Stories of the Mountains: Appalachian Legends and Warren Wilson College Lore

Devin Gildner | October 29, 2021

Quinn Bonney
Dorland, pictured, is the home to several alleged encounters with the paranormal.

TW: mentions of suicide, peer violence, and the paranormal

As German, English, Scottish and Irish settlers moved into the Swannanoa area, they brought with them beliefs and superstitions that eventually created some of the local folklore within the Blue Ridge mountains. Before they came, there were many indigenous tribes like Coharie, Eastern Band of Cherokee, Haliwa Saponi, Lumbee, Meherrin, Occaneechi Band of Saponi, Sappony, and Waccamaw-Siouan that lived in the Asheville area. With that holds stories and tales of their own.

The Moon-Eyed People

Warren Wilson College currently sits on Cherokee land. The story of the “Moon-eyed People” comes from them. According to the tales, the Moon-eyed People inhabited Appalachia, long before any known European colonizers had arrived. The Cherokee described them as blue-eyed, pale skinned and bearded. According to the Cherokee, they built odd statues, structures and lived in caves. The Cherokee referred to them as “Moon-eyed” because legend says they only came out at night. Some people believe they were early colonizers from Wales because of their features and rumors that the Welsh attempted to colonize this land in the 12th century.

Written tales of Moon-eyed People came about after Europeans arrived. William Mooney mentions the Moon-eyed people in his book in 1902 called “New views of the origin of the tribes and nations of America.” The tale of Moon-eyed People was reported in human-interest stories in The Chattanooga News in 1923.

Fort Mountain, just across the North Carolina border in Georgia, is perhaps the most iconic building linked with the Moon-Eyed People. Fort Mountain, now a state park, is an 850-foot-long stone wall that ranges in height from two to six feet and runs along the ridge's summit. This stone wall is believed to have been built between 400 and 500 B.C.E. According to Cherokee tradition, this wall is a relic of a war waged and lost by the Moon-eyed People against the Creek tribe. The Creeks drove the Moon-eyed People from their land during a full moon, which according to the story, blinds nocturnal people even in its weak light. Were the Moon-eyed People early Welsh settlers? Mole people? Something else entirely?

The Boojum

Hiking is very popular around North Carolina and all of Appalachia. There have been stories of Bigfoot, but North Carolina has stories of a creature with a different twist. According to legend, The Boojum is a cross between a man and some sort of hairy beast. Not quite a man, not quite a bear and not a really large racoon either.

The Boojum stands eight feet tall with a human face, a very hairy body and limbs, and a thick, long, full beard. The Boojum’s home is said to be where the Blue Ridge and Balsam Mountains meet (approximately 60 miles away from Swannanoa). The Boojum has been found to enjoy two things according to legend: pretty females and gemstones like rubies, amethysts, emeralds and sapphires, all which can be found around Western North Carolina. In the early 1900s, it was very common to bathe in a nearby creek or river. The Boojum would creepily watch women bathe from afar. When the women noticed, they would scream and run away. The Boojum would be constantly hunted and chased by angry groups of men and family members. Despite the efforts, The Boojum has never been captured.

It is said that The Boojum lives in hidden caves where he hoards his gem collection in jugs. If someone stumbles across these caves and finds his gem collection, The Boojum has a unique way of protecting his precious gems. He fills the jugs with “pert’nin juice,” or what is most commonly known as moonshine. No self-respecting hiker would dare to spill this prized drink on the ground and so they would drink this “pert’nin juice” only to wake up in a haze, empty handed of the gems they were trying to take.

There is one story that a woman named Annie fell in love with The Boojum and there are little Boojum children that still roam the mountains to this day. The Boojum has been mentioned in C.S. Lewis’ poem, “The Hunting of the Snark; a particularly dangerous kind of snark.” There is also now a brewery in Waynesville, NC that is named after the creature. Beware on the trails and if you decide to take a dip into a river or creek, The Boojum may be watching.

The Brown Mountain Lights

With the lush green forests, cool mountain air, diverse biology and scenic views, it is no secret that the Blue Ridge Mountains attract visitors. Typically the visitors are from planet earth, but for a period of time, there were sightings of lights or orbs that floated above the Brown Mountains, about 60 miles from Swannanoa. While debated, the origins and causes of the lights, according to Cherokee legend, come from a major fight that took place near Brown Mountain around A.D. 1200 between the Cherokee and Catawba tribes, and the unexplained lights are from Indigenous maidens still seeking for their men who died in battle.

Others have chalked it up to just a hotspot for UFO sightings. The first official report of the Brown Mountain Lights was made in 1913 by a fisherman who claimed to see strange red lights dancing over the horizon. Since that sighting, there have been many more reports of the Brown Mountain Lights until in 1922 when the United States Geological Survey sent scientist George R. Mansfield to research these strange lights. Mansfield's investigation found the lights to be distant car and train headlights, and brush fires, even making a map to show where the lights originated. In the early 1900s all of these electrical lights were very new and not fitting with the Brown Mountains at the time.

