The Christmas Spirits Ghost Tour
Raleigh, N.C.
A red light beamed throughout the Great Raleigh Trolley, holiday decorations were strung about the carriage — and the tale of a missing head emerged. The narrator, Daisy, stood front and center as a Christmas Spirits Ghost Tour traveled to some of the most haunted places in Raleigh.
In the back, passengers sat across from each other on benches. In front, people sat in seats two to a row on each side.
With cell phones silenced, the hum of the engine, and the occasional sound of a beer can popping open, it was easy to get drawn into the spooky tales. Locals were tested on their knowledge of the city. Many of the stories were told from the perspective of a worker familiar with the grounds, but one came from a previous governor.
The trolley first journeyed through the Historic Oakwood Neighborhood and Daisy told the story of Sir Walter Raleigh, the man the city is named after. He attempted to establish the first English colony in North America in 1580 but failed. Raleigh was beheaded in 1618 after being arrested for invading a Spanish territory while James I was trying to establish peace. It’s believed that his wife carried his head around with her until she died and that their children then placed it in a cupboard under the stairs in their home. However, when Raleigh’s grandchildren went to retrieve it, it was nowhere to be found, and the head was never seen again.
The trolley then stopped at Oakwood Cemetery, and traveled to the home of Andrew Duncan, the North Carolina Executive Mansion, the Capitol Building, the Tucker House, the Mordecai House, and finally, the birthplace of the 17th U.S. president, Andrew Johnson.
The Executive Mansion, the 13th largest in the U.S., was mainly built by prisoners in the late 1880s. Gov. Daniel G. Fowle and his children were the first family to reside in the home. Fowle was the 46th governor, a widower and father to four children when he moved in. His bedroom was on the second floor, and he had trouble sleeping at night. Fowle was a fairly large man; is youngest son liked to climb into bed with him, so he had a custom bed built that would fit them both comfortably. Fowle died in the bed about a month later.
The bed remained in that room until 1969, when Gov. Bob Scott had it removed and replaced with one for his wife and himself. The first night they were in the room, they were woken up by a scratching and knocking coming from the wall behind them. This went on for weeks until Gov. Scott called a staff meeting to figure out what could be the cause of the sound. After failing to find the source of the noises, Gov. Scott and his wife moved out of the room and put Fowle’s bed back three months later. The noises stopped. Some believe it was Fowle letting them know they needed to put the bed back in its original place. Scott wrote a book about his bizarre experiences.
The Tucker House was built in 1914 for Garland Tucker and his family. He was the founder of a wealthy furniture company he ran with his brothers. The elegant home features a parlor, piano room, dining room, two sitting rooms, and a spacious kitchen. The Garlands hosted several parties, formal teas, receptions and other social activities, filling it with life. Mr. Garland died in 1949 and his wife, Mrs. Garland, died in 1975. It was passed down to their only son and later donated to the city and designated as a historic building.
Every night security performs a sweep of the house, making sure all the lights are off, looking for anything out of place, and checking the bedrooms. One night, while the guard was doing a walkthrough of the second floor, he stopped at the top of the stairwell, frozen by the sound of a child laughing. He used his flashlight to look around but saw no one around him, only the dust falling from the ceiling. This sent chills down my spine.
He started walking down the stairs again but stopped right in the middle. He looked up and saw two hands let go of the banister. The guard rushed out of the house, as he heard the sound of children’s feet running toward him. He grabbed his keys to open the door and made it out of the home. The then guard radioed that he was going home for the night. The next day he turned in his resignation letter and later moved out of Raleigh. Riders reacted with a distinct wave of shock, and a combination of gasps and giggles.
According to Daisy, it’s a rare occurrence for a security guard to share one of their ghostly encounters with others, as many tend to remain tightlipped about some of the more unsettling moments.
The only part of the tour that seemed related to the holiday season were the decorations on the trolley and the belief that more spirit interactions occur during this time of the year. when the veil is weakest between the world of the living and the world of the dead.
The Christmas Spirits Ghost Tour dives into illuminating tales of the paranormal and runs on select days until Dec. 23. Tickets can be purchased online for $42 and alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are allowed on aboard. The Great Raleigh Trolley also offers five other tours for the holidays, the Santa Express, the Must-See Raleigh Tour (holiday edition), the Cocoa and Caroling Tour, and the Oaks & Jokes Holiday Bar Cruise.
