VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Every creak, faint knock and flickering light within the farmhouse at Back Bay Brewing Co. leads the staff to take pause.
Because long before Back Bay Farmhouse, in the Kempsville area of Virginia Beach, was a gathering place for locals to kick back and enjoy a cold brew, it was the treasured home of William Elliott Wood and Lillie Wood.
And while both have since died — he in November 1942 and his bride 30 years later, in March 1972 — some maintain that the spirit of Mamma Lillie (as she was affectionately known) still remains in the historic home.
The farmhouse’s history
It was 1910 when William Elliott Wood purchased 500 acres of land in what was then Princess Anne County. In 1912, he built the farmhouse on the property as a wedding gift to his soon-to-be wife, Lillie Fay Smith. They wed the following year.
In its heyday, the farmland was filled with cattle, pigs, chickens and multiple crops. The agricultural operation ended in the late 1960s, according to previous Virginian-Pilot reporting. Lillie Wood remained in the house until her death.
The farmhouse became the site for William E. Wood & Associates, a realty company founded in 1972. It was started by Wood’s son, William Elliott Wood Jr., who was born in the farmhouse.
The previous farmland is now occupied by Crossway Church and a corner retail lot.
Back Bay Brewing leases the 114-year-old farmhouse as a tasting room with seating, and owner Eddie Hewitt said Mamma Lillie died in a second-floor bedroom there. That room now houses the brewery’s security system.
Some early 20th-century homes had a formal parlor used for viewings or wakes for deceased family members. The front room on the second floor of the farmhouse — which was notably a viewing room — is where most of the reported ghost activity has occurred.
“It’s always been suspected that the house was haunted by Mamma Lillie,” said Hewitt, who was married to Sara Hewitt, a great-granddaughter of William Elliott Wood Sr.
Hunting ghosts
William Abbitt first got wind of the ghost activity at Back Bay Farmhouse when he participated in a Halloween market there in 2024. He is the founder of WTCW Paranormal, a Chesapeake-based organization focused on researching and uncovering supernatural occurrences in Hampton Roads.
“There were psychics there and they said I should check this place out because it’s very haunted,” he said.
In the summer of 2025, Abbitt and his team of ghost hunters held their first investigation in the farmhouse. Since then, they have been back to the farmhouse 10 times, including leading public ghost hunts, to try to communicate with the spirits within.
“It’s just one of the most shocking locations I’ve been to here in Hampton Roads,” Abbitt said. “I’ve been to almost 50 haunted locations across the seven cities and this one by far has captivated me more than anything else.”
Admitting he’s seen his share of “strange things,” Abbitt said it’s different every time he walks into the farmhouse.
But equally honestly, Abbitt said he himself struggles with the idea that the paranormal is actually real — and that’s what keeps him coming back.
“The house was built for Mamma Lillie. She lived in this house and she died in this house,” he said. “So who’s to say that her spirit couldn’t still be here?”
Staff recount spirit
Austin Melendez, Back Bay Brewing manager, said there have been many nights when he’s felt a presence within the farmhouse.
“When it’s really quiet and once the last person leaves the house, there’s kind of an overwhelming feeling you get of somebody following you around or somebody right behind you,” he said.
He said he hasn’t heard any distinct voices, but he has heard footsteps.
Hunter Glass, an assistant manager, said he’s experienced minuscule occurrences and more notable ones that he referred to as “spooky.” From footsteps to tables and chairs moving about, to a swaying chandelier and a woman’s voice and laugh, he has encountered it all, Glass said.
“There’s been a few times when I’ve been cleaning by myself and I’m coming down the stairs, I’ve heard a whisper on the back of my neck,” he said.
The staircase and a mirror at the top of the stairs, both associated in paranormal lore as pathways and portals for spirits, have been sites of a flutter of reported activity.
Glass said he has never felt as if he’s unwelcomed by the spirit; it’s more of a sensation that he’s in the way.
Joe Norris has been the other assistant manager at Back Bay Brewing since it opened in the farmhouse in 2018.
While he hasn’t experienced any ghostly activity himself, he has heard countless stories from employees who have. Eager to keep it that way, Norris said he always says “good night” to Mamma Lillie before he closes up.
The most recent investigation
Abbitt returned to the farmhouse for another investigation in July. He reached into his black satchel and carefully unveiled pieces of his paranormal equipment.
With two small lanterns lighting the room, he turned on the electromagnetic field reader and placed it on the table in front of him.
“It basically picks up on electric signals,” he said. “If spirits can manipulate electricity, this device can work off of that.”
He put a “spirit box” — essentially a radio with a sweep function — on the table, switched it on and began to reach out to Mamma Lillie or any spirits in the house.
“Could you please give us a sign of your presence or speak with us through the device in front of me?” Abbitt said. “Is Mamma Lillie here?”
Grayson Tompkins, videographer for WTCW Paranormal, stepped in to don sound-canceling headphones to home in on voices from the spirit box.
He repeated distinct words and phrases: “hello,” “I hate,” “come back,” “can’t breathe,” “comfortable,” “six minutes,” and “ironic,” among several others.
A GoPro camera left upstairs while the investigation moved downstairs later revealed a flashlight dimming and brightening when Abbitt skimmed the video recording.
“Tell me that’s not weird,” Abbitt said. “I’m not going to push my own interpretation; you can make up your own mind about that.”
The future of the farmhouse
In 2019, the farmhouse received an Award of Distinction for Excellence in Historical Rehabilitation from the Virginia Beach Historic Preservation Commission.
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In recent months, the surrounding 8.5-acre parcel at 1805 Kempsville Road has become the topic of conversation as plans are underway to convert the property into apartment buildings. A rezoning for the apartments, Attain at Farmhouse, was approved by the City Council on Sept. 15.
The brewery remains open and plans to stay operating at the farmhouse into early 2027, Hewitt said.
The conceptual site plan incorporates the farmhouse into the new development as a community gathering space. Other amenities may include a coffee shop — as one is there now.
How Mamma Lillie feels about these plans is unknown.
Sandra J. Pennecke, 757-652-5836, [email protected]
Original article
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