Between Book Signings and Wine Tastings, I Saw Something I Can’t Explain

by David Musser

I’m David Musser, an expert in a lot of things technology-wise, and a few years ago, I became an author. I say all of that so that you believe me when I say that I saw a ghost.

Luckily, it was not a mean ghost, or at least it didn’t do anything horrible to me, like some of the movies I’ve seen. ‘Thirteen Ghosts’ comes to mind, but no, in this case, this is not a scary ghost story…

In October 2025, I was able to spend the day at Valerie Hill Vineyard and Winery, and not only was it an amazing experience, my first local book signing where family and friends came out, but I got to meet some new friends. Okay, some are not alive, but it was a wonderful day.

I’m writing this on February 1, 2026, in High Point, NC, with a foot of snow on the ground. I have to say that I miss that warm October day. It is a beautiful place, and the people were so nice.

I arrived early, as I was taught to do, got set up, and then took time to grab lunch. The burger I had was delicious. I can still taste how moist and delicious it was.

One wonderful thing about Valerie Hill is the people, not just the staff and owner, but the patrons. Being by myself at the time and relaxing, I do what most authors do: I watch people and listen. After all, everyone is a character waiting to be in a novel.

There was an older couple celebrating something, talking about when their son would get home, and a class reunion committee for some people a few years ahead of me. I recognized some of the names of people they were talking about, and when they got up to do a group photo, I volunteered. Introduced myself, and a couple of them knew my family as well, so it was a wonderful way to start the day: new friends and hopefully a few book sales.

Then the whirlwind started. Not the ghost, that comes later, but my family and friends coming in. Wow, what a wonderful and amazing family and friend group I have. Yes, a little loud, but that’s because a lot of us are part Irish and part who knows what, but it’s all good and loud and fun.
I laughed and talked about when I started writing, and discussed my books, signed a few, and did a few giveaways.

One of my cousins brought a friend there who loves to read horror, but she, not being a horror fan herself, told me that when I start to write some of the types of books my mother read, she would buy them. I remember seeing ‘True Romance’ magazines. I don’t know if I have one of those in me, but who knows, maybe someday.

One of the new friends I met was from the Royal Examiner, Brenden McHugh, who was kind enough to come out and write an article about me. https://royalexaminer.com/native-son-of-northern-virginia-excels-in-horror-genre-as-burgeoning-author-post-covid-19 Thanks again, Brenden. I do appreciate the kind words.

Fast forward to the end of the event. My family, friends, and Brenden left, and it was just me, Josh, and two members of the staff. They were in the kitchen working as I packed up. After I was finished, I went to their little bathroom under the stairs. We had one like it when we lived in Liberty Hall in Winchester, and I always loved them.

On the way out the door, I was wiping off my hands, tossing a paper towel into the trash, and saw legs walk by. Not realizing that this was a spirit, I did what every man who is still a boy at heart does and wiped my hands more on my jeans and held the door for a second so I didn’t run into whoever was there. I was wiping my hands, making sure they were dry so that I could shake hands with Josh or whomever it was.

When I went out the door, a little slower so I didn’t hit someone else, I looked left and then right and didn’t see anyone. If you haven’t been there, to the left is the bar area and kitchen, and to the right are two rooms and the main door, which was closed. The person would have had to have been jogging to make it outside already, and the door being shut would have made noise.

I felt a little odd, you know the feeling, the hair on the back of your neck going up. I’d say on my head, but I shave my head, so that’s out, and saying beard hair tingling sounds like I may have had spicy food. Anyway, it was odd, but I was not thinking ghost.

I turned right and quickly went toward the front door, looking left into a tasting room that was empty, and then right into the room I was in, and it was empty as well. Not a soul in sight.

Now I’d love to say that I spoke to the ghost, but the reality is that it was just passing by and I’m glad that I didn’t hit it with the door. I’m sure they hate that, but yes, I saw something. Not a shadow, not a figment of my imagination. The voices in my head may whisper stories in my ear, but they have never come out into the open, so I saw a spirit, a ghost, a friend unmet there. There was something I could not explain, so I blamed people.

I walked slowly back to the kitchen and bar, assuming it was a joke. Let’s see if we can scare the horror author, but they were busy working, not paying any attention to me, and only when I mentioned what I’d seen did they discuss it. I study people, as I mentioned before, and they were not waiting for me to say something. It was just the end of their day, and they were trying to get done so they could go home.

When I mentioned it, one said they had never seen anything, and another mentioned where different people had seen something and asked if it was near the bathroom. As we talked, I could tell that one of the bartenders was getting a little nervous. She just didn’t seem like ghosts were as cool to see as I thought my first experience was.

We talked for a long time about ghosts and the history of the house. I purchased a bottle of wine for my wife, and when they were closing, I asked if I could get a brief tour.

Josh agreed and took me up for a tour, talking about the history of each floor and its purpose when it served as a hospital during the Civil War. I would not do justice to the story Josh told, so please make some time as soon as the snow lifts and go there for a nice wine tasting and talk about the history of the winery.

The second floor was currently being used as a living space, so we passed by it just discussing history some more, and the higher we went in the house, the more my skin started to feel electric.

At the attic, he opened the door, and it felt like a warm rush of air, like a warm invisible pillow hit me in the face. As I stepped inside, my brain was screaming, all the voices really, and they had one message: get out of this room. There is something here. Now the voices and parts of my brain are a little scared of their own shadows, so I ignored them, and moving further into the room, I could feel something, feel energy, all around.
The history of the attic is quite dark, and I won’t go into it here. You should go to the winery, but for me, it was one of those fight-or-flight moments. I stayed and felt like I was looking back in time in the attic and that small side room up there.

The rest of my visit there was a blur. We turned out the lights, and I drove back to North Carolina with a million thoughts going through my head. One thing I still want to ask is about spending the night in the attic. I don’t know what my inner voices will say to that request, but for me, the chance to see or hear something that possibly connects us to the other side will be worth it. After all, they are potentially ghosts in a winery… they have to be happy, right?

Now, are ghosts real? You will have to judge for yourself. Plan a trip to Valerie Hill Vineyard & Winery in Stephens City, VA.