Buried Alive in Wilmington, NC

The temperature made a drastic drop this week here in West Virginia...and while I absolutely have no problem with it...it does make me a little nostalgic for summer vacation.  This year, my family visited Carolina Beach, North Carolina and spent quite a bit of time in nearby Wilmington.  On one of our excursions into town, we made a stop at the small, historic cemetery located behind St. James Episcopal Church.

You won't find a tombstone with his name on it, but records to indicate that a young man by the name of Samuel Joselyn was buried in this cemetery back in 1810.  Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that Samuel was actually DEAD at the time of his burial!

Samuel came from a wealthy family, which afforded him the opportunity for a good education and the leisure time to get together with young men of similar means and discuss philosophical and academic ideas.  One rainy evening, the discussion turned to the topic of the afterlife and the survival of the soul after death.  Samuel and his best friend, Alexander (Sandy) Hostler made a pact:  whoever died first would come back and contact the survivor.

The two young men probably weren't thinking much about that pact on July 4, 1809.  On that date, Samuel married Mary Ann Sampson of another wealthy Wilmington family, and settled down with the intent to open his own law practice in town.  Unfortunately, his marriage would be a short one.

On March 16, 1810, The Jocelyn's and several other wealthy families were vacationing at one of their nearby hunting lodges. Mary Ann and Samuel apparently got into a fight that evening, and Samuel, in a rage, fled the hunting lodge wearing only a thin coat.  Due to the poor weather and Samuel's apparent poor state of mind, a search party went looking for them.  It wasn't until two days later that he was found in the swamp, lying in 4 inches of icy cold water.  He had apparently fallen or was thrown from his horse.   

Family and friends were distraught as Samuel was laid to rest at St. James' graveyard soon afterward.  Sandy Hostler took the loss of his friend especially hard.  The grieving Sandy was horrified when on the night of Samuel's funeral, an apparition of the deceased young man appeared before him.  The apparition spoke, imploring Sandy to "dig up my body."  Sandy, shaken by the vision, assumed that the ghost was nothing more than a product of his grief and his sleeplessness.  And then, the apparition appeared twice more.  At a loss of what to do, Sandy sought the advice of Louis Toomer.  Louis reminded Sandy of the pact that Sandy and Samuel had made, which Sandy had completely forgotten about. 

Louis further theorized that Samuel had somehow hidden in the coffin some sort of proof of life after death, and that's why he was so insistent that Sandy open his coffin. So, after much deliberation, the two young men decided that it had to be done.  They would exhume their friend's body themselves.

The night came and the two met just outside the graveyard's gates.  As they completed their grisly task, it finally became apparent that Samuel had not hidden any proof of the afterlife in his coffin.  It was much, much worse.

Samuel's ghost DID contact Sandy that first night, and on two subsequent nights, but it wasn't to share proof an afterlife.  It was an attempt to SAVE his life.  Samuel's face wore a twisted look of sheer terror.  His fingers had scratched the coffin lid until they were nothing but bloody stumps, bones exposed.  Samuel hadn't died in the swamp; he had died a horrifying death buried alive.  Perhaps by the time his apparition had come to Samuel, it had already been too late.  Or, perhaps what was his 'ghost' was actually his soul temporarily leaving his body in order to seek help.

Sandy is also long gone now, but Samuel's ghost is still scaring the residents of Wilmington.  Before the fence and the security cameras, locals would scare themselves by daring each other to lie atop of Samuel's grave, ear to the ground, for one hour.  Legend states that no one was ever able to last the entire time without fleeing.  Others refuse to even walk past the graveyard at night fearing they might hear the muffled cries of Samuel Jocelyn, reliving the horror of being buried alive.

*You can read more about Samuel Joselyn's story in the book, Ghosts of Old Wilmington, by John Hirchak!  The church is also one of the potential stops on the Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington Ghost Tour!*

Blog Bonus!

