The Outer Banks of North Carolina are home to some of the state’s best mysteries and folklore. The region is also forever tied to a ghost ship that mysteriously washed ashore in 1921. The Carroll A. Deering was a five-masted commercial schooner first launched in 1919 and found to run aground without its crew off…
The Ghost Cat of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
Some believe the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is one of the more haunted places in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The first lighthouse was built in 1803; however, the current light was constructed in 1870, roughly five years after the end of the Civil War. The ocean began to reclaim the ground, and in 1999,…
The Haunted Lightkeeper’s Quarters at Currituck Beach Lighthouse
In the earliest days before automatic lights, lighthouses required lightkeepers to operate them. These keepers often lived in residences beside the lighthouse called the lightkeeper’s quarters. At the Currituck Light Station in Corolla in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, the Johnson family took over the job in 1916. George Johnson’s adopted daughter, Sadie, was…
The Ghostly Legend of the Whalehead Club
The historic Whalehead Club, located at 1100 Club Road in Corolla, is a 21,000-square-foot mansion overlooking the Currituck Sound. Edward and Marie Knight originally constructed it as a hunting retreat in 1925. Over the years, the premises have been used for various purposes, including a Coast Guard shelter and a correctional school, among others. The…
The Titanic Pinged a Distress Call to This Eastern Carolina Weather Station
Many may not know, but the RMS Titanic sent at least two distress calls that pinged the Hatteras Island Weather Station in North Carolina. Station operators Richard Dailey and Horace Gaskins received the message “CQD: Have Struck Iceberg” at 11:25 p.m. It was an urgent message from the Titanic. They immediately forwarded the message to…
The Ghosts that Walk the Beaches of Nags Head
During the 1700s, locals would hang lanterns on their horses’ necks at night and walk them along the beaches. The glow from the lanterns misguided ships into thinking they were lighthouses or safe landing areas. Instead, the ships believed they were headed toward a safe harbor, but would wreck. Local land pirates would raid the…
Is the Kill Devil Hills Library Haunted
The library isn’t ancient, but librarians who have worked inside have described some strange noises. Reportedly, the librarians only hear the noises when they are alone: voices in the meeting room, clinking dishes in the kitchen, knocking and clanking throughout the library, and books jumping off the shelves. Dare County, NC website said, “The KDH…
The Legend of the Queen of the Sounds
Frenchy Godette was stationed on Roanoke Island during the Civil War. Godette loved the Outer Banks and all the people he encountered. After the War ended, he decided to stay and make a new life there. Shortly after making North Carolina his home, Frenchy commissioned the building of a riverboat, The Queen of the Sounds,…
Legend of Old Quawk (Outer Banks)
Sometime in the late 1700s or early 1800s, a man of indeterminate origin arrived on Ocracoke Island, several miles north of the village. Many wondered who this mystery man was, as talk soon circulated. He came from a distant land, and it was even rumored he had once been a pirate. Not only was he…
Legend of Old Buck (Outer Banks)
Every Christmas season, on January 6, which is classified as Old Christmas, the village of Rodanthe is visited by a special guest. The legend of Old Buck has endured for over 400 years. He is thought to live in Trent Woods and appears to see which children behaved that year. Old Buck is a bull,…