Morganton Ghost Tour — 13 Haunted Stops, Self-Guided

Walk Morganton's self-guided ghost tour. 13 documented stops, 5 free. No guide, no schedule — just you and the dark.

Tour Stops

1. 1. Morganton Courthouse Square - Public Hanging Site Courthouse Square, Morganton, NC 28655

   You're standing in the courthouse square where public hangings once drew crowds like county fairs. Between 1845 and 1910, over 30 people were executed...

2. 2. Old Burke County Courthouse 102 E Union St, Morganton, NC 28655

   You enter the old Burke County Courthouse, built in 1837, where trials, hangings, and at least one witch accusation took place. In 1840, a woman named...

3. 3. Historic Morganton Depot 229 W Meeting St, Morganton, NC 28655

   You enter the historic train depot, now a museum, where trains once connected Morganton to the world. In 1947, a conductor named William Hayes was cru...

4. 4. McDowell House at Quaker Meadows Quaker Meadows Rd, Morganton, NC 28655

   You climb to the McDowell House, a Revolutionary War-era home where 'Hunting John' McDowell ruled his land with an iron fist. The house is beautiful, ...

5. 5. Quaker Meadows Plantation Quaker Meadows Plantation, Morganton, NC 28655

   You're standing on Quaker Meadows, where Revolutionary War wounded were brought after the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780. The plantation became a fi...

6. 6. Broughton Hospital - Old Asylum 1000 S Sterling St, Morganton, NC 28655

   You stand before Broughton Hospital, a sprawling asylum that operated from 1883 to 2000. At its peak, over 3,000 patients were crammed into facilities...

7. 7. Western North Carolina Tuberculosis Sanitarium Near Jonas Ridge Rd, Morganton, NC 28655

   You stand before the ruins of the tuberculosis sanitarium that operated from 1914 to 1962. Before antibiotics, TB was a slow death sentence. Patients ...

8. 8. Valdese Manufacturing District Valdese manufacturing area near Morganton, NC 28655

   You're near the abandoned textile mills that once employed thousands—and killed dozens. The mills operated from the early 1900s through the 1980s, and...

9. 9. Catawba River - Drowning Bend Catawba River access near Morganton, NC 28655

   You're standing at Drowning Bend, a deceptively calm stretch of the Catawba River that has claimed over 30 lives since the 1950s. The current creates ...

10. 10. South Mountains State Park - Ghost Hollow South Mountains State Park, Morganton, NC 28655

    You're hiking into Ghost Hollow, a remote valley in South Mountains State Park where an entire settlement vanished in 1780. Fifteen families lived her...

11. 11. Camp Grier - Haunted Chapel Camp Grier Rd, Old Fort, NC 28762

    You're at Camp Grier, a church camp nestled in the mountains, where tragedy struck in 1974. A young counselor named Emily drowned during a late-night ...

12. 12. Table Rock Mountain - Lover's Leap Table Rock Trail, Morganton, NC 28655

    You stand at the summit of Table Rock, where Cherokee legend tells of a young woman who leapt to her death after her lover was killed in battle. But t...

5 stops free in Morganton. No guide, no schedule — walk at your own pace after dark.

Last updated June 2, 2026. Researched by the History Nearby editorial team.

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