By Jesse Wood

The Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce held its annual State of the Town in the American Legion building on Monday evening. Interested citizens received updates on the U.S. 321 widening project, the Middle Fork Greenway project, chamber activities, tourism and other projects in town.

Blowing Rock Chamber Update

Blowing Rock Chamber Chair Jim Pitts gave an overview of the chamber. Along with noting that the organization was recognized as the chamber of the year in the Carolinas in 2016, he said that the chamber finished the year with more than 500 members, a year-over-year increase of more than 10 percent.

Priorities of the chamber include continued improvements along Laurel Lane, video to promote business growth and fill vacant commercial space in the village, and coming up with a strategy to turn the old firehouse into a performing arts facility.

“It’s not the easiest thing in the world to do. It’s a rather small facility and we all have a little bit of a Hayes Center hangover, but the one thing this town is missing is some sort of cultural, music or performing arts center. It doesn’t have to be big,” Pitts said.

He cited the events the chamber puts on such as the Symphony by the Lake, WinterFest and Savor Blowing Rock (formerly known as the Blue Ridge Wine Food Festival). The chamber changed the latter’s date from April to early May to hopefully increase attendance.

Pitts also gave an overview of the chamber’s Village Foundation, which is a vehicle to raise private funds for projects that enhance the character of the village and spark economic development. This foundation’s work includes Laurel Lane improvements, winter festive lighting and school science and math scholarships.

“There’s no better organization that really nurtures the spirit of this community and nurtures the idea of being really community minded,” Pitts said, adding that the chamber is fortunate to have partners such as the town and TDA and dedicated volunteers.

Update from Town Officials

Mayor J.B. Lawrence and Town Manager Ed Evans gave updates on town activities and developments.

Lawrence highlighted three noteworthy projects. One is the sidewalk project connecting Main Street to Bass Lake. This project is being funded by a $1.2 million federal grant and won’t be completed until likely the end of next summer.

J.B. Lawrence talks about some of the noteworthy projects happening in Blowing Rock at the annual State of the Town sponsored by the Blowing Rock Chamber. Photo by Jesse Wood

The second project is the gateway project for Sunset Drive. He said he’s hopeful this project will progress further than just the planning stages. The last project is in the design stages and currently being worked on by college students through a Virginia Tech Design Grant. This project seeks to beautify the rear of the American Legion building property and the lake area.

“It’s amazing what the students did and the ideas they gave us when they were here. Those things are just in the works. Tourism continues to be our number one industry, probably number 1, 2 and 3,” Lawrence said.

He added, “We got some issues coming up with the trees in the park. Some of them are kind of sick. It’s just some of the issues we got to deal with, and in the for-what-it’s-worth department, I returned to the banking industry today. I am now the client services executive for Highlands Union Bank.”

Town Manager Ed Evans spoke about power lines, construction activity and more during his presentation. He said that through the end of August, construction activity costs and permitting (commercial and residential) are at record levels and exceed $42 million.

“This is $12 million above the highest level ever,” Evans said.

He noted that Ransom Street has received quite a bit of development. “This street is making some amazing changes,” Evans said, noting that among some of the new projects along this road are a couple condos and new single-family homes. 

An artist rendering of the US 321 landscape plan that will be presented to the Blowing Rock Town Council in October. This is not part of the widening project contract.

Evans said that the planning department and McGill Associates, a multi-disciplinary consulting, engineering and landscape architecture firm, is analyzing the town’s roads to see which will be resurfaced in Phase 2 of obligation bond spending pertaining to the transportation category.

Evans said that people have recently asked what happened to the electric power line study. One of the priorities in the town’s 2014 comprehensive plan is removing power lines in downtown Blowing Rock. While acknowledging this is a wonderful idea and would be a great improvement, he noted that this project would cost more than $17 million: $6.5 million on Sunset and $10.75 through Main Street.

Perhaps because of the griping of recent tax increases in Blowing Rock and Watauga County, Evans said he didn’t think taxpayers would want them to increase the tax rate more to pay for burying power lines.

