Haunted Places in Buncombe County, North Carolina



  • 0

    Battery Park Hotel

    Asheville, North Carolina

    Although it was a hotel from the early- to mid-1900s, this building now has been renovated into apartments. Apparitions have been reported here; it is said that a man was murdered on the hotel premises and liked to materialize for the hotel employees.

  • 0

    Grove Park Inn

    Asheville, North Carolina

    At this 1913 inn, you may come across a ghostly lady in pink. She is the wife of renowned writer Fitzgerals, and is known to tickle guests' toes at night. She has been spotted by both guests and employees. Room 545 is said to be particularly haunted with slamming doors, ...

  • 0

    Asheville Seasons Bed and Breakfast

    Asheville, North Carolina

    Grace is the ghost who haunts this early-20th-century establishment. She is the relative of a former resident here, and she is most active in her own room. Grace's dog has been seen here as well. Some guests have reported that Grace climbed into bed with them and hugged them.

  • 0

    Cairn Brae - Crooked Oak Mountain Inn

    Asheville, North Carolina

    "Cairn Brae" was listed in Sheila Turnage's "Haunted Inns of the Southeast", but it appears that a new B&B is on the premises now called "Crooked Oak Mountain Inn". We don't currently have any details on the nature of the haunt here, but if you know anything please share ...

  • 0

    1889 WhiteGate Inn and Cottage

    Asheville, North Carolina

    1889 WhiteGate Inn and Cottage is said to be haunted by Marion Bridgette, or Miss B., the nurse who bought the house in 1928. Her room was what is now the Robert Frost Room. Floating orbs have been photographed, footsteps have been heard on the stairs, lights click off and ...

  • 0

    Reed House - Biltmore Village Inn

    Asheville, North Carolina

    The inn was originally built as the Reed House in 1892. There have been many spooky occurrences here, such as one night in thw 1970s when heavy footsteps were heard climbing the back stairs late at night, but no one was there. Another time, after folks were laughing and scoffing ...

  • 0

    Barley's Taproom and Pizzeria

    Asheville, North Carolina

    In the area where Barley's now stands, a massacre took place in 1906 when Will Harris shot and killed five people, including two policemen, and then killed himself. To add to the eerieness, the town gallows once stood nearby as well. Folks say the taproom is home to several spirits ...

  • 0

    Inn on Main Street

    Weaverville, North Carolina

    The Inn on Main Street is rumored to be haunted. Doors have been heard opening and closing on their own, pictures have been heard falling off walls, although the fallen pictures were never found.

  • 0

    The Biltmore Estate

    Asheville, North Carolina

    The famous Biltmore Estate was owned by George W. Vanderbilt, died from complications of appendicitis in 1914. Afterward, his wife would sit in front of the marble fireplace in the library and talk to George's spirit. Now, witnesses say you can still hear her voice talking, and both spirits are ...

  • 0

    Smith-McDowell House

    Asheville, North Carolina

    The Smith-McDowell House, built in 1840, is said to be haunted by two little girls who died in the building, named Carrie and Sarah, as well as a specter called the Dark One, who is believed to be the spirit of a slave owner. Witnesses have captured photos of a ...

  • 0

    Midnite Rodeo Club

    Asheville, North Carolina

    The building that used to house nightclubs Coolworld and the Midnite Rodeo Club (now closed) is a century-old warehouse complex that is said to have a ghost in residence. A blurry gray form has been spotted in a hallway on security cameras or walking across the dance floor toward a ...

  • 0

    Isis Restaurant and Music Hall

    Asheville, North Carolina

    Isis Restaurant and Music Hall, formerly Pastabilities Restaurant, is housed in the historic 1930s Isis Theater. One of the ghosts here is Susie, a former owner's little girl who passed away. One time, a restaurant patron's young daughter was having a lively chat with someone unseen, and when asked whom ...

  • 0

    Church of the Redeemer

    Woodfin, North Carolina

    Church of the Redeemer, built in 1888 with two Tiffany windows, was originally the family chapel for a nearby mansion. The mansion has since burned down. According to witnesses, a female apparition has been spotted coming down the stairs of the sloped cemetery in back. She then crosses Riverside Drive ...

