Riverside Cemetery

Established in 1885, this 87-acre cemetery in North Asheville is the final resting place of notable figures including authors Thomas Wolfe and O. Henry, and German immigrant and architect Richard Sharp Smith. The cemetery was also the site of one of the country's last Civil War battles.

Riverside Cemetery was established on August 4, 1885, by the Asheville Cemetery Company as a garden-style burial ground and public park spread across rolling hills above the French Broad River. With more than 13,000 individuals interred across 3.5 miles of asphalt paths and over 9,000 monuments and mausoleums, it is one of the most historically significant cemeteries in North Carolina. Among its notable residents are author Thomas Wolfe, whose fans still leave pencils and bourbon at his gravesite so he can continue writing; O. Henry, the master of the surprise ending, whose headstone collects pennies in honor of the opening line of The Gift of the Magi; Confederate General James Martin; Governor Zebulon B. Vance, known as the War Governor of the South; and nearly two dozen German sailors who died as prisoners of war during World War I.

The land beneath the cemetery carries the weight of battle. On April 6, 1865 -- just three days before Lee's surrender at Appomattox -- the Battle of Asheville unfolded on these grounds. Union Colonel Isaac Kirby led a force roughly four times the size of the approximately 300 Confederate defenders commanded by Colonel George Clayton, who deployed two Napoleon cannons to hold the line. Despite their numerical advantage, the Union troops failed to take the city after five hours of combat. General George Stoneman's forces would not occupy Asheville until April 26, 1865. The echoes of that engagement, according to visitors, have never fully faded.

The most frequently reported phenomena are residual sounds of the Civil War battle. Visitors walking the grounds describe hearing the distant rumble of cannon fire, the phantom crack of gunshots, and the rhythmic tread of marching soldiers when no living soul is nearby. Some have reported seeing translucent forms of Confederate soldiers in gray uniforms appearing among the headstones, moving in formation before vanishing into the mist. These encounters are most common on foggy mornings and at dusk, when the cemetery takes on a particularly atmospheric quality. Paranormal investigators have also captured strange orbs and misty shapes in photographs near the old receiving vault, a stone structure that once held bodies awaiting burial.

Beyond the battlefield echoes, visitors report other unexplained encounters throughout the grounds. The laughter of children drifts on the wind, particularly near the older sections of the cemetery. Disembodied voices and the sound of footsteps from invisible figures have been documented by multiple witnesses. Ghost hunters are drawn to the shared plot of the German World War I sailors, where some claim to sense an unsettling presence. Near the Montford Players Amphitheater that borders the cemetery's lowest section, acoustic effects sometimes create the impression of ghostly gatherings -- though whether the sounds originate from the living or the dead remains a matter of perspective.

Riverside Cemetery is open daily to the public and has become a popular stop on Asheville ghost tours. The City of Asheville acquired the cemetery from the Asheville Cemetery Company in 1952 and continues to maintain its historic grounds. Whether visitors come to pay respects to literary legends, study Civil War history, or listen for the sounds of a battle fought more than 160 years ago, the cemetery offers an experience that blurs the boundary between the historic and the haunted.