"... though I was afterwards on many hotly contested fields, I was never upon any that was more so than Wytheville."

These words were written by Captain Fortescue of the 2nd West Virginia Cavalry as he thought back to his brief time spent in Wytheville, Virginia.

"The Avenue of Death" found its name on July 18th, 1863. 5 days earlier, a brigade of 870 Union soldiers departed their base camp in Charleston, West Virginia, with orders to disable the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad as quietly as possible. Little did this undersized brigade know of what destiny had laid out for them on the days to follow.

When the Union soldiers approached Wytheville in the early evening of July 18th, they quickly found their plans foiled; the Union army, and the town of Wytheville, had heard of their march and were ready, bearing arms. As they charged into town, Confederate soldiers and Civilians opened fire. As Private Joseph Sutton of the 2nd WV Cavalry described Wytheville, it was "an avenue of death". Civilians used the cover of their own homes and businesses to fire upon the army - "an irregular but most successful combat". A newspaper described the battle as a "desperate fight", with the locals "shooting them down like sheep, and producing great consternation amongst them", their bodies scattered along the roads and mountain paths.

The official count of causalities and losses is estimated somewhere around 300 troops dead, wounded, captured, or missing in action, with another 300 horses either dead or left to die.

A mere 7 years later, the Octagon Mansion is built.

Construction began in 1870 by H.Q.A. Boyer, but wasn't completed until 1886 by Reverend D.A. Snow. Since then, it has been host to many families and businesses, including a bakery, real estate office, and numerous restaurants.

In the 1950's, Wytheville was a hotspot of the Polio Epidemic. Of the towns inhabitants, 184 people contracted the disease - with 17 of them dying. As the epidemic progressed, ambulances became scarce, forcing hearses from local funeral homes to drive patients to nearby hospitals.

It then sat empty for a decade until 2019, when it was purchased by John Cushman. Shortly after purchasing the building, John began experiencing paranormal on-goings. The sounds of doors closing, conversations, watching objects fly across the room, and seeing uninvited guests are only a few of the paranormal experiences documented within the walls.

Now, it's your turn to experience the haunting at Octagon Mansion...

Join Transcend Paranormal as we investigate one of Virginia's Most Haunted Mansions - the Octagon Mansion.

Will you interact with the reported little girl that died during the polio epidemic, and still roams the halls of the Octagon Mansion?

Will you communicate with the hundreds of soldiers that passed through Wytheville - or died during Toland's Raid of 1863 or Stoneman's Raid of 1865?

Do you Dare?

This is a fundraising investigation!

100% of the proceeds of this event go directly to the Octagon Mansion for its continued restoration and preservation efforts!

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Please Note:

• You are welcome to bring your own equipment to investigate.
• We will break into small groups at each site to investigate. Each group will be led by an investigator with equipment that will be utilized for the investigation!
• Please do not put on fragrances before the investigation. Smells are often reported at these locations and it will be difficult to identify if we are wearing fragrances.
• Please do not wear loose jewelry, baggy clothing, etc. These often make extra sounds and noises that will make listening to and identifying EVPs difficult!
• There will be identified spots if you need to smoke a cigarette. Please make sure you dispose of your cigarette butts accordingly.
• Please do not plan to investigate under the influence of drugs or alcohol. We will ask you to leave the premises if so.
• Weapons of any kind are strictly forbidden.
• Bring your equipment! We'll have some that you can use within your groups, but you are welcome to bring any equipment you have for investigating that you can carry with you. A flashlight is highly encouraged. Additionally, if you do not have an audio recorder, bring your phone! We'll ask you to keep it silenced, but you can still record audio onto your cellphone - a large number of people on our investigations have recorded EVPs on their phones!
• Most importantly, have fun! This investigation is for you, so bring your ideas and thoughts for investigating! You never know what, or who, you will run into, and we value your unique ideas and suggestions for investigating these locations! We urge you to be ready to be involved in the investigation! Think of some questions you'd like to ask in advance, if you have any theories that we can test out, and more!

For more information or questions, please contact Transcend Paranormal.