On Monday, I shared a blog post about songs based on real paranormal events and popular ghost stories.  One of my readers, the awesome Mr. Lewis O. Powell, IV who runs The Southern Spirit Guide, an awesome blog about ghostly goings-on in the Southern US, shared this song with me!  Sam Jocelyn's Ghost is a musical re-telling of the story by the ETSU Bluegrass Pride Band.  Definitely give it a listen!  (Here's the direct YouTube link in case the video below won't play.)

Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington

Last month, my family went to Carolina Beach, North Carolina for our summer vacation!  There was so much to see and do during our week-long stay, including spending some time in nearby historic Wilmington. With limited time to cram in everything, we decided that a ghost tour would be the coolest way to see and learn about the downtown area...and we were not disappointed!

Since we had my 8 year old son with us, we couldn't do the haunted pub crawl, but luckily, the same company offers a more kid-friendly Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington tour that we could take.  We purchased our tickets online, but they can also be purchased at the Black Cat Shoppe on Market Street.  The price runs $13 for adults and $11 for kids over 6.  (Check website for further pricing options.) Through most of the tourist season, tours run nightly at 6:30 pm and 8:30 pm. 

We took the 6:30 tour Friday evening with Jake and had a wonderful time!  Even my 8 year old son really enjoyed the stories, which were sufficiently spooky without relying on gore or really disturbing details. The history was fascinating, and Jake did an awesome job storytelling---he made the history and the hauntings interesting and was really quite entertaining, adding in a dose of humor where appropriate.

Paradise Alley

 As someone with back issues, I was hesitant at first at the thought of a 90 minute walking tour, but the pace and terrain were easy enough, and several of the stops offered a place to sit down. The emphasis on storytelling, rather than just a quick overview of each haunted location, led to there being less actual locations than I would have thought on the tour, but I found that surprisingly refreshing. On other tours I've been on, so much info is thrown at you in such a short period of time that it all runs together. With this tour, we still got in a good number of stops with a couple of additional tales without feeling  overwhelmed.  Plus, there was ample opportunity to take as many pictures as you'd like without feeling rush.  They do, however, ask you to refrain from recording the actual storytelling, due to copyright issues.

Throughout our jaunt around town, we learned the tale of Gallus Meg, a no-nonsense tavern keeper who is still making sure men who come to have a drink at the Blue Post behave themselves.  We heard the touching tale of a dog who refused to leave her owner's side, even in death.  The pair are still sometimes seen walking the streets of Wilmington, side by side.  We made a stop at the Burgwin-Wright House and even experienced the ungodly phantom stench that seems to be associated with the location's paranormal reputation.  Our next stop on the tour was at the local modern library which housed a painting with a mind of its own.  That was a really interesting tale that tied directly to the racial tensions in Wilmington during the Race Riots of 1898.  And finally, we ended the night in the world's creepiest alley/tunnel behind a former hospital where overnight visitors often report seeing children playing, hearing their laughter, and even feeling their tiny hands pressing down on them while in bed.  As I find the time, I hope to give each one of these locations (and a few more in the area!) their own blog posts.

Overall, I was very pleased with the experience, and I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone visiting Wilmington.  Our tour guide was obviously passionate about teaching the history of this fascinating former pirate town through a fun and spooky way.  He was knowledgeable, and really knew how to work a mixed-age crowd so that it was enjoyable for everyone.  However, one cool aspect of the this particular tour is that each one is a little different.  Each  tour guide has his/her own way of telling the stories, and not all tours stop at the exact same locations. So, you can definitely take the tour multiple times for a totally different experience. And, I personally thought that the price was very fair for a little under 2 hours of entertaining storytelling.

If you cannot make it to Wilmington, or if you simply want a taste of what you might experience while on the Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington, consider picking up a copy of the book, Ghosts of Old Wilmington, by John Hirchak!  Hirchak is the creator of the tour, and his book gives a really nice glimpse into some of the local legends you might hear on your tour. It makes a great companion piece to the tour, and can be purchased, along with other tour merchandise, in person at the Black Cat Shoppe or online.  

