The ghost with beckoning hands

On
 a high bluff over looking the Chowan River in Chowan County, North
Carolina are the remains of a once mighty castle. Built by a famous
pirate long ago, it is the scene of a terrible tragedy. One that cost a
mother her daughter, a man his bride and a girl her life. It is a tale
of revenge, a freak accident and the ghost left behind begging to be
found.

The mansion was built to exact specifications. The owner, who desired
 to be a law abiding citizen but could not resist the call of piracy,
paid to have the home made with the finest material money could buy. It
was also true that he had tunnels built from the house to the river
below so that loot could be unloaded without the public eye seeing what
was captured. Indeed the home was a fortress. With walls almost a foot
thick it was nearly soundproof. Very safe, it was a great place to raise
 a family.

But the pirate's wife would not live with her husband there. She
rejected his pirate lifestyle, but she also was afraid of a curse put on
 the pirate by the Nag's Head hag. Supposedly, the old woman cursed the
pirate for pressing her only son into service where he was killed in
battle. The curse stated that the pirate would never know the joy of
being a grandfather and that his bloodline would die out.

In time, the pirate died. He was not felled in battle, but by
disease. After his death, his widow and their daughter Caroline, took up
 residence in the house overlooking the river. It was a wonderful home
for them and a perfect place to raise a child. Within a few years
Caroline was of the age to marry and was to be wed to one of the fine
young men of a nearby town. The ceremony was held in the pirate's
mansion and all the wealthy members of society attended. The band struck
 up the song with signaled the entrance of the bride...

But she didn't show.

Again, the band played the song. Still no Caroline. The Bishop
performing the ceremony began to get annoyed. The guests were perplexed,
 looking around to see what was going on. Suddenly, a giggle from above
alerted them to the brides where abouts. She was on the staircase
looking down upon them, smiling. With a twinkle in her eye, she says to
her husband-to-be, "Catch me, and you may kiss me".

Annoying The Bishop further, the groom immediately chased after his
bride. Up the stairs and out of view they ran. He bounded after her,
catching up quickly. She turned a corner just seconds before he did. He
 turned the corner and...

There was nothing there.

No Caroline, no one at all. He made his way up and down the hall,
calling her name. After a while the entire wedding party joined the
search. The whole house was searched. Every acre of land was looked
over. No strangers were in the area, nor were any boats missing from the
 dock. The poor girl disappeared with a trace.

A few months after her daughter disappeared, Caroline's mother packed
 up and moved from the house overlooking the river. It is said that the
trauma of not knowing what had happened to her daughter weighed so heavy
 on her mind, that the mother lost her sanity and died a short time
later.

The very next New Years Eve, a group of children told their parents
that they saw something beckoning them towards the mansion as they were
playing near by. The kids said that whatever it was was slender and
white and using two hands to entice the children closer. Year after
year, people would come to the house on New Years Eve to see the
beckoning hands. Ghost Hunters tried to solve the case, but once they
entered the house the phantom would vanish.

It wasn't until years later that a man obsessed with the story rented
 the house determined to find the answer to the mystery. One day he had a
 dream that Caroline had been entombed alive within a hidden room. He
went to the place that his dream had shown him and pushed a block in the
 wall. Creaking, a part of the wall slowly moved to reveal the hidden
chamber. Within it was the skeleton of young Caroline, still wrapped in
what was to be her wedding dress.

Her body laid to rest, Most of the town will tell you the beckoning
hands have ceased to appear. Others will tell you they still make an
appearance, but only on a dark New Years Eve.

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