THE GHOST AT GIMGHOUL CASTLE
Chapel Hill, North Carolina is an old city, one that is steeped in tradition. The Gimghoul Castle ghost story has been circulating for over 100 years.
It is said that a ghost roams a place called Gimghoul Castle and Piney Prospect deep in the woods of Chapel Hill.
There is a local landmark called Dromgoole Rock that is located on the Gimghoul Castle property on Piney Prospect. Legend has it that the rock covers the grave of Peter Dromgoole, a tragic figure in Chapel Hill history. 
As the story goes, Peter was the 18 year old son of a prominent Virginia family who entered the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1831. He was a care-free young man who fell madly in love with a young woman from Chapel Hill who was known as Miss Fanny. Peter and Fanny became lovers and met each other secretly in the woods on top of Piney Prospect, where there still exists a small spring call Miss Fanny's Spring. Unfortunately for Peter there was another young man who wanted to court Fanny but she rejected the him in favor of Peter. The man was insanely jealous and challenged Peter to a duel. One night the two of them, along with several other students, met up on Piney Prospect. The pistols were fired and Peter was killed.
The other students who were there were stunned at what had happened and they quickly dug a shallow grave and placed Peter in it. They covered the evidence of his death with a large rock and hurried away, determined to keep the duel a secret. It is said that blood from the duel splattered the rock and the stains can still be seen on it today.
The day after the deadly duel, Fanny came to the spring to meet Peter, but he never showed up.In the days that followed, she came back repeatedly but she never saw him again. She questioned many of his friends, some of who were witness to the duel, but was only told that he had left the campus. From that day on, she returned every day to Piney Prospect and waited for her lover, sitting and weeping on the very rock under which he was buried. Eventually, she grew sick and died, of course, from her broken heart. Legend has it that she was buried close by.
As the years have passed, many believe that the rock, and even the castle beyond it, are haunted... we have no way of knowing whether the ghost is Miss Fanny or Peter Dromgoole himself. I don't know if there is really a ghost up at the castle, but I was not sticking around until after dark to find out.
There is another aspect to the legends that surround Gimghoul Castle. The castle has long been associated with a secret society known as the Order of the Gimghoul. Founded in 1889, the order is said to be composed of noted UNC alumni. The members of this secret society are said to have met on a regular basis at the castle. The founders originally called themselves the Order of Dromgoole, after Peter Dromgoole but later changed it to the Order of the Gimghoul "in accord with midnight, graves and weirdness", according to the archives.
I have heard the stories of the ghost and the secret society told many times over the years by friends that attended the university in Chapel Hill, but I never visited the site until just recently. It seemed to me that the Castle and the property on which the rock stands may now be a private residence since I saw private property signs all over the trees and a car in the driveway. While I was there taking my pictures I couldn't help but wonder if the residents are aware or have ever caught sight of the ghost??
In case anyone is interested in seeing for themselves......here are the directions to Gimghoul Castle and Piney Prospect: Take Highway 54 West from I-40 info Chapel Hill. Take a right at the first light at the top of the hill. Take the next right on to Gimghoul Rd. Go approximately a quarter of a mile, the road turns to dirt, continue on for another quarter of a mile or so...you will see the castle on the right through the trees.