Evans also noted that the NCDOT will present a landscape plan to the Blowing Rock Town Council in October. This project is separate from the U.S. 321 widening project contract. The council will likely sign a memorandum or resolution to begin working on the landscaping along U.S. 321. The presentation will include artist renderings.

Update from Maymead Inc. on U.S. 321 Widening Project.

Kipp Turner of Maymead

Kipp Turner of Maymead Inc., the company contracted to complete the U.S. 321 widening project in Blowing Rock presented at the State of the Town event.

Prior to Turner speaking. J.B. Lawrence complimented Turner’s dedication to this project over the past several years and those in attendance gave a nice applause when it was mentioned that final layer of asphalt had been put down along the town section of U.S. 321, which is basically from Tanger Outlets to South 321 Business.

The entire project spans from Possum Hollow Road across from Tanger Outlets to Blackberry Road.

Turner noted that he expects a subcontractor to come out and put down the final markings next week, hopefully. He mentioned that over the summer, the NCDOT decided to add a traffic signal at U.S. 321 and South Main Street. Permanent signage along the town section of the highway should be complete in October.

He noted that the installation of light poles and landscaping is not part of this contract. Foundation for light poles has begun and the goal is to install those light poles this fall.

Turner said that the final layer of asphalt was placed in the parking lot where the old road into downtown Blowing Rock merged off the highway. This area was striped for parking spaces yesterday and the barricade was removed, so folks can now park there and walk along the sidewalk.

As for the non-town section of the project, Turner said a few more rock walls are being built: “We are real close to all of the retaining walls getting finished on the mountain portion.”

“There will still be fencing and guardrails that will follow after off the mountain, but our goal is to really be in a four-lane pattern by the end of the year even down the mountain,” Turner said. “That’s what we are pushing for.”

He cautioned, though, that the final layer of asphalt on the “mountain” section will likely have to wait until next spring because of temperature requirements and seasonal limitations of asphalt.

TDA Director Tracy Brown on Tourism

TDA Director Tracy Brown

Tracy Brown, the executive director of Blowing Rock’s Tourism Development Authority, gave a presentation on the state of tourism.

Citing figures from the state, Brown noted that visitors spent $248 million, up 7 percent, in Watauga County in 2016. Tourism-related payroll was $56 million, up 8.2 percent, and 2,800 people are employed because of tourism. State tax receipts were $12.5 million, up nearly 8 percent, and local tax receipts were $9.7 million.

“What that means for us here in this room that own property is that in 2015, each one of us paid $643 dollars less in local taxes because tourists are picking up a lot of that tab,” Brown said, noting that this figure for 2016 isn’t available yet. “We are all benefiting from the tourism dollars that come in here.”

In Blowing Rock, visitors paid nearly $1 million in occupancy tax. Each short-term rental comes with a 6 percent tax that is levied by the Tourism Development Authority to promote the region as a tourist destination and to allocate one-third of those tax proceeds for tourism-related infrastructure, such as the town’s parking decks or digital information kiosks throughout downtown.

He said that leisure-travel tourism had a $50 million impact in Blowing Rock last year.

Brown noted that from January to July (on the calendar year) occupancy tax is down about 12 percent from last year’s January to July in Blowing Rock. He said that part of that was warm weather affecting the ski season and rainy weather in the spring, early summer.

“Thirdly, Chetola went dark. At least about 18 percent of our inventory went dark for about four months. We couldn’t rent them. Those were high dollar units,” Brown said. “We feel like we are going to bounce back with no problems. Let me tell you this, we are fixing to be in the busy season. We are about 2 weeks away from it being wide open.”

Fall leaf color season is arguably the most anticipated season in the High Country and tourists flock to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Grandfather Mountain and the national parks to check out the beautiful autumn colors.

Brown noted that the TDA is continuing to focus on social media and mobile platforms for advertising and promoting content because that’s where the traffic growth is coming from.

