Behind the sunny days along the shore, hidden in the shadows of the tall tree lined streets of Wilmington, half buried in the sands of Oak Island and Bald Head, there are the ghost stories of the Cape Fear coast. Wilmington’s past as a bustling port city provided homes for rich and poor, good and bad alike, and they all seem to haunt the old houses with differing temperaments. Read about the Bellamy Mansion, Emma Baldwin, and more ghosts who haunt the old rich houses of Wilmington’s old residences. Southport has a more pleasant spirit than most, who performs music for guests, even though he rests in a nearby cemetery. Oak Island has plenty of spirits, but one, Dunbar Davis, is a hero who just wants a hero’s rest. And of course, there is the ghost of Theodosia Burr, who seems to have stirred up a whole new set of ghosts over on Bald Head Island.
Writing the stories of the Cape Fear was a new experience for me. Until this book, I had heard all the spooky tales I told, in some form. Learning these meant going there, walking into the stories, to tell them the right way. There are heroes and villains galore in the book, and I got to know them, some for the first time. Gone are the usual tales of ghosts that just appear. These are the stories behind the ghosts, and the tales, the narratives of how people experience them. This is a great way to experience the ghosts of Cape Fear for the first time, or for a new time. Just remember, like the other books, you may want to leave the lights on!