Ghost of Blackbeard - Ocracoke Island, North Carolina

Around 1718 along the south eastern coast of the new found American colonies, there lurked a terror that history has never forgotten even though his terror lasted only a couple of years.  Edward Teach otherwise known as Blackbeard, is undoubtedly the most notorious pirate that has ever lived.  And according to local legend where he met his end in North Carolina, he still haunts the shores to this day.

A depiction of Edward Teach more commonly known as Blackbeard the Pirate

Edward Teach was a crew member on board the pirate vessel La Concorde captained by Benjamin Hornigold.  When Hornigold was through with pirating, he turned the ship over to Teach.  Captain Teach then renamed he vessel Queen Anne's Revenge.  Possibly after what is known as Queen Anne's War in which Teach participated in.

Teach liked to psychologically defeat his victims before ever raising a sword or firing a shot.  In his appearance while attacking other ships, he dressed in all black and wore long black ribbons in his braided beard.  He stuffed pieces of rope under his hat and lit them so that they smoldered, billowing smoke around his head, giving him a scary unworldly like appearance to his victims.  He always attacked at dawn or dusk with the sun behind his back so that the ships and crew he victimized would not see him coming until it was too late.  Ironically though, he never attacked or harmed other ship's crews unless they resisted.  Only then would he kill them.  He commanded a flotilla of pirate ships which he commanded from the Queen Anne's Revenge, his flagship.  He was the most feared pirate of his day.

The flag of Blackbeard the Pirate

Blackbeard once captured and ransomed the entire harbor of Charleston and ransomed it.  It was in his escape that he ran the Queen Anne's Revenge aground at Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina.  He then transferred his flag to one of his other ships, the Adventure.  Blackbeard was known to use as a secret code to recruit crew members, the nursery rhyme "Sing a song of Sixpence".  Each line in the song representing coded messages to lure those who understood into piracy.

Blackbeard's pirate ship Queen Anne's Revenge ran aground at Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina and had to be abandoned

In late 1718, Blackbeard retreated to his favorite hideout called "Teach's Hole" located in North Carolina just off of Ocracoke Island. Word got out to the Governor of Virginia and the sent Lieutenant Robert Maynard and a small band of ships to capture or kill Blackbeard.  An immense battle broke out.  After his ship was severely damaged and many of the crew killed by cannon fire, Maynard feigned the destruction of the crew and hid them below decks.  When Blackbeard and his men boarded, they launched a surprise attack.  A bloody hand-to-hand battle ensued and finally Blackbeard and Maynard met face to face.  Maynard managed to shoot the pirate, but Blackbeard continued to fight on, blood gushing from his body after being cut by Maynard's sword and after he was also shot about five more times.  Blackbeard finally fell and Maynard cut off his head to make sure the pirate was dead.  After throwing his body overboard, they hung his head from the ship's beam.  It is said that Blackbeard's head called out and then his body swam around the ship five times.

To this day, many claim to have seen the headless body of Blackbeard roaming around "Teach's Hole" near what is today Springer's Point Nature Preserve and surrounding beaches in North Carolina looking for his head.  The ghost has also been seen swimming underwater casting an eerie glow as it moves along. Others have spotted an eerie light glowing off of Ocracoke Island that is believed to be a manifestation of Blackbeard. 

Ocracoke Island, North Carolina - the beach and waters off Springer's Point.  The former haunt of Blackbeard the Pirate known as Teach's Hole.

Some of Blackbeard's hidden treasure along the East Coast of the United States has never been found and they say the Blackbeard's ghost will roam the beaches until it is discovered.  According to legend, one of Blackbeard's men and a dog was buried along with treasure whenever it was hidden.  It is said that many caches along the East Coast as far north as the Chesapeake Bay area.  One of his treasures of sorts, has been found recently.  In 1996, underwater explorers discovered what is believed to be the remains of Queen Anne's Revenge, Blackbeard's ill fated pirate ship.

Phantom Harp of Hawes Mansion Ruins - Pass Christian, Mississippi

Near the coastal town of Pass Christian, Mississipi there is the haunted legend of Hawes Mansion located on Pitcher's Point.  The ghostly music of that past can be heard coming from the ruins of this 19th century mansion.

