Roanoke Island and the Lost Colony of Roanoke (1587) · Elizabeth II State Historic Site (1585 merchant-ship replica) · Downtown Manteo waterfront
US Ghost Adventures operates its Outer Banks program under the brand Pirate City Ghosts, based in Manteo on Roanoke Island and meeting nightly at Town Common Park, 217 Budleigh St. The 1-hour, 1-mile walking tour covers Manteo's waterfront, pairing the town's history as the site of the Lost Colony of Roanoke with reported hauntings.
The route draws on Roanoke Island's documented history as the site of the 1587 English colony under Sir Walter Raleigh's charter, whose settlers vanished without a confirmed trace before a relief expedition's return in 1590 -- one of early colonial America's best-known unsolved disappearances. The waterfront's Elizabeth II is a working replica of a 1585 merchant ship, built for the 1985 quadricentennial of the first Roanoke voyage and now a state historic site.
Independent corroboration for this entry comes from a TripAdvisor attraction listing and traveler reviews for 'Outer Banks Ghosts' / 'Pirate City Ghosts' in Manteo, distinct from the operator's own site.
Sources
- https://usghostadventures.com/outer-banks-ghost-tour/
- https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60755-d25567970-Reviews-Outer_Banks_Ghosts-Manteo_Roanoke_Island_Outer_Banks_North_Carolina.html
ApparitionsUnexplained FootstepsResidual Haunting
The operator's route narrative describes the Cora Mae Basnight Bridge as home to a reported 'Grey Man,' a shadow figure said by the operator to appear as a warning ahead of landfalling hurricanes. The Roanoke Island Inn, built in the 1860s, is described through the reported spirit of Roscoe Jones, a former town postmaster the operator says confined himself to an upstairs bedroom after losing his position and remained there until his death; reported activity includes footsteps, moving jewelry, and an apparition in postal uniform.
At the waterfront, the operator ties the Elizabeth II replica ship to the broader legend of the Lost Colony of Roanoke, the 1587 English settlement whose colonists disappeared without a confirmed trace. The operator's page also references the Old Dare County Jail in the former settlement of Buffalo City, the Pioneer Theater (with a reported haunting tied to a 1918 theater founder and a reported 1990s murder of a makeup artist), and the legend of Virginia Dare and the White Doe, none of which HauntBound independently verified.
All of this is the tour operator's own marketing material, not documented history independently verified for this listing; it is included here as a description of what the tour covers, not as an endorsement of any specific claim.
