The Haunting of The Biltmore Estate — Asheville, North Carolina

Buncombe County, Asheville, North Carolina

Photo: Wikipedia

Standing as the largest privately owned home in America, the Biltmore Estate is more than just a marvel of Gilded Age architecture — it's a haunting relic of wealth, isolation, and loss. Located in the misty Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, this sprawling 175,000-square-foot mansion was built between 1889 and 1895 by George Washington Vanderbilt II, a member of one of America’s wealthiest families. It was intended to be a peaceful retreat — but over time, shadows began to stretch across its elegant halls.

The estate houses 250 rooms, including 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, a massive library, indoor pool, bowling alley, and servant quarters that hint at the quiet labor force that kept the estate running behind the scenes. While the mansion was a place of grandeur, it was also one of solitude — and soon after George Vanderbilt’s untimely death in 1914, the house began earning a different kind of reputation.

Visitors and staff have long whispered of phantom voices echoing through the library, often described as George and his beloved wife Edith Vanderbilt still speaking in hushed tones. Guests have reported unseen footsteps on grand staircases, the feeling of being watched in empty rooms, and sudden cold drafts with no apparent source. Edith herself is said to still roam the halls, particularly in areas she favored, such as the gardens and the second-floor bedrooms. One staff member even claimed to see her in her favorite chair by the window, watching the sunset over the estate’s rolling hills.

In the basement, where the servants once moved like ghosts themselves, the atmosphere becomes heavier. Disembodied laughter, whispers, and the low hum of old machinery are commonly reported — even when the power is off. The indoor swimming pool, now drained, has given many visitors a sense of dread. Some say they’ve heard splashing, laughter, or even screams — though the room remains eerily empty. Paranormal researchers have speculated that a drowning may have occurred, though no official record confirms it. Still, the stories persist.

The estate also experienced deep family grief. George Vanderbilt died unexpectedly following an emergency appendectomy while aboard a ship in 1914. Edith, devastated, withdrew from public life and later sold portions of the estate’s land to the U.S. government — land that would eventually become part of Pisgah National Forest. Her sorrow is said to be imprinted on the walls of the home she fought to preserve.

Today, while the Biltmore is a popular tourist destination — offering wine tastings, garden tours, and holiday events — it continues to draw ghost hunters and believers from around the world. Many say that behind the polished woodwork and gilded mirrors, the past still lingers... and the house still breathes.

Would you walk its endless halls alone after dark?

True Hauntings of America

The Haunting of the Duke Mansion Bed and Breakfast

Duke Mansion – Mecklenburg County, Charlotte, North Carolina

Photograph ©Bed and Breakfast Inns Online

Address:
400 Hermitage Road
Charlotte, North Carolina 28207
(888) 202-1009


Built in 1915, this beautiful Colonial mansion was first home to James Buchanan Duke, a very successful tobacco tycoon. James Duke is also remembered for the origination of Duke University, Duke Energy and the Duke Endowment.

In 1929, the home was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Martin L. Cannon, who renamed the mansion “White Oaks.” One interesting fact about this couple is that they produced a daughter who later went on to date John F. Kennedy many years prior to Kennedy’s marriage to Jackie. The Cannon family lived on in the mansion until 1957 when it was purchased by Henry and Clayton Lineberger. The Linebergers restored the mansion, however, in 1966 there was a fire that gutted out the third floor and they had to spend money on restoration costs again.

In 1976, with the death of Mr. Lineberger, the mansion was left to the Duke Endowment. One year later it was placed on the local, state and national registries of historic places. The mansion was then used briefly as a small meeting center but then was sold again.

In 1978 the home was turned into condominiums. In 1989, owners of a sports media company, Rick and Dee Ray, bought the home and restored it to its former, single home, beauty. The Rays and the Duke Power Company united with the Lynwood Foundation, a non profit organization, to preserve the Duke Mansion and today the mansion is used as a bed and breakfast.

The hauntings at the Duke Mansion are said to be blamed on a man named Jon Avery. Mr. Avery was apparently a former owner of Duke Mansion, although I was not able to pinpoint the year of his residence in the home.