Also, the TDA is looking at online booking websites to see if the TDA can recoup or start to collect more occupancy tax revenues that are bypassing the TDA. Apparently, some of these online booking agents are taking their cut off the top – prior to the 6 percent tax being collected.

Middle Fork Greenway Update from Patoprsty

Once complete, the Middle Fork Greenway will be a 6.5-mile multi-use paved trail that connects Boone to Blowing Rock and the Blue Ridge Parkway. So far about one-mile of trail has been built.

In August, the Blue Ridge Conservancy announced that the Town of Blowing Rock was awarded a $2 million federal grant to build a 1.3-mile segment through Section 1 of the Middle Fork Greenway, which is located from Tanger Outlet to the Foley Center at Chestnut Ridge. This section will also feature a pedestrian bridge to access the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Mountains-to-Sea trail funded by a $145,000 grant from the NCDOT.

Blue Ridge Conservancy’s Middle Fork Greenway Project Director Wendy Patoprsty said whenever she is asked when will the entire project be finished, she used to say, “That’s the $12 million question.”

“Today, I can say that’s the $10 million question,” Patoprsty.

Last year, Blue Ridge Conservancy purchased 12 linear acres, representing about a two-third mile of greenway trail, which enables the connection of two existing pocket parks, Sterling Creek Park, across from Mystery Hill and Goldmine Branch Park, which is county land near Niley Cook Road, which is part of Section 4 of the Middle Fork Greenway master plan.

“Right now, we are getting shovel ready in that section. We are getting permits, engineering and all the final designs right now and fundraising the construction of that section as well,” she said.

As for the Boone side, she said the Blue Ridge Conservancy is working with the Town of Boone and Appalachian Regional Healthcare System, which owns Watauga Medical Center and previously gave easements near Foley Center, on the section that would connect the greenway from Niley Cook Road to Fairway Drive, the road that accesses the Boone Golf Course. A $2.5 million grant was recently submitted that would help fund that section.

She also noted that the NCDOT will replace the bridge at Aho Road sometime in the future and that Sen. Deanna Ballard helped the project receive $100,000 in recreation aid money to fund building the bridge wider and taller to accommodate a greenway running underneath.

She said the $1.3 million federal grant requires a 20 percent match. Fundraising efforts are underway, and one idea that they’ve come up with is to ask business in the High Country to encourage customers to round up to the next dollar in July 2018. The goal is to get 200 businesses on board, and so far 56 business have signed up.

“Our goal is to raise the match money for our grant, not only for Blowing Rock section but Section 4. Once we get Section 1 and Tweetsie to Niley Cook towards Boone, we’ll be more than halfway done with the Middle Fork Greenway, which is amazing,” Patoprsty said. “We have lots of money to raise but with the community support and all the grants, I really believe we could do it.”

For more information about the Middle Fork Greenway, click here.

Below are pics of some of the related topics of the State of the Town:

Old Firehouse

Development along or near Ransom Streeet in Downtown Blowing Rock

US 321

Comments

comments

I don’t excel at scary things. My friends have given up on inviting me to see horror movies with them, and I’m not one to hightail it to a ghost tour the minute I touch down in a new city. I even sit Halloween out (I know, I know — it’s controversial, but I’m trying to be honest). I know I’m not necessarily in the majority here, though, and that there are plenty of people out there who actually live for the high-adrenaline experience of being in the presence of pure creepiness. For those of you who fall in this camp, you’ll be psyched to refer to this list of the creepiest place to visit in your state. That’s right — no matter where you live, there’s a creepy destination just waiting to spook you, and it might not even be that far away.

The only thing I ask as you begin to make plans for your in-state horror tour is that you don’t push too hard on the wimps in your circle. As a proud wimp, I know how awkward it can be to feel like the loser in the room simply because I don’t want to tag along on a creepy field trip, when the truth is that the field trip is bound to be way more fun without me. If you’re a fan of the creeps, run wild with this list! And please let the anti-horror stay home with a carton of ice cream.

