Renee Wants to Know

Steeped in Mystery

Local student shares history of Davidson in ghost tour

by By Renee Roberson | photography by Jamie Cowles As a true crime fan and person who is intrigued by ghost tours, I love checking them out whenever I’m traveling. Several years ago, I got the chance to stay at the Omni Grove Park Inn, where the mysterious story of “The Pink Lady” is shared by the staff. I’ve also taken ghost tours in Asheville and in Charleston, S.C., where I’m pretty sure I captured some paranormal activity in one photo of a church. The LKN area is also home to rich history, so when I heard about Ghosts of Davidson, I reached out to the student who owns the tour company to learn more.

Andrew Knorpp was 15 years old when he went on a ghost tour in Williamsburg, Va. “I kept thinking about historic and beautiful Davidson was, and I was in the market for a job,” he says. He returned to Davidson and began his research. He asked every business owner he could talk to if they knew of any ghost stories, then he continued his research at the library. As a homeschooled student, he had time built into his schedule to work on the business and prepare for the tours. He got an LLC, created a website, and Ghosts of Davidson was born. Word quickly spread once residents began seeing a young man in a top hat carrying a fire lantern walking around town.

“I was so glad to be able to learn more about history,” he says. “It’s been fun ever since.” The tagline of Ghosts of Davidson is “Giving tours of Davidson, its histories, its stories, its ghosts.” I asked if he could share a snippet of what he discusses on the tour and Knorpp gave me this tidbit.

“Davidson is one of the safest towns in North Carolina,” he says. “In 1914, there was a bit of drama that led to a murder. Davidson still doesn’t know what happened. There was an affair that might have led to a murder.”

Knorpp runs the tours in fall and spring, and they are currently running on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. He even puts together a special themed version of the tour for the first few weeks of December. Each tour begins on the town green and lasts between 90 minutes to two hours. It’s a 1.8-mile walk, all wheelchair accessible. Knorpp says the tours, full of stories about murders, haunted train tracks, and college grave robbing incidents, are appropriate for ages 10 and older.

“I love meeting all the people,” he says. “I have people come all the way from Wyoming. It’s so interesting to hear people tell their own ghost stories.”