Virginia Folklore

I should have titled this blog VA folklore because that is where most of my stories come from.

This story is a personal experience that I can't explain. My son's club basketball practices were in the quaint, off-the-beaten-path village of Middleburg, VA. The main road through the town is heavily traveled by commuters and most Northern Virginians know about it, but the population keeps to themselves and is very select. Some very famous politicians and celebrities hide within the conclave of Middleburg, Virginia.

Anyhooo...I would sit in the parking lot waiting for my son's practice to end. While in the car, I would read books, grade papers (I was an adjunct at George Mason University) or watch DVDs with my daughter. Practices normally ran from 7-9 pm and there was usually one or two parents in the parking lot with me. It was late March or April and the weather was warm enough to keep the car windows down. My daughter was content with her video and I was busy grading papers when just outside my car door there was a loud crack followed by the strong smell of sulphur. The noise startled me and my daughter and at first I thought it might be a prankster throwing firerackers. But there was no one else within 100 yards except for a father dozing in his car on the other side of the lot.

Eventually I mustered the courage to walk to the other car and ask the father if he had heard anything; he, of course, looked at me as if I were a complete lunatic and went back to sleep. The smell of sulpher continued to linger in my car for another five or ten minutes.

Later, while talking to a museum friend, I learned that Middleburg, especially the hill where I was parked, was the site of many Civil War "skirmishes." They were not termed battles because they often involved the townspeople instead of soldiers and they rarely resulted in the loss of life. I can't say with complete determination that I had experienced anything paranormal, but maybe...just maybe, it was a residual reenactment with smell-a-vision.