Alaska

Just looking at this photo of the Igloo City Hotel in Cantwell, AK gives me the creeps. Per Haunted Rooms, this abandoned building is located on an isolated stretch of the Parks Highway, and while it’s common knowledge that construction on it stopped in the 1970s, no one really knows why. Naturally, it’s now believed to be haunted. Why wouldn’t it be?

Arizona

Your first red flag about the Birdcage Theatre should be that it’s located in an Arizona town called Tombstone — but if you need further convincing that it’s a little freaky, look no further than its history. According to the Phoenix New Times, this 19th century theater was home to drinking, gambling, prostitution, and 16 deadly gunfights in its prime. Many have claimed to see ghosts there.

Arkansas

Per Only In Your State, Pea Ridge National Military Park is one of several Arkansas Civil War battlegrounds that are now thought to be haunted. Guests have reported a sense of being followed by something they couldn’t see.

California

The Santa Lucia Mountains that run between Avila Beach and Monterey, CA are an undeniably beautiful sight, but they’re steeped in bone-chilling history. Legend says that there are Dark Watchers — large, quasi-human phantoms — that lurk inside the mountains, according to Culture Trip. If you’re brave enough to try to catch a peek, visit the mountains at twilight and look up!

Colorado

Denver’s Cheesman Park was used as a cemetery in the late 19th century, according to Colorado’s 9News.com. Later, the land was claimed as federal property, and families were given a mere 90 days to remove the bodies — and, in the end, a city contractor had to do most of the dirty work because so few people could afford the removal themselves. As you can imagine, things got weird, and thanks to poor planning on the contractor’s part, there were body parts and bones all over the park. Just try and tell me that the place isn’t haunted.

Connecticut

Per Damned Connecticut, Union Cemetery in Easton, CT has been a hot spot for ghost hunters and thrill seekers for years. It’s a must-see for anyone who claims to be a fan of all things paranormal.

Delaware

Located on Delaware’s Pea Patch Island, Fort Delaware was built by the French to protect Delaware from the Confederacy and other enemies. Today, Haunted Rooms says that the site is one of the state’s most haunted — especially the dungeons, where prisoners would have been held when the fort was functioning. Reports of the sound of rattling chains and disembodied voices are not uncommon.

Florida

St. Augustine, FL is the oldest city in the U.S., so it should come as no surprise that it’s home to one of the eeriest locations in the state. While stunningly beautiful, Castillo de San Marcos is a go-to for ghost tours, thanks to its distinction as our country’s oldest standing masonry fort, per Only In Your State. Legend says that the site is haunted by a Seminole man and a heartbroken woman in white.

Georgia

Don’t be fooled by the many reviews of Moon River Brewing Company‘s great beers. It’s one of the creepiest places in Georgia! Located in Savannah, the 19th century building hosted a variety of violent fights, lynchings, and shootings, according to StyleBlueprint. Contemporary visitors and staff members share stories of bottles flying in midair and being touched by an unseen being.

Hawaii

In 1938, an elderly widow was murdered and left to die by two escaped convicts in her home, which was near the site that’s now known as Morgan’s Corner on the island of Oahu, per Hawaii Magazine. It would be five days before her body would be discovered. Stories are told around Hawaii of other gruesome events that took place at the same spot.

Idaho

Yes, that’s right — there is actually a real Bates Motel, and it’s located in Coeur d’Alene, ID. According to Haunted Rooms, the infamous location was originally an officers barracks, was converted to a Roadway Inn, and was ultimately sold again to Randy Bates, who gave it its well-known moniker. Motel guests and employees have since reported nearly constant paranormal activity at the location.

Illinois

It might look pretty innocent, but the Peoria Public Library is actually known as one of the creepiest places in Illinois, according to Mysterious Heartland. Legend says that it’s built on cursed ground and is therefore haunted by many ghosts. Sounds like the perfect place to check out some scary books if that’s your thing!