Carolina Beach: The Weirdest Beach in the World

Lifeguard Stand where faceless apparition in gray was seen

If you follow me on Facebook at Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State, you've probably seen me post about my recent vacation to Carolina Beach, North Carolina. We had a wonderful family beach vacation, yet still managed to cram in as much haunted fun as we could.  We had beach and boardwalk days, but then we also had ghost walk and museum days and just overall had a really fun time together.  One day in particular we combined our beach fun with our spooky fun....

It started with a Google search.  Although I had read several books about the hauntings around Wilmington and Pleasure Island, I hadn't taken much time to just peruse what the online community had to say about the Carolina Beach area specifically in terms of spooky happenings.  The first website that came up was Ghosts of America.  Now, this isn't necessarily a site I would recommend to a serious researcher, but I've found some pretty off-the-wall stuff posted on there for West Virginia, so I wasn't too surprised to read what someone had submitted for Carolina Beach.

Apparently there is a stretch of Carolina Beach located off the  800 block of Carolina Beach Avenue that sounds like it must be the most haunted beach in all of America, if not the world!  (LINK to original post) The person submitting the tale had witnessed or had heard about the following at this location:

*A full-bodied apparition wearing a gray hoodie, which flapped in the breeze, come up out of the surf and head towards the lifeguard stand before disappearing.

*A giant cigar-shaped UFO

*Seneca Guns---strange, unexplained booming noises that seemingly come from the ocean. These are heard throughout the Carolina Coast and I'll be dedicating a special blog post to them later on!

*A giant manta ray estimated to be the size of two pick-up trucks

*Waterspout and various dangerous riptides

*A large bale of marijuana covered in barnacles

*A Civil War era button marked with the word 'Liverpool'

Haunted beach's public parking lot, across from Kupboard Grocery

Pretty crazy, right! That's a lot of stuff to happen in one little stretch of beach, so I knew we had to go.  Our main access point to the beach was at the boardwalk, since it was near our rental house, restaurants, etc. But, this location was actually sort of a hidden gem.  We easily found the place the person from the ghost site was talking about.  When we got there, there was only a few public parking spots, but they were all empty. The walk to the beach was nearly level and we had the majority of it to ourselves.  Seriously, there were only about 3 other families there when we arrived.

Unfortunately for me (because I'm a weirdo) nothing weird happened during the 4+hours we were there. But, we actually had a pretty cool time. My son, Luke, enjoyed collecting shells, building sand castles, and testing himself on how deep he could go out into the surf without me freaking out.  I stayed where it was pretty shallow since the waters were kinda rough from all the recent storms we had, but I had a fun time.  And while I'd like to remember this stretch of beach as being 'that haunted beach we went to,' I'll remember it instead as the location where I got the worst sunburn of my life!

Luke playing in the haunted surf

Ghosts of Old Wilmington: Book Review

Title: Ghosts of Old Wilmington

Author: John Hirchak

Published by Haunted America, a Division of The History Press (6th printing: 2012)

Purchase Information from the Black Cat Shoppe

Despite my already extensive collection of regional ghost books from the Carolina Coast area, during my vacation I just had to pick up another!  The selection I chose was, of course, Ghosts of Old Wilmington, by John Hirchak.

So, our second full day of vacation was another day full of morning thunderstorms and rain on and off throughout the afternoon. After braving the lake that had formed overnight in the parking area of our rental house, we decided that since we were getting a late start, we might as well go into Wilmington for a few hours. One of the locations that I was really excited to visit was The Black Cat Shoppe, which I learned later was actually owned by the author!  Anyway, among the souvenirs I picked up there was this book, and its probably my favorite thing I bought on our whole vacation.  I tore through it that night.

At 128 pages, it was naturally a pretty short read, but it was also well written and entertaining. I also had an added layer of excitement---driving around town a bit that day, I had seen some of the locations mentioned as being haunted AND I knew that I'd likely be seeing even more in a few days when we went on the Ghosts of Old Wilmington Ghost Walk (which will be another upcoming blog post!). That made the stories really come alive for me since I knew I either had been or would be standing right by these places discussed in the book.

