Ghosts of the Triangle: Spookiest urban legends from around the Triangle

From the mysterious Gimghoul Castle in Chapel Hill to the curious spinning angel of Oakwood Cemetery, the Triangle area is full of eerie urban legends to tell around Halloween.

Here's a look at some of the most popular – and chilling – haunted places around Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill – many of which you can visit or drive past if you want to give yourself a good scare!

The oldest marked grave in Wake County sits behind the Spring Hill House on modern-day Centennial Campus. The grave, belonging to Theophilus Hunter, Sr., dates back to 1798.

When he died, he left his land to his son, who built the Spring Hill House in 1820. In the early 1900s, Dorothea Dix Hospital occupied the property.

According to urban legends, something inside the house continues setting off motion sensors, even late at night when nobody is inside. Some security guards have claimed to re-visit the house each time the alarms go off – only to find the home empty and quiet as the grave.

Specifically, the motion sensor on the stairwell seems to be tripped the most often – almost as if someone is trying to walk down the stairs over and over. Some versions of the legend state that it's the ghost of Theophilus himself, taking visits to and from the house from his nearby grave site.

Within the span of roughly a year, the bodies of six murdered women had been found in the area. A 35-year-old homeless man named John Williams, Jr. was eventually charged with the murders.

For years, a restaurant known as Dos Taquitos Xoco in the Pine State Creamery claimed to be haunted by the ghost of one of the women, who employees said had died in the alleyway. The business even had a sign on their door, warning that patrons had spoken of paranormal experiences.

Patrons and employees claimed to hear their names whispered by a disembodied voice. At night, employees closing up said glasses would move by themselves, sometimes even falling and shattering on the floor. Some employees even said the lights would shut off on them while they were alone.

Dos Taquitos is no longer located at the Pine State Creamery at 410 Glenwood Avenue; however, The Milk Bar now has this address – baring the question: Did the spooky occurrences continue after the new business moved in?

The beautiful grave marker of Etta Ratcliffe is the statue of an angel who reportedly shares her face.

Etta was born in 1880, but died tragically and suddenly at the age of 38.

Today, she's known as the "Spinning Angel of Oakwood" or the "Ratcliffe Angel." At night, her tall shadow and angelic outline peering through the trees can appear eerie when seen from the dark roadway.

The legend likely began because her statue appears so lifelike and can be easily viewed from the main road – the ideal target for an urban legend.

Some locals claim her life-like eyes follow them as they walk past. Others claim her entire head spins around 12 times at midnight on Halloween.

Regardless of whether or not the legend is true, some of her family members have shared that they are not upset their ancestor has become part of an urban legend. Rather, according to an interview on a local website, they said they were pleased to have their family be part of such a popular piece of local lore.

Built in 1925, the historic State College smokestack is a hearkening back to the old days of NC State – and although it was built to help heat the buildings, many students claim to get a chill whenever they walk past.

The smokestack is attached to the Yarborough Steam Plant – the steam tunnels are yet another source of ghost stories and legends on NCSU campus.

According to legend, if you look up at the top of the smokestack at night, you can sometimes see the ghost of a student, hanging suspended in the air, who met a tragic death there many years ago. The ghost doesn't seem to do anything; but the dangling shadow creates an eerie apparition for students passing by after late-night study sessions.

Some students say the ghost is of a young man who went up there, heartbroken after losing the woman he loved, and leapt from the top in order to die. Others say a student was working in the attached steam plant and died in an accident.

If you want to know for sure, just walk or drive past the smokestack late at night and see for yourself.

So much of the castle's real history is blurred together with the legends, ghost stories and secret society that meets inside – it can be difficult to tell which parts of the castle's history are real and which are myth.

Carolina students tell the tale of Peter Dromgoole, a school legend about a student who enrolled in 1833. According to the old story, he fell in love with a woman called Miss Fanny, and was forced to duel for her affections.

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Sadly, according to the tragic tale, he lost the duel, and died on a rock, permanently staining it with his blood. His body was hidden beneath the rock in a shallow grave.

It's not certain exactly how much of the story is myth, and how much is based on real information. However, the popular story inspired UNC students to create a secret society called the Order of Gimghoul.

It's rare to get an invitation to see inside the castle; however, you can catch a glimpse of it off Gimghoul Road in Chapel Hill.

The Cabelands: Abandoned cemetery by Eno River carries ghostly legends

Hidden in the woods around the Eno are the remains of homesteads, mills, farms and even graveyards of families who tilled that land in the 1700s and 1800s.

The Cabelands: Abandoned cemetery by Eno River carries ghostly legends

Only 12 graves bear official markers; however, historians say the burial site holds 51 graves. Some graves are notable only by the way the ground sinks nearly a foot deeper, forming coffin-sized divots in the earth.

In this section of the park, known as The Cabelands, many hikers have reported hearing whispering voices, screams from the woods – and even seeing shadow people whisping through the trees.

Older than Raleigh itself, the Mordecai House is the oldest house in the city still on its original foundation.

By day, the historic home offers public tours. But by night, some employees have claimed to have supernatural experiences.

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Other visitors and late-night employees have heard the home's piano play all by itself, sometimes reporting seeing a gray, mist-like substance hovering over the keys.

Many believe there are two ghosts in the home – Margaret Mordecai and Mary Willis Mordecai Turk.

If you have some haunted history around the Triangle you think we should explore, email WRAL's Hidden Historian hleah@wral.com.

Is there any truth or real history behind some of the Triangle's urban legends?

Our newest podcast examines the legend of lost buried treasure in Cary, the origins of the Lady in Gray of downtown Raleigh, the haunting story of Gimghoul Castle and other terrifying lore from the Triangle.