Indiana

The Story Inn has tagged itself “One inconvenient location since 1851,” not only because visitors need to travel 20 miles into the wilderness in order to stay there, but also because it’s the only building still standing from a now-defunct mining town, per The Indy Channel. That fact alone is a little eerie, but the documented ghostly hauntings really lock up the creepiness factor for the inn, which is still an operating bread and breakfast.

Iowa

Rumor (well, decades-old legend) has it that anyone who touches the hand of the Black Angel Statue of Fairview Cemetery in Council Bluffs, IA will die, Travel Iowa tells us. Shake hands with her at your own risk.

Kansas

St. Jacob’s Well is a sinkhole formed by centuries of gradually-eroding rock, according to Mysterious Heartland, and while we can now estimate that it’s about 18 feet deep, it was once believed to be a literal bottomless pit. Over the years, many visitors have lowered weighted rope into the depths of the well in search of the bottom! There are plenty of other creepy legends associated with this site too — bodies left at the bottom, sightings of spectral cowboys, haunted houses nearby, and more.

Kentucky

Early Kentucky senator John Brown built Liberty Hall as his family home in 1796, and it became the site of many deaths, according to Kentucky For Kentucky. As a result, there are three spirits thought to haunt the grounds to this day — the “Gray Lady,” a Spanish opera performer, and a soldier.

Louisiana

The New Orleans French Quarter is chock full of buildings laden with all kinds of history, and the Lalaurie House has an especially storied — and haunted — profile, per Vacations Made Easy. The building is a private residence now, but you can walk by it if you’re passing through The Big Easy and get full body chills just looking at it. The Lalaurie House has a sad history of violence toward slaves that’s since been portrayed on American Horror Story.

Maine

Now under consideration as the site for a new veterans facility, the Kennebec Arsenal in Augusta, ME is widely though to be one of the creepiest spots in all of the Pine Tree state, according to Only In Your State. In the early 20th century, the arsenal was a hospital for the severely medically ill, and many say that you can still hear the cries of the building’s former patients.

Maryland

Shortly after John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC, he was taken to the home of Dr. Samuel Mudd in Walford, MD so that his broken leg could be treated. According to Haunted Rooms, Dr. Mudd was tried and convicted as a co-conspirator in the assassination. Today, Dr. Samuel A. Mudd’s House is an important historical site, and some people claim that they’ve seen the doctor’s ghost wandering the property or the impression of a body in the bed where Booth slept and recovered.

Massachusetts

Per Only In Your State, Dogtown started as a respectable 17th century settlement… but went on to have a very bad reputation. Rumors abounded that the dwindling residents of Dogtown practiced witchcraft, a theory that was only confirmed by the mysterious words carved into rocks throughout the area.

Michigan

If sleeping with ghosts is your thing, you can stay at Kalamazoo’s Henderson Castle to this day! Awesome Mitten notes that the building’s original owners, as well as a Spanish-American War veteran, a little girl, and a dog still hang out in their spectral forms around the property. The good news? It sounds like they’re all pretty friendly!

Minnesota

I know that the Greyhound Bus Mueseum doesn’t sound particularly spooky, but previous visitors might disagree! According to Haunted Rooms, there’s a particular bus that happens to be home to a ghost that periodically plays with its windows and doors. Creepy shadows abound!

Mississippi

King’s Tavern is the oldest building in Natchez, MS, according to Visit Mississippi, and it’s also been featured in an episodes of Ghost Adventures, which automatically gives it creepy cred. Legend says that a space was found behind the wall holding three dead bodies. As you might expect, haunted happenings followed, including mysterious sightings in mirrors and the disembodied sound of a crying baby.

Missouri

I can’t say that there are any cemeteries out there that I find decidedly un-creepy, but Lorimier Cemetery sounds especially chill-inducing. Lorimier is the home of the “tapping host,” according to Only In Your State. Visitors report the sensation of being tapped on the shoulder or of having their hair pulled.

Montana

The Montana town of Fort Peck was built in the early 20th century to temporarily house U.S. Army Corps of Engineers workers and their families, and while the town’s theater is still functional today, it’s also said to be haunted by a male spirit, per the Billings Gazette. Visitors have also reported strange sounds and bizarre apparitions in the dressing rooms.