The story of Mr. Avery is a sad one. Jon’s wife was apparently committed to a mental hospital for reasons that are unknown. Jon stayed on at the Duke Mansion with his mother and sisters.

One day a female writer stopped by to do a historical piece on the mansion and Jon quickly befriended the woman. This friendship turned into the beginning of a new romance, however, when the woman found out that Jon was unwilling to divorce his sick wife, she ended the relationship.

Jon was devastated by this breakup and in an attempt to keep the woman in his life, he asked her to meet him one year later, dead or alive, at midnight in the circular garden located near the fountains.

One year later the woman arrived, as promised, to meet Jon. And again, he asked her to meet him, dead or alive, the following year at midnight. During the year that followed, the woman became engaged to another man. When the meeting time finally arrived, she took a friend with her because she felt it would’ve been improper to meet him alone after promising her hand to another man.

At midnight on the night of their meeting, the woman and her friend stood in the garden awaiting Jon. The woman and her friend heard the soft footsteps of Jon’s approach and when he came into view, he nearly walked right past her. She reached out to grab him by the arm but her hand went right through him. Jon turned to her and mouthed the words “Dead or Alive” before he vanished before her eyes. The shocked woman and her friend later learned that Jon had died just a few days prior to the meeting date due to a bought with polio.

It seems that this final meeting was what Jon needed to rest in peace; no other reports of Jon’s apparition have been made since.

The Haunting of the Hammock House

Hammock House – Carteret County, Beaufort, North Carolina

Photograph ©Rebbs

Address:
Private Residence
Beaufort, North Carolina 28516

Built in the early seventeenth century, this home is said to be the oldest home in Beaufort. The Hammock House is thought to have been an inn during its early days; giving sailors a safe haven on land to rest their weary seafaring bodies. One such guest who was known to frequent the inn was Captain Black Beard; a pirate known for his treacherous and brutal ways.

Black Beard, a man who was actually named Edward Teach, spent quite a bit of time at the Hammock House, resting from his sea “journeys” and finding refuge with women, alcohol and illegal activities. During one of Black Beards stays at the house, he was accompanied by one of his numerous wives, an eighteen year old girl who was apparently married and kept against her will. Before Black Beards departure back to the sea, a heated argument must have taken place between him and his young wife, for he hung the woman from an oak tree behind Hammock House and then buried her body under the tree itself!

In 1747, Richard Russell, Jr., owned the house. Another murder took place here when Richard returned home from a voyage. Richard took one of his slaves to the attic to punish him for some wrong doing. The slave panicked and shoved Mr. Russell, causing him to tumble down the attic stairs and break his neck.

The owner that followed Mr. Russell was a Captain for the British Navy. The Captain returned home one day to hear that his new bride had been sleeping with another man. The Captain hunted down his new wife and her accused lover and viciously killed the man. Unfortunately, the man turned out to be the brother of the young woman and was innocent.

By the mid eighteenth century, even more people had died in the house; most of their deaths resulted from sword duels. Then in 1862, the house became infamous when three Union officers were sent to scout the location and disappeared without a trace. These men were found in 1915, some fifties years later, when workmen discovered their remains near the back porch area.

The Union army used the Hammock House as an outpost for some time and many of the soldiers reported feeling uneasy there. After the war, the house was abandoned and left to dilapidate. During its use and its abandonment, the house’s reputation grew. People whispered about strange happenings and rumor spread that the place was haunted.

Many people who have visited the house in the past have claimed to hear the screams of a woman in the backyard but when investigated, no one was there. Inside the house many have reported hearing thumping sounds on the attic steps, a man screaming on the second floor and the sounds of heavy boots stomping on the first floor. Many have also claimed that there is a permanent blood stain on the second floor that cannot be scrubbed away or even painted over; it just continues to resurface.

Today, the Hammock House is privately owned and the current owners don’t seem to be put off by their ghostly live-ins. The house itself has been restored to its former beauty and can be seen via the Historic Homes Tour of Beaufort or the Ghost Walk Tours.