Thrill-seekers take ghost tour through one of Charlotte’s most haunted houses

Once sunset falls, the Historic Rosedale Plantation — one of Charlotte’s oldest houses — seems to go from dollhouse to haunted house.

Macabre might not be the first word that comes to mind when you look at the 200-year-old antebellum plantation, but it’s one of the most haunted places in Charlotte, according to the Charlotte Area Paranormal Society.

That’s what attracted a group of about 80 people to the house on Saturday for a ghost tour with the paranormal society.

Members of the society, including founder Tina McSwain, say they’ve spotted a lady in white roaming the grounds and peeking out a window.

McSwain believes the apparition is the ghost of Louise Heagy Davidson, who followed her husband to Rosedale in 1918.

“Everyone at Rosedale is friendly,” said McSwain. “We don’t have any dangerous or malicious spirits. If you have an encounter, consider yourself lucky and know that it’s a friendly spirit trying to say hello.”

Fear didn’t factor into Jessica Shubert’s decision to join the ghost tour. She just moved to the Charlotte area two weeks ago from Cary.

“I’ve always been interested in haunted things,” she said. “I thought it would be cool to come and see if we can experience something.”

When the group went inside the cellar, Cameron Walsh, a paranormal investigator, talked about Nancy and Ginnie, two enslaved cooks who once lived in those quarters.

He claimed people have smelled tobacco near the fireplace, where slaves used to hide and smoke.

While group members were in the cellar, a heat device indicated a change in temperature, a shift that can be associated with paranormal activity. Before the group left the room, a device that converts environmental readings into words revealed the word: Slave.

Saturday’s tour was one of two yearly public investigations the society holds at the Rosedale. Proceeds go toward the plantation’s restoration efforts.

“It’s our way to give back to the community,” said McSwain.