The shores of Pass Christian, Mississippi

Around 1850, a sea captain by the name of Hawes picked up a passenger by the name of Julia Vinestro.  It is said that she was carrying a chest of gold with her it the time.  She also had with her a harp that she loved to play and serenaded the crew each night with her music.  However, when Captain Hawes neared the Mississippi coast, he and his crew robbed Julia of her chest and set fire to the ship.  They escaped in a row boat to the shore.

Captain Hawes used his share of the gold to retire in a mansion along the coast near where the tragic event occurred.  However, he was never really able to enjoy his retirement because he claimed to be haunted by the ethereal sound of harp music playing every evening.  The ghost of Julia Vinestro had come back to haunt him.

To this day, many say you can still hear harp music carried on the wind at the location of the Hawes Mansion ruins as well as along the coast.  There are others who claim occasionally you can see the glow of a burning ship off the shore and outline of a phantom rowboat with four figures in it, escaping the blaze.

White Deer of Roanoke, the Lost Roanoke Colony - Roanoke Island, North Carolina

In 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh commissioned an exploration team to the outer banks off the coast of what is today, North Carolina.  They returned to England reporting that they had found a suitable place to establish a colony.  A party was put together of one hundred and seventeen men, women, and children including Governor John White and his daughter Eleanor Dare.  They set sail aboard The Elizabeth II for the new world and Roanoke Island, however, what they didn't know is that they would sail into history as the Lost Colony of Roanoke.

Lost Roanoke colonist Virginia Dare is believed to still haunt Roanoke Island, North Carolina to this day as a white deer

The colonists arrived at Roanoke Island in 1584 where they established their new colony of Roanoke.  However, arriving too early, the settlers did not have time to grow food stores for the winter and their supplies would run short.  Governor White sailed back to England to acquire more supplies to help see the colonists through. He left instructions that if they were forced to leave in a emergency, to leave the sign of a cross.  Unfortunately, White was unexpectedly detained on his return to England due to the war that broke out with Spain. 

White was finally able to return to America in 1590 with a ship  load of supplies for the Roanoke colony.  However, upon his arrival he found the colony completely empty.  Shelters were disassembled and items were gathered up in a orderly fashion as if they were in no hurry.  Only the fort that was constructed for defense against hostiles remained.  Carved into one of the posts was the word "CROATOAN" and on a tree nearby the partial word "CRO", but no cross was found indicating that the colonist may have packed up and moved elsewhere.  Strangely, the inhabitants were never heard from again and no direct evidence indicating their whereabouts.  The relief expedition were forced to return to England and White never had the chance to return and search for the lost colony.

Governor John White returned to the Roanoke Colony only to find them missing.  The only clue was the word 'CROATOAN' scratched onto one of the posts on the fortifications.

Many believe that the colonists moved further north or were all killed by hostile Natives as were many colonists who previously had attempted to colonize the area.  However, there are some who believe that the colonists fled to Croatoan Island which was nearby.  It is thought that they were assimilated into the Croatoan tribe.  There exists some proof in that a few of the Croatoan descendants in later years had fair skin and light colored eyes which was never seen among Native tribes in the Americas.  Croatoan Island and the tribe that the island was named after later became the Hatteras tribe and hence Hatteras Island.

It is thought that daughter of Eleanor Dare, who was pregnant on her journey to America, survived and lived with the Croatoan tribe.  Her name was Virginia Dare and it is said that she was the first white English person to be born in America.  Legend has it that Virginia, after living among the natives,  became transformed into a white doe in death by a Native witch doctor with whom she had a dispute with. It is said that the ghost of Virginia Dare roams Roanoke Island to this day in the form of a white deer which has been seen on the island occasionally by locals and visitors alike.

It is believed that the ghost of Virginia Dare of The Lost Roanoke Colony manifests herself as a white doe

The remains of the colonial fort at Roanoke Island still stand today and are maintained as a National Park.  Re-enactments of the trials of the Lost colony of Roanoke are played out each year at the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.  A replica of The Elizabeth II is also anchored nearby at Roanoke Island Festival Park in Manteo, North Carolina.

Fort Raleigh is all that remains of the Lost Colony of Roanoke and is maintained as a National Park

Phantom Dogs of Pawley's Island, South Carolina

On the shores of Pawley's Island, there is a legend of a haunting at the Pelican Inn that is not your usual ghost story.  This one involves a pair of ghostly dogs that roam the beaches.

