The Latta Place Historic Site

Posted: 01.08.2025 | Updated: 01.08.2025

The Latta Place Historic Site stands nestled just outside of Charlotte, NC. A former plantation, now a living-history museum, it’s known as an educational gem offering visitors a glimpse into 19th-century farm life. History is filled with as much evil as it is good, however. The sight of its former slave quarters’ white-painted exteriors contrasting against the natural green backdrop proves that. 

This three-century-old plantation is truly a living paradox filled with beauty and tragedy. Some say it’s also a place where the living meet the dead. From shadowy figures to strange noises, Latta Place Historic Site has been plagued by hauntings for years. The site remains closed for now, but many wonder if its lingering spirits still remain.

Are you ready to see the ghosts of Charlotte firsthand? Join Charlotte Ghosts on a ghost tour you won’t soon forget by visiting our website today. You can also stay updated on our blog for more cold-sweat-inducing tales of Annapolis’s most haunted locations. 

Is the Latta Place Historic Site Haunted?

The Latta Place Historic Site holds a special place in the Charlotte community for its history and appreciation of nature. It also holds another reputation among believers and non-believers because of its troubled past and the ghosts that follow. Today, Latta Place Historic Site, though currently closed, is also known as one of Charlotte’s most haunted locations.

History of Latta Place Historic Site

The Latta Place Historic Site was built in 1800 and owned by Irish immigrant James Latta. Latta’s business as a traveling merchant was so successful that he was able to convert the property to a cotton plantation by the time he retired in 1820. It consisted of 742 acres and 34 enslaved men, women and children. 

Latta’s widow sold the plantation upon his death in 1837. It continued to be used as a home until the 1950s when it was abandoned. The plantation’s historical and structural value – despite its ties to one of the darkest human rights periods in America – wasn’t realized until the 1970s. A group of citizens formed a private non-profit entity, Latta Place, Inc., to restore the property. 

With the help of Mecklenburg County, the group raised $110,000 and opened the home to the public in the mid-1970s. Not long after, Latta Place, Inc. donated the home and property to Mecklenburg County. They also recommended that the county purchase the adjacent property to form the present-day Latta Plantation Nature Preserve. 

Today, this nationally registered historic site, a short distance from Charlotte, offers a unique window into the 19th century. However, it was closed in 2021 when it became the center of controversy, resulting in the property’s name change from Latta Plantation. Latta Place Historic Site is currently undergoing redevelopment and is expected to reopen in 2026. That’s not to say the spirits believed to roam its rooms will be leaving any time soon. 

The Shadows of Latta Place

The Latta Place Historic Site and its nature preserve offer a simplistic yet breathtaking picture. However, underneath, there’s an eerie canvas filled with multiple reports of ghostly activity. Many believe it’s the spirits of the Latta family. Still, as the former site of so many enslaved people, it’s possible they’re not the only lingering spirits that wander this former plantation. 

The sound of furniture has been heard moving in rooms that are visibly empty. More often, people have seen shadowy figures and foggy apparitions walking the property and wandering the halls of the house. As unsettling as these experiences may be, they are mild compared to what others have experienced. 

One story goes that an employee was getting ready to leave for the day as they were adjusting the thermostat. It was then he heard a loud crashing sound coming from a room that was once used as a family parlor. He found a mirror in the center of the room, face down. Though he heard a loud crashing sound, the mirror didn’t have a single crack in it. 

A more striking experience occurred when tours of the former plantation were still offered. During one of them, a guide showed his tour group a cane that once belonged to the Latta family. The cane slipped out of his hand as he demonstrated it to the group, but rather than fall to the ground, it remained upright and began to move around the room as if it were being used by an unseen hand. 

The haunts don’t end there. According to several witnesses, there is an unseen presence in the attic that would leave even the bravest of souls running to their car. Keep reading to learn more about these playful ghosts. 

Children of the Attic 

An attic is spooky enough, considering it’s not often used. Combine that with pitch darkness and chilling silence, and it’s the perfect setting to pull at our fear strings. Add in a touch of playful ghosts, and you have the attic located on the third floor of the Latta Place Historic site.

It’s the most reported haunting at the former plantation to date. Visitors and staff have reported hearing children playing with toys and laughing in the attic. The sound of footsteps pitter-pattering back and forth has also been heard, along with doors being slammed shut. 

There’s something even more unsettling than this, however, and it’s not the fact that the third floor lacks actual flooring. It’s the simple question: why are they there to begin with? What could’ve happened in the attic that was so traumatic it keeps the spirits of children bound to the third-floor attic? 

Haunted Charlotte

Charlotte, North Carolina, flourishes as one of America’s premiere locations where modernity meets the serene aura of the South.  It’s where life flourishes amongst the hustle and bustle that races through its streets underneath its towering skyscrapers. However, many believe its picturesque site is only a mask for what it hides underneath.

Charlotte is a hive of ghostly activity that extends to its oldest locations. One such place is the Latta Place Historic Site, a living history museum with a nearby preserve that offers a glimpse into the past. Seemingly the perfect spot to raise a family in the 19th century, this former plantation was a place of torment, once holding 34 enslaved men, women, and children. This is part of the explanation for why so many ghosts roam the halls of the Latta Place Historic Site.

Curious to see what spirits roam in some of Charlotte’s most haunted sites? Brace yourself for a ghost tour like no other with Charlotte Ghosts! Book a tour on our website today, and be sure to check out our blog. Stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

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