Grove Park Inn (Asheville, NC)visitnc.com — Grove Park Inn (Asheville, NC)
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Are you looking for an adventure with an extra thrill added to it? With summer time here, it’s time to travel and explore for many folks. And while many people will take their annual beach trip, there are many others looking for a fresh, brand new adventure. This list may be for these people. If you’re like me, the idea of staying at a haunted hotel is very intriguing. I’ve never done it, but would like to think that I’d be brave enough to stay all night long in one. So, if you want to add an extra thrill to your summer travels and think you could make it all night long in a haunted hotel, try staying in one of these “5 Most Haunted Hotels in North Carolina.”

5. The Carolina Inn (Chapel Hill)

Located on the UNC campus, the Carolina Inn was built in 1924 on the hill that the city was named for. Though it is reported to be haunted by over 20 ghosts, there is one in particular that has given decades of visitors the creeps. Dr. Jacocks was a doctor with the Rockefeller Foundation and upon retiring, decided to make the Carolina Inn his home. He lived in room 252 for 17 years until his death in 1965. But ever since his room has again been used for guests, people have claimed that the spirit of Jacocks has never left his old room. Most notably, guests of the room report being locked out of their room, by a seemingly prankster ghosts of Dr. Jacocks. Locks have had to be changed by maintenance, and they’ve even had to go to the trouble of taking off the door hinges to get back into the room. Guests also have reported the random smell of flowers, the playing of a piano in the middle of the night, rumpled up bath mats, and the opening of curtains. He will also walk the hallways and rattle on doorknobs. More than anything, it seems Dr. Jacocks is a fun-loving, prankster ghosts, but it still would make things a little uneasy, especially in room 252.

4. The Biltmore Hotel (Greensboro)

Built in 1903, the Biltmore Hotel is said to be haunted by two ghosts. The first is a ghost named Philip, who was an accountant for the Cone Brothers (when the building was originally used as an office building for the company’s denim operations. Early one morning his body was found in the alley just outside his office window, strangled with piano wire from the office’s lobby piano. Some speculated suicide, while others suspected foul play. But ever since his mysterious death, he is said to haunt visitors (especially females) in room 332, where his old office used to be. Guests have reported loud footsteps that sound like their coming from a wooden floor (even though the halls are carpeted), shuffling of papers, and a man standing at the edge of their bed before vanishing. One woman even called the front desk to complain of her noisy neighbor in room 332, only to be told that no guests had currently checked out that room.

The other ghosts is known as Lydia, a former resident of the building after Cone Mills Corporation moved out of it. It was opened as a boarding house for only female tenants, and was basically used as a secret brothel. One night Lydia was killed by one of her clients and was thrown over the balcony outside of her room 223. To this day guests experience weird occurrences in her former room, such as the sink and television turning on, the smell of her perfume lingering, and female guests having their purses tipped over with everything pink in it separated from the rest of its contents. Pink items are kept around the room to “make Lydia happy” and the walls are even painted pink. Furthermore, the door to the room is the only one in the hotel that will not stay open, even after being replaced, leveled, etc. It will just slowly creak shut every single time.

3. The 1927 Lake Lure Inn & Spa (Lake Lure)

Like its name suggests, this hotel was built in 1927 and has hosted some big-time guests, such as Franklin Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. But the hotel is perhaps better known as one of the most haunted in North Carolina. In the 1930s, a murder took place here when a young bride was killed in one of the rooms. Occasionally visitors and event coordinators at the hotel report hearing shrill screams, which they attribute to being the ghostly bride. Then, after barely surviving the Great Depression years, the hotel was used as a recovery home for wounded and traumatized soldiers during World War II. Many people that have stayed here throughout the years ever since have claimed hearing their name called in a gravely voice when nobody else is around, perhaps from one of the ghostly soldiers. And people have reported seeing apparitions many times, some even caught on camera. In 2010 a picture went viral when a ghostly figure appeared in a photograph taken by the events and catering manager of an ice sculpture. It may be a beautiful place to get away for a weekend or host an iconic event, but there may be others present that you aren’t aware of.

2. Green Park Inn (Blowing Rock)

The Green Park Inn, built in 1891, made a Forbes.com list of America’s 25 most haunted hotels and by Washington Post as one of 13 haunted hotels across the U.S., if that tells you anything. And a “ghost log” is kept at the hotel reception desk for guests to read and/or add their own ghostly experiences, if that tells you anything more. Most of the entries in this ghost log refer to the third floor, especially room 318. This was the room where Laura Green, the daughter of the hotel’s founder, died (presumably by suicide) after just being left at the alter by her lover. Visitors to this room, along with the entire floor, have claimed to see Laura Green and her husband-to-be. Pipe smoke has been reported by visitors, perhaps of the man that led to the death of Laura. Electronic items in the room, such as tv’s, are claimed to be messed with when guests are present. There are also many reports of the sound of children playing in the hallways here at the hotel, even when there are no children present. This hotel has made numerous “most haunted” lists for a reason.

1. The Grove Park Inn (Asheville)

Like the Green Park Inn, the Omni’s Grove Park Inn in Asheville can be found on “most haunted” lists. In 2018 it made the Historic Hotels of America’s “Most Haunted Hotels” list and is also found on the Forbes.com list of America’s 25 most haunted hotels. Built in 1913, the Grove Park Inn is haunted by The Pink Lady. In 1920, a woman fell to her death from the fifth floor to the Palm Court below. No one knows whether she jumped or was pushed to her death, but she was found wearing a long pink gown. Not coincidentally, many visitors have reported seeing a mysterious woman dressed in a pink gown walking around the hotel, specifically in her former room 545. Most others who have witnessed her ghostly presence reported seeing a pink smoke move around the hotel. The good news to visitors is that she has always seemed to be a friendly, prankster ghost, if that should make anyone feel better. Guests have reported having their ears lightly tugged on, their toes tickled while they try to sleep, and feeling her presence by experiencing extreme cold chills or static electricity on their body. Said one hotel facilities manager of his encounter with The Pink Lady, “One day in early 1995 I was on my way to check a recent bathtub resurfacing in room 545. As I approached the room, my hair suddenly lifted from my scalp and stood on the end of my arms. Simultaneously, I felt a very uncomfortable, cold rush across my whole body. I didn’t go in, haven’t gone back, and don’t ever intend to.” Numerous others have reported very similar experiences over the years in Asheville’s haunted hotel.

Garett