The book, Ghosts of Old Wilmington, reminds me a LOT of Ghosts of Old Wilmington, the ghost tour...and for good reason.  John Hirchak and his family started the ghost walk.  The collected stories and even the way they are told are similar throughout both the tour and this book, meant as a companion piece to the tours...but there are differences.  Not all the stories in the book will be told on your tour and not all stories on the tour are found in this book---so definitely don't think one can replace the other. 

If you do find yourself with a copy of Ghosts of Wilmington, you'll read tales of Samuel Jocelyn, who was buried alive in a local church cemetery; Gallus Meg, a rough tavern owner who is still assuring men follow the rules of her establishment; a ghost that likes to leave dimes with significant dates on them as presents; and plenty of others. There is a good mix of history thrown in, but not to the point where it bogs down the spooky stories.  Most, if not all, the stories found in the book are made even more interesting because they are from locations that are either open to the public, or publicly accessible in some way.

Even if you don't plan on visiting Wilmington, I'd still suggest this book.  There are some pretty fascinating stories that run a little deeper than the normal "footsteps were heard" type of haunting that is so often written about.  Wilmington is a cool little city, full of history and strangeness, and this book is a fun representation of some of its citizens that refuse to leave their southern home. 

BONUS BOOK PORN

New spooky books from Wilmington/Carolina Beach Vacation

Aaron got me these Wilmington/Carolina Beach books for Mother's Day to get me excited for our upcoming vacation

I already owned quite a few books ghost books about North Carolina, including one on the ship, the USS North Carolina! 

Book Review: Haunted Wilmington and the Cape Fear Coast

Title: Haunted Wilmington and the Cape Fear Coast
Author: Brooks Newton Preik
Published by Banks Channel Books (1995)
Amazon Purchase Information

Summer has officially started here at my house! My son is finishing up his last day of school, he had his last baseball game of the season, and we've already sketched out a rough itinerary of fun trips and activities to keep us busy for the next couple of months.

In early August, we'll be taking our official vacation to Carolina Beach, located on North Carolina's Cape Fear.  With a name like Cape Fear, the area just SOUNDS like it should be running over with ghost stories. And, from what I've seen so far, it is!

I mentioned on Facebook last week that my boyfriend got me a stack of books to add to my Haunted North Carolina shelf, including a really great selection by Brooks Newton Preik called Haunted Wilmington and the Cape Fear Coast. 

Over the course of about 140 pages, Brooks Newton Preik takes the reader all over the Wilmington area, sharing stories of the coast's most beloved ghosts.  I really enjoyed this book because it reminded me of a good old-school collection of regional ghost stories. For each location, there's some history involved, but just enough to put the story in context without focusing too much on extraneous details.  When available, experiences are told by those who had run-ins with the other side. The emphasis is placed on the folklore and the stories themselves, with very little, if any, critical analysis. As an added bonus, hand-drawn illustrations from a variety of artists complement the tales, and each chapter begins with a spooky quote, usually from a famous person or famous work of art.

The book is well-written, well-organized, and overall is a fun and easy read.  There's a good mixture of more 'personal' stories from private locations and stories from locations that we will be able to visit on our trip. I've already added a few must-see spots for our week down south, including, but not limited to, Maco Station (although the Maco Station light has unfortunately not been seen since 1977); Thalian Hall, which is said to be haunted by two Edwardian-dressed ghosts; and Oakdale Cemetery.  We already had plans to visit the ghost of Bald Head Island, who is also featured in Haunted Wilmington, and perhaps we can also hit some of the historic district's spookiest homes and businesses. 

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading a good ghost story, no matter what his/her geographical location may be. These stories are fun and interesting, and have definitely got me even MORE excited for our upcoming trip!

