Roanoke Island Inn Ghost Hunt & Sleepover, Manteo, North Carolina

Haunted Roanoke Island Inn Ghost Hunt & Sleepover

After hours on the Manteo waterfront, on the island of the Lost Colony, in the family house where a postmaster is said to have never really left

The Jones Family House on Fernando Street

The Roanoke Island Inn began as a simple island house built by Asa Warren Jones and his wife Martha in the 1860s, on what is now Fernando Street in Manteo. From the early 1900s the house took in boarders, and over the years it also housed the post office and lodged people who came to see or perform in The Lost Colony, the outdoor drama staged on the island since 1937.

More than a century later, a Jones descendant expanded the house into the inn that stands on the waterfront today, looking out over Shallowbag Bay. The original house is still at its heart, surrounded by nearly an acre and a half of gardens with a koi pond and a folly.

An Island Made of Legends

Roanoke Island has been keeping its secrets for more than four centuries. In 1587 around 115 English settlers landed here, and when their governor, John White, finally returned in 1590 they had vanished, leaving behind little more than the word “CROATOAN” carved into a post. What became of the Lost Colony has never been settled, and the town of Manteo itself takes its name from the Croatoan man who sailed to England and back with those first expeditions.

Islanders have their own answer. Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the Americas, was born here that same summer of 1587. Legend says she grew up among the island’s people, was cursed into the shape of a white doe, and died when two arrows found her on a hunt. For generations, hunters reported a pale deer in the woods that could never be caught, and many on the island believed it was Virginia Dare still wandering.

This is a maritime town at the edge of the Graveyard of the Atlantic, where the shifting shoals of the Outer Banks have claimed ships for centuries, and it has never been short of ghost stories. Down the road from the inn, the old Pioneer Theater, opened in 1918, is said to be watched over by members of the family who ran it for generations. When the fog comes in off Shallowbag Bay and the waterfront goes quiet, it is easy to see why so many stories have taken root here.

The Spirits of the Roanoke Island Inn

Roscoe Jones

The inn’s best known spirit is said to be Roscoe Jones, son of Asa and Martha. As the story goes, Roscoe was a local postmaster until the government ended his service in 1915. Humiliated, he is said to have shut himself away in his room, refused to speak to anyone, and never came out again.

Local historians tell a stranger version. Records show Roscoe ran the post office at Griffin, a Roanoke Island community that no longer exists, from 1909 until it merged with Nags Head in 1915. And county records suggest he lived on until 1953. Whatever happened in that room, something about the house seems to have kept hold of him.

The Man at the Door

Guests and staff describe a man dressed as an early 20th-century postmaster, seen coming and going through the front door of the inn. Many believe it is Roscoe, still keeping his own hours.

The Guest Rooms

Roscoe’s story is tied to the rooms of the house, and that is where the activity is reported. Guests describe footsteps on creaking floorboards in the dark, window blinds that move on their own, radios that switch themselves on and off, and strange sounds from empty rooms. The innkeepers say Rooms 3 and 7 report the most activity of all.

Your Investigation

Once the inn is closed to everyone else, our team will take you through the guest rooms and the common areas of the house, with a full history and ghost briefing before the lights go out. Every room is part of the investigation, including the ones our overnight guests are sleeping in.

You will work in small groups with professional equipment, including EMF meters, spirit boxes and REM pods, plus EVP sessions run by our team, through structured vigils and experiments. The final part of the night is free roam, so you can return to wherever you felt something and investigate on your own terms. We provide all the equipment.

General Admission

General Admission is a six-hour after-hours investigation, 8PM to 2AM, at $149 per person. You get the full ghost hunt alongside the overnight guests, every vigil and the free roam at the end. Places are limited each night, so these will go quickly.

Overnight VIP Packages

Overnight VIP guests take part in the full investigation, then sleep in the very rooms where the activity is reported. We have the whole inn to ourselves for the night, and you wake up to a continental breakfast in the morning. Each room is sold once per night, and prices are per room.

• Room 3, King Bed, for Two, $549. A first-floor king room with a large bay window over the garden, and one of the two rooms the innkeepers say report the most activity in the inn.
• Room 7 Family Suite, King + Twin, up to Three, $649. A second-floor family suite opening onto the big porch, with a king room overlooking the waterfront and a small adjoining room with a twin bed. The other of the inn’s two most active rooms. Sold to one party.
• Dot’s Cottage, Two Bedrooms, up to Four, $749. A 1920s cottage in the garden, with a full kitchen, dining room, living room and sunporch, and two bedrooms (one queen and one full) plus a queen sleeper. Sold to one party.
• Room 2, Two Full Beds, up to Four, $699. A first-floor room with two full beds, a window over the waterfront and access to the porch. Sold to one party.
• Room 8 Family Suite, King + Two Twins, up to Four, $699. A second-floor family suite opening onto the big porch, with a king room overlooking the gardens and a small adjoining room with two twin beds. Sold to one party.
• Room 1, King Bed, for Two, $499. A first-floor king room with a four-poster bed, waterfront views and access to the porch.
• Room 4, King Bed, for Two, $499. A king room with waterfront views, opening onto the big porch overlooking the harbor.
• Room 5, King Bed, for Two, $499. A king room with a four-poster bed and a window over the waterfront, opening onto the porch.
• Room 6, King Bed, for Two, $499. A second-floor king room with three windows over the garden, opening onto the porch.

If the room you want shows as sold out, choose it anyway and join the waitlist. If a room opens up after you book General Admission, we will credit your General Admission ticket toward it.

What’s Included

• A six-hour after-hours investigation, 8PM to 2AM, with the Haunted Rooms America team.
• Exclusive after-hours access to the Roanoke Island Inn, including the guest rooms and common areas.
• Full history and ghost briefing on arrival.
• Group vigils and experiments, guided by our experienced team.
• Use of all our professional ghost hunting equipment.
• Free roam to investigate at the end of the night.
• Optional Estes Method sessions run by our team during free roam.
• Snacks and refreshments at intervals throughout the night.
• **Overnight VIP – Your own room at the inn for the night.
• **Breakfast – A continental breakfast for overnight guests in the morning.

Equipment and recording: Guests are welcome to bring their own ghost hunting equipment (EMF meters, spirit boxes, REM pods and similar). For the privacy of other guests and venue security, photography, video and audio recording are not permitted at any point during the event.

Will Roscoe Open the Door for You?

He has kept to this house for a very long time. Our team will be waiting up with him, and you can join us. With only nine rooms and a small number of General Admission places each night, there is very little room on the guest list.

The lead booker must be 21 or over. All attendees must be 16 or over.