Mountain Brew Cafe is no longer in operation, reports say. But its building may still be haunted by many ghosts. One, according to local legend, is the spirit of a woman who was murdered on the second floor. Witnesses inside the restaurant often heard footsteps on the stairs when nobody was there.
Mountain Brew Cafe
Beaver Lake
Beaver Lake is home to the spirit of a young man who drowned here in the 1970s, according to local lore. His ghost is seen on the lakeshore. A female apparition also has been spotted standing on the dam and looking down into the water. She is thought to be one of the many folks who have committed suicide here.
South Asheville Colored Cemetery
South Asheville Colored Cemetery is where African Americans were buried for about a century, beginning in the 1840s. As few records were kept, it is uncertain how many people were buried here, but estimates guess from 1,500 to as many as 5,000. Witnesses here have reported dark, shadowy figures along with feelings of intense sadness.
Waneta Street
A 1920s unsolved murder along Waneta Street centered on two women who were beaten to death. The killer’s apparition has been seen carrying the murder weapon, a sort of pipe or club.
Fletcher School of Dance
Fletcher School of Dance is rumored to be haunted by shadowy figures who moved construction workers’ tools during a renovation and made odd sounds throughout the building.
Scandals Nightclub
Scandals Nightclub, which began in 1982, is a dance club for the LGBT community. It is haunted by an apparition of a Native American woman who is also blamed for unexplained lighting issues.
Warren Wilson College
Warren Wilson College, a private liberal arts college, is part of the Work Colleges Consortium. Students must work for the college as part of their schooling, in order to graduate. Buildings rumored to be haunted here include Jensen Lecture Hall, where vacuum cleaners turn off, lights flicker, unexplained clanking is heard and the elevator operates by itself. And at the Sunderland Dorm, residual anger and fear from a female student’s near-fatal axe mutilation on another girl is said to cause strange things to happen. The Kittredge Theatre is believed to be haunted by namesake Helen Kittredge, and folks say she moves props, flickers the lights, paces around and breaks objects…especially when she doesn’t like the play that is being performed.
Northside Grill and Bar
Northside Grill and Bar, which reports say now operates as Appalachian Tavern, used to have apartments on the second floor where a tenant committed suicide. Now, folks say, patrons have reported uneasy vibes and at times have spotted a shadowy figure that walks across the room.
Vance Birthplace
The birthplace of Zebulon Baird Vance (1830–1894), a Confederate Civil War officer, governor, senator, and writer, is a five-room log house. Vance was a passionate speaker and leader, and a prominent figure in his time. Perhaps spirits of the deceased are still drawn to the charismatic Vance: Ghostly men and women have been seen here, wearing old-fashioned clothing.
Church of the Redeemer
Church of the Redeemer, built in 1888 with two Tiffany windows, was originally the family chapel for a nearby mansion. The mansion has since burned down. According to witnesses, a female apparition has been spotted coming down the stairs of the sloped cemetery in back. She then crosses Riverside Drive and vanishes into the river.
