Ghostly Getaways: Explore North Carolina’s 9 most haunted hotels

Book a stay at one of North Carolina’s nine most haunted hotels … if you dare.

Back in August, Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts made headlines after he refused to stay in Milwaukee’s storied Pfister Hotel with his teammates for the second year in a row during a road trip to play against the Brewers. 

The reason for his reluctance? It’s long been believed that The Pfister Hotel is haunted, including stories from fellow Major Leaguers who claim to have experienced ghostly encounters there.

Now as we enter Spooky Season, the story got us wondering about what hotels have similar storied pasts in North Carolina. We’ve compiled the below list of hotels where you can still book an overnight stay, but only if you’re willing to overlook the stories and claims that come with the venue. 

1. The Harvey

221 S. Front St., New Bern

Since opening in May 2024, The Harvey has been dubbed an “e-boutique hotel,” which means it has implemented a slew of innovative technologies to make things more convenient for visitors. But no amount of technology can cover up the long history of this building, once known as The Harvey Mansion, built in the 1790s. 

Visitors have witnessed a woman dressed in period clothing lingering and walking across the second and third floors, while workers have reported silverware moving on its own and flickering lights, among other potentially ghostly occurrences.

Cost per night: Around $200

Photo via Heron Hospitality

2. The Carolina Inn

211 Pittsboro St., Chapel Hill

A mainstay of the University of North Carolina campus for a century, The Carolina Inn is a historic Chapel Hill hotel that was built in 1924 and is currently under World of Hyatt’s ownership. While that makes things a bit more corporatized, there was once a time when you could schedule the “BOO Package,” spending the night in the former residence of Dr. William Jacocks, who lived in Suite 252 from 1948 until his death in 1965. 

As he was in life, Jacocks’ ghost is known as a fun-loving spirit that loves to play pranks. Even after his suite was partitioned into four separate rooms and updated with electronic locks in 1990, Jacocks has still been known to play his favorite prank: locking guests out of their rooms. 

Cost per night: $330 and up

Photo courtesy of d&e/CC BY 2.0.

3. The Lodge on Lake Lure

361 Charlotte Dr, Lake Lure

Built by the North Carolina State Troopers in the early 1930s to escape from the toil of life on the force, the lodge opened to the public as a hotel in 1990 and underwent a complete restoration in 2022. Still, the ghost of Officer George Penn, killed by two escaped convicts in 1937, is said to still reside at the lodge, haunting Room 4 and reportedly stealing toilet paper from Room 2. 

Regardless of how seriously you take the ghost stories within this list, the tragedy that struck Lake Lure and the surrounding areas when Hurricane Helene passed through western North Carolina in late September is no joke. At the time of this writing, the Lodge is closed but hoping to reopen soon. Notes on the business’s site and social media state that the establishment did not incur much damage during the storm but is struggling through the recovery process, as the lake itself was the site of much destruction.

Stay tuned to the website to see when the lodge and its popular adjoining eatery, Appalachia Restaurant, will reopen, as they could surely use your support when that time comes. 

Cost per night: $235 and up

4. The Dunhill Hotel

237 N. Tryon St., Charlotte

This nearly 100-year-old building is registered as a Historic Hotel of America and is known around town for its Sunday brunch. Rumors of hauntings typically stem from the story that a human skull was found at the bottom of an elevator shaft during renovations in 1988, though now that the skull has finally been identified, perhaps things might calm down on the property. Or maybe not. Staff have their own stories of paranormal activity, including hearing a woman’s laughter coming from the downstairs lobby when no one is there or seeing a woman in white disappearing and reappearing in the banquet halls at night.

Cost per night: $211 and up

Photo courtesy of LittleT889/CC BY-SA 4.0.

5. The Historic Brookstown Inn

200 Brookstown Ave., Winston-Salem

What began as the Salem Manufacturing Company in 1837 and transformed into one of the first mills in the South to utilize electric lighting is now the Historic Brookstown Inn—a restored, 70-room inn that includes 28 suites, a large courtyard, and a grand ballroom accommodating up to 200 guests with banquet-style seating.

Unsurprisingly, over nearly two centuries in operation, the building has picked up some straggler spirits, namely one distressed woman who is said to call out the names of certain guests from the darkness when she’s not repeatedly shouting “Mercy!”

Cost per night: $123 and up

Photo courtesy of LittleT889/CC BY-SA 4.0.

6. Blind Tiger

173 East Chestnut St., Asheville

Now a hip boutique hotel inspired by local artists, creatives, and culture, the home once known as the 1889 WhiteGate Inn & Cottage reportedly hasn’t shaken one stubborn old lady: former resident Marion Bridgette, the nurse who moved into the home in 1929. Bridgette is said to haunt the house’s Robert Frost Room by slamming doors, flickering lights, and utilizing floating energy orbs. 

As with the Lodge at Lake Lure, Blind Tiger is located in one of the areas hit hardest by Helene. At the time of this writing, the hotel had power restored but still didn’t have running water. The hotel’s owners hosted a community gathering for residents on Oct. 6, inviting neighbors on Instagram to “Come charge your devices and sit by the fire – I know everyone needs a space and time to decompress.”

When they are able to host guests again, they are worth your consideration for that sense of community care alone. A pop-up on their website offers many options for folks to donate if they want to help. 

Cost per night: $226 and up

7. The Winds Resort Beach Club

310 E. First St., Ocean Isle Beach

Located just a five-minute walk from Ocean Isle Beach, waves aren’t the only thing you’ll hear as you drift asleep at The Winds Resort. Former guest Sam, who reportedly died of a heart attack while staying at the resort, has been said to haunt the venue by creating cold spots, slamming windows and doors, and even appearing to guests as an apparition.

Cost per night: $89 and up

8. Balsam Mountain Inn

68 Seven Springs Drive, Balsam

Called the Balsam Mountain Springs Hotel when it opened in 1908, the mountain property was once home to seven springs, which were said to provide water with healing properties. Maybe that’s what has convinced spirits to stick around at the site, with enough spooky occurrences happening at this venue to convince the owners to put out a guest book dedicated to documenting the incidents, which have included phantom footsteps, banging on hallway walls and doors, and various noises related to the twisting and turning of doorknobs.

Cost per night: $125 and up

9. The Duke Mansion

400 Hermitage Road, Charlotte

The Duke Mansion may not have the most specific haunting stories of the venues on this list, but it certainly has the most specific origin ghost story attached to those hauntings.

The story says that one-time resident Jon Avery, living at the mansion with his children while his wife was institutionalized, began an affair with a writer who visited to write a story about the mansion. It became clear to the writer that Avery was not going to leave his wife, even though he told her that he would always go to her, dead or alive. 

The writer reportedly ended the affair with Avery, but when he asked her to meet him one last night at midnight a year later, she did so. Upon seeing him, she reached out to touch his wrist, but her hand went right through him. Avery then repeated his old promise: “Dead or alive.” The writer later learned that Avery had died a week prior to their rendezvous. His spirit is known to linger in the mansion.

Cost per night: $275 and up

Photo courtesy of Jack Boucher.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.