by Kala Ambrose
Barley’s Tavern still stands in this area. It is now known as Barley’s Tap Room and Pizzeria. This in itself is part of the history of the event. Not only is Barley’s in the vicinity of where the shootings took place, but the mere fact that Barley’s is operating as a tavern speaks to the history and evolution of the city. After the horrendous event with Will Harris, prohibitionists (people against the consumption of alcohol) took this opportunity to campaign for prohibition in Asheville. Their argument was based on the fact that had Will Harris not been drinking, he would not have lost his senses and gone on an alcohol-fueled killing rampage. In the grief of the city, their argument was successful, and in 1907, Asheville became the first town in the state of North Carolina to vote down alcohol and to close saloons and liquor distilleries. Prohibition became law in the United States in 1920 and was repealed in 1933. Prohibition led to using fast cars to haul moonshine and bootleg liquor through the mountains of North Carolina to paying customers. For NASCAR fans, this is how their sport began.
Asheville now has more “spirits” than other areas of the country. The city now boasts more microbreweries per capita than most other cities in the United States, including Portland, Oregon. The city also hosts the Brewgrass Festival each year.
My husband and I visited Barley’s Tavern to enjoy some spirits now that they’re legal again, while talking about spirits and the ghosts in the area. We chatted with employees and locals at the bar to learn more about the story. Not only did we learn about the shooting rampage of Will Harris, but we also learned that Barley’s also has reports of haunted activity, and a ghost is often felt in the building. Most believe it’s a woman, as they smell perfume when she comes around. Perhaps she’s been at Barley’s long before Will Harris appeared on the scene, or maybe she came later and just enjoys the company and activity at the tavern. At one point in its history, the building served as an appliance store; maybe the female ghost is still shopping for the right appliance.
Some locals report seeing the dark shadow of a ghost man walking along the street near the tavern. The man never appears to enter the tavern, nor is he seen inside the building; he is only seen walking in the area. Some have reported seeing him appear and then a few moments later, hearing a bloodcurdling scream. Each person that we spoke with who had seen this man said that his presence was terrifying and that they could feel a sense of cold and dread washing over them.
While visiting the taproom and the surrounding area, we didn’t experience any paranormal activity, but we enjoyed ourselves tremendously. Barley’s is a lively place, with music and a vibrant mix of locals and visitors to the city. Our brief visit there was not enough to detect haunted activity. See for yourself if the area is haunted by visiting Barley’s Tavern on a moonlit night, but don’t go alone; be sure to bring several friends with you.
The Inmates of the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad Tunnel, Dillsboro
When the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad brought the railroad to the mountains of North Carolina, it became so popular that six passenger trains were running every day between Asheville and Lake Junaluska in the early 1900s. Plans were made to expand the railroad farther into the mountains, which was a daunting task at best. In order to expand the railways, an 836-foot tunnel needed to be built near the town of Dillsboro through the Balsam Mountains at an elevation of more than 3,000 feet.
Not surprisingly, the railroad was experiencing great difficulty finding men who were willing to do the work on this project. The company made the decision to have convicts brought in to dig out the tunnel and lay the rails. The convicts were trucked into the area in shackles and watched over by armed guards throughout the project.
In order to get the convicts to the area where they needed to dig, they had to cross over the Tuckasegee River. The guards used rafts to bring 20 men at a time across the river to work in the tunnel. One day one of the rafts capsized, tossing the guard and the 20 inmates into the water. The inmates were shackled together, and within minutes 19 of the 20 inmates drowned in the river.
The armed guard, Fleet Foster, was rescued from drowning by the one convict who survived. The convict’s name was Anderson Drake. Drake survived by sheer luck, as his shackles had broken free during the fray, allowing him to swim to shore. As he swam, he noticed that Foster was drowning and so he pulled Foster to shore, saving his life. Once the two men were safely on shore, Foster stated that he believed that during the process of Drake saving his life, that Drake had stolen Foster’s wallet. Drake was whipped and beaten by the guards and immediately put to work in the tunnel.
The 19 inmates who drowned that day were pulled from the river and buried in unmarked graves on top of a small hill near the mouth of the tunnel. Witnesses report that ghosts appear in the tunnel to this day and that the sounds of men crying for help and chains rattling can be heard around the tunnel.
An interesting side note about this tunnel is that it was used in the filming of the movie The Fugitive, in which Harrison Ford played the leading role.
CHAPTER 25
The Vanderbilts Who Never Left Biltmore Estate
ASHEVILLE
View of Biltmore Estate with backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains
“For who can wonder that man should feel a vague belief in tales of disembodied spirits wandering through those places which they once dearly affected, when he himself, scarcely less separated from his old world than they, is for ever lingering upon past emotions and bygone times, and hovering, the ghost of his former self, about the places and people that warmed his heart of old?”
