North Carolina’s Most Famous Urban Legend: A Haunting Tale for Curious Travelers

I remember the first time I visited the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville. Set against the backdrop of the mountains, the massive stone Arts and Crafts exterior with its signature red rolling roof created an unforgettable first impression. The architectural wonders continued inside with the gigantic twin fireplaces on either side of the hotel's Great Hall, each measuring 36 feet wide and crafted with granite sourced from the mountains.

Like much of Asheville, the Grove Park Inn has a magnetic pull to it that's both stunning and ever so slightly haunting. It's akin to the feeling of walking through the forest on a foggy morning, surrounded by old-growth trees with mist so dense it's impossible to see the mountains beyond. There's certainly a presence to this grand hotel, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, more than a few surrounding tales.

To understand the haunted legends surrounding the hotel, it's important to start with the history. The hotel opened in July of 1913, an effort of entrepreneur Edwin Wiley Grove. Impressively, the hotel was built in just under one year. Four hundred men worked on construction, many working 10-hour days for six days of the week. Granite boulders were brought in from nearby Sunset Mountain with mules, wagons, and ropes. These weren't just any boulders, either—some weighed nearly 10,000 pounds! Italian stone masons fit the boulders into place meticulously, and the final result was nothing more than a work of art.

From its very beginning, the hotel was crafted to be a sanctuary for guests. Fresh mountain air plus the peaceful ambiance of the rooms created a sanctuary for guests traveling from the US and abroad. Some of the more distinguished guests included F. Scott Fitzgerald, Will Rogers, Helen Keller, Thomas Edison, Eleanor Roosevelt, and more. But there's one notorious, anonymous guest who many believe never left the hotel.

Known simply as the Pink Lady, a curious, unexplained spirit is known to roam the halls of the Omni Grove Park Inn. For nearly 100 years, her spirit has been felt and witnessed by both staff and guests. The urban legend of the Pink Lady is that she was a socialite of the 1920s who faced an untimely death after falling two stories from the Palm Court floor.

She's most typically seen as a dense, pink-colored smoke, but sometimes materializes in the form of a woman dressed in all pink. Though her presence is certainly peculiar, it's more playful than scary. She's known to re-arrange items in rooms and tickle the feet of sleeping guests.

The room where the Pink Lady stayed, Room 545, is a notorious one, and it can be requested by anyone seeking a brush with the paranormal. Of course, you may not experience anything at all, but you'll hardly be disappointed—the Omni Grove Park Inn is truly a stay like none other, haunted or otherwise.

Ready to plan your trip to Asheville, North Carolina? Try using Only In Your State’s itinerary planner for a custom itinerary! For more about the Grove Park, read our previous article highlighting one of the most unique spa treatments in North Carolina.