I'm on the fence about the existence of ghosts, but these places and the stories associated with them give me the shivers. Whether you're into the paranormal and supernatural or whether you're just looking for a thrill, here are 6 supposedly haunted locations in the state of North Carolina and definitely not the only ones.
Lydia’s Bridge
Jamestown, NC
There's an overpass on US-70 A, also known as High Point Road, just south of Jamestown where people have claimed to see a young woman in a white evening dress standing by the road, flagging down passing cars. Rumors say she died in a car crash there in 1923 and is trying to catch a ride home.
Paint Rock
Hot Springs, NC
The town of Hot Springs is known for exactly what you think; their hot springs. Thousands of visitors were attracted to the bubbling waters that were rumored to be able to cure anything. As a result, there were two attempts at building luxury hotels, but both burned down as if someone or something didn't want many people there. It turns out that Hot Springs is home to a very important Cherokee religious site known as Paint Rock. Visitors of the springs claim to have seen the apparition of a Cherokee man walking in the woods and sometimes even slipping into the springs with them.
The White Horse of Death at Rugby Grange
Fletcher, NC
Rugby Grange is an estate that was owned by the Westfeldt family and in 1880 they witnessed something strange. They were watching out of the window awaiting the arrival of their uncle who had left to retrieve medicine for an ill family member when they saw a man on a white horse riding up the front driveway. Their driveway looped around to the back of their house so any one following it would be seen behind the house. The father ran to catch another glimpse of this mysterious man, but no rider came around to the back of the house. Moments later, the uncle returned, but was unable to get the medicine. The ill family member died that night.
Brown Mountain Lights
Asheville, NC
One of the more well-known paranormal occurrences are the ghost lights of Brown Mountain that can be spotted about 60-70 miles northeast of Asheville in Burke County. These lights have been reported for centuries and witnessed by thousands. People describe them as small, star-like dots of light of a brightness comparable to stars. The lights have even been said to move about in some cases. The Brown Mountain Lights are so popular that they've even been featured in an episode of X-Files
USS North Carolina
Wilmington, NC
The USS North Carolina was once a battleship that operated in the Pacific area during World War II, but now it is a floating museum anchored at a port in Wilmington and opened to the public. Legend has it that the ship's washroom is haunted by the apparition of a soldier who was killed there during a torpedo strike.
Teach’s Hole
Ocracoke Island, NC
North Carolina's most famous pirate Blackbeard suffered a very gruesome fate. Captain John Maynard finally caught him off the shores of Ocracoke, shot him five times, stabbed him more than 20 times, and then beheaded him. Legend says that Blackbeard's headless body swam around Maynard's ship three times before sinking below the waters. It is said that Blackbeard's spirit takes the form of a ghostly light which can be seen in the waters, searching for his missing head.