Beautiful Saturday in Highlands

Driving in the mountains was a treat this past weekend. Now I understand they are covered in a dusting of snow, but last Saturday when I arrived in Highlands, the sky was clear blue, and the leaves, although past their prime and starting to fall in droves, still made a great contrast. 

Highlands was packed for the "leaf-lookers" Saturday, and I had to park three blocks away from the bookstore for my signing. (In Highlands, that's basically at the edge of town. :)) Still, Cyrano's, one of my favorite bookstores, was just as inviting as always. A steady stream of people entered the store the entire time I was there for my signing, asking for reading advice since Cyrano's is known for choosing the best titles to fill its small space. A good many stopped by my table and chatted, thanks to coverage about my signing in The Highlander, and some related a few of the best ghost stories I'll hear all year. 

But my stay was short, just a couple of hours. After a chicken salad sandwich (slightly sweet and delicious) at the Sports Page deli down the street, it was back "off the hill" as Highlanders say, to my Piedmont North Carolina home. And this evening, I'm off to Charlotte for a few more signings ... and I hope a few more ghost stories. 

Mountain spooks

I'm off to the Highlands/Cashiers area this coming weekend for some book signings, and I am glad to once again be able to see the fall colors so beautiful on winding Highway 64. I'll get to pass one of my favorite waterfalls too -- a little grotto fall just off the highway between Cashiers and Highlands. It's shaded by rhododendron, so it's easy to miss, but it is especially beautiful in the deep summer when covered in moss.

But this time of year, it's all about ghosts, not waterfalls, and the mountains have their share of stories. One of my favorites that I got to research for Haunted Hills surrounds the High Hampton Inn in Cashiers, a lovely historic structure with beautiful rolling scenery. The tale is far from beautiful:

Louisa Heaton was by all accounts an eccentric Southern lady, and when her husband wanted to sell some of the land connected to High Hampton, she became distraught. She said, "If you sell my family's land, I'll commit suicide." Well, being the "man of the house," he decided to sell anyway, only to come home to find her lifeless body swinging from a barn rafter a while a white-face barn owl screeched above. The story goes he was so overcome at the funeral he tried to commit suicide (unsuccessfully) over her open grave by slashing both sides of his neck with a hunting knife.

This sordid account is still connected with the Inn, for many people over the years have reported seeing a white owl on the property. Ahh, what a great cheery bedtime story. And yes, I do usually sleep well at night, despite my ghoulish research!

A first from my little desk

Here's the first published article since I've moved to my little desk. Check it out online here at WNC Magazine.

I'm not sure how I got the byline for a feature written by multiple writers, but I'll take it! Make sure and check out the great photography in the photo gallery as well. The editorial teams of Gulfstream Communications always put together a quality product.