Welcome To Winston-Salem Colonial Haunts
Join Colonial Haunts to venture through the dark past of Camel City’s most haunted locations. Disturbing tales of specters and saints await you on a Winston-Salem ghost tour you’ll never forget.
A Toast to The Dead
Amongst the layers that make up Winston-Salem’s treasured history are vile rumors of gruesome and despicable origins. It is hard to believe that when the reclusive Moravians founded the town based on their pious beliefs, the outcome would be the cursed landscape The Camel City is known for today.
Journey with Colonial Haunts to the Salem Tavern, where we will uncover the horrors of Revolutionary War-era medical practices and their consequences. Could the putrid smells emanating from the back of the property have anything to do with Wiliam Brown? It’s said the soldier and his gangrenous were left to rot in the shed behind the Tavern.
Brown wasn’t the only forlorn traveler to meet his end at the 1771 Tavern that once hosted George Washington. Unravel the fascinating tale of the innkeeper who came face-to-face with his restless spirit and the deadman’s request that sent his spirit to the great beyond—one of the many intriguing and stomach-turning tales you’ll unpack with Colonial Haunts.
What Will I See?
Visit Winston-Salem’s Most Haunted Locations, Including:
- J. Blum House – John Christian Blum’s passion for printing and spreading knowledge forever entombed his soul into his beloved printing press. Long after his 1854 death, when it was brought back to his house in 1995, his spirit has caused uneasiness, and a prevailing sense of dread just won’t leave.
- Single Brothers’ House – Haunted by the “person in red,” the Single Brother’s Hosue was a boarding home for young men in Salem. But when a cellar collapsed, it became a permanent home for one unlucky shoemaker, who now beckons the living to accompany him in an eerie chorus of discontent.
- Salem College – Salem College, the oldest institution for women’s education in Salem-Winston, is the subject of many ghostly folklore and stories. None are more well-known than the eerie painting of financial contributor Mary Babock Reynolds. Its eyes are said to follow students, and she can cause havoc in their lives without the proper greeting.
Deadly Deadlines
Overbearing and strict religious precedents set the tone in Winston-Salem at its foundation, but this tradition has continued into our day and age. Spectral entities screaming for relief from the strong hand of the church still remind unwary visitors to the city of their power.
Learn the story of John Christian Blum, a man who lost it all in a fiery mishap and became the Twin City’s first major publisher. He turned to the truth for redemption after an enormous debt to the bank destroyed his life, printing an almanac and then a newspaper. But the church had none of it, and his soul hasn’t forgiven them yet.
Walk with Colonial Haunts at the J. Blum house, where this fabled piece of machinery is known to operate independently. Does Blum still reside in the home or in his most treasured possession, the printing press? Book your walking ghost tour of Winston-Salem to discover the answers and more!
Ghostly Greetings
As the home to R.J. Reynolds, creator of Camel Cigarettes, has contributed to the development of Winston-Salem for centuries. Could their life-sucking product have produced the unhinged spirits roaming the city’s streets? Very likely, but the Reynolds family has contributed to the town and its ghastly population in other ways.
Discover the terrifying tale of Salem College’s haunted portrait, whose eyes are known to follow students through the hallway of the first women’s college in the United States. Mary Reynolds Babcock, the daughter of R.J. Reynolds, donated an incredible amount of money to the school after she died in 1953. Did she expect some kind of payment in return? Students at Salem College think so.
Join Colonial Haunts as we unpack the odd tradition of greeting her portrait, which has dire consequences if not followed. Mary has been blamed for anything from bad weather to physical mishaps. She is but one of many deranged souls tormenting the living in the horrid spiritual squalor of Winston-Salem.
Why is Winston-Salem so Haunted?
The Restless Dead
Dive deep into the strange and unusual burial practices of the Morovians at God’s Acre, the Morovian cemetery adjacent to Salem Cemetery. The Morovians believe that all are created equal in God’s image. Each grave is uniform, standardized, and in chronological order, without any family ties or coordination.
Organized yet eerie, the cemetery offers a chilling look into the silent and unknowable world of the dead in Salem-Winston. However, things aren’t so quiet at the Salem Cemetery next door. Legends of hauntings in the city’s largest cemetery have piqued the interest of many. But, some walk away with more than just cemetery dirt beneath their feet.
Hear about the cross-shaped tombstone holding Robah Gray’s spirit and the unlucky teenagers who unwittingly brought his soul out of hibernation. How did they quell his violent spirit? Find out these answers and more with Colonial Haunts as we take you through the most haunted locations in Winston-Salem on an unforgettable journey.
Broken Factories Of Fear
Life was not so easy for all those who lived in historic Winston-Salem. Brutal working conditions in the manufacturing centers spurred the economy’s humble beginnings and led to remarkable growth. But these harsh realities led to horrible ends that still haunt the skeletons of these death machines.
Follow Colonial Haunts to the Historic Brickstone Inn, where the spirits of enslaved workers and children forced to work under unacceptable conditions are still holding onto every last bit of light that they can. Once used as a cotton, flour, and tobacco mill, the building has plenty of punishing ways to terrorize its guests.
Painful cries of “Mercy” wake guests out of their peaceful slumber, reminding the world of her ill end. These stories began when the hotel opened in 1981 and haven’t stopped since. Look into the fourth-floor windows while on a walking ghost tour with Colonial Haunts, and you may see ghost children of the factory peering back at you through the blinds.
What’s so Special About the Colonial Haunts Tour?
See A Different Side Of Colonial History
If you were lucky enough to survive oppressive Colonial life, you would be put to work in spiritual homes. The Single Brothers House would create lives for the young men of Winston-Salem. But it became an eternal home for Andreas Kremser in 1786.
Crushed to death, the spectral form of the Little Man In Red has welcomed visitors into his home for centuries, only to be exorcised in desperation. Colonial Haunts will help you dive into the world of the unearthly in Winston-Salem on a walking ghost tour.
A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity To Peer Into The Past
Trek along with Colonial Haunts to the beat of the haunting melodies floating from the Vierling House and learn about the deadly times this plagued city endured. Legends of guardian angels saving lives may have aided the good doctor who lived here during these times.
But now, strange figures, resembling clouds of mist hanging in the balance, rattle visitors to the town doctor’s home. Could they have something to do with the pit of death his home became?
Be a Part of a Growing Ghostly Community
Witness the history of Winston-Salem come alive through the words of our tour guides on a devilishly wicked tour through the colonial old town. Join others with macabre interests like you as Colonial Haunts reveals the mucky darkness left behind by hundreds of years of gloom and doom.
Bring the whole family along. Our tours are perfect for anyone looking for a spooky good time in Winston-Salem. Book your walking ghost tour in Winston-Salem tonight!
* This is a walking tour and we do not enter privately-owned buildings or private property *