Pimping North Carolina ghosts

From the Mountain Express of Asheville, N.C.:

Of course, not everything on the tour is quite as intangible as Warren's ghosts. Some of the stories are rooted in real blood – for instance, the strange events at Barley's Tap Room, which also serves as the tour's home base. Here, we are told, is the scene of Asheville's biggest mass murder, a 1906 shooting spree that claimed the lives of five people, including two police officers. Step by red step, Warren leads us through a tale about a man named Will Harris, who killed his way up Eagle Street and down Broadway in a drunken, jealous rage. These bloody events, Warren says, center around the very site where Barley's now stands. Warren then tells about brief snippets of spooky happenings inside the bar, from unexplained sounds and ghostly voices to the odd story of the seemingly possessed service elevator. Ghosts or no ghosts, these are good yarns spun elegantly around a real-life tale of horror. (Later, however, over drinks at the bar, Doug Beatty, Barley's owner – and partner in the Haunted Asheville Ghost Tours – confirms most of these stories, and adds a few of his own.)

Those interested in taking the tour may visit Joshua Warren's site, Haunted Asheville.