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 First Unsolved Mystery Case in America Occurred in North Carolina: Virginia Dare
North Carolina is home to America’s first mystery, when the first attempted English settlement vanished on Roanoke Island. Virginia Dare, the firstborn English child in the new colony, disappeared by 1590, sparking controversy about her fate. Some believe she lived among the natives, where she encountered a witch doctor who wished to marry her. After…
The Mystery of the Carroll A. Deering
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 Ship, ‘Crissie Wright’
On a cold night on January 11, 1886, the Crissie Wright sailed into a heavy winter storm as the little town of Diamond City watched in disbelief from the shore. Many residents gathered along the sand at the edge of the Atlantic with fires lit to welcome the crew, but the ocean was just too…
Legend of the Seven Sisters of Nags Head
The Seven Sisters is today known as an area near milepost 14 in Nags Head. It’s a sad tale of seven sisters who were released from their enslavers at the end of the Civil War and were forced to return to their homeland. They never made it when they all disappeared in a large storm…
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 Ghostly Legend of the Roanoke Island Inn
According to multiple online sites, the Roanoke Island Inn in Manteo is home to a popular legend. Constructed in the 1860s by Asa Jones and his wife Martha, the historic inn overlooks the scenic Roanoke marshes. Today, it serves as a quaint bed and breakfast welcoming travelers to the coast. However, legend has it that…
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 Pioneer Theater
The Pioneer Theater is a small single-screen family theater in Manteo, North Carolina, on the Outer Banks. Legend has it that the old theater is haunted by its former owner, who disliked customers using cell phones within the establishment. There are reports of a spirit or unexplained force knocking cell phones out of moviegoers’ hands…
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…