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.
WOODFIN, N.C. (828newsNOW) — As dusk settles over the French Broad River, people say an ethereal figure in white appears on the hillside above a small stone church. She moves through the old cemetery, descends the steps behind the chapel, crosses Riverside Drive, and vanishes into the river below.
Locals have passed down this story for generations. The mysterious figure is said to haunt the Church of the Redeemer in Woodfin, where the hillside cemetery watches over the chapel and the water beyond. The tale endures, and the setting itself encourages belief. The church is tucked into a bluff beneath the graves, its stone walls seeming to rise from the earth itself.
The Church of the Redeemer was built in the late 1880s by Dr. Francis Willis, a British physician who arrived in Buncombe County after leaving England. He came to the mountains with money and a vision that set him apart from his neighbors. Using native stone, he designed and oversaw construction of a Romanesque-style chapel that looked nothing like the wooden churches common in the region…