Haunted locations of the Carolinas (Charlotte, Asheville: credit, hotel, lawyers)

[Paranormalperceptioncrew]

Lincoln Academy
Gastonia, NC

History:
In 1884 Emily Prudden bought 50 acres of land from Dr. Francis Garret in an area known as Crowders Mountain / Gaston County. The first building to be opened on this site was Prudden Hall, Followed by Lincoln Academy in 1888. Lincoln Academy was a boarding school used to educate poor and underprivileged African American girls. Many girls that graduated from Lincoln Academy became doctors, lawyers, and many other professions. As the school grew and developed it began accepting boys. It was internationally recognized for its Christian education teachings and attracted students from as far away as Africa and France. It wasn't until 1923 that Lincoln Academy employed its all African American faculty. In 1955 Lincoln Academy was moved to Bessemer City where it became Lincoln High School. The original building at healing springs was closed. Twenty years later in the 1970’s Kathleen Smiley was brutally murdered on the school grounds. Kathleen was living in Georgia and it is not known how she came to North Carolina. Kathleen’s obituary states that Wallace Charles Landford and Pickney Thompson Mitchell were taken into custody and charged with Kathleen’s kidnapping and murder. They both served life sentences and died in prison. Kathleen’s body was found bound to a tree with barbed wire; she was gagged with wires through her mouth and around her hands. She was also stabbed seven times and hit on the head. Her body was so disfigured that the only way to identify her was through her school books in her 1972 Volkswagen. Her Volkswagen was found burning in the same area shortly after her body was discovered. Today all that remains of Lincoln Academy is a cemetery. The road that Lincoln Academy was located on is now overgrown with vegetation.

Paranormal Phenomena:
There were many problems with Satan worshipers performing rituals and sacrifices through out Crowders Mountain. Crowders Mountain closed their camping grounds for ten years due to the dangers presented by the satanic worshipping’s. Many people believe there is a demonic presence that lingers on the property. There have been sightings of unexplained mists and smoke, sounds of children crying, shadow figures, drastic temperature changes, unexplained footsteps and voices, and in some cases people have been pushed or touched by unseen forces. So in conclusion, If you decide to check out Lincoln Academy for yourself don’t go alone and please be respectful of the site.

Poinsett Bridge
Travelers Rest, SC

History:
The Poinsett Bridge is located on Callahan Mountain Rd. It was constructed in 1820. The bridge displays classic Gothic Architecture. It was built by African slaves, a number of them died during the construction of the bridge. Some died from accidents while others died from being overworked. Many of the stones used to build the bridge weigh well over a ton. They were dragged and rolled from the quarry to the construction site, and then were levered into place with stout logs hefted by slaves. On one occasion a lever used to lift the stones slipped out of place trapping the arms of two workers underneath it and pinning them to the bridge. The overseer ordered all of the other workers to go to the opposite side of the bridge and then proceeded to kill the two trapped workers and cut off their arms level with the wall. Many other workers died in similar incidents while constructing the bridge. Although so many tragic incidences took place during the construction of the bridge It was still completed on schedule. The public works president at the time Joel R. Poinsett had the bridge named after himself. Today the bridge is still fully intact but no longer in use. It is a part of 120 acre Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve. In the future a picnic area and walking trail will be added to the Preserve.

Paranormal Phenomena:
Many people believe that the bridge as well as the woods and roads surrounding it are haunted by the workers killed during the construction of the bridge. There have been many reports of hearing unexplained screams and voices, seeing mysterious glowing lights near the bridge and the woods surrounding it, the feeling of being watched, and being touched by an unknown force. If you decide to visit Poinsett Bridge please do not go alone and be respectful of the site. There is absolutely no cell phone service once you have reached the bridge. Also be aware that you are in a rural area and you should be cautious of wild animals.

Spencer Mountain Mansion
(Old Love House, Pharr Yarns Mansion)
Spencer Mountain, NC

History:
The Town of Spencer Mountain was settled in 1772 by Zachariah Spencer, a local Tory. In 1874, J. Harvey Wilson II built a water-powered textile mill (Wilson & Moore Cotton Mill) at the base of Spencer Mountain. W. Thomas Love and John C. Rankin purchased the mill in 1895 and changed its name to Spencer Mountain Mills. A predecessor of Duke Power purchased the mill and the hydroelectric plant that powered it in 1926. The mill was purchased by Pharr Yarns in 1957 and was shut down in 1999. Spencer Mountain was incorporated for a brief period of time between 1895 and 1909 and again in 1963. The mansion is located at 222 Spencer Mountain Rd, across the street from the Pharr Yarns Mill at the base of the mountain. The mansion is said to have been built in the late 1700’s on top of the Old Spencer Mountain Memorial Cemetery. The entire hillside from Pharr Blvd. all the way over to Ranlo/Spencer Mountain Road was once a final resting place for many. Some of the old mill houses sit right on top of still visible tombstones. In the late 1990’s land was donated by the property owners to one of the families decedents that were confirmed as having family buried on this same hillside. You can now view this grave site that sits on the hillside on Main Street Spencer Mountain which is approximately 300 feet from the mansion. In 1997 Tracy Hamrick was elected as mayor of Spencer Mountain. Hamrick decided it would be fun to have a Halloween haunted house attraction at the mansion to raise money for the town and the volunteer fire department. Pharr Yarns, which owns the mansion, agreed to let him use the vacant house. But shortly after opening up the haunted attraction to the public the employees started to realize that the mansion truly was haunted. Many volunteer firefighters worked at the haunted mansion during the Halloween season. In 2005, the mansion was listed in a book titled "Encyclopedia of the World’s Most Haunted Places.” Now the mansion is closed to the public. It is in very bad shape due to vandalism and lack of preservation by the owners. It is ridden with no trespassing signs and its boarded up to keep unwanted guests out. As of today the mansion is not listed as a historical sight and it is not getting the credit and attention it deserves. If you would like to help us preserve this beautiful historic home please contact the Spencer Mountain Historical Society and see what you can do to help.