  • 0

    Vance Birthplace

    Weaverville, North Carolina

    The birthplace of Zebulon Baird Vance (1830–1894), a Confederate Civil War officer, governor, senator, and writer, is a five-room log house. Vance was a passionate speaker and leader, and a prominent figure in his time. Perhaps spirits of the deceased are still drawn to the charismatic Vance: Ghostly men and ...

  • 0

    Northside Grill and Bar

    Asheville, North Carolina

    Northside Grill and Bar, which reports say now operates as Appalachian Tavern, used to have apartments on the second floor where a tenant committed suicide. Now, folks say, patrons have reported uneasy vibes and at times have spotted a shadowy figure that walks across the room.

  • 0

    Warren Wilson College

    Swannanoa, North Carolina

    Warren Wilson College, a private liberal arts college, is part of the Work Colleges Consortium. Students must work for the college as part of their schooling, in order to graduate. Buildings rumored to be haunted here include Jensen Lecture Hall, where vacuum cleaners turn off, lights flicker, unexplained clanking is ...

  • 0

    Scandals Nightclub

    Asheville, North Carolina

    Scandals Nightclub, which began in 1982, is a dance club for the LGBT community. It is haunted by an apparition of a Native American woman who is also blamed for unexplained lighting issues.

  • 0

    Fletcher School of Dance

    Woodfin, North Carolina

    Fletcher School of Dance is rumored to be haunted by shadowy figures who moved construction workers' tools during a renovation and made odd sounds throughout the building.

  • 0

    Waneta Street

    Asheville, North Carolina

    A 1920s unsolved murder along Waneta Street centered on two women who were beaten to death. The killer's apparition has been seen carrying the murder weapon, a sort of pipe or club.

  • 0

    South Asheville Colored Cemetery

    Asheville, North Carolina

    South Asheville Colored Cemetery is where African Americans were buried for about a century, beginning in the 1840s. As few records were kept, it is uncertain how many people were buried here, but estimates guess from 1,500 to as many as 5,000. Witnesses here have reported dark, shadowy figures along ...

  • 0

    Beaver Lake

    Asheville, North Carolina

    Beaver Lake is home to the spirit of a young man who drowned here in the 1970s, according to local lore. His ghost is seen on the lakeshore. A female apparition also has been spotted standing on the dam and looking down into the water. She is thought to be ...

  • 0

    Mountain Brew Cafe

    Arden, North Carolina

    Mountain Brew Cafe is no longer in operation, reports say. But its building may still be haunted by many ghosts. One, according to local legend, is the spirit of a woman who was murdered on the second floor. Witnesses inside the restaurant often heard footsteps on the stairs when nobody ...

  • 0

    Thomas Wolfe Memorial

    Asheville, North Carolina

    Old Kentucky Home, the Thomas Wolfe Memorial, was the home of the renowned writer and featured in his autobiographical novel "Look Homeward, Angel." The place has a couple of spirits in residence: those of a woman and a man. The woman's apparition has been spotted in the dining room; the ...

  • 0

    Pritchard Park

    Asheville, North Carolina

    Pritchard Park is inside the triangle formed by Patton Avenue, College Street and lower Haywood Street. Ghostly Confederate soldiers are said to linger here, as this was a staging area during the Civil War. It also used to house the city's post office.

  • 0

    Lewis Memorial Park

    Asheville, North Carolina

    Lewis Memorial Park is a cemetery where eerie apparitions are said to roam. A ghost horse and rider and a phantom dog are seen here; the rider is thought to be a funeral director, Robert J. Lewis, who donated the land for the cemetery in 1927.

  • 0

    Pond Road

    Asheville, North Carolina

    The locals may tell you that Pond Road has a ghost dog, seen near the quarry. First, you hear the phantom black hound howl, and then he appears, trotting. Next he starts to run, leaps, and disappears.