It is said that two phantom dogs roam the beaches of Pawley's Island, South Carolina

Long ago an old woman was the caretaker of the Pelican Inn.  She lived there with her two Boston Terriers.  Occasionally she would take her dogs for walks along the beach where they loved to run and play.  They were the best of friends.  One weekend, a family was staying at the inn and were having an outing on the beach.  One of the small children ventured out into the surf too far and began to struggle.  The old lady and her dogs happened to be walking nearby and one of the dogs ran out to the distressed child allowing it grab on to its collar.  The small dog struggled to swim to shore and was pulled under the water a few times.  However, both the dog and the youngster made it to shore.  Sadly, the dog having taken in too much sea water, became ill and passed away.  It's friend, the other dog, was not the same after that and it too fell ill and died.

The beach at Pawley's Island, South Carolina

To this day it is said that the ghostly image of two terriers can be seen  along the surf near The Pelican Inn when the sun goes down on Pawley's Island.  They can be seen running and playing in the sand and water, but in an instant they are gone, leaving only footprints behind.

The Pelican Inn on Pawley's Island, South Carolina

The Pelican Inn
506 Myrtle Avenue
Pawleys Island, SC 29585 USA
Phone:     843-325-7522

The Pelican Inn

The Crescent Hotel - Eureka Springs, Arkansas

In the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas in 1884, construction began on a grand hotel on West Mountain.  Eureka Springs, Arkansas was a popular spot known all over for the healing powers of its waters and the purpose of the hotel was to give these travelers a luxurious place to stay.  The building was completed in 1886 and hotel would become known as The Crescent Hotel. However, what people in Eureka Springs would not know is that it would become one of the most haunted hotels in America.

The Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas 1886

The hotel was a very popular place to stay.  It became known as "The Grand Old Lady of the Ozarks" and it was taken over by the Frisco Railroad around the turn of the century.  They leased the hotel until 1908 when the increase in car ownership plus the fact that the word got out that the waters of Eureka Springs did not have much healing power at all, marked the end of the hotel's hey day.  It was then that the building changed hands and became the Crescent College and Conservatory for Young Women.  It was basically a girls school for the upper class.  However, the school could not afford the operating costs and it closed.  The old Crescent Hotel then served as a summer retreat leased by various companies until 1930 when the more ominous history of the building would take over.

The Crescent Hotel was a popular place to come and stay to take advantage of Eureka Springs' healing waters

Dr. Norman Baker, became a self-made millionaire by inventing a pipe organ that did not require steam.  He professed to be a doctor and claimed to have invented various medicines or "elixirs" they turned out to be, that would cure people.  He was run out of Iowa after having been convicted of practicing medicine without a license.  In 1930, he moved to Arkansas and purchased The Crescent Hotel building and proceeded to convert it into a hospital for cancer patients, destroying much of the hand crafted wood work by painting over it in unusual colors.

Allegedly, Baker claimed that he invented an medicine made simply by using the water from the local springs and other ingredients that would cure cancer.  Many people afflicted with cancer flocked to his hospital to receive treatment.  As a result, many people died there.  Some say that he even did strange experiments on the dead and living.  When the experimental patients would die, he would attempt to hide it.

The infamous "Dr." Norman Baker believed to be responsible for many deaths or doing little to prevent the deaths of cancer patients in his hospital which was formerly The Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas

In 1940 the law caught up with "Dr." Norman Baker and he was sent to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary.  He then disappeared into history.  The hospital building sat empty during the entire periods of World War II.  Afterwards however, investors purchased the building and set about restoring the building to it's former grandeur.  it flourished for several decades but became a little run down.  In 1997 it was sold and was fully restored.  However, the hotel guests are not the only ones staying at The Crescent Hotel.

The spectacular Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas stands out on the mountain side

Over the years many witnesses have spotted people wearing Victorian era clothing as if they were dressed for dancing in various places in the hotel including within mirrors, but mostly what is now The Crystal Dining Room.  This room previously served as the hotel's ball room.

Room 218 is said to be the most haunted in the hotel.  An Irish workman who fell to his death during the original 1880s construction.  His scream for help as he is falling has been heard within the walls of this room. His body came to rest where room 218 is today. Other paranormal occurrences such as doors slamming shut on their own have also occurred, believed to be caused by a poltergeist.

