Copies the release exactly as written, ready to paste into an email. Free to publish in whole or in part.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Three Asheville landmarks rank among North Carolina's ten most haunted places

A new index ranks places by published accounts, not legend

September 30, 2026

With Halloween approaching, three Asheville landmarks rank among North Carolina's ten most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index, including the Grove Park Inn at #1. The index ranks 161 North Carolina sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.

The Grove Park Inn ranks #1. Edwin Wiley Grove, the pharmaceutical magnate behind Grove's Tasteless Chill Tonic, and son-in-law Fred Loring Seely opened the granite Arts and Crafts resort in 1913. Five separate published accounts describe activity there, retold in four later publications. Staff describe a gentle pink presence near room 545, said to tickle sleeping children's feet.

Battery Park Hotel (exterior viewing only), the 14-story hotel Edwin W. Grove completed in downtown Asheville in 1924, ranks #7. In 1936, Helen Clevenger was killed in room 224; the employee convicted was executed within the year, a verdict historians now call a likely miscarriage of justice. Three separate published accounts describe activity there. Residents describe a red glow in the former room's window each July, and tours report shadowed figures in the lobby; historians call it documented crime, not confirmed haunting.

Also in the top ten: the Thomas Wolfe Memorial (#9).

The Biltmore Estate, also in Asheville, is the state's most famous haunted site but misses the top ten.

"We rank by evidence, not legend: independent published accounts, documented history, and how far back the reports go. We don't claim ghosts are real, or that they aren't. We document where the reports concentrate, and we show our work," said Ben Fineman, editor of HauntBound. The ranking shows each site's documented record.

Visiting:The Grove Park Inn, 290 Macon Ave., is a working resort open to overnight guests.Battery Park Hotel, 1 Battle Square, is private senior housing (exterior viewing only). Please do not trespass.Thomas Wolfe Memorial, 52 N Market St., is a state historic site open Tuesday through Saturday.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/north-carolina/The fact sheet, with Asheville numbers and cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/north-carolina/Photos: the Grove Park Inn and Battery Park Hotel, on the fact sheet.Venue contact: omnihotels.com and historicsites.nc.govA short version follows.

HauntBound (hauntbound.com) is a family-friendly field guide to more than 6,000 documented haunted and historic places across the United States, ranked by published evidence rather than legend. No venue pays to be listed or ranked.

Media contact: Ben Fineman, Editor, HauntBound, editor@hauntbound.com

Short version

SHORT VERSION

Three Asheville landmarks among North Carolina's ten most haunted places

Three Asheville landmarks rank among North Carolina's ten most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index, which ranks sites by separate published accounts rather than fame. The Grove Park Inn, the 1913 resort where staff describe a gentle pink presence near room 545, ranks #1. Battery Park Hotel (exterior viewing only), tied to the 1936 killing of guest Helen Clevenger, ranks #7; a local tour guide describes a red glow in her former room's window each July, and guides describe shadowed figures in the lobby. The Thomas Wolfe Memorial also ranks in the top ten, at #9.

Full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/north-carolina/