A Reddit thread recently asked residents of Charlotte about urban legends they knew about the city. And it is fascinating. According to the Oxford dictionary, an urban legend is “a humorous or horrific story or piece of information circulated as though true, especially one purporting to involve someone vaguely related or known to the teller.” These stories are often passed down from generation to generation and in many cases get a little more spooky and exciting each time they are told.

Stories ranged from satanic activity to the Lake Norman river monster, to the resident Bigfoot a couple of counties over and haunted locations. Have one we missed? Let us know. I grew up spending time on Lake Wylie and we always heard about a manatee that lived in the lake. That one didn’t make the list, however. And if you have a little trouble sleeping tonight, well you’ve been warned.

Read the full thread on Charlotte Urban Legends here or keep reading for the highlights!

• There Are Secret Tunnels Connecting Building In Uptown Charlotte

  This one was posted by user r/phixer00. The post read “All the secret tunnels connecting the buildings in uptown Charlotte. Not the tunnels connecting public spaces like Overstreet mall and such. Deeper tunnels that connect everything. Another user chimed in saying that believe these are mines/abandoned stormwater drains.

• The Lake Norman Monster

  Some believe it’s a 5,000 lb catfish. Most people attribute the large size to the radiation from the power plant. But most people don’t doubt its existence. Many even call him Normie. Some even say don’t swim in the lake. Have you ever seen it?

• Hidden Occult Symbols In Bank Of America Lobby Murals

  Regardless of the intended meaning, these murals are creepy. Kind of reminds me of the ones in the Denver Airport (if you don’t know Google it!). View the Bank of America murals here. Many people report getting goosebumps seeing it in person.

• There Is An Abandoned Gold Mine In Uptown

  This one is actually true. Turns out there are several abandoned mines in the city. The name the Charlotte 49ers exists for a reason after all. According to user r/circa1905 one mine is the Rudasill mine which is located at 325 W. Summit near the corner of Summit and Mint.

• Satanic Activity

  Reddit user r/carter1984 wrote: “I don’t know about now…but when I was a kid there were rumors of satanic stuff happening on a large property off Margaret Wallace Rd. ” He wasn’t the only one to report such rumors. r/mrtheReactor replied: “I grew up with something similar about their being a satanic church in the woods around McAlpine, one friend’s brother (allegedly lol) got pulled up on by guys with guns on ATV’s who told him he needed to turn around and leave ‘or else’. In high school, we went there a few times after dark to try and find the church and scream and run from any rustling we heard. Many other users reported hearing similar stories tending to coincide with high school parties in the woods.

• Demonic Beast-Man

  r/mrtheReactor also told about a supposed beast-man. He heard it in relation to the supposed satanic church. “They allegedly summoned/created some sort of demonic beast-man (or maybe we called in man-beast) that was like a werewolf type deal. Several friends have said they saw it, one’s care even got a dent in it by something running into it while he was driving that we swore looked like a man running on all fours.

  r/LonelyNightsAgain had also heard this story about 15 years ago.

• Stonewall Jackson School Is Haunted

  This one was brought up several different times. Apparently, the Concord, NC school has seen its fair share of creepy happenings.

   

• A Cult Remains Today In The Neighborhood Where Heritage USA Was Located

  If you aren’t familiar Hertiage USA was a theme park in Fort Mill created by Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. In its prime the park was visited by over 6 million visitors yearly. The park closed in 1989 due to the scandals surrounding the Bakkers and damage from Hurricane Hugo. If you drive by you can still see remnants of the abandoned park included the 21 story hotel and upper room chapel.

  While the Bakkers were rocked by fraud and sex scandals, many had moved to the area just to be close to the infamous evangelicals.  and they still reside there today. Some believe they act as a cult mimicking the beliefs of the Bakkers.

• Knobby The Shelby County Bigfoot

  Knobby got a couple shoutouts on the thread. The Shelby Star even did an article on the county’s most elusive resident. The sightings supposedly date back to moonshiners trying to protect their stills. Some credit it to a prank.

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