Ghosts are a metaphor for memory and remembrance
– Leslie What –

Due to technical difficulties (meaning my hard drive crashed at home and I had to come to the library to post this), I will not be able to visit many of the other My World entries.  Nor will I be posting much until I get my computer fixed or replaced. As if I’m not far enough behind…*siiigh*  My apologies to all who stop by to visit.  Now, on with Part II of the local ghost stories!

Cullowhee:

• Western Carolina University (Cullowhee, NC) is filled with many eerie tales. The 5th floor and elevators of Harrill Residence Hall are haunted by a girl who died of an asthma attack. The 8th floor of Scott Residence Hall is haunted by a student who hung herself in the East Wing. The 3rd floor of the Moore Building was haunted by a young woman who was murdered in the mid-60′s by a local resident when she refused his romantic advances. After his death in 1997, the paranormal activity seemed to stop but there are occasional reports from students who feel like they are being watched.

Linville:

• The Linville Caverns on Humpback Mountain are home to more than beautiful gems, stalactites, stalagmites and rock formations. In addition to brook trout, rainbow trout, brown bats and crayfish, there are tales of otherworldly creatures.  According to Cherokee storytellers, a peaceful race of invisible immortals called “Nunnehi” inhabit the caverns.

Marion:

• East McDowell Jr. High School – In the early 1900′s an orphanage sat on the lot where the junior high is now. The supervisor and part of the children living there died when the orphanage burned to the ground. There are stories of children crying in the parking lot and you are suppose to be able to see the ghost of the supervisor on the upstairs balcony of the library.
• Pleasant Gardens Baptist Church is haunted by a woman dressed in pink. If you leave flowers on her grave, she walks down the road with a knife in her hand the next day.

Pisgah:

• Terror Town is a local attraction which sits on the site of an old farmland and has many tales of supernatural happenings. A young boy who hung himself haunts the upper farm, a little girl’s voice can be heard deep in the forest, and an elderly married couple haunt one of the houses. A moonshiner (other legends claim it was a boy) died in the woods near the house and can be heard singing at night while tending his still. My personal favorite is the story of a shadow of a black horse that runs across the road and disappears upon entering the woods.  I’ve always wondered how they can tell what color the horse is from a shadow…
• On your way to Terror Town you will come to the Pisgah Covered Bridge. The original bridge was destroyed in The Great Flood of 2003 and had to be reconstructed.  Internet rumor has it that people have seen an apparition hanging from the rafters but there’s no corroboration from the locals, and no official records of any unnatural deaths on either bridge.  Even so, it certainly looks like it would be a good place for a haunting after dark.

That concludes our virtual ghost tour.  There are many other spooky stories around North Carolina but these, and the ones from last week, are within a reasonable driving distance.  I didn’t even touch on Asheville, which is loaded with ghost tales!

My World Tuesday is brought to you by the Skywatch Friday team. For more home towns around the world, please visit That’s My World!

In a castle dark, or a fortress strong…
– Gordon Lightfoot (If You Could Read My Mind) –

On the heels of Halloween, I’m taking you off the beaten path for a My World Tuesday post about local superstition and legends. From the Atlantic beaches to the peaks of the Appalachian Mountains, North Carolina history is rich with folklore and eerie tales of ghostly happenings. Hickory – which is home to the Hickory Paranormal Society and annual conference – and the surrounding areas are no exception. (Sorry, I tried, but I couldn’t come up with any pictures of ghosts.) Here are a few of the places where paranormal events are said to occur:

Hickory:

• The 1859 Cafe downtown is haunted by a unknown fair-haired woman wearing a long white dress who appears in the dining room after the guests have left for the evening. The cleaning staff claims to have seen the woman’s reflection in the bathroom mirror.
• The Alice M. Raeford Memorial Center has doorways that seem to disappear after you walk through. There are also reports of whispers, shadows, mists and people being pushed by unseen hands.
• The Crown Cinema VI was torn down over a year ago but there were many accounts of shadows, ghosts and film projectors running on their own after it was closed to the public.

Blowing Rock:

• The Green Park Inn claims to have many ghosts. The innkeepers have a ghost register at the front desk so guests can record their supernatural experiences. Room 318 on the 3rd floor of the hotel is haunted by a woman who died there years ago. Legend has it that she committed suicide after being jilted by her lover, who later went back to look for her. Some claim he is the source of the smell of pipe tobacco in the room. There is also a voice that warns to beware of the evil in rooms 332 and 333. One person actually died in 226 but there are no records of paranormal activity in the room. Frankly, I thought the bar looked like a great place for spirits… (I hear you groaning!) The photo above is “doctored” because I wanted it to look more like an old newspaper clipping.

