The Legend of the Devil’s Stairs

Posted: 12.07.2024 | Updated: 12.07.2024

Located in Warrensville, North Carolina, near Asheville sits an unusual rock formation known as the Devil’s Stairs. Over the past century, this site has seen multiple deaths and developed a reputation for being haunted. The folklore surrounding the Devil’s Stairs has taken on a life of its own over the years, with some believing you may encounter the Devil himself if you run into car trouble or pick up a hitchhiker on the roadway near the stairs. 

Surprisingly, the Devil’s Stairs is one of two places you can supposedly encounter Satan in the state of North Carolina. (The other being the Devil’s Tramping Ground). To learn more about the hauntings and folklore of North Carolina and the greater Asheville area, be sure to book a tour with Asheville Terrors today!

What Is the Legend of the Devil’s Stairs?

Haunting legends surrounding the Devil’s Stairs back to when it was created in 1914. After a railway worker lost his life at the site of the stairs, ghostly activity was reported. As more tragedies ensued, the stairs became known as a place not to be trifled with. 

There are several versions of the legend. One story goes that a preacher picked up a hitchhiker wearing a long black raincoat along the NC88 highway near the Devil’s Stairs on a dark night. The hitchhiker sat in the back, and as the preacher looked in his rearview mirror, he was gripped with fear as he saw the hitchhiker’s eyes, which were “red as fire and big as a fist.” The preacher quickly pulled the car over, went to the backseat, and opened the door. There was no one there. The preacher was convinced that he had encountered the Devil. 

In another variation of the legend, drivers’ cars will unexpectedly break down near the Devil’s Stairs. While attempting to restart the engine, the car’s back door will swing open and the Devil will enter. He quickly slides across the backseat and exits the other door. After that, the vehicle suddenly works again. 

The most terrifying legend surrounding Devil’s Stairs claims that an inhuman being, possibly the Devil himself, will jump from the stairs and onto the backs of cars or horses as they drive past the stairs.

History of the Devil’s Stairs

The Devil’s Stairs is the result of railway expansion in the United States during the early 1900s. In 1914, the Norfolk 7 Western Railway made plans to create a new route from Abingdon, VA to Todd, NC for its Virginia Creeper Line. The Devil’s Stairs was created when railway workers set up dynamite to make way for tracks to be put down. The explosion resulted in four terraces of jagged rock that replicated the shape of a large staircase. However, this was also a tragic day. The man who lit the dynamite reportedly tripped on a rock and could not escape the blast in time. The dynamite went off under the man, killing him instantly and scattering his remains across the newly formed Devil’s Stairs. 

Shortly after this tragedy, a woman took her infant child to the Devil’s Stairs and dropped the baby into Buffalo Creek. Later, a young girl named Hopal Turner was struck and killed by a Virginia Creeper train that passed through the Devil’s Stairs. 

Devil’s Stairs is now part of a popular motorcycle path that starts and ends in West Jefferson, NC, and makes a loop through the Blue Ridge Mountains that stretches nearly 120 miles. As for the stairs, they are somewhat obscured by the elements and were partially demolished to allow for a bridge expansion across Buffalo Creek.

Hauntings at the Devil’s Stairs

According to local lore, the Devil is not the only entity you might encounter on a trip to the Devil’s Stairs. For years since the railway worker violently died in the dynamite explosion, visitors to the stairs have heard the disembodied voice of a man singing, which many believe to be the railway worker. 

There are also reports of a baby crying near the Devil’s Stairs when no children are around. This is thought to be the ghost of the baby dropped into Buffalo Creek following the formation of the Devil’s Stairs. One man even reported seeing the ghostly apparition of a woman in white, which he believed to be the mother of the dead child. The man was so afraid that he ran to the nearby Oak Grove Baptist Church for safety. 

Over the years, there have been two accounts of the road in front of the Devil’s Stairs being blocked by coffins at night. However, the coffins mysteriously disappear in the daylight. A local resident recalled a friend showing up at her home drenched in sweat after he’d run away from the ghostly coffin in the middle of the road.

Ghostly Apparitions

Most disturbing are the accounts of headless apparitions near the Buffalo Creek Bridge. Two residents claimed that while checking on the local power plant further up the hill from the Devil’s Stairs, they sensed that they were being followed. When they turned around, they both saw a headless apparition standing on the path behind them. 

Just as the Devil is said to hitch a ride from travelers, ghostly apparitions have been seen along the roadway and even in people’s cars. Drivers have heard their backdoors open only to find no one in the backseat. In the 1930s, a group of young men driving along in a Ford Model T witnessed a woman in white appear near the bridge. There’s also a story that goes back to the 1800s when a woman hung herself near the bridge. Some say that if you look back while driving away, you’ll see “a misty old woman with wild eyes.”

Haunted Asheville

Whether or not the stories of ghosts and devils are to be believed, there’s no denying the massive amount of tragedy concentrated around the Devil’s Stairs. Created just over a century ago in a deadly dynamite explosion, the Devil’s Stairs has taken on a life of its own, and the legends surrounding it will likely last many more centuries.

Get the real story behind the many hauntings of Asheville and North Carolina by booking a ghost tour with Asheville Terrors today! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and keep reading our blog for more real North Carolina hauntings.

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