The Top 10 Most Haunted Places in Charlotte

Posted: 03.26.2025 | Updated: 03.26.2025

Home to cursed colleges, unearthly mansions, and otherworldly restaurants, Charlotte has many haunted places to explore and investigate. From a mysteriously un-erasable chalk message to the spirit of a child lost too soon, there’s a wide array of haunted stories for any spectral fan. 

If you want to see some of the most phantasmal Charlotte locations for yourself, book a ghost tour with Charlotte Ghosts tonight. 

What is the most haunted place in Charlotte?

Of all the haunted locations in Charlotte, we rounded up the sites with the most fear-inducing and unbelievable tales: 

• Duke Mansion
• Ri Ra Irish Pub
• Dunhill Hotel
• Old Settlers’ Cemetery
• The Bootlegger House
• McGlohon Theatre
• McNinch House Restaurant
• Latta Place
• Queens University
• Founders Hall

The Duke Mansion

The Duke Mansion has housed some of Charlotte’s most well-known residents over the years. This includes James Buchanan Duke, the founder of Duke University. 

However, the ghost at Duke Mansion has to do with another owner, Jon Avery. Avery was at a difficult point in his life when he lived at the Duke Mansion. His wife was not well and was living in a mental institution. When a young writer asked to write a piece about his home, Avery agreed — and soon fell in love with the woman. 

The woman returned Avery’s affection, but he soon made it clear he would never leave his sick wife. Refusing to be the other woman, the writer said her goodbyes. However, Avery persuaded her to meet him one last time in exactly a year — dead or alive. 

The woman agreed, and though she was engaged the following year, she honored her promise. After waiting a few moments, she saw Avery in a dark suit approaching her. She went to touch his arm but instead heard his voice in her head. “Dead or alive.” Then he walked past her and faded away. 

It turned out that Avery had died a few days before. His last thoughts were about if he’d be feeling better in time for the meeting.

Ri Ra Irish Pub

The second-oldest building in Charlotte, the Ri Ra Irish Pub has all kinds of ghost stories attached to it. Some of these could be connected to its original building materials, which are upwards of 200 years old and were shipped over from Ireland.

Shadow-like figures are often seen lurking in corners of the bar, and glasses are known to spontaneously shatter or tip off a shelf on their own. Lights will often turn on and off, and the faucets will sometimes turn on by themselves upstairs. 

Perhaps the creepiest instance has to do with three letters that are drawn in chalk on a brick wall: “ABC.” Despite multiple attempts at scrubbing it off, the chalk refuses to budge. Many believe this to be the work of a young spirit practicing her alphabet. 

Dunhill Hotel

Dunhill Hotel is home to the ghost they lovingly call “Dusty.” Dusty doesn’t seem to be malevolent as much as a prankster. 

Many believe that Dusty is the spirit tied to a skeleton that was discovered in the elevator shaft in the 1980s. While the skeleton has never been identified, many believe that it wasn’t simply an accident that led the body to have fallen down the shaft. 

Dusty is known to be most active on the ninth floor of the hotel. He’ll make himself known by turning lights on and off, moving guests’ items around, and making loud noises by banging on the wall. 

Housekeepers have to be persuaded to clean those rooms, as they often feel like someone is watching them, despite being in the room alone.

Old Settlers’ Cemetery

Old Settlers’ Cemetery was the first cemetery in Charlotte. In those early days of the city, all members of society were buried within the boundaries of the cemetery, including enslaved people, who were buried in areas in the corners of the property.

However, it’s not clear how many people were buried here, as many graves were victims of grave robbing. Some of the bodies were stolen and sold to universities for medical students to practice on. It’s also believed that bodies were buried on top of skeletons that were already in the ground — meaning the cemetery could be several layers deep. 

All of these displaced bodies and disrupted resting places have led to spirits who continue to hang around the graveyard late at night.

The Bootlegger House

The Bootlegger House got its name from being the go-to place to get illegal booze during Prohibition. A secret cabinet in the foyer was where the alcohol was hidden, and it’s still able to be used to hide any secrets and treasures today. 