—Charles Dickens
IF YOU’VE SPENT ANY TIME in western North Carolina, you’ll understand why I keep referring to the irrefutable beauty of the mountains. One of my favorite views in Asheville is from the Sunset Terrace of the Grove Park Inn, where the city lights twinkle at night.
My second favorite view is the mountain backdrop against Biltmore estate. Where does one begin to describe such a grand site, both architecturally and naturally? This view may be the most perfect in the area, looking out at wave after wave of Blue Ridge Mountains in their grandeur.
George Vanderbilt, the grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, must have agreed, for after touring the location, he bought 125,000 acres and built Biltmore estate. The estate is the largest home in the United States, with more than four acres of floor space and over 250 rooms, including 34 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces.
Vanderbilt wanted to create a striking symphony of balance between the natural backdrop of the mountains, the acres surrounding his estate, and the architectural design of his home. He hired Richard Morris Hunt to design the home in a French Renaissance Chateau style, and the effect is superb, as the home is prominent and striking and blends beautifully with the mountains behind it. The steeply pitched roof of the home creates a wonderful style mimicking the mountain range.
It’s difficult to imagine how many people it took to create this estate. In order to have the supplies needed at hand, the estate created its own brick factory, woodworking shop, and even established a three-mile rail system to move materials to the building site. Over the years, more than 11 million bricks were made to build the home.
Vanderbilt had a strong artistic taste, and he traveled with Hunt through Europe and Asia, collecting the artwork of Renoir, Lorrain, Pellegrini, Boldini, Sargent, and Whistler, along with furniture designed by Chippendale. There are Chinese goldfish bowls from the Ming Dynasty, a number of sixteenth-century tapestries and Persian rugs, and a chess set that once belonged to Napoleon. The opulence is apparent in every room of the home, with my favorite room being the library.
Gargoyles watch over and protect Biltmore estate.
In addition to showcasing exquisite taste, the home was the most technologically advanced of its time. The home was centrally heated and had electricity, using some of Thomas Edison’s first light bulbs. Biltmore had indoor plumbing, a telephone, a fire alarm system, and an intercom system to speak with the servants. There�
�s also a gym, bowling alley, and indoor swimming pool. No detail was overlooked in the design of this home.
Eight thousand acres are still owned by the estate today and include striking formal and informal gardens, which were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Olmsted is known as the “American father of landscape architecture.” He’s most famous for designing Central Park in New York, as well as designing landscapes for Yale, Stanford, and Boston University. Vanderbilt wanted Olmsted to give the estate a European country feel, while also revering the natural beauty of North Carolina. Olmsted succeeded on all accounts. The formal gardens include a four-acre English walled garden, a sixteenth-century Italian garden with three reflecting pools, and a tree-lined road along the three-mile entrance to the home.
Olmsted created a beautiful nursery to care for a wide variety of flora, and I enjoyed touring the nursery as much as the home. If you enjoy gardening, you’ll find it to be a greenhouse of dreams, as the variety of species included, along with the space to care for them, is incredible. Tulips, roses, and plants of all types can be found here, and in the winter months, more than 1,000 poinsettias are grown and then used to decorate inside the estate. Olmstead worked indigenous plants into his designs, including azaleas, mountain laurel, and rhododendron.
Vanderbilt was 25 years old when he purchased the property in the late 1880s. In 1895, he officially opened the estate with an elaborate housewarming party for family and friends on Christmas Eve. The house was his dream for a country retreat where he could pursue his “passion for art, literature, and horticulture.” In 1898, he married Edith Dresser, and after their honeymoon they moved to the estate. Even after they moved in, work continued on the home.
Edith and George were very much in love, and it was said that they complemented each other very well. They had one daughter, Cornelia, who was born in the home, and it appears that they had an idyllic life enjoying the best the world had to offer.
In 1914, George had an appendectomy and died from complications resulting from the surgery. Shortly after his death, servants in the home noticed that Edith began spending a lot of time in the library and that while she was in the library, she was speaking out loud to George’s spirit. At first, they dismissed this act as a woman in grief over the death of her beloved husband. They assumed that after a period of time, she would move on from her grief, after finishing her discussions of things that she had wished to say to George that she had been unable to before his untimely death.
Instead, the opposite happened. Edith continued her daily conversations with George, and during this time servants in the home began to notice the presence of his spirit, mostly in the library and in his favorite sitting room on the second floor. According to the legends, many of the servants heard footsteps and then saw an apparition of George around the home.
After Edith died, the legends continued, as the servants reported hearing the voices of both Edith and George now conversing in the library. Perhaps now that they were joined again in the afterlife, they were able to pick up where they left off and enjoy their time together in their treasured home. Reports continue today from staff and visitors who hear voices in the library and a few other rooms.
There are quite a few ghost stories about Biltmore, which some locals shared with me during my visit to Asheville. Several employees answered my questions as well, as long as I agreed to keep their identity off the record. Officially, Biltmore does not discuss haunted or paranormal activity in the home or on the property. Also, photography is not allowed inside the home. The only spirits that they will officially discuss are the spirits of the wine made at the Biltmore winery.
