So, on this Halloween 2007, I've been reminiscing on some of these fantastic stories that fascinated me as a child. Here are some of my favorites (with links, if possible). Please feel free to share your own.
-Devil's Tramping Ground, Chatham County. Old Beelzebub himself apparently does his nightly planning here by walking in a circle. (A circle that never disappears!!!) I've never had the nerve to try to camp out there. (Good friend Chris Daniel has a vlog about it here.)
-The Bath footprints, Bath. A horse race between a brash young man and the Devil ended up deadly when the horse got spooked and threw the young rider. The horse hoof prints never disappear!!!
-Maco Light, near Wilmington. My mother swears she saw this as a child. I've heard of late that because of the re-routing of trains or somesuch that the light no longer exists.
-The Little Red Man, Salem. An old cobbler was killed a couple hundred years ago at Old Salem. He was known for wearing a red jacket, I believe, and he was seen over the years being mischievious.
-The ferry crosses, throughout Western North Carolina. I've seen these tiny, stone crosses as the county museum in Murphy has a nice display of them.
-Lydia trying to get back home, near Greensboro. A young girl hitches a ride home from the prom. Unfortunately, she's been dead for a long time, killed in a car wreck -- on PROM NIGHT!!!!
-The bloody rock of Peter Dromgoole (sp?), Chapel Hill. At Ghimghoul Castle is the rock upon which Peter died after dueling for his love. The blood will never wash away!!!!
And perhaps my favorite of all, the Brown Mountain Lights.
In the western hills of North Carolina stands a mountain that is not particularly striking, or even high, but it plays host to perhaps the strangest mystery in the state. The mountain is called Brown Mountain and it lies in the foothills of the Blue Ridge and for many years, it has attracted the attention of people all over the nation and even the attention of the United States government as two separate investigations have been conducted by the US Geological survey into the strange anomalies of this mountain.
The strange events that are occur here have been called the Brown Mountain Lights for more years than most can remember. They appear along the ridges of this mountain on a regular basis and are faithful enough that in clear weather, you can see them just about any night that you care to.