Paranormal Phenomena:
Spencer Mountain Mansions most famous ghost is a young woman named Sarah. She is said to be dressed in a flowing, white gown with no facial expression. She has been seen all over the mansions property. Many people have claimed to see her in the windows of mansion looking out towards the road. Some say they have seen her by the road also. While the mansion was being used as a Halloween attraction one of the volunteer firefighters working claimed to have seen Sarah. He frantically ran out of the mansion and never returned. Many people experienced numerous accounts of paranormal phenomena while the mansion was a Halloween attraction. Many workers complained that their equipment would fail during their shift or become unplugged, things would be misplaced, the power would go out at random several times throughout the night, they would hear unexplained voices and bangs, and many people were scratched by an unseen force. Spencer Mountain Mansion is definitely haunted but no one knows why. There are several different stories that are linked back to the mansion explaining the hauntings but none of them have been proven to be fact. If you would like to visit Spencer Mountain Mansion please contact the current owners first. They do NOT allow anyone in or around the mansion without permission. The police also patrol the mansion to keep unwanted guests away.

Demons Trail
Lynderboro Street
Rock Hill, SC, 29730

History:
The city of Rock Hill was built by the textile industry in the late 1800s. The Rock Hill Cotton Factory, built in 1881, was the first in Rock Hill and the first in South Carolina to use steam power. A.E.Hutchison, J.M. Ivy, W.L. Roddey, and A.H. White founded the Rock Hill Cotton Factory to boost the city's status as a cotton market and to spur economic growth. This two-story mill was designed and built by A.D. Holler and modeled after the Camperdown Mill in Greenville. This was the first of seven textile mills built here from 1881 to 1907. Rock Hill soon became the model of the "New South" city, its population grew from 800 to more than 6,000, and White Street became its "Textile Corridor" and industrial center. This mill, sold and renamed several times before it closed in 1967, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1992 and renovated into office in 2007.

Hamilton Carhartt found his way to Rock Hill in 1907 and bought the Rock Hill Cotton Factory on Chatham Avenue (The towns oldest) on 72 acres and built a three story addition and renamed it Hamilton Carhartt Mill. Hamilton Carhartt also owned mills in Detroit, Atlanta, Dallas and Liverpool, England. In 1909 Hamilton Carhartt built the Cel-River Mill on 100 acres along what was then called Red River rd. Cel-River Mill once employed more than 3,000 people. The company logo was a heart with a car in it. Eventually Carhartt increased it to 2,000 acres and used the land for worker's homes and a dairy farm. A British architect designed the mill and the surrounding area to resemble an English mill village, called Carhartt Station and later the Town of Red River. Houses were scattered around a pond. There was a school and a church, and it is believed to be one of the first areas to have running water and sewer. Hamilton Carhartt also built himself a mansion on the Catawba River in the style of a huge Swiss Chalet with elaborate gardens and a working dairy. Carhartt once offered the house to President Woodrow Wilson as summer home but Wilson never responded to the invitation. By the mid 1920's the textile industry was faltering and Carhartt sold the Cel-River mill in 1925. The mill became idle in the 1930's. In 1937, Hamilton Carhartt and his wife were killed in an automobile accident on the same corner in Detroit where their daughter was killed. In 1944, Cel-River Mill was purchased by David LaFar Jr. and renamed Randolph Yarns after an investors son. The mill made yarn for apparel, furnishings and industrial products. It Closed December 16, 2000. The Cel-River Mill was demolished in April 2001 after 90 years of business.

Over the years, the homes Hamilton Carhartt built on Lynderboro Street have slowly deteriorated and become abandoned. Some of them were burnt down by local teenagers. There are still a few homes that remain but they are in terrible shape. In 2003, one of the abandoned homes became the location of a sexual assault incident. A local Latino woman went to a mobile home on Red River Rd in response to a housekeeping ad. The suspect told area residents he was remodeling homes and was looking for three women to do housekeeping for $11 an hour. The victim drove with the man to one abandoned home and then to a second abandoned home on Lynderboro Street where the assault happened. As the man was showing the victim the home, he grabbed her breasts and forced her to perform oral sex on him. When she resisted, he pushed her against the wall, injuring her right arm. He also hit her face, knocking the victim to the floor. The victim told authorities she was unconscious during some of the assault. The woman had bruises on her right arm and left leg and scratches on her chest and lower stomach. The suspect who identified himself as John Helms was never found.