It is however, the many hospital patients who died in the hospital that is believed to haunt it the most.  Many have been seen wandering the interior of the hotel and there is not just a few.  Reports of many different ghosts and spirit are said to roam the halls of The Crescent Hotel.  In fact some say there are "legions" of ghosts roaming the premises thanks to Dr. Baker.  Also, more than one person has claimed to have seen nurses pushing gurney's and disappearing into a walls.

Waverly Hills Sanatorium - Louisville, Kentucky

In 1883 Major Thomas H. Hays purchased some land in north central Kentucky just south west of Louisville to serve as his new home.  Far away from schools, he decided to build a small school house on a hill in his property.  The school teacher he hired to run the school especially enjoyed the writings of Walter Scott through his Waverley novels.  So she named the new building, Waverley School.  Hays liked the name so he named the entire property Waverley Hills.  However, over a century later the grounds would have a more ominous reputation as host to what remains of the Waverly Hills Sanatorium.

The Waverly Hills Sanatorium circa 1926

Around the turn of the century, the ground was purchased by the Board of Tuberculosis Hospital to erect a hospital specifically for tuberculosis patients in need of special care and to keep the disease isolated.  It was expanded again in 1911 and over the years an average of one building per year was added on with a major expansion in 1924.  In all when it was finished, it could accommodate over four hundred patients at a time.  

An aerial view of Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky

With tuberculosis being an almost always fatal outcome for the patient, the hospital gained the dubious reputation of performing some unorthodox treatments in an effort to curb the disease which would seem barbaric by today's standards.  Sometimes the treatment was worse than the disease itself such as inserting balloons in the lungs, completely removing a lung, compressing a person's chest, and removal of ribs to allow expansion of lungs.  It was almost every other day a patient would die. A tunnel was constructed which led down the hill at rear of the hospital so that bodies could be lowered down the shaft so as not do dissuade the spirits of the other patients.  The bodies were then loaded on a train and taken away from the hospital.  Later this would get the notorious nickname of "the death chute".  Over the fifty years that the hospital was in service, over eight thousand people died there.  

At it's peak, the Waverly Sanatorium housed over 400 patients at a time awaiting their fate in the open air balconies

The onset of the advancement in science helped spell the end for the Waverly Sanatorium.  The hospital fell out of service after the 1930s when new medicines were invented to cure the disease.  In 1961 Waverly Hills Sanatorium was closed down.

The Waverly Hills tunnel nicknamed "the death chute" constructed to allow bodies to be removed from the hospital unseen by the current patients

The hospital saw new life however, when in 1962 the building was re-opened as Woodhaven Geriatrics Sanitarium.  This facility did not have a much better reputation as the first.  There were reports of patient abuse and again unorthodox treatments and experimentation such as electric shock treatment.  The conditions became worse in the hospital due to a lack of funding and 1982 the state closed the hospital's doors. Since then, there have been several owners and attempts at converting the hospital into other things such as a prison and an apartment complex but none of these ever came to light.
 

The outside entrance to The Waverly Hills tunnel nicknamed "the death chute" where bodied would be removed from the sanatorium

The building that was once Waverly Hills Sanatorium has gained a reputation for being haunted over the years from the apparition of a cook that has been seen in the kitchen to a little girl seen playing in the third floor solarium.  A young boy has been seen running through the hallways playing as if he lived there.  For many patients young and old, this was the place where they spent the last of their days alive.

Other paranormal activity such as doors opening and closing on their own and unaided and unexplained lights that have been seen in the windows of the building from afar have been reported by many.

Photo taken at Waverly Hills believed to be that of a ghost

The most haunted and highest concentration of paranormal activity seems to be located on the fifth floor especially room 502.  It is said that several nurses committed suicide in this location of the hospital.  It could be that some unnatural force is drawing people to this room to end their lives.  One nurse hung herself from a light fixture, and another jumped off of the balcony followed by others as well.  It is in this portion of the building that many claim to have heard disembodied voices.  It is believed that the TB patients who where mentally insane were kept in this part of the hospital to keep them isolated from others.  Perhaps this may explain some of the negative energy or spirits that abound on the fifth floor.

The Myrtles Plantation - St. Francisville, Louisiana

In 1796 by General David Bradford built an antebellum style plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana which is located near Baton Rouge.  He named his pride and joy Laurel Grove and moved in with his wife and three children. 

