The Haunting of Hammock House in Beaufort, North Carolina

Built in the early seventeenth century, this home is said to be the oldest home in Beaufort. The Hammock House is thought to have been an inn during its early days; giving sailors a safe haven on land to rest their weary seafaring bodies. One such guest who was known to frequent the inn was Captain Black Beard; a pirate known for his treacherous and brutal ways.

Black Beard, a man who was actually named Edward Teach, spent quite a bit of time at the Hammock House, resting from his sea "journeys" and finding refuge with women, alcohol and illegal activities. During one of Black Beards stays at the house, he was accompanied by one of his numerous wives, an eighteen year old girl who was apparently married and kept against her will. Before Black Beards departure back to the sea, a heated argument must have taken place between him and his young wife, for he hung the woman from an oak tree behind Hammock House and then buried her body under the tree itself!

In 1747, Richard Russell, Jr., owned the house. Another murder took place here when Richard returned home from a voyage. Richard took one of his slaves to the attic to punish him for some wrong doing. The slave panicked and shoved Mr. Russell, causing him to tumble down the attic stairs and break his neck.

The owner that followed Mr. Russell was a Captain for the British Navy. The Captain returned home one day to hear that his new bride had been sleeping with another man. The Captain hunted down his new wife and her accused lover and viciously killed the man. Unfortunately, the man turned out to be the brother of the young woman and was innocent.

By the mid eighteenth century, even more people had died in the house; most of their deaths resulted from sword duels. Then in 1862, the house became infamous when three Union officers were sent to scout the location and disappeared without a trace. These men were found in 1915, some fifties years later, when workmen discovered their remains near the back porch area.