Today, All of the homes on Lynderboro Street are abandoned and completely destroyed from vandalism. Lynderboro Street is now a gravel/dirt road that leads to a long dirt trail into the woods. The trail leads over the old railroad tracks and into an unkept graveyard. There are several tombstones and unmarked graves scattered amongst the woods. The origin of the graveyard is unknown. This trail and graveyard is no longer accessible to the public. It is private property. There are several "No Trespassing" signs throughout the woods. Violators will be prosecuted.

Paranormal Phenomena:
There have been several rumors over the years of satanic rituals being held in the old mill houses on Lynderboro Street and on the dirt trail at the end of Lynderboro Street.. These rituals are the reason for Lynderboro street receiving its nickname as Demons Trail. Many people who have visited Demons Trail have experienced paranormal phenomena. There have been several accounts of hearing unexplained voices and screams, being pushed/shoved by an unseen force, being scratched, unexplained mists and orbs appear in photographs, and several EVP's have been captured at Demons Trail. Paranormal Perception Crew has captured several class A EVP's from Demons Trail. Some of them are featured under the EVP section of our website. Paranormal Perception Crew has also captured unexplained mists and apparitions in photographs from previous investigations at Demons Trail. If you wish to investigate Demons Trail for yourself, please receive permission from the property owner. The police patrol this area regularly and do not take kindly to trespassers. Demons Trail is also located in a bad area of town and we would not recommend visiting after dark.

References:
The Herald, Article "Authorities search for sexual assault suspect" by Tim Eberly, June 21, 2003
The Herald, Article "Demolition under way despite factory's rich past" April 3, 2001
The Herald, Article "Man tries to save English cottage he once called home" by Sula Pettibon, July 10, 2005
Rock Hill Cotton Factory historical marker

[Mike409]

Thanks for the info..

I'd love to stay at a reported haunted hotel, that's within two hours of Charlotte. Do you know of any?


When I was 14, 15, 16 years of age, every summer, for six weeks, we'd visit our grandparents farm in Northern Ireland. The home was built in the early 1800's, as were the various barns. That house made me a true believer.

[yrgm]

Originally Posted by Mike409

Thanks for the info..

I'd love to stay at a reported haunted hotel, that's within two hours of Charlotte. Do you know of any?


When I was 14, 15, 16 years of age, every summer, for six weeks, we'd visit our grandparents farm in Northern Ireland. The home was built in the early 1800's, as were the various barns. That house made me a true believer.

A few years ago we stayed at The Grove Park Inn in Asheville for Easter. An amazing old hotel on beautiful grounds. Just breath-taking. Of course, it was my idea to stay in the "old, historic part of the hotel." We didn't know it until Day 2, but they put us in The Pink Lady's Room At first I thought my husband was teasing both myself and our children. But he wasn't. I asked a few waiters, looked it up on the internet and then of course a book in our hotel room gave the story. Needless to say, it was difficult to sleep the next few nights in that room. The funny thing is before we even knew about The Pink Lady our thermostat in the room never regulated properly. Makes you wonder.
Luckily, the staff kept telling our boys age 4 and 9 at the time that The Pink Lady loved children and enjoyed their company in the room...but their imaginations ran wild
The staff also asked us if we requested the room b/c it is the most requested room and usually booked. Of course, we didn't request the room so then the staff started telling the boys that The Pink Lady must have really wanted them in her room...LOL

[NC_Resident11]

Cry Baby Bridge

Located: Dallas NC

There's a small bridge located in Dallas NC, it is small and not hard to miss.

Visitors claim that if they park their car and shut it off, it may not start again due to paranormal activity at the bridge. Disembodied sounds of a baby crying have also been heard at the bridge.

[HunterSS]

My grandfather was one of the arresting officers in the Kathleen Smiley case at Crowders Mountain. I have the photo. I’m writing a book on the subject also and have a year of research already. With permission from the District Attorney and Gaston County police department, I have had access to the original police files including the FBI and SBI files. Just to hit a few key points, she was abducted after willingly picking up her killers. She was tied with electrical cord and NOT barbed wire… just to name a few inconsistencies and misinformation. I have tons of information that has never been available to the public.
I’ve also put together a paranormal team and we have done three investigations thus far. As I said, I’m in the process of writing a book, so if you want more information you’ll have to wait a couple of years for the book or DM me. Thanks

[HunterSS]

I’ve also stayed at the Grove Park Inn and have photos of pink orbs as well as a documented MUFON report about an incident at Crowders Mountain in 2003. Stuff happens here… I built my house less than 1/4 mile from the mountain. Working as a respiratory therapist for 18 years all on third shift, I’ve heard disembodied voices etc, along with several of hospital staff experiencing these occurrences with me. Why me? Only God knows…