Be sure to follow me on Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State Facebook  for updates on my Wilmington trip and all of our other crazy paranormal-themed summer fun!  And if you're interested in more Book Reviews, please see the link below.  Have a great summer and stay spooky, ya'll.

*Book Reviews*

The Haunted Cowee Tunnel and the Fugitive Ghost

My usual routine is to research a topic and write a blog about it. That blog then gets shared on Facebook, Twitter, and maybe one of the other social media platforms I play around on. However, there are times when just the opposite happens---I'll be inspired to write a blog post AFTER posting the information on Facebook.  And, that's the idea behind today's blog, lol. 

It all started with a video from one of my favorite YouTube explorers, The Carpetbagger. In one of his travels, he tells the story of the haunted Cowee train tunnel near Dillsboro, North Carolina. I've embedded the video below for you to watch, but the basic gist of the tale is both sad and horrific. 

On December 30, 1882, work was being done to dig a tunnel for the Great Smokey Mountain Railway, just outside Dillsboro, North Carolina. The digging was the work of an African-American chain gang, many of the group having been sent to prison over incidents of petty theft. To access the tunnel, the group had to take a boat across the Tuckasegee River from their camp on the other side.  On that fateful day, 19 men would never see the other side of the river alive again.  

The boat began to fill with water, and the men panicked. The more they panicked, the worse conditions got, and the boat quickly capsized. For 19 of the men, chained together, this was a death sentence. Tangled together, they sank to the bottom of the icy river.

Not all lives aboard the boat were lost, however. Anderson Drake was a black overseer who wasn't attached to the chain gang. Not only was he able to swim to safety, but he also managed to jump back into the river and save the life of a white guard named Fleet Foster.

Now, one would think that Foster would be grateful to have been pulled from the clutches of icy death, but it would seem that he felt offended that his life was in the hands of a black man, and a criminal at that. So, later that evening when his wallet went 'missing,' and the prisoners searched, it was found among the possessions of Drake. Drake, who should have been hailed as a hero, was severely beaten and had his sentence extended.

A few days later, the bodies of the 19 men who perished were removed from the river and buried in a mass grave near the site. Work continued on the tunnel, but the story does not end here. Many believe that to this day, the Cowee train tunnel is haunted. Even in dry weather, the tunnel is prone to vast amounts of moisture dripping from its ceiling and sides. Visitors attribute this to being the tears of the 19 deceased men. Also attributed to the men are the frequently heard voices and screams, crying out from the area around the tunnel.

Some even say the tunnel is cursed, possibly by Anderson Drake in response to his harsh treatment. Over the years, the tunnel has seen cave-ins, derailments, and other horrific accidents. But the weirdest ghost story associated with the tunnel wouldn't surface until decades after the incident.

When the movie, The Fugitive (1993) was being filmed, CGI technology was not what it is today. So,

to achieve the best possible shot for the iconic prison bus vs. train scene, a REAL bus and train wreck was staged on scene near Dillsboro, NC...only about a mile or so away from the haunted Cowee train tunnel!  After filming wrapped up, the remnants of the wreck were simply left on the side of the road, much to the delight of film buffs, urban explorers, and YouTubers. You can still visit the area and get up close and personal with the abandoned movie props....but that's not the most interesting part of this whole scene.

Allegedly, when that shot was being filmed, someone (or someTHING!) managed to show up on camera that shouldn't have been there. If you look closely at the part when Harrison Ford is looking up from inside the train crash, you can see what appears to be a face of a man, wearing a hat, peering down into the camera. This anomaly was confirmed by a member of production in an 'extras' interview, which can be viewed on YouTube.  He says that no one could identify the man  at the time and that his image was digitally removed from the DVD copy of the movie. You can still see it on VHS copies and throughout YouTube, with much speculation as to whether or not the image was a ghost.  Some say that he was probably a fireman on set that accidentally got caught on film.  Others believe he is a ghost associated with the Cowee Tunnel, located just a mile or so away from where the filming took place. Take a look at the footage from the link provided and let me know what YOU think!

