Asheville, North Carolina, is one of those cities where, if you took a rock and threw it in a random direction, you would manage to hit a haunted hotspot. And the Jackson Building is impossible to miss. Look up and see statues of gargoyles guarding the building and the dark secrets it holds.
Designed and built by Ronald Greene in 1924, the Jackson Building was the first skyscraper in western North Carolina, and it currently stands at 22 S. Pack Square. What better decade to celebrate such an achievement than the Roaring Twenties? From the social environment to the economy, the United States was experiencing significant growth at the time. Both the money and the drinks were flowing through the streets. Business was what the Jackson Building was known for.
However, it all came to a head in 1929. The stock market crashed. The economy was devastated. Business workers, many of whom bet their entire lives on the market, could not cope. Many of these victims of circumstance were so distraught that they took their own lives all across the United States.
According to legend, many jumped from the Jackson Building in Asheville, North Carolina. There is one unnamed individual whom people witnessed leaping from the top floor. Witnesses claim they can still see someone standing behind the window today.
And if things could not get any creepier, the site where the building was placed belonged to Thomas Wolfe’s father’s tombstone shop. In memory of William Oliver Wolfe, you can see two small monuments in front of the Jackson Building. Beside the monuments sits a giant circle that resembles a bullseye. Is this the spot where the grief-stricken businessman met his fate? Many seem to believe so.
If you visit Asheville and come across the Jackson Building, look up and squint your eyes. Do you see a man’s face?
Written By: Izzy