Nebraska

As you can tell from this tweet begging the host of Ghost Adventures to visit Centennial Hall in Valentine, NE, there’s some serious creepiness afoot here. According to Haunted Rooms, a student at this one-time high school building died on campus after her clarinet reed was poisoned, and many have said they believe she still haunts the halls. They report a feeling of being sick when they see her ghost, as well as the sound of music playing from the school’s old music room… even though the building has long since been converted to a museum without a working musical instrument to speak of.

Nevada

Nevada has a reputation for mining communities turned ghost towns, and Goldfield is one of the best-known. Goldfield Hotel and the abandoned Goldfield High School are thought to be particularly creepy, Only In Your State notes, thanks to accounts of ghost sightings.

New Hampshire

Mary is a redheaded, green-eyed ghost who is said to appear in the upstairs window of New Hampshire’s Ocean-Born Mary House, according to Haunted Rooms. She has also been caught standing on the staircase when people enter the building! And since legend says that Mary found the body of her murdered husband when she was alive and buried him under the kitchen’s hearthstone, the whole thing feels extra eerie.

New Jersey

The Devil’s Tree stands alone in a field in Bernards Township, NJ, and many locals believe that it’s cursed, per NJ.com. Legend says that anyone who cuts down the tree will die an early death, largely because, years ago, a farmer is believed to have hanged himself from its branches after murdering his wife and children.

New Mexico

There’s no shortage of creepy sites in New Mexico, but Dawson tops the list from Haunted Rooms. The town was built around a large coal mining operation, but it also became home to two of the most serious mining tragedies in American history! Nearly 400 people were killed in these incidents combined, and ghost stories abound around town. Some have claimed to see miners’ helmet lights and other spectral figures walking through the graveyard.

New York

More than 800 thousand people have been buried in Hart Island since the late 19th century. The land is used for unclaimed bodies or for those whose families cannot afford a proper funeral, according to Untapped Cities.

North Carolina

The legend of Blackbeard the Pirate is well-known, but fewer people know about Teach’s Hole, a cove located in Ocracoke Island, NC and named after Edward Teach — the man better known as Blackbeard. Upon his capture, Blackbeard was beheaded, and his headless body is said to have been seen swimming in the cove or walking the beach, per Thrillist.

North Dakota

Constructed in 1915, Willston, ND’s Old Armory is said to now be the home of freely-moving mannequins and ghostly whispering, according to Haunted Rooms.

Ohio

A Buzzfeed user shares the legend of Lick Road near Cincinnati, OH: “The ghost, Amy, was killed by her boyfriend on the bridge that crosses over the creek. If you sit in your car and wait, Amy will come and write ‘Help Me’ in condensation on your windows. If you park facing the path, turn off your car and flash your headlights three times, Amy’s ghost will appear.” I’m not sure I want to test this one for myself.

Oklahoma

Oh, has the name of this one not sufficiently creeped you out? Let me explain. According to Haunted Rooms, Dead Woman’s Crossing is a bridge on the road around Deer Creek now haunted by the ghost of Katy DeWitt James. James is said to have mysteriously disappeared in 1905 after riding in a buggy with a prostitute friend into a field near said creek. Her baby was dropped off at a local farm wrapped in a bloody dress.

Oregon

In 1906, the crew of the Peter Iredale cargo ship was evacuated during a storm on the way to Portland. Since the ship itself was largely undamaged, according to Oregon Live, the crew planned to save it, but it became gradually buried in the sand and could no longer be moved. Today, the tourist destination is a spooky-looking photo op.

Pennsylvania

As a Pennsylvania native, I can confirm that Eastern State Penitentiary is easily the creepiest place in the Keystone state — so creepy, in fact, that I’ve never ventured to go. Per Thrillist, the century-old prison — once known especially for its focus on solitary confinement — is now a must-see for ghost hunters. Visitors have reported hearing voices and seeing visions of guards and inmates.