Extra Links and Reading:
YouTube footage--DVD Interview and Ghost Scene from The Fugitive
Smoky Mountain News Article by Garrett K. Woodward
Atlas Obscura: The Fugitive Train Wreck
Dave Tabler article from Appalachian History
The Carpetbagger YouTube Channel

NC's Dana Auditorium Has a Ghost...or Two

I don't really like posting TWO haunted locations not in the tri-state in a row, but as part of my 2013 resolutions for this site, I am determined to finally finish Round One of my Haunted America series!  I'm also determined to post more frequently, possibly once a day, and I admittedly don't have all my research together this morning for any of the the blogs I have planned out.  So, I grabbed my copy of Triad Hauntings by Burt Calloway and Jennifer Fitzsimons and picked the first location that looked interesting.  Luckily, I was able to find enough supporting evidence online to whip out today's entry:  The Ghosts of Dana Auditorium.

Dana Auditorium was built in 1961 on the campus of Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina.  It was named for Charles Dana, a local philanthropist who donated $250,000 to the college for the completion of the project, which was built on the former site of an 1891 YMCA building.  However, the land on which the Dana Auditorium stands actually has a history going back even further than the creation of Guilford or its predecessor, the New Garden Boarding School.  It has ties that go all the way back to the Revolutionary War.

The Battle of Guilford Courthouse was fought March 15, 1781 in which British troops defeated the Americans, leaving over 172 total casualties, and over 600 total wounded soldiers.  In order to assist the many wounded and dying, a field hospital sprang up nearby...directly on the site where the Dana Auditorium would be built.

Shortly after its completion, the Dana Auditorium obtained its haunted reputation.  Many believe the resident ghost is a man who they have dubbed Lucas, and who was a soldier who died at the field hospital from injuries sustained in battle.  Lucas almost always seems to make himself known at the same time each night:  2am, leaving a wake of security guards and the occasional late-night music student his prime targets.  Lucas, while seen and felt throughout the building, tends to favor only two rooms---the Moon Room and the Choir Room.  He especially enjoys playing one of the many pianos located in the Choir Room, and also messing with the locks.

In 1973, Lucas gave two security guards quite a fright, as they entered into the main auditorium to find one of the heavy chandeliers swaying on its own accord.  As they watched, the chandelier fell and crashed, leaving them both pretty shook up.

From time to time, Lucas is actually spotted.  A security guard turning a corner in the hall encountered a weathered looking man directly in front of him.  When questioned, the man said nothing, but turned and walked into the Moon Room.  Lucas has also been seen in the auditorium's balcony, along with another possible apparition. 

In more recent years, the ghost of a little dark haired girl wearing a white dress has been seen, and many say she's mischievous, and possibly, a little malicious.  One student staying late to rehearse on the piano noticed the little girl watching him in the Choir Room.  Creeped out, he immediately left.

As to the identity of this little girl, no one online has really brought forth any theories, however, it is interesting to note that Shadowlands actually has a listing for the Mary Hobbs Hall, a campus dormitory, being haunted by a little girl named Mary.  According to the legend, Mary had a slumber party with several friends in the attic of the home.  Some local boys, wishing to scare the girls, started throwing rocks through their window.  Somehow, a fire started, and Mary didn't make it out alive, and thus, now haunts the dormitory.

However, according to the college, Hobbs Hall was never this private residence as listed.  Rather, it was built in 1907 as a female dormitory and named after the wife of Guilford President, Lewis Lyndon Hobbs.  Mary Hobbs wished to improve educational opportunities for women with financial difficulties, and thus, set up Hobbs Hall as a co-op type facility where girls could live, and share the chores of cooking, cleaning, etc. as a way to support themselves.  By the 1940s, the attic of the building did house up to 12 seniors, which was considered a privileged location. 

There WAS a fire that broke out in the attic on November 29, 1976, caused by a curtain coming in contact with a curling iron. The impact of that fire, as seen in the blackened, charred remains of the attic, is still visible today, and is probably the basis of this legend.