EDITOR’S NOTE: Strangeville explores the legends, folklore, and unexplained history of Western North Carolina. From Cherokee mythology and Appalachian ghost stories to Bigfoot sightings and UFO encounters, the Blue Ridge Mountains have long been a hotspot for the strange and mysterious. Join us as we dig into the past and uncover the truth behind the region’s most curious tales.
FLETCHER, N.C. — Calvary Episcopal Churchyard is a place of peace and prayer, but it is also the setting for some of Western North Carolina’s oldest ghost stories, where light and shadow seem to wrestle for the upper hand.
The grounds date to the 1800s and are the final resting place of generations of Henderson County families, including Fletcher namesake, Dr. George W. Fletcher. Calvary’s records note that the oldest surviving grave marker is from the late 1860s, although the land saw use before that time. Some of that history is rooted in war, loss and untimely death, which has given rise to local folklore…