Est. 1922 · Downtown Statesville commercial landmark since 1922 · City-owned heritage property since 2012 · Leatherheads (2008) film location
The Vance Hotel opened in 1922 at 227 S Center St in Statesville, built on the site of the Gaither Boarding House that previously occupied the lot. The Gaither Boarding House is where local accounts place the death of Arlene Mitchell, a young woman who died of influenza in 1918 during the pandemic that killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide.
The hotel operated as a commercial lodging establishment for decades, serving travelers and business visitors to Statesville during the mid-twentieth century when Center Street was a hub of downtown commerce. By the early 2000s, the building had become a recognized piece of Statesville's historic fabric, and the ghost associated with it had entered local legend.
In 2008, the production of George Clooney's football period comedy Leatherheads brought a film crew to Statesville to shoot location footage. During the production, crew members reported seeing the apparition of a dripping-wet girl in white in the hotel — a sighting that, given its independent source, received regional news coverage and reinforced the existing legend.
The city of Statesville purchased the Vance Hotel in 2012, adding it to the municipality's portfolio of historic downtown properties. The building has since been documented in television news coverage as a significant Statesville landmark with a haunted reputation, and it is a centerpiece of the Haunted Statesville Ghost Tour.
Sources
- https://statesville.com/news/local/who-is-the-girl-in-white-sighting-at-vance-hotel-conjures-ghost-tales/article_4ef14f0a-db8c-11e8-8e9b-d7f6cff3c3a4.html
- https://www.downtownstatesville.com/2023/07/29/3635/is-the-vance-hotel-haunted
- https://www.wral.com/video/statesville-hotel-has-rich-history-including-belief-it-is-haunted/18995362/
Female apparition — dripping wet, dressed in whiteMultiple independent sightings across decadesFilm crew sighting during Leatherheads production (2008)
The ghost legend of the Vance Hotel is unusually specific in its attribution. Local accounts identify the apparition — a young woman who appears soaking wet and dressed in white — as Arlene Mitchell, who died of influenza at the Gaither Boarding House that preceded the current building on the lot. Mitchell is described as a young resident, not a guest, who died during the 1918 influenza pandemic.
The apparition has been reported by multiple people over the decades, but the account that received the most coverage came from the crew of the 2008 George Clooney film Leatherheads, parts of which were shot in Statesville. Film crew members reported seeing a dripping-wet girl in white in the hotel during production — a detail consistent with the established description of the apparition and from a source without prior knowledge of the local legend.
The Statesville newspaper documented the story in detail, including efforts to trace who Arlene Mitchell was and how her identity became attached to the ghost. The girl in white is the signature legend of the Haunted Statesville Ghost Tour and is described in both the Downtown Statesville website and WRAL television coverage as the defining haunting of the hotel. The city's purchase of the building in 2012 has kept the property in the public consciousness.
Notable Entities
Arlene Mitchell (died 1918, influenza) — attributed apparition
Media Appearances
- Leatherheads (film, 2008)
