Haunted Statesville, NC is filled with all kinds of history involving tragedy, legend, and personal experiences. I just happened to be lucky enough to grow up here. Some of the legends are well documented, and others are handed down from generation to generation. They exist because of tragic accidents, spooky settings, and eyewitness accounts some of which I have experienced myself. These next few paragraphs will provide you with a brief haunted history of my hometown of Statesville, North Carolina.
The Bostian Bridge
The History of haunted Statesville, NC starts with one of the most well-known stories around the town. It’s a story of pure tragedy and death that shook the town back on August 27th of 1891. Around five minutes after leaving the Statesville train station, a locomotive going about 30-40 miles per hour, and pulling six cars plummeted off the Bostian Bridge that stood sixty feet tall and spanned across Third Creek. The train accident killed 23 people and injured close to 30 that night including engineer William West. It is rumored the spirit of William West can be spotted on the anniversary asking onlookers for the time.
The sound of the train is said to be heard coming across the old Bostian Bridge, coupled with the sounds of the cars crashing to the ground and the screams of the passengers, making this one of Statesville’s most attractive paranormal hot spots. I nor APS condone visiting this site. Not only because police patrol the area constantly, but because it is still an active railroad and a very dangerous place. While the bridge is not accessible from the roads, the tracks are still in use today. Unfortunately, in 2010 a paranormal investigator lost his life while investigating with a group of friends.
Munchkinland
The next story takes place on a dirt road and is a substantial part of haunted Statesville, NC lore. Along this winding dirt road, there is a one-lane bridge that covers a small creek that feeds off the South Yadkin River. The road lies tucked away between two major thoroughfares of the city in northern Iredell County.
“Munchkinland” is where the road leads. The name, given to it by the locals, is possibly a reference to the fictional area referenced in The Wizard of Oz. I have heard many different stories surrounding the area and experienced one of them myself. One of the stories is that, if you sprinkle the rear bumper of your car with flour and stop on the bridge in neutral, your car will slowly begin to move up the hill. On the bumper of the car would appear tiny fingerprints.
The version that I experienced, however, was a bit different. For instance, the legend told to me stated there were little trolls that lived under the bridge and that turning off your car while on the bridge would result in its failure to restart. In my late teens to early twenties, I decided to try this one for myself. One night I drove my little Nissan Sentra onto the bridge and turned it off. I let the car sit there for a few minutes and then tried to restart. Initially, the car would not start. It took several tries until it did and, once that happened, I drove off and haven’t visited the area again. I did not hang around long enough to spot the trolls.
The House on Dead Man’s Curve
One of the most active places I have experienced paranormal activity was a house I lived in off Dead Man’s Curve. The curve received this name from locals because of the multiple life-claiming accidents that had occurred over the years. There was no evidence that the house was haunted, at least not any that I could locate. However, there has always been chatter about the area itself being haunted.
At night one could hear ghostly conversations in the kitchen, cabinet doors opening and closing, and screen doors opening and closing on their own. Late one night, after coming home from errands, all the windows in the house were open. My partner, at the time, and I closed and locked the windows. The next morning, we woke to a freezing cold house. The locked windows in the house had opened again. The only way we were able to keep them closed was to nail them shut. Not the safest way to live in a rental.
The most exciting experience that fueled my desire to research the paranormal was seeing someone appearing in the doorway of the room I was resting in. I saw them out of the corner of my eye over the book I was reading. To this day, I distinctly remember the clothes that he was wearing – a purple t-shirt and blue jeans. They stood there for a moment, then turned around and walked away. Shortly after, I went to my partner and asked what he wanted. He stated that he didn’t come into my room, and I also noticed he was wearing completely different clothes than the person who stood in my doorway.
Conclusion
Experiences in the house mentioned above, and many others around town, are now the inspiration for a fictional novel currently titled “The House on Dead Man’s Curve” which is now available on Amazon. There are many other honorable mentions in the area that have found their way into the book, although I think I will save some of those for another blog at another time. Please feel free to leave in the comments your own haunted town experiences. I would love to read them.
Totally enjoyed this article! Thanks
Thanks! Keep coming back for more!
your story caught my interest because my son and his wife have lived in Statesville N.C. for the past few years. Thank you for letting me in on some of it’s history. I found it a very good read!
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I’m curious to know where all of these are except for the Bostian Bridge, I have heard of that one.
I have lived in Stateville for almost 20 yrs and have never heard of the others.
Hi Cheryll,
Munchkinland I is located off a side road off of 115. I dont remember the name of the road. It’s been almost 20 years since I have been there. Unfortunately, I will not disclose the location of the house I lived in as it was a rental property. I will tell you it was in the North Iredell School district area.
The name of the road is called Branchwood!
The Bostian Bridge, Old Vance Hotel, The Statesville City Hall, Shinville Graveyard, The Santer sightings, even the now torn down old Davis Hospital. There are so many stories in this area and if you can find some of the old-timer locals who lived here who can tell you the tales or even the locals like me who listened to those old-timers, you could learn a lot.
I am curious, is anyone here a used to be part of the old ghostplace.com forum before it shut down?
I wasn’t a part of ghostplace, but I lived in Statesville for 30 plus years before moving to Winston. I’ve had my fair share of experiences in the town. It’s a shame they tore down the old Davis Hospital that place always had some creepy vibes. My book is now out – The House on Dead Man’s Curve if you wanna check it out on Amazon. It’s inspired by my personal experiences and features some of Statesville’s ghost lore.
Thanks, I will check out the book.
I am a 40-year-old native of Troutman and lived here all my life. My grandmother is an 80-year-old local whose childhood house is now covered over when Lake Norman was filled near the Duke Power state park and has lived her entire life here, and her parents lived there at the now lake-covered house for a long time before she was born. When you have family who has lived in the same area for probably 100+ years, stories have been passed down.
All those stories, folklore, and personal experiences with the family and myself made me very interested in the paranormal. I use to spend a lot of time in a ghost-hunting forum helping people and cross-checking others’ investigations but after it shut down, we all lost touch and I lost my community and been out of it for many years. It’s nice and rare to see others who will talk about such things when most will look at you as if you are crazy. Keep it up.