Get spooked with these Wilmington tales, from a 'scary (Cotton) Exchange' to a missing head

Do you believe in ghosts? Or have you ever seen ghosts?

In the Wilmington area there are many stories and legends, from spirits roaming through shopping centers to ones looking for their heads on railroad tracks.

Here are a few of those stories on the eve of Halloween.

Most common ghosts at the Cotton Exchange

The Cotton Exchange, which dates back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is said to be home to many ghosts. Made up of an assortment of historic buildings in downtown Wilmington, it has been a spot for local businesses since the 1970s.

Here are a few tales of some sightings, which are posted on one of its community boards inside the shopping center:

Victorian Ghosts: In the space where Fire & Spice used to reside, the owner witnessed men in old-fashioned morning coats and ladies in long gowns walk past his shop in the early mornings. He would do a double take, but they would be gone the next time he looked.

Sorrow Soldier: Against the wall of Port City Pottery, there have been accounts of a ghostly apparition that appeared to those who could see and hear him. He stood in a dark blue uniform with a gold braid across his chest. One day he pushed against the back of an intuitive person saying he simply wanted ❝to tell someone his sorrowful plight.❞ He wanted to know why people walking past could hear voices coming out of the devices held against their ears (their cell phones) but not hear him. Another time an employee felt a strange pressure on her ear and the side of her face, if as he were trying to communicate with her.

More:How a TikTok ghost guide became a Wilmington sensation

The Little Boy: There have been accounts of people witnessing a young boy running and jumping on a bench that did not exist in the O❜Brien Building.

The Playful Pranksters: There are at least two ghosts in the Cotton Exchange who love to play pranks and wreak havoc. One is normally seen in The Scoop while the other frequents Top Toad. Both appear to be young girls who wreak havoc after the shops close. The girl in The Scoop has a soft, girlish southern drawl with an innocent tone.

The son of The Golden Gallery owner Mary Ellen Golden has also reported interacting with a young girl who loves to play pranks when he had an office in the Old Christmas shop (that was in the courtyard), where his computer would sometimes freeze, forcing him to stop working. There were also toys in that location that would suddenly activate as though the little girl was playing with them.

In 2012 when a new owner took over Occasions, they reported opening the shop in the mornings and finding cards strews about the shop. They were on the floor, in the wrong spinners, and on shelves nowhere near where they should be even though the owner always made sure the shop was neat and tidy before leaving for the night. Things seem quiet in the shop now, so perhaps the spirits have gotten used to her presence.

An employee, while walking back from Java Dog toward the Annex building, saw one of the white rocking chairs continuously rocking. There was not another person in the hall and no one was coming or going. The employee stopped to watch the chair and it continued to rock at a fast pace, never slowing down.

The Maco Light

An infamous ghost story haunting North Carolina is the tale of the headless ghost, known as Joe Baldwin. Baldwin was a brakeman on the east-west railroad line that traveled across the rails in Southeastern North Carolina in the 19th century.

To prevent a terrible accident, Baldwin grabbing his lantern, stood on the back of the caboose as the sound of an oncoming passenger train rumbled closer. Baldwin frantically waved his warning light, to catch the attention of the engineer. Seeing the light, the engineer of the oncoming train, pulled hard on his brakes.

Baldwin's bravery saved many lives, but not his own, because the momentum of the tons of speeding steel kept the train moving, and the locomotive slammed into Baldwin's caboose. Baldwin was decapitated in the crash. His head was never found.

The legend goes that for over a century, mysterious lights could be seen bobbing up and down along the railroad tracks near Maco Station, a few miles west of Wilmington. When anyone approached the lights, they would disappear. People said that it was the ghost of Joe Baldwin, still searching for his missing head.

Driving out to see the Maco Light was a regular pastime for area teenagers in the 1950s and 1960s, and may have served as a local substitute for the ❝submarine races.❞

The usual story is that the Maco Light vanished around 1977, with the Seaboard Coast Line pulled up the old Wilmington and Manchester railroad tracks in the vicinity of the intersection of U.S. 76/76 and N.C. 87 in Brunswick County.

Doug E. Anderson of the volunteer psychic research team Port City Paranormal, took a photograph of the old rail bed near Maco at night in January 2009. To see the image, and Anderson’s account, visit  portcityparanormal.com/the-maco-light.

Ghost Walk of Pender❜s Past

The Ghosts of Pender's Past is a family friendly ghost walk that explores legends, tales and lore.

The Ghost of Pender's Past Ghost Walk will feature historical legends, lore and tales from Pender's beaches to Moores Creek National Battlefield.  Listen to Mrs. Mattie Bloodworth gossip, hear mysteries of Topsail Island, meet the 'gravedigger' and hear many other legends and lore.

Brave souls can learn Pender's Past within the Historic Burgaw Cemetery, located at 200 East Wallace St., Burgaw from Oct. 21-22.

Tickets available at https://ghostwalkofpenderspast.ticketleap.com/ghostwalkofpenderspast/?fbclid=IwAR1MpbkuCSWAUvbZSA6tQr2ZHZSJdydcwsXWDA1NFBDmJ8EOUT9tEsboih4.

Lula❜s A Pub Haunting

Is this downtown pub haunted?

Lula❜s a Pub, a downtown hideaway in the Speakeasy tradition, was established in December of 1992 and is said to be haunted.

Legend has it that a slave in the 1800s believed to be named Cooter, had the habit of escaping from his owner❜s plantation outside of Wilmington.

More:History of hauntings at underground Lula's pub in Wilmington

After numerous attempts to flee through the city's port, the story goes that the enraged man cut off Cooter's feet either on the property that's now home to Lula's or later returned and had him executed there.

Don't look in the mirrors, and watch out for dark corners, because as legend goes you might run into Cooter❜s ghost.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Get spooked with these scary Wilmington tales for Halloween