The 5 Most Haunted Places in Greensboro, NC

In 1808, Greensboro was meticulously planned out, with a courthouse at its center. The new Courthouse and city center were meant to succeed the Guilford Courthouse as the current county seat.

Since that time, the city has grown tremendously. Currently, it is the third-largest city in the state of North Carolina. But what most people don’t know, however, is that many of the buildings and establishments that have become an integral part of this southern town are incredibly haunted.

Below are places that seem to have the most supernatural activity to date.

Guilford College first began with modest roots. In 1837 the building initially opened as the New Garden Boarding School. It did not become a liberal arts college until 1888.

In 1961, the school took on a massive project. It acquired land next to the school and began construction on a large auditorium. Charles Dana, a local philanthropist, donated a handsome sum to complete the project; thus, the new structure became the Dana Auditorium.

Although the Dana Auditorium is the newest building on campus, it is also considered the most haunted. During the 1700s, the area was a part of the Revolutionary War, and a violent battle at the Courthouse in 1781. The field where the auditorium was constructed was once an area designated for the wounded and dying during the war. Several men lost their lives in that field.

Shortly after its completion, students began claiming they saw a ghost wandering outside the auditorium during the night. It was the spirit of a soldier, and he is seen quite often walking around as though still stuck on the field during battle.

Other spirits have also made the auditorium home, including a little girl who enjoys spending time in the choir room. A man in a brown suit has also been spotted exploring the auditorium. One of these spirits is known for playing tunes on the piano. What these spirits want remains unclear.

Guilford College sits directly across from a cemetery, where many gravesites date back to the 18th Century. The site also includes a mass grave dug for British and American soldiers from the Revolutionary War. Some spirits from the cemetery may have wandered onto campus grounds and decided to make the energetic school their permanent resting place. Where they came from, however, is likely close by.

While none of the students believe these spirits to be particularly evil in nature, encounters with them are undeniably scary. Ghosts will catch people when they are alone and make all the tiny hairs on the back of their necks stand on end. Students report feeling watched by the spirits.

On campus, two other haunted hotspots include Hendricks Hall and Mary Hobbs Hall, a girl’s dormitory. Charlie Hendricks, a student and a long-time employee of the school, is known to walk around the hall named in his honor. The man had devoted so much time and energy to the school that he elected to stay long after his death.

During the 1970s, Mary Hobbs Hall was the site of a sudden fire. The attic had to be shut down and rebuilt due to the destruction. The rumor on campus is that a young lady perished in the fire and now haunts the hall, making herself visible to students in the middle of the night.

As one might guess by the name, this government-run park exists at the exact location where the Battle for the Courthouse took place. After the bloody battle was finished, it was common for soldiers to be buried not far from where they took their last breaths. Thus, graves were dug all over the one thousand acre area.

Historians also report that the site is home to several mass graves–only two of which have been successfully located. It is easy to understand how this park could become haunted when so many people perished and were buried on the grounds.

Now, dead soldiers are often seen marching through the park. One of the ghosts is usually seen on horseback and is missing his head.

Some residents claim they encountered a spirit they initially believed to be a battle re-enactor. The gentleman was sitting on a bench nearby when the group of tourists tried to engage him in conversation. After a few awkward moments, the re-enactor got up and began to walk away.

One of the tourists turned to say something else to the man and watched him disappear. The group went to the park offices and confirmed that no battle reenactments were scheduled for that day.

Other visitors have reported hearing phantom voices carried on the wind and the sudden smell of gunpowder lingering in the air.

A local Methodist Church built an establishment for local females to achieve higher education. This small, four-year college first began as the Greensboro Female College in 1833. It became a co-ed college during the 1950s.

When the college’s hauntings first began remains a history, but the school does not shy away from the paranormal activity claimed by students. It is believed that the main campus building, along with the James Addison Jones Library, are the most haunted areas on the grounds.

During 1918 devastating influenza ravaged Greensboro, and several girls attending school at the time fell ill. It is believed that some of the spirits that continue to haunt Greensboro College died in the dormitories.

A few students have reported seeing the ghost of a little girl walking around on campus. Still, her presence is not nearly as frightening as a handful of confederate soldiers, who appear pretty frequently. Their disembodied voices can sometimes be heard during the night when most students are asleep.

The Biltmore Greensboro in the business district is a boutique hotel built in 1903 by the Cone Brothers. Originally serving as an office for the brothers, it would later become apartments secretly run as a brothel.

At least two ghosts haunt the hotel; Philip and Lydia. Philip was an accountant to the Cone’s but was murdered in the alley beside the hotel; his throat cut with a piano wire. Some allege it was because he found discrepancies in the Cone brothers’ finances.

Unfortunately, Philip wasn’t the only person murdered at the hotel. Lydia, one of the girls working at the brothel, had a disagreement with a client and was subsequently thrown over the balcony to her death. Her spirit has been seen in room 223, where she used to live.