On a high bluff over looking the Chowan River in Chowan County, North Carolina are the remains of a once mighty castle. Built by a famous pirate long ago, it is the scene of a terrible tragedy. One that cost a mother her daughter, a man his bride and a girl her life. It is a tale of revenge, a freak accident and the ghost left behind begging to be found.
The mansion was built to exact specifications. The owner, who desired to be a law abiding citizen but could not resist the call of piracy, paid to have the home made with the finest material money could buy. It was also true that he had tunnels built from the house to the river below so that loot could be unloaded without the public eye seeing what was captured. Indeed the home was a fortress. With walls almost a foot thick it was nearly soundproof. Very safe, it was a great place to raise a family.
But the pirate’s wife would not live with her husband there. She rejected his pirate lifestyle, but she also was afraid of a curse put on the pirate by the Nag’s Head hag. Supposedly, the old woman cursed the pirate for pressing her only son into service where he was killed in battle. The curse stated that the pirate would never know the joy of being a grandfather and that his bloodline would die out.
In time, the pirate died. He was not felled in battle, but by disease. After his death, his widow and their daughter Caroline, took up residence in the house overlooking the river. It was a wonderful home for them and a perfect place to raise a child. Within a few years Caroline was of the age to marry and was to be wed to one of the fine young men of a nearby town. The ceremony was held in the pirate’s mansion and all the wealthy members of society attended. The band struck up the song with signaled the entrance of the bride…
But she didn’t show.
Again, the band played the song. Still no Caroline. The Bishop performing the ceremony began to get annoyed. The guests were perplexed, looking around to see what was going on. Suddenly, a giggle from above alerted them to the brides where abouts. She was on the staircase looking down upon them, smiling. With a twinkle in her eye, she says to her husband-to-be, “Catch me, and you may kiss me”.
Annoying The Bishop further, the groom immediately chased after his bride. Up the stairs and out of view they ran. He bounded after her, catching up quickly. She turned a corner just seconds before he did.He turned the corner and…
There was nothing there.
No Caroline, no one at all. He made his way up and down the hall, calling her name. After a while the entire wedding party joined the search. The whole house was searched. Every acre of land was looked over. No strangers were in the area, nor were any boats missing from the dock. The poor girl disappeared with a trace.
A few months after her daughter disappeared, Caroline’s mother packed up and moved from the house overlooking the river. It is said that the trauma of not knowing what had happened to her daughter weighed so heavy on her mind, that the mother lost her sanity and died a short time later.
The very next New Years Eve, a group of children told their parents that they saw something beckoning them towards the mansion as they were playing near by. The kids said that whatever it was was slender and white and using two hands to entice the children closer. Year after year, people would come to the house on New Years Eve to see the beckoning hands. Ghost Hunters tried to solve the case, but once they entered the house the phantom would vanish.
It wasn’t until years later that a man obsessed with the story rented the house determined to find the answer to the mystery. One day he had a dream that Caroline had been entombed alive within a hidden room. He went to the place that his dream had shown him and pushed a block in the wall. Creaking, a part of the wall slowly moved to reveal the hidden chamber. Within it was the skeleton of young Caroline, still wrapped in what was to be her wedding dress.
Her body laid to rest, Most of the town will tell you the beckoning hands have ceased to appear. Others will tell you they still make an appearance, but only on a dark New Years Eve.
