Galax, Virginia, is nestled right across the North Carolina border in southwest Virginia. This area is home to many ghostly tales, ranging from haunted buildings and a small ghost dog to the enduring story of Nurse Alice.
In 1904, the elegant Hotel Waugh occupied the space where Macado’s Restaurant now sits. When a destructive fire erupted inside the hotel, Alice, who had served as a nurse during the Civil War, escaped the blazing structure but returned to help others. Tragically, the building collapsed, killing Nurse Alice. All that was found of her was a burned handkerchief.
Years later, another hotel, the Central Hotel, stood on the site of the Citgo station. The hotel also caught fire, and guests claimed that a nurse dressed in all white knocked on their doors, urging them to evacuate the premises immediately.
No one matching the woman’s description was staying at the hotel. Eleven guests described a woman in a white dress with a Victorian collar, hair in a bun, and holding a handkerchief, who knocked on their room doors.
It is said that Nurse Alice appears during fires, ensuring no one else meets the same fate as she did many years ago.
Written By: John G. Clark Jr.