Charlotte, North Carolina is probably a lot more haunted than you might expect. For some reason, people seem to dismiss the city, when thinking about places with a high concentration of paranormal activity, but they are very much mistaken.
With everything from haunted plantations and creepy shopping malls, to quite possibly the spookiest university in America, this town has it all!
Let’s take some time to dig a little bit deeper into the history of the most haunted places in Charlotte, NC.
1. Kennedy's Premium Bar & Grill
Kennedy’s Premium Bar & Grill is an old farmhouse that has been converted into a popular drinking hole, for the Charlotte locals. However, it is also reported to be haunted!
Employees have witnessed a variety of unexplained occurrences over the years. Including doors opening and/or closing by themselves, the radio switching on or off, and sightings of figures in the bathrooms, long after the bar has closed and the patrons have all left.
Local paranormal teams have carried out investigations here and have concluded that it is indeed one of the most haunted locations in Charlotte, and perhaps even one of the most haunted in NC!
2. Latta Place (Formerly Historic Latta Plantaton)
Latta Place dates back to approximately 1800 and now serves as a living history farm, where visitors are invited to take a self-guided tour around the estate. However, what the guidebook fails to mention, is that the Latta Family are still very much in residence here, despite the fact that they have long since passed away!
Many tourists who stop by to take the tour, leave the building with tales of doors slamming by themselves, the sound of children running and playing, and even sightings of a dark shadow figure walking around the grounds!
Read more about the Haunted Latta Place.
See more haunted plantations in North Carolina.
3. Carolina Theatre
Carolina Theatre first opened its doors in 1927 and it was the very first building in Uptown Charlotte, to have its own air conditioning. It also boasts a resident ghost who members of staff have affectionately dubbed ‘Fred’.
Although he is mostly harmless, Fred is known to cause a spot of trouble around the theatre including turning lights on and off and showing himself as a pale white apparition on the balcony.
It has now come to be a tradition for all staff and performers, to bid Fred good night as they leave, to offer a sign of respect to the spook!
Learn more about the haunted Carolina Theatre.
4. Old Fire station #4
Fire Station number 4 was originally built back in 1925 and although it now stands abandoned, it remains one of the most haunted buildings in Charlotte!
The story behind the haunting begins back on April 1, 1934, when firefighter Pruitt L. Black was running to slide down the fireman’s pole but wound up falling into a hole and hitting the concrete floor below. He fractured his skull and died a short time later.
Following the closure of Fire Station #4, the building was used as a fire service-themed museum for a short time. Visitors to the museum would often comment on Black’s appearance, which was more often than not, accompanied by the distinctive scent of his cigar smoke!
5. Founders Hall
Founders Hall is a modern shopping center, that at one time served as a medical school. It is also one of the most haunted buildings in Charlotte.
In the late 1800s, a girl from nearby Salisbury died and bodysnatchers stole her corpse, to sell to the medical school. It was fairly soon after this crime, that people began to see an apparition of the young girl wandering Founders Hall.
She’s always upset and was often said to be screaming. Students were totally freaked out and would often call the police. Eventually, the girl’s body was recovered and returned to her grave in Salisbury, but her ghost remains attached to the building.
Founders Hall has since been converted into a shopping mall and business center. Yet the girl is still spotted from time to time, although she seems to have stopped screaming, instead she is content to simply open and close doors all over the building!
6. Antique Kingdom
The Antique Kingdom on central avenue has seen many uses over the course of its lifetime including a moonshine distillery, a wedding venue, and a dormitory for high-class single ladies. These days it is a haunted antique emporium.
The owner and various others refuse to go up onto the third floor, of the building unless they absolutely have to and the second floor is not much better!
Even at ground level people have experienced feeling very ‘closed in’ and say they can feel some unseen person, breathing on their neck or cheek! Yikes!
7. McGlohon Theatre
Where McGlohon Theatre now sits was once the site of a church, built in the late 1800s. However, it was replaced by the current building in 1903 and still served as a church.
