Tales of tragedy and triumph from the ghosts of Black Mountain

Swannanoa Valley Museum taps the paranormal to tell the stories of downtown

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
August 8, 2024

The Swannanoa Valley Museum & History explores local history through the perspective of the paranormal in its Haunted History Tours, which return Aug. 16. Photo by Fred McCormick

Among the many charming characteristics possessed by Black Mountain is a cluster of buildings along a network of bustling streets in an area that still closely resembles its appearance more than a century ago. Each of the structures that comprise the historic district represents a snapshot of a bygone era, while the spirits reportedly roaming some of them to this day echo stories of tragedy and triumph.

These supernatural spectators bore witness to many of the events that came to define the modern community, and the Swannanoa Valley Museum Haunted History Tour, which returns at 7 p.m., Friday, Aug. 16, channels their tales into a unique glimpse of the harrowing history of downtown.

The nonprofit organization’s monthly fundraiser will continue its inaugural season, Sep. 20, Oct. 18 and Nov. 15, exploring Black Mountain’s past through the lens of popular local folklore at eight stops. Tickets for the tour, which is recommended for ages and 13 and older, are $25 for SVM members, $30 for non-members and available at swannanoavalleymuesum.org.

“We wanted to create something fun for people who are visiting for the first time, while also offering people who live here an opportunity to show off the town to friends or family who come in,” said SVM Executive Director LeAnne Johnson. “It’s also great for people who just want to learn more about the place they live, whether they’re new transplants or longtime residents.”

Attendees are greeted at the museum by staff or volunteers, who lead the group to locations associated with tragedy and ghostly encounters. Among the sites examined is the epicenter of Black Mountain’s greatest calamity.

“When we stop at Sassafras on Sutton we talk about the 1912 fire that destroyed much of downtown,” Johnson said of the blaze that destroyed a grocery store, furniture store, lumber company and other businesses north of the railroad tracks. “That event really changed the town, which didn’t have a fire department at the time, in a major way.”

Although no human casualties resulted from the inferno, current occupants of the bookstore, which rests on an original blast-rock foundation, report encounters with a figure they have since dubbed “Dee Ford.” While the entity’s possible connection to the location, initially the site of a livery stable that burned in the fire, is unknown, its alleged presence has been attributed to unexplained movement of objects and flying books.

Nearby, the neighing of a disembodied horse serve as a potential reminder of the events of that evening, according to Johnson.

“That has been reported as being the noises of the horse that knocked over the lantern that started the fire,” she said.

The Black Mountain Depot, one of several stops on the SVM Haunted History Tour, was once a bustling hub in the center of downtown. The original structure, located where a red caboose now sits, was destroyed in an early 20th century fire. Photo by Fred McCormick

While the blaze leveled much of the burgeoning business district at the time, including the original train depot, early developers began constructing the brick buildings that give the district its distinctive look in the aftermath. The Town of Black Mountain established a fire department in the years that followed.

“I think one of the lesser known aspects of this story is that Southern Railway used the railroad to pick the Asheville Fire Department up and bring them back to help with the recovery and mitigation efforts,” Johnson said. “And, even though no people were injured in the fire, Black Mountain realized it had grown to the point that it needed a fire department.”

The tour takes guests south to Black Mountain Avenue, where The Junction, long known as the McKoy building, stands as one of the oldest buildings in town. The brick structure, which was built in 1890 and has served as a dry goods store, hotel and Black Mountain’s town hall, operated as an emergency medical ward during the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1920.

North of downtown, nestled in a quiet tree-lined residential neighborhood, the SVM tour stops in front of a 110-year-old Victorian house. While the building is home to a law office today, the former longtime boarding house and inn is the setting of one of Black Mountain’s most compelling ghost stories, according to Johnson.

“The one I really like is the story of Charles Seidel and the Inn Around the Corner,” she said, referencing the previous name of the bed and breakfast that operated out of the home for decades. “He owned that home for around 30 years, before his death in the early 1990s.”

Seidel, a native of New York City who designed the gothic columns and arches of The Met Cloisters Museum, may not have left, according to former innkeepers. Although the reports of unexplained string music and a tall slender apparition in the years immediately after his death were ghostly, a visit by Seidel’s daughter in the early 2000s added an element of humanity to the story.

According to the museum’s narrative, the woman recounted her father leaving his family behind in Florida to pursue his art career in the mountains. While his children later briefly visited Seidel in Black Mountain, the man known for his ability to play any string instrument, never returned home.

“She came to see the place he once lived to kind of say goodbye to her father,” Johnson said. “She asked the inn owners at the time to tell her father she loved him, and his ghost reportedly stopped haunting the place after that.”

Borrowing from established Swannanoa Valley legends, the tour explores local history through an entertaining perspective, while offering insight into recognizable landmarks in the town, according to the museum director.

“It’s a fun way to look at the people and places who played a role in creating the community we all see today,” Johnson said. “We have so many fascinating stories throughout the history of the Swannanoa Valley, and this is just one of many ways we can introduce some of them to a new audience.”