No one knows where the name originated, but if you have ever visited the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, you have been on Purgatory Mountain. In 1971, a land grant of nearly 1,400 acres from Purgatory Mountain was issued to designate and build the state’s Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Some believe the name originated from…
The I-85 Median Cemetery in Cherokee County
Here is something else you may not be aware of. There is a graveyard between the northbound and southbound lanes near exits 95 and 96 in Cherokee County on Interstate 85. Nicknamed the I-85 Median Cemetery, the Lipscomb-Sarratt Cemetery dates to 1799. According to a goupstate article dated April 29, 2001, “The graves are about…
Land of Oz: No Place Like Home
Land of Oz in Beech Mountain, North Carolina, was/is a theme park based on L Frank Baum’s Land of Oz books. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz series comprises 14 books in total by Baum. Baum’s description of Kansas in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was based on his experiences in drought-ridden South Dakota in 1888….
Legend of Becky Cotton
We are led to believe that Lavinia Fisher was the first female serial killer widely recognized in the United States. While Mrs. Fisher, who died by hanging on February 18, 1820, for highway robbery, not murder, could have certainly been a female serial killer, was she the first? If looks could kill, Becky Cotton from…
The Old Exchange & Provost Dungeon
The Old Exchange & Provost Dungeon, located at 122 E. Bay Street, is a Charleston landmark built in 1771 as a commercial exchange and customs house. During the American Revolution, tea confiscated by the British was stored here. After the British captured the city in 1780, it was a barracks, and the basement served as…
The Poor Houses in South Carolina
In the 19th and 20th centuries, some counties in South Carolina established poor houses as places where paupers were sent to live. Often, they were elderly or disabled people in the community who had nowhere else to turn. Usually, a Poor House was accompanied by a Poor House Farm, where the able-bodied worked until they…
The Rose Hill Plantation
Built between 1828 and 1832, the beautiful Rose Hill Plantation is a historic site in Union County, South Carolina. Nestled along the Tyger River. Rose Hill Plantation served as the South Carolina Governor’s mansion during William Henry Gist’s (1807-1874) time in office from 1858 through 1860. The home offers insight into the upcountry cotton plantation…
Emma’s Light Still Burns in This Georgia Cemetery at Night
Many years ago, a young girl named Emma was often told ghostly stories by her nurse. Sometimes, the stories were true, and other times, they were not. Feeding her four-year-old mind ghostly tales made Emma afraid of the dark. One day, the family replaced the nurse with another, but her fear remained until Emma’s father…
The Haunted Bethesda Cemetery & Church
This haunted church and cemetery in eastern Tennessee is thought to have it all…well, at least in the paranormal world. Bethesda Cemetery and Church in Morristown are tied to several ghostly legends. Several Confederate specters have been reported both inside and outside the church. The spirits that are said to haunt the cemetery are a…
The Hell Hound of the Rotherwood Mansion
The Holston River area in the Tri-Cities of Tennessee seems plagued by specters and even a hellhound. One place located on the North Fork of the Holston is the Rotherwood Mansion, which has a grim history. The mansion in Kingsport dates back to 1818 and has accumulated a fascinating supernatural history. One legend says that…