Boone:

• Appalachian State University – The East Hall dormitory reports footsteps, malfunctioning lights, whispering voices in the hallway, a male ghost in the 3rd floor girls’ bathroom and a girl dressed in white who appears in different rooms.
• Tijuana Fats’ restaurant partially burnt down resulting in the death of a little girl. That section was rebuilt and rumor has it the little girl’s voice has been heard by clients. Click here to read the stories.
• There was also a house on Perkinsville Drive that was reported to be haunted by the previous owner. The house burned down in 2003.

Burke County:

• Burke County is home to the famous Brown Mountain Lights which appear along the mountain ridge – a strange phenomenon drawing thousands of tourists each year. According to Cherokee legend, there was a war in 1200 between the Cherokee and Catawba indians. The women would go out at night with torches to look for the bodies of the warriors and were killed by members of the Catawba tribe. Ever since, their ghosts have wandered the mountainside, searching in vain. There are other stories but this is the one I learned from my grandmother. The lights really do exist (I’ve seen them myself). Scientists have been studying the lights since the early 1900′s and are unable to find natural causes.

If you get a chance, please stop and visit my new blog, Foothills Focus. As the title suggests, it will concentrate on life in the foothills and contain photos of the area with minimal text. All memes will remain on Piedmont Perspective.

My World Tuesday is brought to you by the Skywatch Friday team. For a virtual tour of home towns around the world, please visit That’s My World!

The farther back you can look, the farther
forward you are likely to see.
– Winston Churchill –

Bunker Hill Covered Bridge, near Claremont, North Carolina, is one of two remaining covered bridges in the state. The bridge was originally constructed in 1895 as an open span. In 1900, it was covered with wooden shingles, which were later replaced with tin. It is 85 feet long and sits 25 feet above Lyles Creek.

The bridge was donated to the Catawba County Historical Association in 1985 and was restored in 1994. On July 30, 2001, the Bunker Hill Covered Bridge was named a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the committee on the History and Heritage of American Civil Engineering of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The great eventful Present hides the Past;
but through the din of its loud life
hints and echoes from the life behind steal in.
– John Greenleaf Whittier –

One of the most charming homes in Hickory is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. J. Summie Propst (1853-1940) was a carpenter and woodworker by trade. Soon after he married Nancy Jane Abernathy, he began work on their home. Following the latest in Victorian fashion, Summie constructed the home with a tower, French mansard roof, single story porch, abundant bay windows and gingerbread fretwork.

The home was started in 1881 and finished in 1883. It remained in the family until 1968, when it was acquired by the Hickory Landmarks Society. It was moved from it’s original site to Shuford Memorial Gardens, restored, and now serves as a museum. It is the only remaining example of the Second Empire style of architecture in Hickory.

More photos or a slideshow of the house and grounds.

In the 1700′s, a young German named Henry Weidner came from Montgomery, Pennsylvania to find a new home in the South. He settled on the banks of the South Fork and Henry Rivers, near the Catawba Indian settlement. Henry married Katrina Mull in 1750. He and his brother-in-law Adam Mull, took out a land grant that encompassed thousands of acres. A stagecoach turnpike was established several miles to the northwest of the Weidner home, at a point where the trails of the Cherokee and Catawba Indians crossed. The junction opened up the area for transportation and communication.

William Hale opened a store at this stagecoach turnpike and established a post office under the name of Chestnut Oak. Henry Robinson, one of Henry Weidner’s descendants, built a log tavern beneath a huge hickory tree during the 1850′s. The inn was known as “Hickory Tavern.” In 1959, the first train operated in Hickory Tavern – opening up the area for further settlement. The first lot sold in Hickory Tavern was purchased by Henry Link 1858 for $45. His house is now known as the 1859 Cafe.

In 1860, a charter was granted to the Town of Hickory Tavern. Three years later, the name was changed to “Hickory”. Hickory was one of the first towns in North Carolina to install electric lights in 1888.

Downtown (Union Square) was restored from 1974-77 and the train depot converted to a restaurant. Hickory is now the economic, social, and cultural center of the Catawba River Valley and has been named “All American City” three times: 1967, 1987 and 2007.

Click for more information on the history of Hickory.

]]> http://afoggymountainblog.com/2008/07/hello-world-2/feed/ 1