The spirit who haunts the house is said to be mischievous but not dangerous. The previous owner said that on one of his first days in the home, he found wet footprints on the stairs. Yet, his partner was still sleeping, and there was no one else in the house. The next five nights, the faucet in the bathroom would turn on at 3 am, when they were both asleep.

Another day, the owner tried to go into the bathroom, only to discover that it was locked from the inside. Unable to access the bathroom, they decided to break the window the next day to get inside. The next morning, however, the door was wide open.

McGlohon Theatre

The McGlohon Theatre was first built in 1909 as a church sanctuary but was abandoned in the ‘70s. Today, it’s been renovated, and hosts live performances and shows. One of the regular performers, however, is a few decades older than everyone else. 

Staff will often hear a woman’s voice singing old church hymns throughout the theater. Despite looking all over, they can never find the source of the voice. Footsteps are often heard around the theater late at night as well, long after the patrons have left.

McNinch House Restaurant

Diners at the McNinch House Restaurant often glance over their shoulder, feeling like someone is watching them. This is because someone is. 

Before it was a restaurant, the large, Victorian house was the primary residence of Charlotte Mayor Samuel Sylvanus McNinch. Tragedy struck the McNinch household when his young daughter, Mattie, died suddenly in the house. 

While the family quickly moved to another home, Mattie’s spirit has remained — continuing to watch visitors and play with the lights and other objects of the restaurant to this day.

Latta Place

Latta Place once served as a plantation in Charlotte. Today, it’s in the middle of a redevelopment project to highlight the stories of everyone who lived on the property, including the 65 enslaved people who lived on-site.

Over the years, Latta Place has garnered quite a reputation for its spectral activity. One day, a worker was giving a tour of the grounds to a group. When he was showing them a cane that belonged to one of the owners, the cane started moving around the room on its own — like an invisible person was using it to walk. Children are also often heard on the upper floors of the house, laughing as they play with other spirits. 

Queens University

There are several entities that haunt Queens University. In Burwell Hall, the ghost of Margaret Anna Burwell, the wife of the first president, is often spotted wandering around after 10 pm. Many staff and students refuse to go there after nightfall in fear of running into the stern woman.

In Morrison Hall, staff have encountered many strange things, including hearing a chair being dragged across the floor in an empty office. When they went to investigate, no one was in there.

Founders Hall

It seems that some of the bodies stolen from Old Settlers’ Cemetery ended up being taken to Founders Hall. There’s a story about a group of medical students who carried out the grave robbing, as they were desperately needing to work on a body. So, they headed to a cemetery, dug up a recently deceased corpse, and took it back to the college. The body that they dug up belonged to a girl named Louise. 

Louise was none too happy to have had her body violated in that fashion, so she has haunted the college ever since.

Haunted Charlotte

To see the most haunted Charlotte spots in person, book a ghost tour with Charlotte Ghosts. Who knows who (or what) you’ll spy? 

If you want to learn about some of the most interesting ghost tales from around the United States, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Curious about other haunted places in Charlotte? Be sure to check out our blog for more local haunts. 

Sources:

• https://www.courthousenews.com/the-haunting-of-ri-ra-irish-pub-when-businesses-embrace-the-paranormal/
• https://charlotteghosttour.com/
• https://www.hauntedrooms.com/north-carolina/haunted-places/haunted-hotels/the-duke-mansion
• https://twosistersabroad.com/review-and-ghost-stories-from-the-dunhill-hotel-in-charlotte/#ghosts-and-spooky-occurrences
• https://wandercuse.com/take-a-ghost-tour-in-charlotte-to-learn-about-its-unique-history/
• https://www.axios.com/local/charlotte/2018/10/25/is-the-bootlegger-house-the-most-haunted-house-in-charlotte-23595
• https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article181670631.html
• https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/latta-places-overhaul-untold-stories-65-enslaved-people/275-6bed1f49-c34a-41b4-82f1-8c5c067c19e3
• https://www.northcarolinahauntedhouses.com/real-haunt/latta-plantation.html
• https://www.wfae.org/podcast/faq-city/2021-10-19/queens-university-of-charlotte-is-rumored-to-be-haunted-heres-what-we-found-out
• https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article267787247.html