  • 0

    Jackson Building

    Asheville, North Carolina

    The 15-story Jackson Building is a tourist attraction and the first skyscraper in western North Carolina. It's ghostly inhabitant is said to be a man who committed suicide during the Depression. The man's face appears in one of the upper windows, and reports say there is a bulls-eye on the ...

  • 0

    Church Street

    Asheville, North Carolina

    Church Street is said to have been built overtop old churchyard graves, causing a restless spirit or two to appear. One is a nun, and the other is a woman in old-fashioned garb who seems to be looking for something.

  • 0

    First Presbyterian Church

    Asheville, North Carolina

    First Presbyterian Church was built in 1841 but was burned in 1865, during the Civil War. The churce was rebuilt in its present Gothic style in 1884. Although author Thomas Wolfe's funeral was held here, it is not his spirit who walks the halls. She is called Black Abbey, an ...

  • 0

    The Historic S & W Building

    Asheville, North Carolina

    The Historic S & W Building used to house Shotzy's Bar, where employees said a couple of ghosts hung out. A spectral girl appeared on the balcony, and a phantom waiter walked down the hall toward the kitchen. Coolers were known to open and close on their own as well. ...

  • 0

    Craven Street Bridge

    Asheville, North Carolina

    The ghost on the Craven Street Bridge is said to be a naked boy's apparition. Legend has it he drowned when he jumped off the bridge to take a swim in the river below.

  • 0

    Asheville City Hall

    Asheville, North Carolina

    One of the many men who committed suicide after the stock market crashed is said to still remain in the Asheville City Hall. The man's apparition wears old-fashioned clothes and has been spotted waiting in line at the snack bar. He isn't really noticed until he vanishes, frightening the employees ...

  • 0

    Merrimon and Broadway

    Asheville, North Carolina

    James Sneed and James Henry were convicted of stealing a horse and hanged at this crossing in 1835, although they claimed to be innocent. Now, the phantom sounds of horse hooves, a wagon, and a gallows trap-door are heard here.

  • 0

    Riverside Cemetery

    Asheville, North Carolina

    Riverside Cemetery has more than 13,000 graves, including authors Thomas Wolfe and William Sydney Porter (O. Henry) and influential politician Zebulon Baird Vance. Witnesses have heard gunfire and seen a phantom Confederate army marching here, perhaps toward the site of the 1865 Battle of Asheville, fought a mile away on ...

  • 0

    Chicken Alley

    Asheville, North Carolina

    Chicken Alley is a narrow lane named for the fact that chickens used to hang out there in the city's much younger days. It even has a chicken mural, painted by local artist Molly Must. Legend has it the alley is haunted by the ghost of Dr. Jamie Smith, in ...

  • 0

    Helen's Bridge - Zealandia Bridge

    Asheville, North Carolina

    Zealandia Bridge, aka Helen’s Bridge, was built in 1909 as a carriageway for the Zealandia Estate. It was mentioned in a passage of Thomas Wolf's "Look Homeward, Angel," as the novelist used to frequently walk under the bridge. Its ghost, Helen, is believed to have been a woman who lived ...

  • 0

    Basilica of St. Lawrence

    Asheville, North Carolina

    The Basilica of St. Lawrence is said to be haunted by architect Rafael Guastavino, who was buried there in 1908, and his wife and daughter. A priest who died in the building is also thought to reside here in spirit. Witnesses report cold spots, apparitions, orbs and lights and ...

  • 0

    Biltmore-Oteen Bank Building

    Asheville, North Carolina

    Biltmore-Oteen Bank Building, most recently used for The Melting Pot restaurant, stood abandoned since the flood of 2004. But a ghost from the early part of the 20th century is said to still linger here. The apparition of a man, witnesses say, seems to be looking for something that has ...

  • 0

    Highland Hospital Site

    Asheville, North Carolina

    A mental asylum used to stand on these grounds, but in 1948, a fire destroyed the property; nine died including the former wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zelda. It is believed that the casualties could have been zero, but the patients were drugged and locked in their rooms awaiting further ...