Hurricane Helene raked the Carolinas coast on September 27, 1958, but did not make landfall. That morning, the massive Category 4 storm with winds up to 150 mph approached Charleston, South Carolina, before abruptly turning to the north and northeast. The storm brought heavy rainfall to Eastern North Carolina, damaging many homes and buildings. Written…
The Legend of Oregon Inlet in North Carolina
Oregon Inlet is a natural channel on the Outer Banks of North Carolina that separates Bodie Island from Pea Island and joins Pamlico Sound to the Atlantic Ocean. A hurricane that sliced through the area in 1846 formed the inlet, which even has a legend behind it. The legend says that in September 1846, a…
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 1940 Guthery Apartments Fire in Charlotte
In the early hours of March 15, 1940, a massive and deadly fire swept through Guthery Apartments, now known as the Tryon House Apartments, on North Tryon Street in Charlotte. The fire was attributed to a suspected boiler explosion in the basement, which turned catastrophic due to ruptured gas lines. Within minutes, the older part…
Remembering The 1997 Loomis Fargo Bank Heist
On October 4, 1997, David Ghantt, a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo, was finishing his shift when he began loading $17 million into a company van. Ghantt resided in Kings Mountain at the time when he made the dash for cash, and soon headed to Mexico. .Ghantt was joined by accomplices, coworker Kelly Campbell, as…
Ghost Town in the Sky
In 1961, one of the most significant and unique theme parks opened on top of Buck Mountain, with an elevation of 4,650 ft. The popular Western-themed amusement park, founded by R.B. Coburn, originally from Virginia but relocated to Maggie Valley, would forever capture our memories and the surrounding scenic landscape. Ghost Town in the Sky…
The Day It Rained Blood in North Carolina
Weather in the Carolinas can change on a dime, but I have never heard of a forecast that called for a 100 percent chance of blood rain. According to legend, on February 25, 1884, a Chatham County woman, Mrs. Kit Lassiter, faced this nightmare when she heard rain but quickly realized the liquid wasn’t clear….
The 1906 Asheville, NC Massacre- Will Harris
Asheville is a historic city with numerous apparitions and tunnels beneath its streets. The area would be the first impacted by prohibition in the early 1900s, due to strict laws, compared to other parts of the country that would see the Roaring Twenties usher in dryness. The mountain city would also become known for a…
The 1948 Asheville Mental Hospital Fire
On March 10 or March 11, 1948, a fire broke out in the women’s building of the Highland Mental Hospital in Asheville. The fire quickly swept through the building, engulfing all of the stories. According to author Sherman Carmichael in his Mysterious Tales of Western North Carolina, this was the third fire in the hospital…
The 1882 Dillsboro, North Carolina, Tunnel Accident
Dillsboro, North Carolina, is full of history and haunts for such a small community. In 1882, the Western North Carolina Railroad planned the Cowee Tunnel, just west of Dillsboro. Every day, convicts were forced to perform manual labor to straighten a bend in the Tuckasegee River. On the morning of December 30, 1882, tragedy struck…