Tales of ghostly sightings and experiences continue to be reported by employees and visitors to the home, and it appears that the ghosts of George and Edith are not the only spirits in the home. A headless orange cat, for example, has been seen on the property for years, running around only to disappear in full sight of many people at the same time. There is also a report of a maid who appears holding a tray of glasses filled with Champagne who then disappears before the visitors; others have seen a butler holding a tray.
One of the most haunted areas on the Biltmore Estate is the indoor swimming pool, where staff and visitors often hear a voice coming from the drain in the center of the pool. The public tour of the home leads you into the indoor pool room, but the pool is drained. Many people report feeling uneasy in this room, and some claim to have seen a dark, shadow-type figure in the room. Almost everyone I spoke with about the Biltmore house had a story or experience to share about what they felt or have been told about the pool room, including hearing someone laughing so loud that it bordered on sounding hysterical, and several people have seen the image of a body floating facedown in the pool. There does not appear to be a record of anyone drowning in the pool, though there have been several theories that perhaps one of the servant’s children may have drowned in the pool. Others state that it is not a body floating in the pool, but rather several dark shadow figures that are moving around the pool and when they are seen, the pool is full of water. There are also several reports of seeing a lady dressed in black walking around the pool area.
The swimming pool room did feel creepy to me as I visited on a tour. Our tour guide moved us quickly through this room, and I didn’t hear or see anything while there and was only in the room for a brief time. I did, however, sense a ghostly presence in the kitchen area while on the tour. The ghost there made its presence known for a minute and then retreated. She was an older woman wearing an apron and had her hair pulled back in a very messy and disheveled bun. She appeared to be watching the people come and go and was very concerned that nothing should be touched in the kitchen. She appeared to be angry and in a bad mood. The kitchen is set up with displays of how it was used when the servants worked there, and most likely the ghost would be one of those servants who worked in the kitchen.
The other two rooms where I felt the most energy were the library and the first room you enter at Biltmore, which has glass-roofed windows flooding light into the circular area of the room, where grand parties were thrown. Both rooms were electric with energy, all of a very positive nature. This is how Biltmore feels overall; beautiful, inspiring, and at times unbelievable in the sheer majesty of the gardens, the mountains, and the home’s architecture and design, which are a veritable feast for all of the senses.
The Mountain of Terror Haunts You Back
In 1848, gold was discovered in Randolph County, North Carolina. The Hoover Hill Gold Mining Company of London secured the mine, and from its operation through 1959 the mine produced, in current value, almost 15 million dollars.
Near the vicinity of the mine, in Asheboro, is a haunted attraction called the Mountain of Terror. The attraction is designed to emulate the Hoover Hill Mine, as local legends speak of men who died in the mine and still haunt the closed mine today.
This attraction alone is a haunting experience, but what I’m about to share with you now puts a whole new spin on the tale.
The haunted attraction is truly haunted.
I spoke with Jimmy Hill, owner of the Mountain of Terror, about the history of the land where the attraction was built. According to Hill, since they’ve owned the land, a variety of paranormal events have occurred. Native American tribes once lived here, and native artifacts have been found all around the property. Local lore states that one day all the native people living in this area disappeared. Reportedly, geologists studying the area at a later date found military shell casings, and it was theorized that the local tribe might have been slain by the military.
A road runs through Hill’s land where the attraction is located. The road once carried injured Civil War soldiers on their way to seek medical treatment at a hospital. The legend states that many men died en route to the hospital, and that their ghosts still haunt this road and the surrounding woods.
Here’s where it gets interesting; Hill decided to build a house on the property to be used as part of the haunted att
raction. As construction began on the home, the land was cleared to set the foundation. It was discovered during this process that there was a completely round circle of land containing a large amount of ash, indicating its use as a fire pit/cooking area. Perhaps it was used by the native tribes, or by Civil War soldiers, or by early settlers in the area. It’s not clear who used it, but the evidence indicates that the area was used often for cooking.
Ironically, as the construction of the house proceeded, the kitchen area was placed on top of this area. Once the house was completed, the paranormal activity began, and not the type that Hill had designed to occur in the house for visitors to the attraction.
Workers described being touched and hit by unseen objects, and the stories grew quickly of experiences in the home. According to Hill, a local newspaper reporter was at the house to cover this story while seven people were in the home at the time. During this investigation, several of the people in the room felt something or someone touch them as they stood in the home.
Paranormal researchers have investigated the home, and most all have come away with EVP recordings of a little girl speaking, along with a little boy and a man. At first the children ask for their mommy and daddy. This could easily fall into the energy imprint/time loop ghost recordings category, but things soon changed. Hill reports that one of his employees, a 19-year-old man, seemed to capture the interest of the little girl ghost. Paranormal activity would increase whenever he would enter the home. EVP recordings were taken where the little girl could be heard asking for this young man by name, and when he would enter the room, she could be heard exclaiming his name and saying there he is.
