After losing his head to the sea, the infamous pirate, Blackbeard is thought to be haunting the Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks. His body is seen wandering on the beaches, calling out for anyone to help him find his head. 

Tucked into the misty crook of North Carolina’s Outer Banks lies Ocracoke Island, a lonely, wind-swept strip of land long known for shipwrecks, pirates, and spectral legends. The history of piracy in the Outer Banks dates back to the time of the first colony in Roanoke. As early as 1585, men were sent here by the British crown to rob the ships of the Spanish Armada. Here, the past clings like a damp fog to the shoreline, and no figure casts a longer, more fearsome shadow over these haunted sands than Edward Teach — the pirate world remembers him as Blackbeard.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from USA

More than 300 years have passed since the infamous buccaneer’s brutal demise, yet the restless spirit of Blackbeard is said to still roam the beaches and waters of Ocracoke, eternally seeking something he lost to the bloody surf: his head.

Edward Teach: Better known as Blackbeard, was one of the most notorious pirates of the early 18th century, infamous for his fearsome appearance and ruthless tactics. Born in Bristol, England, around 1680, he operated around the West Indies and along the American colonies, commanding a ship named the Queen Anne’s Revenge. With his long, thick black beard and a penchant for intimidation, often lighting slow-burning fuses in his beard during battles, Blackbeard became a symbol of piracy itself.

The Bloody End of a Pirate King

In November of 1718, the pirate scourge of the Atlantic met his end at Teach’s Hole, his favorite anchorage near Ocracoke’s sheltered coves. Back then it was called “The Point”.

Capture of the Pirate: Blackbeard, 1718 depicting the battle between Blackbeard the Pirate and Lieutenant Maynard in Ocracoke Bay

He had actually given up his days as a pirate at this point and swore allegiance to the British Crown. However, the Governor of Virginia, Alexander Spotswood wanted him gone.  In a violent clash against British naval forces led by Lieutenant Robert Maynard, Blackbeard fought with the ferocity of a man possessed, sustaining over twenty sword wounds and five gunshots before finally falling.

His lifeless body was unceremoniously tossed into the water while his severed head was lashed to the bowsprit of Maynard’s sloop as a grim trophy. His shackled pirate crew were forced to watch as the headless body swam three times around the ship before sinking, according to legend. 

His head sailed to various ports in eastern North Carolina until it was impaled on a stake at the entrance to the harbor in Hampton, Virginia as a warning to other “Brethren of the Coast.” 

The waters, locals whisper, turned dark as pitch that day — and the legends say they’ve never quite settled since.

The Phantom of Teach’s Hole

It’s along this stretch of water, now ominously known as Teach’s Hole at Springer’s Point covered with ancient live oaks and cedars, that eerie sightings persist. Strange lights bubble up from beneath the waves, swirling like will-o’-the-wisps before vanishing into the depths. On storm-thrashed nights, when the wind howls through the twisted live oaks and rain lashes the old gravestones, some say you can hear a guttural, ghostly cry echoing across the surf:

“Where’s my head?”

Fishermen, kayakers, and intrepid ghost hunters have all reported the chilling phenomenon — a voice born of salt and fury, forever cursing the fate that separated a pirate from his crown.

The Bearded Ghost of Springer’s Point

Ocracoke’s spectral lore doesn’t stop at the shoreline. At Springer’s Point, a dense maritime forest overlooking the inlet where Blackbeard made his final stand, tales abound of a large, bearded figure in tattered seafarer’s garb, appearing and vanishing like smoke in the early morning mist.

One particularly unsettling account comes from Roy Parsons, a former resident and musician of the island, who claimed that as a boy he was chased along the Point by a towering man whose boots left no mark in the sand and whose form dissolved into nothingness before his terrified eyes.

Springers Point: Wikimedia

Springer’s Point, long considered cursed ground by Ocracoke’s older residents, was one of the pirate’s favorite haunts. The centuries-old live oaks still loom like sentinels over the site of his last debauched gathering, and visitors to this day report a suffocating, otherworldly heaviness that descends upon the path at dusk.

A Pirate’s Curse on the Graveyard of the Atlantic

Ocracoke is no stranger to death and the uncanny. Known as part of the Graveyard of the Atlantic, these treacherous waters have claimed over 5,000 ships since Europeans first braved its shifting sands and shoals. The locals, fiercely proud and intimately acquainted with tragedy, take their ghost stories seriously.

Read More: Check out all haunted islands

Today, Teach’s Hole and Springer’s Point remain must-visit spots for thrill-seekers and paranormal enthusiasts. Today Teach’s Hole is a shop where you can buy all things Pirate. The latter, a secluded nature preserve accessible only by foot, offers eerie solitude, where the veil between past and present seems paper-thin.

Whether you’re drawn by the legends, the restless spirits, or the whisper of pirate gold still hidden beneath the sands, one thing’s certain — on Ocracoke Island, the dead never truly sleep.

Newest Posts

• 

  The Pirate King Blackbeard Haunting the Beaches of Ocracoke Island8. July 2025

  After losing his head to the sea, the infamous pirate, Blackbeard is thought to be haunting the Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks. His body is seen wandering on the beaches, calling out for anyone to help him find his head. 

• 

  The Ghostly Tales of Kona Sheraton: Hauntings on the Big Island on Hawaii7. July 2025

  Thought to be struck by an ancient curse because they didn’t respect the holy locations around the hotel when building, the Kona Sheraton Resort was believed to be haunted from the start. Strange occurrences and unexplained accidents and injuries plagued the Big Island hotel for years. After making amends, can they now invite guest back?

• 

  The Haunting History of the Blaisdell Hotel: Spirits Linger in an Old Honolulu Landmark4. July 2025

  In the former hotel, now turned into a business building, the old Blaisdell Hotel is said to be haunted by more than one ghost. From former guests who died staying at the hotel to navy ghosts and another residing in the basement. 

• 

  The Gray Man of Pawleys Island: The Phantom Who Warns of Storms3. July 2025

  Right before horrible hurricanes, there is supposedly the ghost appearing to warn people to leave the island. Nicknamed The Gray Man of Pawleys Island, many attribute sightings of him to that their homes were spared from the destructive winds. 

• 

  The Ghostly Guest of Moana Surfrider: Haunting of a Hawaiian Icon2. July 2025

  After the mysterious death of a wealthy guest, it is believed that the old Moana Surfrider is haunted by her ghost. What happened to Jane Stanford? Was she really killed or was it something else? And is she still haunting the hotel she died in, forever searching for her room?

• 

  The Murdered Man Wandering the Tao Đàn Park in Ho Chi Minh City1. July 2025

  Wandering through the Tao Đàn Park in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, the ghost of a young man murdered there is said to haunt it after he was brutally murdered. Now, he is lingering, still looking for his love.

• 

  The Haunted Lodge at Koele: Spirits in Paradise at the Four Seasons Resort30. June 2025

  The Four Seasons has now taken over what was once the Lodge at Koele. This hotel is believed to be haunted by multiple ghosts. