A storm, a moat and a little magic: Vashon’s castle stay

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Down a Burton neighborhood road, up a long gravel driveway, with a lush ravine on the left, past a deer-crossing sign that seemed to have sprouted wings, past dragons, a king and a moat surrounding what most would call a modern-day castle, we had arrived.

It was a dark and stormy Wednesday in March, the kind of night that made the island feel especially far away. Wind gusted through the house, swinging open double doors upstairs and sending drafts through the halls. We locked the doors, settled onto the couch, turned on the fire and listened to the trees outside sing in the storm.

We scrolled through Netflix and landed on “Jurassic World Rebirth,” getting about 20 minutes in — just long enough for Scarlett Johansson to start making her case as both glamorous and ferocious — when the television cut out. Then every light in the house went dark.

The power had gone out, along with much of the rest of Vashon.

With an iPhone flashlight propped against a tall glass, casting a dim glow through the room, the castle became what it was always pretending to be: old-world, candlelit, a little eerie and perfect for ghost stories. We debated aliens, the supernatural and other out-of-this-world subjects that somehow felt exactly right in a shadowy castle on a stormy island night.

For owners Jolie and Stephen Macy, the outage was a first — and likely a convincing argument for installing a generator. But for us, it made the experience feel more authentic.

That tension between whimsy and practicality is part of what makes the Vashon Castle memorable. It is, on one hand, a short-term rental with modern comforts, themed rooms and a polished online presence. On the other, it is still a castle on Vashon Island — with a moat, turrets and enough personality to make visitors feel as though they’ve briefly stepped into a fantasy.

The Nevada-based couple behind the property never set out specifically to own a castle on Vashon. But once they saw it, they could not quite let it go.

The Macys first entered the short-term rental world with a condo in Kauai, an idea born less from wealth than from careful budgeting and shared ambition, Stephen said.

Stephen remembers sending Jolie an itinerary for a Hawaii trip while he was still trying to impress her. Jolie, who he describes as deeply numbers-oriented, turned the trip into a spreadsheet and budget.

They bought the Kauai condo instead of a timeshare, hoping it would pay for itself while giving them a place to return to. From there came a home in Denver, near Jolie’s family, then a lake house outside Coos Bay, Oregon. Each property, they said, was chosen not simply as an investment, but as a place they themselves wanted to be.

Then came Vashon.

Earlier this year, while traveling in the United Kingdom to see one of Jolie’s favorite bands, the couple stayed in a castle in Scotland — an item on Jolie’s bucket list. While on that trip, they saw the Vashon property featured on Zillow Gone Wild.

“‘What do you think about buying a castle and doing this?’” Stephen recalled asking his wife.

Her answer, he said, was immediate and familiar: “Does the numbers work?”

Soon after returning home, the pair flew north to tour two unusual properties: a dinosaur-themed house in the Portland area and the Vashon castle. The dinosaur house may have sounded like serious competition, but the Macys said Vashon won easily.

At the castle, a showing scheduled for 45 minutes stretched into four hours.

“We were already planning how we were going to design it,” Stephen said. “All these cool ideas that we had for the house.”

But the house alone was not what sold them. It was the island around it.

Driving through Vashon, Jolie said, she was struck by the roadside farm stands, flowers, art and the sense that people here were not simply living near each other, but in community with each other.

“I was googly-eyed driving down the road,” Jolie said. “You could feel there was really a community here.”

For a couple who say they try to build relationships everywhere they operate — with neighbors, cleaners, handymen, carpenters and photographers — that mattered. They describe their business less as a remote portfolio and more as a hands-on, relationship-driven small operation. Across their properties, they said, they try to support the people they work with, sometimes in deeply practical ways, whether by helping launch a cleaner’s business or buying equipment for a tree worker in exchange for labor.

“We don’t want to be a drain on anything,” Stephen said. “We want to be an asset.”

That philosophy shaped their vision for the Vashon castle, which had sat empty for years before they bought it, Stephen said.

The Macys said deferred maintenance meant the work ahead was substantial. Roofs needed repair. Floors had to be redone. Landscaping needed attention. The moat needed care, too, including making sure the fish living there were still alive and thriving.

After closing on the house in the fall, the couple spent roughly six weeks getting the property ready to launch, often while still working their full-time jobs. Stephen handled much of the technical and operational side — locks, lighting, security cameras and infrastructure. Jolie threw herself into the design.

Every item was chosen with care, Stephen said. “This is our baby.”

She envisioned a regal, slightly mystical mood: enough castle to feel playful, but still grounded enough to remain a comfortable house.

The result is a property that leans into imagination without becoming a parody. Children, Stephen said, often arrive eager to dress up, cast spells and explore. Guests ask to host birthdays, small celebrations, family photo shoots and quiet getaways. For the owners, that is part of the point.

“People will share photos with us, and there’s nothing better,” Stephen said. “Being part of someone’s wedding, or 80th birthday, or family gathering — that’s so much more important than everything else.”

The castle’s appeal, though, is not limited to out-of-town visitors. On Vashon, where lodging options can be limited, especially for visiting friends and family, the property also fills a practical need. The Macys said they have already hosted locals who simply wanted a night in the castle without leaving the island.

They also hope, over time, to deepen their ties to the community that first charmed them. They have begun forming local partnerships and imagine future collaborations with nonprofits, community groups and island businesses. Stephen mentioned the possibility of movie nights on the lawn, themed events and offering the property for small celebrations or fundraising efforts.

For now, though, the castle is still new — still finding its footing, still gathering stories.

And maybe that is part of the magic, too.

On that stormy March night, when the lights went out and the house slipped into darkness, the experience briefly became simpler and stranger and better.

Usually, there is electricity, Jolie joked. But maybe a little darkness suits a castle just fine.