Southern Gothic is a podcast that explores the history behind some of the American South's darkest days, greatest mysteries, and most chilling ghost stories.

Y'all, on our last full-length episode of Southern Gothic, we explored the legend of the Little Red Man of Old Salem, a tale that claims the spirit of a shoemaker once haunted the

building where he lost his life in a horrible construction accident.

Well, if you listen to that episode, and I of course recommend

you do, you know that this building where that story took place is now part of a protected

historic district, a piece of living history preserving the town of Old Salem in such a way as it was built by the Moravian community back in the late 18th century.

As a result, there are over 70 historic buildings in that 100-acre district.

And, as you might might expect with that many old

structures, the single brother's house where the little red man legend comes from

certainly isn't the only one with a ghost story. So on today's special minisode, we're going to explore a ghost story located at another of

those historic structures, the Old Salem Tavern.

Now, unlike many of the other buildings that made up Salem's tightly organized Moravian community,

the tavern was built specifically for people who didn't belong there.

After all, from the very beginning, the community occupied an important position along several major

trade routes through North Carolina's backcountry. And while Salem itself was a close-knit

religious community, the town's leaders understood that the merchants moving goods through the region and settlers

heading farther west needed a place to stay.

So in 1775, a tavern was built to meet that need.

Although, much like the old single brother's house, it didn't take long for it to be

too small for its original purpose, and in 1784, construction began on its replacement,

the building that is still standing in the Old Salem Historic District today.

Notably, this new tavern wasn't just a big deal because of its size. It was also the first

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