Presently the site of East McDowell Jr. High, an orphanage once stood on these grounds. One night, the orphanage was set ablaze. Everyone escaped safely, but six small children returned to the inferno to save their pets. Only three of the six survived. It is said that if one stands on the tennis courts of the school around midnight, the screeching of burning animals and children may be heard.
Not able to deal with her pregnancy, legend has it that, on prom night, a teenaged girl jumped from the dam to her death. Now, she haunts the damn. It is said that on prom night if one goes to the damn and places his keys on the hood of the car and then walks around it, when he returns, they keys will have disappeared.
During stormy and foggy nights, a young girl has been spotted standing under the bridge. She was supposedly killed on her way to the prom, and is still wearing her prom dress. She now attempts to get a ride home from passing motorists, but on the way, she vanishes.
This residential building, now owned by the government, was once an orphanage. In order to escape alive when a fire struck, the manager of the house abandoned all of the children inside; no children survived the inferno. To this day, sounds of children playing on the stairs, and then screams announcing “Fire! Fire,” have been heard.
During the Civil War, this house was inhabited by a young lady and her lover. As the Union Army was fast approaching, the two tried to escape through a tunnel that led to the Cape Fear River. The tunnel, however, was blown up. It is said that the house is now haunted by the couple. It is reported that the Lady in Black appears on the stair case of the three story house on many occasions. Her lover is said to go into the apartments that are rented out and watch television with the tenants. It is said that people see the imprint of a body in the couches or chairs that are near the television. It is said that if he does not like what show they are watching, he will change the channel.
This house was built many years ago by an old spinster. The lady died alone in one of the bedrooms, and since that time she has stayed on, keeping watch over the house. The only people she appears to bother, however, are unwed couples.
One couple reported that they came home one night to check on their pet. The man had an overwhelming desire to blow on the mirror. When he did so, everything fogged up, except an outline of the word bye. Another woman reported never being able to get warm when she slept in her husbands heated water bed. She also said that she always had the feeling that she was being watched. Since the couple has been wed, however, all problems have ceased.