Rhode Island

The Seaview Terrace property in Newport, RI is so objectively creepy that it’s been used as part of gothic series Dark Shadows, notes Only In Your State. But it’s not all hype — ghost sightings have also been reported.

South Carolina

According to Haunted Rooms, seven people were once hanged from Seven Devil’s Bridge, and (naturally) the ghosts of those people now haunt the area. It’s said that living people cannot cross the bridge at midnight — and theory that seems to have been confirmed by a number of freaky car crashes for those who attempted it.

South Dakota

Come for a performance, stay for a side of the creeps. The Orpheum Theater of Sioux Falls dates back to 1913 and is rumored to have a resident ghost named Larry, per Haunts.com. He’s been known to mess up concerts and shows by blowing fuses and dropping sandbags onto actors. Legend has it that, in life, Larry committed suicide after failing to land the part of Romeo in an Orpheum production.

Tennessee

The Shiloh National Military Park makes the list of Tennessee’s most creepy. It’s full of natural beauty today, but it was also home to the Battle of Shiloh during the American Civil War, and there are accounts of people seeing a bloodied pond in the area today. Was that the pond where soldiers came to clean their wounds? I guess we’ll never know!

Texas

You can still grab a drink at the La Carafe wine bar in Houston, but given its creepier elements, I’m not sure you would want to. According to Only In Your State, guests of the first floor establishment (which is the oldest still-operating commercial building in the city) have heard heavy footsteps and the sound of a body being dragged upstairs.

Utah

OK, so Rock Canyon is obviously beautiful, but given the fact that it’s really only meant for experienced climbers, it’s also played host to lots of serious injuries and deaths. Haunted Rooms credits this with the negative energy of the area, from which there have been regular reports of a ghostly man who runs down the canyon’s rockier ledges and straight toward the living, vanishing before he can make contact.

Vermont

According to Only in Your State, West Castleton, VT — though once a hot spot for European immigrants and miners — is now largely abandoned. A well-known local story says that a group of West Castleton friends traveling by rowboat to a pub on the other side of Lake Bomoseen… and never returned. Their empty boat, however, was found floating in the lake. Today, it is believed that a spectral rowboat can be seen on Lake Bomoseen.

Virginia

Williamsburg, VA is full of opportunities to tap into some centuries-old spirits, but the Peyton Randolph House is widely known as the most haunted, per Colonial Ghosts. Some even call it the most haunted house in the country! Visitors have heard voices, witness objects moving on their own, and felt hands touch or push them (General Marquis de Lafayette himself reported the latter!).

Washington

Tacoma Old City Hall was once, of course, the HQ for important city matters, but it’s also been the site of many alleged hauntings over the last 40 years. According to Haunted Rooms, police have been called to the scene to check out creepy noises, spontaneous fire alarms, and even burglar alarms. On each occasion, officers found no evidence of an actual human having been inside.

West Virginia

This is the scene that creepy carnival music was made for. Wild, Wonderful West Virginia notes that many believe the land on which Lake Shawnee Amusement Park is built is actually cursed — and for good reason. In the late 18th century, three local children and several Native American warriors were killed on the land before it was even converted to an amusement park, and further deaths were reported later on. The park was abandoned in 1966, and now it’s the home of rusted park remains and ghost sightings (a little girl, of course).

Wisconsin

This dead end road west of the Wisconsin River is said to be named in honor of Boy Scouts who died there many years ago, according to Mysterious Heartland. There’s a lot of mystery around how these deaths occurred on Boy Scout Lane, so if you love an unsolved murder or disappearance, you’ll love the creepy vibes of this spot.

Wyoming

Buffalo Bill himself built Cody’s Irma Hotel, per Haunted Rooms, and some say that he’s stuck around, along with his daughter Irma. Guests have alleged the sound of footsteps, as well as sightings of a ghost missing the bottom half of his body. Irma is said to hang out in a rocking chair in the corner of Room 16, which was her bedroom IRL.