In the early 1950s, it was transformed into what is now McGlohon Theatre and it is one of the most haunted places that Charlotte has to offer!
Employees say that when they are in the basement they can hear someone singing upstairs, even though they know that it is empty!
They have also reported the sound of phantom footsteps when they know that they are alone in the building!
8. Ri-Ra Irish Pub
The Ri-Ra Irish Pub was originally built in 1997 by Irishman Ciaran Sheehan, with the goal of creating an Irish bar, that was as authentic as possible. This is one of the newest buildings on our list, but that certainly does not mean that it is any less haunted than some of the other, much older properties that we have mentioned!
One of the theories behind why the pub is so haunted is that Sheehan brought in authentic items and antiques from Ireland to add to the authenticity and some of these items likely had spirits attached.
Ever since the pub first opened its doors, staff have been reporting a variety of paranormal activity.
There are a number of cold spots throughout the building and there have been many sightings of ghostly figures, wearing period-style dresses. However, perhaps the creepiest tale of all relates to the sudden appearance of a ghostly alphabet, scrawled in chalk on one of the upstairs walls!
9. Queens University
There is little doubt in anybody’s mind, that one of the most haunted places in Charlotte is Queens University. The school has a fascinating history which more than explains why there is so much paranormal activity going on here!
There are various different examples of paranormal activity, associated with different areas throughout the school.
For example, underneath Dana Auditorium on the main campus, you will find the Suzanne Little Rehearsal Hall. Where students can go to practice prior to a performance. It is also where many students have spotted the apparition of a well-dressed lady, who walks past them before vanishing into thin air!
Another example would be found over at Hall Brown, which is also known as Overcash Hall. Students claim that room 303 is particularly haunted and that one night a student awoke to find her redhead roommate slumped over the desk. It wasn’t until she tried to wake the girl to put her to bed, that she noticed the dark straggly hair and realized it was not her friend.
She promptly screamed, at which point the figure vanished and her real roommate woke up with a start – where she had been sleeping all along!
We are not even close to being done with the spooky stories, coming out of Queens University but we’ll leave it there for now!
Learn more about the haunted Queens University.
10. The Dunhill HotelBOOK A ROOM
The Dunhill Hotel is one of the oldest buildings in Uptown Charlotte, so it probably does not really come as much of a surprise, to learn that it is fairly haunted!
The hotel first opened its doors in 1929 as The Mayfield Manor. Ever since there have been reports from employees about strange things happening in the hotel.
There are several spots around the hotel, that members of staff describe as “just not being comfortable to be in” and many of them place the blame squarely on the fact that there have been many suicides on the property.
Related: NC’s Most Haunted Hotels
A great deal of these occurred during the great depression because the hotel was the tallest building that was accessible to the general public!
Learn more about the ghosts that haunt the Dunhill Hotel.
11. The Duke Mansion
Built in 1915 by Zebulon V. Taylor, and originally known as Lynwood Mansion, the Duke Mansion in Myers Park has long since had a reputation as a haunted location.
It’s apparently haunted by one of its past owners, Mr. Avery. After giving a young female writer a tour of the property, they both developed a strong romantic connection with each other.
When she realized their love for each other couldn’t advance as Avery would never leave his sick wife, she put an end to things immediately.
Avery was devastated and made her promise to meet him ‘dead or alive’ a year later in the circular garden at midnight.
However, as the year past the woman had met someone else and had got engaged.
Not wanting to break her promise, and understanding it would not be correct for her to meet up with Mr. Avery alone, she asked a roommate to attend with her.
On the date, they had agreed she waited in the spot Avery requested, whilst her roommate waited in the distance.
Several minutes passed and the young woman started to worry until footsteps appeared behind her, it was Mr. Avery.
However, he was dressed in all black formal clothes and slowly walked past her as if she wasn’t there. She put out her hand to stop him but her arm went straight through him.
As he walked by he spoke in a gentle voice, “Dead or alive” then disappeared.
She discovered that days later Mr. Avery had tragically died after a long battle with polio.
See more info about the reportedly haunted Duke Mansion.