What is Halloween without a ghost story or two?
The historic Whalehead Club is one of Corolla’s most visited sites. Its rich history and beautiful grounds attract visitors year after year to come and explore the property. While tours, weddings, and fun summer events take place on the grounds – reports of ghostly activity have long been rumored to take place inside of the Club. From pots and pans clanging together to a strange smell of smoke to footsteps following behind, the Club has its fair share of unexplained activity. Below are just a few stories derived from the “haunted” Whalehead Club.
Do You Smell That?
The Whalehead Club was built in the early 1920’s by Edward Collings Knight Jr. as a gift for his lovely bride, Marie Louise. The house was intended to be used a hunt club and would offer all modern amenities of the time, including electricity and indoor plumbing. The Knights spent 9 seasons at Whalehead only to abruptly leave in October of 1933 – never to return to the property.
Over the years the club has changed hands many times, gone through various renovations, and used for endeavors including a boy’s school, rocket fuel test site, and a WWII bunker. Throughout the years, one thing has remained the same in the house - a portrait of Mr. Knight holding a lit cigar. The portrait hangs over the fireplace in the dining room and has become quite a popular talking piece. During tours, visitors have noted a smell of tobacco and often comment how could smoking be allowed inside of a historical location? Tour guides have grown to know the culprit of smell as Mr. Knight himself. The portrait has been known to have actual smoking lingering from it, wafting a strong smell of burning tobacco throughout the house. Could it be the ghost of Mr. Knight playing tricks? Or is this just a strange coincidence? You be the judge!
Scarier than a Hurricane
During the 1960's the Whalehead Club was used as a test site for rocket fuels, due to its remote location. One local fellow, who worked as security guard at the club, was granted approval to stay inside the Whalehead during an incoming hurricane. The man and his dog setup camp upstairs near the stairwell - away from windows and possible flying debris. As the storm geared up outside, the dog began to bark uncontrollably at a corner. The man tried to calm his pup, but realized it was something more than just shadows in the dark corner. He grabbed this dog and headed out of the Whalehead Club stating he would rather weather the storm than deal with whatever was lurking inside the house.
Is Someone There?
One of the “hot spots” for paranormal activity is the basement. Workers of the Club who venture into the basement often report hearing footsteps following behind them as they exit up the stairs, only to turn around and see no one there. During a tour of the home, a young boy became hysterical after visiting the basement. He screamed that a young girl was trying to reach out for him, while pleading for him to help her. This isn’t the only occurrence of the young girl, as she can be heard singing throughout the house. Security cameras often pick up on strange lights, flashes, or orbs on the footage of the basement. While this could be easily explained away as someone being down in the basement, workers have verified that no one was in the room at the time of the weird footage.
A Picture is Worth 1000 Words
The Whalehead Club is a picture perfect location. While touring the property, visitors take photos of their favorite rooms, the art nouveau details of the house, and surrounding manicured grounds. When looking back at the photos, folks notice strange blurs, orbs, and unexplained shadowy figures in their photographs. Could this a case of bad photography or is somone trying to reach out from the other side?
Disturbing the Peace
During the late 90's the Whalehead Club underwent intense renovations to restore the house back to its original glory. Workers and artisans specializing in restoring the art nouveau style set up camp around the grounds of the Whalehead Club. As night would fall, strange shadow like figures could be seen lurking in the windows of the house – seeming to be peering out at the makeshift campsite of the workers. An unsettling feeling came over the workers, many of whom refuse to reenter the property today. Those who witnessed figures in the windows believe that the intense renovations on the property have disturbed the energy of the house, waking something no quite of this world.
Want to experience this ghostly activity for yourself? Head over to the Whalehead Club for a guided Legends, Lore and Ghost Tour of the property this summer!