The Haunted First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte
Posted: 07.19.2024 | Updated: 07.19.2024
It’s a scene out of a horror movie. The foreboding gothic church, its timeless spire cutting into the contemporary city skyline, casts an ominous shadow over nearby cemetery grounds. Old headstones and crumbling tombs house the skeletons of the city’s past, secrets that whisper grizzly truths of betrayal and deception. You couldn’t ask for a more perfect setting for a ghost story than the First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte, but for as much malice as you could draw with the right lighting and camera angles, there’s no sinister spirit manifesting here. The ghost of the First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte is anything but villainous. It’s a fixture, like the ornate chandelier hovering over the pulpit or the colorful stained glass windows contrasting the dark wood tones. When you step foot inside the magnificent 160-year-old structure, you’ll understand why it’s difficult to decide whether the affable apparition or decorative features deserve your initial focus.Who haunts the First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte?
The cemetery just beyond the walls of the First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte suggests any number of spirits could be present within the beautiful church. However, to find the origins of this congregation’s resident specter, you’ll need to venture beneath the church, where a sexton was allegedly buried alive when a man-made tunnel collapsed during the Civil War. The church is just one of many ties Charlotte, North Carolina, has to the Civil War. It’s also just one ghost story spurred by the 19th-century conflict. Many more await when you book your Charlotte ghost tour.Founding the Presbyterian Church
All ghost stories start with an inciting incident. For the mischievous sexton, that incident was the organization of the First Presbyterian Church. Charlotte’s religious history is fairly vague, leading into the 19th century, though it’s believed the first churches were built in the 1750s by the Scots-Irish who settled the land. The churches were all Presbyterian, a faith that exploded in popularity, leading to approximately 700 religious establishments today. Among them is the First Presbyterian Church, one of the city’s oldest buildings for a faith that has essentially been with the city since the beginning. Built in 1821 and dedicated in 1823, the church has been important to the community and global religion. In 1864, 1897, 1920, and 1956, the church hosted the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, but its real claim to fame came when the North met the South on battlefields across the East Coast.The Tunnel Beneath the Church
During times of war, few things are sacred when they belong to the enemy. As Major General William Tecumseh Sherman marched the Union Army toward Charlotte, concerns over the property grew. He did, after all, instill a policy of “scorched earth,” which was meant to leave nothing untouched. Even civilian structures were targeted, which panicked elders of the First Presbyterian Church of Charleston. Wanting to protect what they could, the elders tasked a sexton named Ambrose with digging a tunnel beneath the church (under modern-day Fifth Street toward the Old Settler’s Cemetery). Here, it would store all of the church’s valuables, including its silver offering plates. When the Union Army no longer threatened the church, Ambrose was again sent into the tunnel, this time to retrieve the valuables. From this trip, he never returned. Ambrose perished when the man-made tunnel collapsed, trapping him beneath the church forever.The Church’s Friendly Ghost
Considering how he died, Ambrose’s spirit could justifiably harbor ill will against the church. While known for his antics, like exploding light bulbs and shaking the chandelier, he’s remained respectful to the congregation and his people. Ambrose has been spotted in the stairwell, moving about the church as if he still had tasks to complete. The tunnel was never reopened, and its caved-in walls remind visitors of the sacrifice one man made in the name of artifact preservation. Ambrose didn’t die for a good cause, but his presence in the First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte isn’t meant to deter visitors. Save for the occasional chandelier lightbulb that needs replacing, Ambrose isn’t a destructive soul.Haunted Charlotte
That’s not to say none of the spirits in Charlotte, North Carolina, are on the darker side. You can carefully plan your otherworldly scavenger hunt by finding more Charlotte haunts on our blog, and be sure to share your findings with our socials. When you're ready to discover some of Charlotte's most haunted locations in person, book a ghost tour with Queen City Ghosts! Sources:https://www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefive/c5-people/article236118518.htmlhttps://www.britannica.com/topic/Shermans-March-to-the-Seahttps://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article41925969.htmlBook A Queen City Ghosts Tour And See For Yourself
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