Published by The History Press
Charleston, SC
www.historypress.com
Copyright 2020 by Sherman Carmichael
All rights reserved
First published 2020
E-book edition 2020
ISBN 978.1.43967.126.9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020938620
print edition ISBN 978.1.46714.647.0
Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This book is dedicated to Beverly Carmichael, who spent many hours correcting my mistakes; Ric Carmichael; Tamara Carmichael; Blake Mahaffey; Sean Mahaffey; my attorney, Greg Askins; Cindy James; Lynette Goodwin; Troy Collins; and Cathy Sewell.CONTENTS
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
It all began forty-eight years ago at the time of this writing (January 2020) with a copy of Fate Magazine and six boys with inquiring minds. There was my younger brother, Steve Carmichael; Mike Birchmore; Jason Birchmore; Earl Pope; Terry Owens; and me. Steve, Earl and Jason have long since gone home to meet their maker. As for Terry, I lost contact with him many years ago. Mike and I still stay in contact.
We set out looking for anything with a strange story tied to it. With two cars between us and very little money, we didnt do a whole lot of traveling back then and not very far either. I always had a 126 or a 110 camera with me. I never got a picture of anything, and to this day I still havent, not even with all the sophisticated cameras that Ive used over the years. Years later, we had our first encounter with the strange and unknown. I cant remember who was with me or the year, but we were at Old Gunn Church, where we heard the faint sound of a church choir singing their favorite hymn. The story of Old Gunn Church can be found in my third book, Eerie South Carolina (The History Press, 2013).
In 2010, Skip Lyle productions and Jim Holcomb got me to research South Carolina legends for a proposed TV series. After filming the first episode, Skip Lyle closed the project. With a file cabinet full of research, I had to decide what to do with it. I could chuck it away or write a book. So, I wrote a book. Im still writing and plan to continue.
I imagine Ive annoyed countless librarians, newspaper reporters, paranormal investigators, museum staff, property owners, ghost tour guides, historical societies and others in my quest for stories about the strange and unknown. And it all started with six young boys and an interest in the unknown.
JUST A THOUGHT
Let us explore the mysterious side of the North Carolina mountains. Lets step away from some of the most beautiful mountains in the United States and explore their little-known side, their darker side, their supernatural side. Its not surprising that the 480-million-year-old mountains would inspire legends and folk tales of every kind: strange lights in the skyghostly figures making an unexpected appearance from time to timebig hairy beasts that roam the mountains. And could the prince of darkness have made an occasional visit in the past? The mountains of North Carolina are a treasure-trove of mysterious legends.
When asked about ghosts or other unexplained things like Bigfoot, UFOs or strange lights, scientists and researchers drift off into self-made worlds of speculation, outrageous and unsubstantiated theories and impossible conclusions. Theres nothing to prove that ghosts, Bigfoot or UFOs dont exist, but then theres nothing to prove that they do exist. As shown by history, every myth or legend reflects a real event, no matter how small.
Lets look at another possibility: that what we are seeing is not a ghost at all. Lets investigate this theory for a minute. What if what were seeing is a glimpse of the past? For just a brief moment, we are standing at exactly the right place at the right time to see a glimpse of a past event. But then scientists say that the past doesnt exist in the present. Could they be wrong?
Since the 1940s, secret government agencies and civilian groups have been experimenting with time travel. One experiment was called the Montauk Project. Suppose the people involved found a way to bend time or create a portal or vortex through which a person could move through time and return to where he started from.
Why does a ghost haunt the same placesay, room 319 on the third floor of a hotel? Is there some attachment to that room? Is the ghosts spirit trapped there to perform the same task for eternity? Could that person have left an imprint in time? Do historical scenes that appear to certain people coexist with us in our time and thats what we think of as ghosts? If the ghost is the spirit of a dead person, then why are they still dressed in the clothes that they died in?
What about ghost ships, ghost planes, ghost cars and other ghost objects? They dont have spirits. Could two or more different groups of people be living in the same home in a different period? With all the theories and unsubstantiated facts, there is something to ghosts, whether or not its the spirit of a dead person.
Do the spirits of the dearly departed endlessly relive former lives or events of the past? Why do these shadowy figures keep appearing without apparent reason from the dim corridors of the past? Maybe these wandering souls are nothing more than a bit of the history these people left behind. Ghosts or spiritsor whatever handle you put on themhave been around as far back as recorded history.
The power of a myth or legend is not in it being right or wrong but rather being believed. When doing research into the unknown, the trail leads us in many directions but ultimately into a world of the unknown where anything can happen.
When I was seventeen, I started dabbling in things that are best left alone, like ghosts, UFOs and monsters. I visited a lot of supposedly haunted places. I have continued to do so today. I have seen a lot of vandalism at historical places, including graveyards. I visited a historic church, and then several months later it was burned. Treat every place with respect. Dont vandalize.
Im not trying to prove or disprove anything here. Im just sharing the stories as I have found them. Belief or disbelief is up to you, dear readers. So sit back and enjoy this book and then take a trip and visit some of the places you have just read about. Theres no telling who or what you will meet. Remember that some of these places are on private property, so please dont trespass.
DID THE DEVIL VISIT NORTH CAROLINA?
Did the devil drop in on North Carolina for a visit every now and then, or did he decide to hang around for a while? Did the early settlers name these places after the devil, or did the name come laterand for what reason? Why are so many locations linked to the devil? Was the naming of these places after the devil just coincidence, or was there a purpose behind the names?
Job 1: 67 (KJV) reads, Now there was a day when the sons of God come to present themselves before the Lord and Satan also came among them, and the Lord said to Satan, From where do you come? So Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro on the earth and walking back and forth on it.
