxieties, and evolving identity.

Join Joshua Barton, whose fantastic talks on horror have earned him a devoted following among Profs and Pints fans, as he takes us through decades of Old Dominion horror lore, tracing how supernatural tales and gothic traditions evolved alongside the nation itself.

We'll explore how early colonial fears of the untamed wilderness transformed into antebellum gothic fiction, ghost stories, and, ultimately, into the bizarre suburban legends of the modern era. We’ll look at tales of Grace Sherwood (the “Witch of Pungo”), the Richmond Vampire, and Virginia’s very own Bigfoot, the Woodbooger.

Along the way, Barton will discuss why some dark legends endure in popular culture for centuries while others vanish entirely. He’ll explain how these stories reflect Virginia’s real-world historical shifts, local folklore, and literary imagination.

You’ll come to understand how these tales highlight what makes Virginia unique, both culturally and in its storytelling traditions. (Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)

Image: Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery, where the mausoleum of W. W. Pool is said to hold the Richmond Vampire (Photo by Mr. Johnson / Wikimedia Commons).