THE STORY
Reported Haunting
Gimghoul Castle is the centerpiece of one of the University of North Carolina's oldest ghost legends. According to tradition, the spirit of Peter Dromgoole still wanders the castle and surrounding woods searching for his lost love after a fatal duel.
Ghimghoul Castle near the University of North Carolina campus is a ruin with many legends attached. One says that 18-year-old Peter Dromgoole was buried here in 1833 after he lost a duel for the hand of his beloved Miss Fanny. Another tale says that Fanny loved Peter and didn’t know he had been murdered. She waited for him and finally passed away of grief. In still other incarnations, Peter died in Fanny’s arms as he took the shot from his dueling opponent. Reports say that in reality Peter Dromgoole was a young man who applied to UNC in 1833 but left for Europe when he didn’t get in. His uncle, George C. Dromgoole, actually did fight a duel in 1837, but wasn’t shot.