North AmericaTours

North Carolina haunted tours

North Carolina has a little bit of everything when it comes to haunted places, from churches to schools this state has it all. While there isn’t enough time to list all those places in one article, here are a few of my favorite ones.

First you have to look at the University of North Carolina’s main campus in Chapel Hill. Peter Dromgoole came to the school in 1831 and immediately ran wild throughout the town. Eventually he fell in love with a lady in the town and the two met in secret near Piney Prospect. What he didn’t know was that his new girlfriend had a jealous ex-boyfriend who demanded they duel over the young woman. As soon as the duel started, Pete was dead. Those on hand wanted to keep the fight a secret and buried him on Piney Prospect before covering the grave with a huge rock.

No one told his young girlfriend what had happened and she arrived at their secret meeting spot, but of course he never appeared. For years she went back to their spot, hoping that someday he might appear. Today there are those that say both he and his girlfriend haunt the spot where he died, possibly trying to find each other once again.

Founders College in Charlotte is also haunted by a young woman. Louise was a young girl who died, but after she was buried her body was stolen by grave robbers. They in turn sold her to the anatomy school and ended up in Chambers Hall. Rumors persist that the young girl’s ghost can still be seen in the building.

Charlotte’s Reed Mine where people once went to find gold is also rumored to be haunted. Eleanor Mills was the wife of a local man who accidentally died in the area. When her husband found her, he swore she wouldn’t stop screaming and threw her in the mine. Even today people still claim to hear the woman screaming from inside the mine. Another mine near Charlotte is the McIntosh Mine where a man was killed in a cave-in. Supposedly the owner shut down the mine after workers kept seeing the ghost of the man inside.

Gold Hill located near Concord, North Carolina has its own interesting ghost story attached to its Randolph Mine. This was the first place where people discovered gold in the state and the place where people see ghosts. Aaron Klein was a mine worker who was killed by someone in love with his girlfriend. No one ever saw his body, but they did see a strange yellow light believed to be Aaron. The other ghost in the Randolph Mine takes the form of body parts without a torso.

Fletcher, North Carolina is haunted by a ghost known as the phantom rider. Supposedly a local woman was eagerly awaiting the day when her husband came home from the Civil War, but instead she received word that he died. After she died a few weeks later, her ghost came back to seek vengeance for her husband’s death. Those who saw her claimed she was always dressed in a grey dress and sits atop a palomino horse.

In Greensboro you’ll find the tale of the Greensboro Hitchhiker, a local girl who haunts a specific portion of US 70. This is a similar tale to those told all over the US involving a hitchhiking ghost that disappears after a traveler picks her up. The story in this case dates back to 1923, but it still shares similarities with others. Drivers stop to pick up a girl in a white dress who tells them that her name is Lydia and gives them an address. Once they get there, the girl is gone and they learn that she died on that same stretch of road while coming home from a dance.

North Carolina also has the Maco Railroad Light in Maco. A conductor working on a nearby railroad track was accidentally killed while trying to stop a crash and is often the case with these stories, he lost his head. Not long after people began seeing a small light moving along the track before it quietly winks out. Many believe this is the ghost of the old train conductor still making his nightly rounds.

In Raleigh it’s believed that President Andrew Johnson haunts the home he once lived in, taking the form of a strange light inside the house. The 1785 Mordecai Manor in Raleigh is also haunted, this time by a woman wearing a black and white outfit. People sometimes also see a ghostly white horse and man sitting on the horse in Poole’s Woods.

You should also add Smithfield, North Carolina to your list of haunted places as this town has several sites worth noting. Hannah’s Creek Swamp is one of the most haunted spots in town, with at least fifty ghosts there. Supposedly these men were once part of a group that stole from towns destroyed during the Civil War. Once captured, they were hanged and left, which explains why they were never able to move on.

Smithfield also has the ghost of a former slave master and one of his slaves on its Mill Creek Bridge. The slave owner was beating a man near the bridge when the slave grabbed his tool and beat his master to death. He then hid his master’s body in a shallow grave. Now people experience strange lights and sounds on the bridge.

Lastly we have the ghosts of Wilmington, North Carolina. The Price-Gause House is haunted and has been since the day it was built. People hear what sounds like someone scratching and tapping inside the walls. There’s also the Thalian Hall where people in old fashioned clothing are sometimes seen roaming around.

Supposedly the New Hanover County Library in town is also haunted. One local woman loved the history section so much that she keeps returning even years after her death. People have heard someone walking around and things get moved when no one else is there.

The next time I travel to North Carolina, I now have a whole new list of places to visit.

Sources:

http://theshadowlands.net/places/northcarolina.htm

http://www.realhaunts.com/haunted-houses/united-states/north-carolina/