The Myrtles Plantation in the pre-Civil war era

Over time, the children grew and married.  In 1808, General Bradford passed away and his daughter Sara and her husband Clark Woodruff took over management of Laurel Grove for her mother, Elizabeth.  They moved into the plantation and they too raised three children of their own.  The Woodruff's allegedly owned a slave named Chloe.  It is said that Cloe was caught eavesdropping on Mr. Woodruff and his legal dealings, and as punishment her ear was cut off and there was talk of her being returned to the fields to work.  Chole, out of concern for keeping her job in the house, came up with a plan to win the favor of the Woodruff's again, by baking a cake with a touch of oleander in it in hopes that in making the Woodruff's sick, she would care for them and nurse them back to health and in appreciation they would allow her to stay in the house.  Chloe's plan went dreadfully wrong, when only Sara and at least one and maybe another of her children ate the cake and finished it off.  They ingested a higher amount of oleander than Chloe had planned and they died from the poisoning.

After the other slaves on the plantation had found out what Chole had done, the took it upon themselves to administer justice fearing that the owners would take retribution on them all.  They hung Chole from a tree on the grounds until she was dead.  They then threw her body in the Mississippi River.  What would follow for the plantation would be a history of death.

The front veranda of The Myrtles Plantation

Clark and his surviving children moved out of the mansion and sold it in 1834 to Ruffin and Mary Stirling.  It was they who enlarged the plantation and renamed it The Myrtles.  They lived there with their nine children, however five of them died at very early ages while they lived on the plantation.  When Ruffin Stirling passed on, Mary hired William Winter, the husband of one of her surviving daughters, to move in and manage the place.  In 1871 William Winter was mysteriously shot on the front porch of the plantation.  He crawled inside and up the stairs and died on the stairs.  It is also thought that during the Civil War, there were a few Union soldiers who found their way into the mansion in an attempt to ransack it and ended up dead on the threshold.

After the last of the Winter family sold The Myrtles, it exchanged hands many times over the next century.  Through the years there have been reports of many hauntings, beginning with David Bradford, the man who built the mansion.  It is reported that the house was built on an old Native American burial ground, and Bradford was said to have claimed seeing the spirit of a maiden strolling the grounds.

The ghost of a young girl has also been spotted roaming around the home.  It is believed that she is one of the Striling children who died in the home and never had a chance to live out the remainder of their childhood.

A mysterious spot is reported to be on the front threshold of the mansion that is about the size of a body that never goes away even after many attempts at cleaning it.  It is believed that this is the spot where one or more of the Union soldiers died. In the same area, many have repeatedly heard foot steps on the stairway only to find no one there. Someone caught onto the fact that if you count the number of footsteps, they stop at seventeen.  William winter died on the seventeenth step of the stairs after he was shot.

In the early 19th century, it was customary for mirrors in a house to be covered when a death occurred in the house to prevent the soul from entering it and becoming trapped.  After the deaths of Sara Woodruff and her children, one mirror in the plantation was overlooked and to this day it is said that the mirror can be wiped clean, but shortly afterward and hand print will appear on the mirror in the same exact place.  No matter how many times the mirror is cleaned, the prints always reappear.  Some people claim to have heard the sounds of children frolicking and playing on the grounds when none are present.  It is believed that these are the spirits of the Woodruff children.

The haunted mirror in The Myrtles Plantation is said to have hand prints appear on it after each time it is cleaned

This brings us to The Myrtles most famous resident, Chloe.  Many have seen her in the home and wandering the grounds wearing her trademark green turban which she wore after her ear had been cut off.  There is actually recorded proof that Chole is there.  She was captured in a photograph that was taken of the plantation, standing near the side porch of the mansion.  Her form is transparent, and you can clearly make out the shape of a turban on her head. This is believed to be one of the few genuine photographs of what is believed to be a real ghost.

A famous photo taken of the side veranda of The Myrtles Plantation that is said to show the apparition of Chloe standing to the right of the left most column

A zoom in on the area between the two structures of The Myrtles house, clearly shows the figure of a woman wearing what appears to be a turban. 

A closer inspection of The Myrtles resident ghost Chole, shows that the figure is transparent because the side boards of the house appear through the person as if they were transparent.