Ghosthunting North Carolina
COPYRIGHT © 2011 by Kala Ambrose
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any fashion, print, facsimile, or electronic, or by any method yet to be developed, without express permission of the copyright holder.
For further information, contact the publisher at:
Clerisy Press
P.O. Box 8874
Cincinnati, OH 45208-0874
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ambrose, Kala, 1966–
Ghosthunting North Carolina/Kala Ambrose.—1st ed.
p. cm.—(America’s haunted road trip)
ISBN-13: 978-1-57860-454-8
ISBN-10: 1-57860-454-0
1. Ghosts—North Carolina. 2. Haunted places—North Carolina.
I. Title. II. Series.
BF1472.U6A45 2011
133.109756—dc23
2011022284
Distributed by Publishers Group West
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, first printing
Editor: Susan Roberts
Cover design: Scott McGrew
Cover and interior photos provided by Brandon Ambrose with the exception of the following: Star Hotel courtesy of Gary Spivey; Rebel Rose courtesy of WikiCommons; the Page-Walker, Hillcrest Tree, and Grove Park photos courtesy of the author
“It is the secret of the world that all things subsist and do not die, but retire a little from sight and afterwards return again. Nothing is dead. People feign themselves dead, and endure mock funerals and mournful obituaries, and there they stand, looking out the window, sound and well in some new disguise.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR Ghosthunting North Carolina
“The charming and delightful Kala Ambrose has invited me on her radio program Explore Your Spirit with Kala many times, and I have always thoroughly enjoyed myself. In the pages of her fascinating new book, Ghosthunting North Carolina, she has invited all of us to join her on a haunted road trip through North Carolina, and once again, I found myself completely enjoying the journey. Kala received the “gift” of paranormal talents, including the ability to see and sense spirits, when she was only a child. She generously shares this gift with her readers as she explores a remarkable number of haunted houses and places in North Carolina. I very much appreciated Kala’s sharing the history of some of these very famous locations, as well as her psychic impressions of certain ethereal residents who have never left their beloved homes. Kala allows us to perceive her insights into a wide range of ghostly entities from the frightening to the benign, from the violent to the gentle. I highly recommend this book.”—Brad Steiger, author of more than 170 books, including Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Places
“Not everyone can write a ghost story. Luckily for us, Kala Ambrose can. In Ghosthunting North Carolina, Kala takes us on a fabulous armchair road trip featuring pirates, flaming ghost ships, haunted hotels, and spirits of every persuasion, including the friendly, the eerie, and the downright scary. Kala also provides clear, concise, user-friendly instructions on how to transform a virtual trip into an actual one. I, for one, was ready to start driving to and through North Carolina as soon as I finished Ghosthunting North Carolina. I suspect you will be, too.”—Judika Illes, author of The Encyclopedia of Spirits, The Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells, and The Weiser Field Guide to Witches
“A road trip with a difference! Kala Ambrose explores the spectacular beauty of the Tar Heel State while using her psychic skills to seek beneath the surface for the phantom soldiers, pink ladies, and lost spirits who still inhabit the houses or wander the roads of this beautiful landscape. A skillful mix of lore and legend that will linger on in the reader’s mind long after the book has been closed.”—Dr. Bob Curran, author of Dark Fairies, Vampires: A Field Guide to the Creatures that Stalk the Night, Lost Lands, Forgotten Realms, and more than 24 additional books on paranormal lore
“If you’re into all things spooky, spectral, and spine-tingling, then Kala Ambrose’s Ghosthunting North Carolina is the book for you! Best devoured on the proverbial dark and stormy night!”—Nick Redfern, author of The Real Men in Black
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome to America’s Haunted Road Trip
Introduction
EAST CAROLINA – The Coast and Outer Banks
CHAPTER 1 The Haunting of the USS North Carolina Battleship, Wilmington
The Life and Legend of Blackbeard’s Ghost
CHAPTER 2 Civil War Ghosts of Fort Fisher, Kure Beach
The Ghosts of Currituck Beach Lighthouse
CHAPTER 3 The Haunted Soldiers of Fort Macon, Atlantic Beach
The Flaming Ship of New Bern
CHAPTER 4 The Lost Colony of Roanoke, Roanoke
Beautiful Nell Cropsey Still Waits in Elizabeth City
CHAPTER 5 The Enslaved Ghosts of Somerset Plantation, Creswell
Touched by the Lady in Black
CHAPTER 6 Southern Hospitality Extends into the Afterlife at the Blount-Bridgers House, Tarboro
The Wandering Ghosts of Nags Head
CHAPTER 7 Full Moon Highlights the Ghosts of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Cape Hatteras
The Lonely Ghosts of Foscue Plantation
CHAPTER 8 The Attmore-Oliver House and the Weeping Arch of Cedar Grove, New Bern
CHAPTER 9 Blackbeard the Pirate and the Old Burying Grounds, Beaufort
CHAPTER 10 The Spirited Revival of Bellamy Mansion, Wilmington
CENTRAL CAROLINA – The Piedmont, the Triangle, and the Triad
CHAPTER 11 Miss Deborah Still Looks After You at the Star Hotel, Star
Devil’s Tramping Ground, Chatham County
CHAPTER 12 Visit with the Guardian of Korner’s Folly, Kernersville
Whispers from Beyond the Grave at Cabe’s Land Cemetery, Durham
CHAPTER 13 Angry Ghosts Fuel the Fire at Stagville Plantation, Durham
Haunted Tours in Greensboro, New Bern, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Asheville
CHAPTER 14 The Flying Photographs of Mary Turk at Mordecai Plantation, Raleigh
CHAPTER 15 Philosophical Debates from the Ghosts of the Horace Williams House, Chapel Hill
The Brown Lady of Chowan University, Murfreesboro
CHAPTER 16 Civil War Governor Still Working at the State Capitol Building, Raleigh
ESP and Parapsychology at the Rhine Research Center, Durham
CHAPTER 17 So Comfortable That Guests and Ghosts Never Want to Leave the Carolina Inn, Chapel Hill
CHAPTER 18 The Haunting Bentonville Battlefield Driving Tour, Four Oaks
CHAPTER 19 Prohibition and the Ghost of the Page-Walker Hotel, Cary
WEST CAROLINA