HAUNTED TALES OF THE CAPE FEAR

At the Burgwin-Wright House, we often get questions about ghost stories and strange experiences. In a 250-year-old home built on top of the city's first jail, it is understandable why people might ask! So we thought it would be interesting to talk about not only the ghost stories at the Burgwin-Wright House, but also those at other historic sites in the Cape Fear. But we are doing it with a twist. No ghost story just materializes out of thin air, so we are investigating these stories through the lens of the real history that inspired them and talking with local historians about how they might be helpful in preserving this history for the future.

Episodes include historic sites like Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site, Bellamy Mansion, Latimer House, Wilmington Railroad Museum, Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts and others.

Listen to the all the "Haunted Tales of the Cape Fear" episodes in the player below, or explore individual episodes beneath the player.

Episode 1: The Burgwin-Wright House

This season on Burgwin-Wright Presents..., we are chasing down the Haunted Tales of the Cape Fear and talking about the history behind these persistent stories. What gives a good ghost story its credibility? There's no better place to start than at home with the Burgwin-Wright House. With museum director Christine Lamberton, we look at how the dual history of the city's first jail and its grandest Colonial home has come to inform centuries of spooky encounters and what they say about the house's history.

Episode 2: The Wilmington Railroad Museum

The Wilmington Railroad Museum tells the story of the Cape Fear's century-long history as a pioneer of the railroad in the United States. But it also tells the stories of the people who kept the lines running, who gave their blood, sweat and tears to the job. It is those real experiences that have helped inspire ghost stories at the museum, which sits on the former site of the Atlantic Coastline Railroad.

Joining the episode to talk those persistent stories and the misinformation associated with the railroad industry is Wilmington Railroad Museum director Holli Saperstein.

Episode 3: Brunswick Town

The origins of the Cape Fear region as we know it began at Brunswick Town, the first permanent settlement established in 1726. It wouldn't survive past the Revolutionary War, but its few decades of life have inspired tales of life and loss, success and failure –– all of which fuel the ghost stories that continue to live on its shores.

Joining the episode to talk about the sightings at Brunswick Town and the ways in which these haunted tales get started is Jim McKee, the site manager of Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site in Winnabow.

Episode 4: The Latimer House

A house isn't a home without the stories and experiences of the families that live under its roof. But lives leave behind more than just stories.

In the case of The Latimer House, some reckon with the tremendous loss associated with its namesake family by telling stories of children lingering in the windows and racing across the floors long after they are gone. But is it true? And what does the Latimer House teach us about life and death in the 19th century?

Joining the episode to talk about history and hauntings is Dr. Ginger Davis, the executive director of the Latimer House, the Lower Cape Fear Historical Society and the Ida B. Kellum Archives.