The Spirits of the Green Park Inn

Posted: 03.21.2025 | Updated: 03.21.2025

Nestled In the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains is the small town of Blowing Rock. It’s a small, peaceful town deeply rooted in North Carolina’s history, with a scenic landscape that makes one feel like they’re in a screensaver. But what really puts this place on the map is the historic Green Park Hotel, located only four minutes down the road. 

It stands as North Carolina’s last grand manor hotel, a place that attracted society’s elite and common alike, where service was the best one could expect of southern hospitality. However, as much fame as the hotel has garnered over the years, there is still much that remains hidden within its walls. 

Ghosts, ghouls, and creatures of the unknown run rampant in the darkness of North Carolina. Curious if there’s any truth to the stories? Visit our website today and join Ashville Terrors on a ghost tour that will leave you checking over your shoulder twice. Be sure to also check our blog for more spooky stories from its most haunted locations.

Is the Green Park Inn Haunted?

The Green Park Inn is a whisper of rumor throughout North Carolina, not just for its hospitality but also for its intense spiritual activity. Part of the rumor is connected to a dark tragedy that happened in the hotel over a century ago. However, this doesn’t explain the several other otherworldly residents who have made themselves at home there.

History of the Green Park Inn Hotel

The Green Park Inn straddles the continental divide as western North Carolina’s last grand manor hotel and the second oldest operating resort hotel in the state. It opened in the summer of 1891 under the ownership of the Green Park Company, a group of three businessmen from nearby Lenoir, led by Civil War Major George Washington Findlay Harper. 

The hotel – made up of 66 guest rooms and spanning 73,000 acres – was intended to be, as a brochure from 1892 put it, “a more comfortable summer home.” Indeed, it was, with amenities such as a billiard room, shooting gallery and the only United States Post Office open to the public at the time. It quickly earned the nickname “Dame of the High Country,” attracting several famous names: 

• Annie Oakley 
• J.D. Rockefeller
• Eleanor Roosevelt
• Calvin Coolidge

The Green Park Inn was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and has since expanded its guest capacity to 88 rooms. It underwent a massive renovation project in 2010 when it was bought by New York hoteliers and brothers Eugene and Steven Irace. 

It’s been a century since the hotel opened, and it still thrives, providing exceptional service, plenty of amenities, and now… several lingering ghosts. 

Hauntings Overview

The subject of ghosts remains rather taboo at the Green Park Inn, even being discouraged so as not to frighten guests. Regardless, there are others who have felt an overall sense that something otherworldly is present with them. That’s not the only reason the Green Park Inn was featured in a list of 13 haunted American hotels published by the Washington Post in 2017.

Guests have seen ghostly children running up and down the halls. Staff has also encountered strange occurrences as if their mind was playing tricks on them. A bartender at the hotel stated she went to grab something from the kitchen one night when she heard a strange cacophony of voices coming from the bar. It was as if a huge party was getting wound up, but when she walked back out front – nothing. There were only a couple of patrons quietly having a drink.

Another coworker was working alone one morning, setting the tables for breakfast service. He realized he was a few table settings short and went to the kitchen to grab what was needed. However, each table setting was inexplicably accounted for when he returned.

Jilted at the Altar

It’s hauntingly ironic that the Green Park Inn is a popular wedding venue, considering what happened to the daughter of one of its original owners, Laura Green. She was engaged to be married but was jilted at the altar, leaving her in a state of uncontrollable sadness and despair that left her with only one option. She went back to room 318, where she hung herself. 

Guests have since seen Laura wandering on the third floor of the Green Park Inn, especially by room 318. Couples who have hosted their events at the hotel have also seen a young woman peering out from the window of the Victorian Suite, the most popular room for newlyweds.

However, Laura’s ending may not be as tragic as one would think. At times, her ghost has been seen accompanied by another male apparition, presumably her fiance. Could it be that amends can be made after death, or is something more nefarious afoot? 

Haunted Asheville

One of the most fascinating aspects of North Carolina is the scenic landscape of the Blue Ridge Mountains. However, these mountains hide a dark mystery: one that lies only four minutes away from the quaint town of Blowing Rock, in the historic Green Park Inn. 

It has attracted visitors for over a hundred years, serving as a symbol of status and luxury for western North Carolina. What’s less known about the hotel is its tragic past, as well as the mystery surrounding several of its known ghostly guests.

There’s more to North Carolina than meets the eye. Come see what it is by visiting our website today! Venture on a hair-raising ghost tour through some of North Carolina’s most haunted spots with Asheville Terrors and see what dwells in the darkness after the sun goes down. Don’t forget to also read our blog for more chilling stories surrounding this town, and stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Sources:

• https://greenparkinn.com/history
• https://wanderwisdom.com/lodging/A-Haunted-History-North-Carolinas-Green-Park-Inn
• https://www.highcountrync.com/hcnc/green-park-inn-named-one-of-13-haunted-hotels-in-us/article_4108ed53-80c1-5b1b-924e-cad71073596b.html
• https://www.travelchannel.com/interests/haunted/articles/do-not-disturb-is-not-an-option-at-these-9-haunted-hotels