THE STORY
Reported Haunting
Chicken Alley is one of Asheville's oldest and most haunted alleyways. Visitors have reported shadow figures, disembodied voices, phantom footsteps, and an overwhelming feeling of being watched after dark. Some believe the spirits are connected to the alley's history of crime and violence.
Chicken Alley is a narrow lane named for the fact that chickens used to hang out there in the city’s much younger days. It even has a chicken mural, painted by local artist Molly Must. Legend has it the alley is haunted by the ghost of Dr. Jamie Smith, in a black fedora hat and duster-style coat, carrying his medicine bag and silver-tipped cane. Dr. Smith was stabbed in the heart at the Chicken Alley bar Broadway’s Tavern in 1902, as he was trying to break up a brawl.