While Mansfield felt the story was debunked, the legend stays alive with even an episode of “The X-Files” that focused on missing hikers that vanished in the Brown Mountains. In the episode, the Brown Lights are mentioned multiple times to the point where main character, Fox Mulder, believed the hikers were victims of UFOs.

If Mansfield’s investigation is not enough proof to debunk the Brown Mountain Lights and you would like to see for yourself, the best time to view these lights is from October to November. There are overlooks such as on the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 310 (Brown Mountain overlook) and 301 (Green Mountain overlook), and from the Brown Mountain Overlook along North Carolina Highway 181 (NC 181), near Jonas Ridge.

Helen’s Bridge

At 201 Beaucatcher Road, a stone arched bridge, built in 1909, gives access to the Zealandia Mansion. At first glance, the bridge looks very unsuspecting but it’s dark history may surprise you. Legend has it that a woman named Helen and her child moved to Asheville to start a new chapter in their lives. One night when Helen was cooking, a fire broke out and flames filled their home. In an attempt to save her daughter, Helen ran to the bedroom only to pass out due to the thick smoke. Firefighters were able to resuscitate Helen but unfortunately, not her daughter. A distraught Helen battled severe depression until one day, on a walk in the woods, she found the bridge near Zealandia Mansion. Helen decided to hang herself from one of the iron posts on the bridge. While there is no proof of any of this happening, visitors tell stories of shadows seen, screams being heard and some even summon the spirit of Helen. To summon Helen, it is said that you should say her name three times on the bridge. Be warned, it is also said that if Helen does show up, she will ask you if you have seen her daughter.

While the Blue Ridge mountains and Asheville have some great stories, there are some tales that are much closer to Warren Wilson College (WWC).

Special to The Echo | Warren Wilson College Yearbook from 1959.
School photo of Rosa Watterson before her death.

Dorland

The Dorland dormitory appears to be haunted by the female victim, Rosa Watterson, of a terrible axe attack perpetrated by another female student. Watterson was asleep in her dorm room when she was attacked by her former roommate, Patricia Dennis, with an axe. Dennis left four gashes in Watterson. As Dennis left the room in a rage after the attack on Watterson she also attacked another student, Betty Ferrell, who was trying to disarm her. Ferrell's injuries were not nearly as serious as Watterson’s. Dennis, allegedly, was jealous of her peer, because Watterson had “taken her friends from her.” While Watterson was not killed on campus, her body was terribly mutilated as a result of the hits. It was later revealed that Watterson died in the hospital. It’s said that Rosa haunts the walls of Dorland to this day.

Debra Maslowski, manager of Owl's Nest Cafe, has said to have smelled gasoline while working on Heavy Duty Crew, the previous custodial student work crew, a number of summers ago in Dorland. The building runs on chillers, meaning there is no gas present.

“(I) reported it, but they said I was wrong,” said Maslowski. “I continued to the basement and as I got to the ground level, I heard footsteps behind me. No one was there. I continued on towards the storage, and the footsteps got closer. I looked around, and again, no one was there. I got to the storage area and the footsteps were loud and running towards me. I ran out the basement door!”

Sunderland

Dorland is not the only building with history. Sunderland is one of the original buildings at WWC. The basement of Sunderland is said to be the old slaughterhouse for cattle. John Davidson, director of Public Safety and Swannanoa native, has heard stories over the years about some students' experience in the Sunderland basement.

“I have had students over the years that have heard faint saws and ‘moo’s in there,” Davidson said.

The Chapel

As the Director of Public Safety, Davidson has heard about paranormal activity at the college from students but he mostly hears these stories from his employees. The chapel is one of the places on campus that Pub-Safe employees think has paranormal activity.

“They say the chapel is haunted, the doors open and close with no wind,” said Davidson. “They hear random noises that weird them out when no one else is inside.”

The chapel that we know today was finished in 1964 but the school has a rich spiritual history. Warren Wilson was founded by women of the presbyterian church in the 19th century as they were concerned that many children of the area were not receiving proper education. In 1894 they had their first batch of students.

Regardless of how old the buildings are, there could be many spirits that still roam campus because of its rich history as a work and spiritual school.

From the Moon-Eyed people, The Boojum and Helen’s Bridge, to the Sunderland slaughterhouse, there have been many stories and myths rooted in fact or just hearsay. Regardless of what the stories stem from, the word of mouth culture to keep these stories alive is fascinating. With the rich history of the area it is no surprise that there are many stories to tell and possibly many stories that will be told in the future. Happy Halloween.