Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / Oct. 26, 2006, edition 1 / Page 1
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■y Bulldogs prepare for last conference game Saturday Bi ue B Dywntown bar otfers \ arious drink specials and dancing dtions anner See Sporfs io Volume 45, Issue 9 Serving the University of North Ciarolina at Asheville since 19S2 See KN'1 KR PAINMEN P 5 October 26, 2(X)6 Kauvite^ HEVILLE hristopher McCollum devotes his career to studying the paranormal. As both the owner of the Haunted Asheville Ghost Tour and a member of the League of Energy Materialization and Unexplained Phenomena Research, much of his life involves the abnormal. “It’s just a blast being a paranor mal investigator and running this ghost tour,” said McCollum. “I get to call my greatest hobby my job.” regional bestseller, according to McCollum. “I’ve heard that there are a lot of ghost stories that are asso ciated with Asheville,” said Katie Goodman, soph omore student. “But, I don’t really know what many of them are.” McCollum, through his tour, hopes to change this. “All the stories that we talk about are on the tour are all true,” said McCollum. “They have all been reported by at least three to ten different people with no rela tion to each other. And these sto ries go back over 120 years with A street once lined completely with churches gives life to the story of a ghost Another supposedly haunted are aof Asheville is Church Street. It was constructed in the early 1870s, and has a long history of ~ ghost reports. ^ “Church street is unique because, as there are many Church Streets •% f-Kyi Asheville has a large documented history deal ing with the paranor mal. There are several books written on the topic, the most famous being Haunted Asheville by Josh P. Warren. Warren’s book, which is the inspiration behind the Haunted Asheville Ghost Tour, is a reportings going well back into the 1800s, and some of these sightings hap pening only a few months ago.” around the country, this is one the few, if not the only one, that was actually lined from beginning to end with actual churches,” said McCollum. Today, there are only three main churches remaining on the street. Trinity Episcopal Church, the First Presbyterian Church, and the Central Methodist Church. The true story that sparks many of the most popular ghost sto ries on Church Street, involved a nun in the Episcopal Church and a minister from the Methodist Church. The nun and minister were hav- ing an affair and the nun became ■ A ■ "A MEGAN WILDMAN - Staff Photographer Church Street is supposedly one of the only streets by the name that was actually Uned only with churches some time in the past, according to Christopher McCollum, creator of the Asheville Haunted Ghost tour. pregnant, according to McCollum. The minister thought the only way to protect his reputa tion, and the church’s, was to kill her. However, during this time. Church Street was being widened and many of the graves in the cemeteries were being moved to different locations. During this expansion, they found the body of the nun and the mystery was solved. According to the stories, the nun can still be seen. McCollum said. while he is uncertain why she has no eyes, there is a good reason why she walks on her ankles. ‘The simplest way to explain it is that her feet are underground because the sidewalk was not there in 1903,” said McCollum. Mother’s ghost still haunts visitors of Helen’s Bridge The most widespread ghost story in Asheville, according to McCollum, is the story of Helen’s Bridge. ITiis story, which takes place at a small bridge on Beaucatcher Mountain, is also one of the most misconstrued ghost stories about Asheville, according to McCollum. “There are lots and lots of sto ries surrounding this bridge, and none of them are true except the one about Helen,” said McCollum. Helen, a native a Beaucatcher Mountain, was married to a man who had acquired a vast fortune in New Zealand. The couple lives in a castle on the mountain with their 8-year-old daughter. While Helen and her husband were in town one day, their daughter was playing in the sta bles when she knocked over a lantern. The fire consumed the stables, taking the young girl’s life. Upon hearing of the death of her daughter, Helen, overcome with grief, went to the local walking bridge and hung herself. “Popular local legend says that if you drive your car up to that bridge and say three times ‘Helen come forth’ the car will stall out or Helen will put her handprint somewhere on your vehicle,” said McCollum. “But, 1 have tried this about 317 thou sand times and never got a result.” However, Goodman says that this story seems to popular to believe. “1 have heard of tons of stories like this,” said Goodman. “You always hear about a bridge and some kind of accident or suicide.” Inside pages Page 2: Man executed after conunitting mass murder at popular bar Several suicides and ghost sightings account for eerie stories. Architect of Grove Arcade dies before completion, years of solitude follow Additionally, two of the build ings built by E. W. Grove £U"e also supposedly haunted. Both the Grove Arcade and the adjacent Battery Park Hotel have had ghost sightings. The Grove Arcade, which began construction 1926, was never finished because Grove died in 1927. The building was abandoned and used for various purposes, including an FBI ware house cmd to house important historical documents including the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence during World War II. People have reported hearing the sounds of construction in the building and finding mysterious construc tion materials around the build mg ^ere has not been a single reported haunting since the building was turned back into an indoor-outdoor shopj^ ping mall, which is what it was intend ed to be,” said McCollum. The Battery Park Hotel, which was built between 1923 and 1924, has had 10 reported suicides from the ledge on the 13 th floor. “The building has always been associated with the para normal,” McCollum said. “Even the trees lean away from The story that both starts and finishes McCollum’s tour is based on one of the most grue some mass murder sprees to have ever taken place in Asheville. This event took place in front of present-day Barley’s Taproom on Broadway on Nov. 13, 1906 when Will Harris, a convict who had recently escaped from prison, came to Asheville. “Will Harris was one of the regions most notorious crimi nals,” McCollum said. “And he did not feel sorry for one bit of it.” Harris came to Asheville look ing for his girlfriend, Molly Maxwell. However, when Harris questioned her sister. Pearl Maxwell, he was 4 told that Staff hhotographer Barley’s Taproom sits on the site of a mass murder, according to [cCollum. Five people were killed at once in the early 1900s. she left town, according to McCollum. Pearl Maxwell was actually trying to protect her sister, and Harris knew it. He became enraged and (began beating Maxwell in her apartment. Loud noises coming from the apartment drew police atten tion and started Harris’ killing spree, resulting in the deaths of five people where Barley’s cur rently sits. Harris was captured by law enforcement the next day and his body was hung in Asheville to be viewed by the public. “I had no idea that we had that kind of crime take place in Asheville,” said freshman Neal Beckett. ‘The history part of the story was really interest ing.” West Asheville celebrates old and new Plan passed to control tuition coasts Green Game results Page 3: Alumnus lives on mountaintop Taylor takes heat over ad Crime update • • .fi • : I ^ I • I V t 't
University of North Carolina at Asheville Student Newspaper
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Oct. 26, 2006, edition 1
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