Welcome to HickoryRecord.com. Skip directly to: our Keyword Search, Section Navigation, Content.

HickoryRecord.com - Hickory Daily Record

HomeNewsEntertainmentSportsLifestylesOpinionCommunityWeather Online Tools Jobs | Real Estate | Shopping | Classified

Statesville looking for ghosts

By O.C. Stonestreet

Published: August 12, 2008

Nancy Davis is a ghost hunter - at least for a while.

Davis, who is the public information officer for the City of Statesville, is on a quest to find ghost stories and legends for a "Ghost Walk" in Statesville.

The proposed walk is a joint project of the city, the Downtown Statesville Development Corporation and the Statesville Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"This will be a different trek than 'A Walk Back in Time' the walking downtown tour that was begun some three years ago, although some of the same places will be included," she said.

Davis stressed that this is not a haunted house tour with people dressed up who will jump out or vampires reposing in coffins, but a history-based tour of the downtown area. "This has nothing to do with Halloween," she said.

Davis went on to mention that over the years there have been ghosts reported in some of Statesville's older buildings, such as the 1920s Vance Hotel and the 1858 main building of Mitchell Community College at the end of West Broad Street.

"What I'd like," she said, "is input from local residents about ghosts or strange things they may have seen. Who, personally, has seen a ghost in the Vance Hotel? I'd like to talk to them."

Organizers know there are stories and legends that have not been recorded or shared.

If you know a complete story, or just bits and pieces, you may contact Nancy Davis at (704) 437-6669, or e-mail her at ndavis@i-america.net. Her mailing address is Post Office Box 1111, Statesville, NC 28687.

"We would like to have a walk ready to go by the last two weekends in October, and, of course, if it is successful, it can always be enlarged as we get more stories," said Davis.