Haunted America

Residents of Kernersville have spent lifetimes looking after each other--and sometimes they continue after death.

Nestled between Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point, Kernersville transformed from a sleepy little village stop on the Great Wagon Road into a thriving community in the nineteenth century--one with its share of ghost tales. Does a young soldier haunt the Kernersville Museum, flirting with the women who work there? Learn the truth of the ghost of the old McCuiston House. Local institutions like the P&N Store and Snow's Diner also claim their share of spooky stories.

Kernersville Museum director Kelly Hargett and local theater founder Scott Icenhower tell ghost tales that are sometimes comical, sometimes heartwarming, and sometimes a little hair raising.

Nestled in the heart of North Carolina's share of the Smoky Mountains, Asheville is one of the South's most haunted cities.

The picturesque landscape of this charming mountain destination belies what is in truth a violent, ghoulish past. Asheville has seen its share of horror, ranging from the suicide of the city's financial manager during the throws of the Depression, to hosting a tuberculosis sanitarium, to a night of murderous rampage in 1902. With wit and style, authors Ken Traylor and Delas House use their years of experience as the owners and lead guides for the 'Haunted Ghost Tour of Asheville"" to steer readers on a journey through the city's eeriest sites, from Riverside Cemetery to the Battery Park Hotel. Drawing on an unmatched repertoire of spectral lore, Traylor and House present a variety of ghastly accounts that are both thrilling and chilling. Traylor's personal experience as a guide and interpreter of local ghostlore adds a unique twist to this collection of macabre stories. Through years of research, he has amassed an intriguing collection of the area's haunted tales, and with Asheville Ghosts and Legends he seeks to share the gruesome details of Asheville's wicked past.

A Civil War soldier who still haunts the tree where he was chained and left to die…a witch who locked two little girls in a cellar…unexplained voices and heavy footsteps on the stairs… The North Carolina Piedmont can be a very spooky place. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, many people in this region have experienced things that simply cannot be explained. This collection of local lore includes classic ghost stories that have been passed down for generations, as well as personal experiences of the author, her family, friends and even strangers. Join local author Frances Casstevens as she recounts one spine-tingling tale after another.

Whether it was Winston, Salem or Winston-Salem, the city has a rich history in the strange, unusual and ghostly. Colonial Salem was once visited by George Washington, and accounts tell of the president entering the cave of three witches. Locals still see an old tobacco wagon rolling around the streets of Winston in the early morning, harkening back to the days when tobacco was king. Elaborate systems of tunnels and pipes once existed beneath the city that many believe were home to groups of chanting monks. Join author and historian Michael Bricker as he vividly retells these stories and more in a historically haunted guide to Winton-Salem.

Ghostly footsteps, mysteriously locked doors, and apparitions from centuries past. The rolling hills and hollers of the Yadkin Valley have been home to many historic events, from Stoneman's raid to the hanging of Tom Dooley. These events have left their imprint on the county's architecture and landscape, and some of them have even
left a ghostly legacy. Ghosts of the Yadkin Valley is a collection of spine-tingling tales, including ghost stories from many of the area's National Historic Register sites. Join local storyteller R.G. Absher as he relates the history behind the haunts.

Rising from the banks of the Cape Fear River like a spectral stage, Wilmington, North Carolina, remains one of America's most haunted cities. Its beautiful homes and tidal waterways belie a history of violence.

Wilmington is a true theatre of horror, the cast of which includes runaway slaves, children lost at sea, murderous lovers and fallen women of the night who linger in Paradise Alley. Wilmington's ghosts make the Cape Fear region worthy of its name. Author John Hirchak calls upon years of experience as the owner and guide of the ""Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington"" to lead his readers on a journey down back alleys and docksides, stopping at various points along the way to listen to the lingering whispers of generations long dead. A wonderful mix of humor and horror, Ghosts of Old Wilmington will delight any reader with an interest in Wilmington's unsavory past.

Just as the Blue Ridge Mountains dot the landscape of this famed North Carolina county, so do the spirits of the residents who have long since passed. At the Hickory Ridge Museum, one cabin fills with the scent of pipe tobacco just before its otherworldly resident appears, and the ghost of a hanged Tory captain rides his steed along Riddle's Knob every misty midnight. From the story of the haunted spring near the Watauga River frequented by the ghost of a headless dog to the distant buzz of a phantom airplane flying high above Howard's Knob mountain in Boone, these tales are bound to chill even the bravest of readers. Noted journalist Tim Bullard delves into the eerie past of Watauga County as he recounts the stories of the souls doomed to forever roam the pine-covered hills.

When the sun slips behind the trees, the spirits who linger in the mountains and valleys of North Carolina's Highlands and Cashiers whisper their stories.

Located in the Appalachian Mountains, within the Nantahala National Forest, the Highlands and Cashiers are townships rich in natural beauty and folklore. In this carefully cultivated collection, there are tales of lost loves, deals gone bad, and ghosts who walk the night. Is that a whisper winding through the hemlocks, or is it just the wind?

Hidden behind the preserved eighteenth-century colonial buildings of the Old Salem Historic District in Winston-Salem is a haunted history of spine-tingling tales. Find the harrowing stories of Salem Cemetery and the anonymous headstones of the "Strangers' Graveyard." Learn the origins of the inexplicable sounds at Salem College. Meet the tavern traveler who refuses to check out. Follow the story of Andreas Kresmer's tragic death and the subsequent appearance of the "Little Red Man." Join author G.T. Montgomery on a frightening journey to discover the most notorious haunts to wander Salem's streets.

The Research Triangle is a place of renowned progress and technology, but its three cities also boast a long and rich heritage, complete with many important historic sites where the past lingers a little too closely. From the otherworldly music at the Carolina Inn to the sound of laughter echoing in the old morgue at Watts Hospital to the image of men swinging from ropes in Hannah's Creek Swamp, the ghosts of the Triangle continue to make their presence known throughout the region. Join local brothers Richard and William Jackson as they trace the history behind these spine-tingling tales.

Don't be fooled by the scenic beauty of North Carolina's Piedmont Triad--the ghosts of the past haunt these rolling hills and unique cities. From the smallpox-stricken ghost that haunts Salem Tavern in Winston-Salem to the slain Revolutionary War soldiers who linger in the park surrounding Guilford Courthouse in Greensboro, these phantoms all have a tale to tell. Some ghosts even support education. Take Jane, the lonely spinster who haunts Aycock Auditorium at the UNC-Greensboro campus, or Herschel, High Point University's ghost of the former Memorial Theater. And though Spookywoods Haunted Attraction in Kersey Valley often frightens and astounds, some of the resident ghosts aren't just special effects. Join Camel City Spirit Seekers Michael Renegar and Amy Spease as they reveal the eerie and chilling stories from the heart of the Piedmont.