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Three Wilmington 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 Wilmington landmarks rank among North Carolina's ten most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index, including the Wilmington Railroad Museum at #3. The index ranks 161 North Carolina sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.

The Wilmington Railroad Museum ranks #3. The museum, in an 1883 Atlantic Coast Line warehouse, interprets the legend of Joe Baldwin, a brakeman said to have died in a 19th-century rail accident, later blamed for the Maco Light on the tracks outside town. Four separate published accounts describe activity there. Staff and visitors report disembodied voices and footsteps in the warehouse.

The USS Battleship North Carolina ranks #5. The ship, commissioned in 1941, earned 15 battle stars, and a 1942 torpedo strike killed five sailors aboard. Four separate published accounts describe activity there, the earliest dated to 2008. A longtime night watchman described a figure whose head appeared to be lit with white flame and said his flashlight beam passed through it.

Also in the top ten: Thalian Hall (#6).

Statewide, the Grove Park Inn in Asheville ranks #1, and the Biltmore Estate, the state's most famous haunted site, 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:Wilmington Railroad Museum, 505 Nutt St., is open for daytime visits, with seasonal evening programming.USS Battleship North Carolina, 1 Battleship Rd. NE, is open for daytime tours, with an 18+ ghost hunt in October.Thalian Hall, 310 Chestnut St., is a working theater that offers a guided tour focused on its paranormal history.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/north-carolina/The fact sheet, with Wilmington numbers and cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/north-carolina/Photos: the USS Battleship North Carolina and Thalian Hall, on the fact sheet.Venue contact: wrrm.org and battleshipnc.com and thalianhall.orgA 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 Wilmington landmarks among North Carolina's ten most haunted places

Three Wilmington 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 Wilmington Railroad Museum, in an 1883 Atlantic Coast Line warehouse, ranks #3; the museum interprets the legend of brakeman Joe Baldwin, long blamed for the Maco Light on the tracks outside town. The USS Battleship North Carolina, the most decorated American battleship of World War II, ranks #5, where a longtime night watchman described a figure whose head appeared to be lit with white flame. Thalian Hall, an 1858 theater, also ranks in the top ten, at #6.

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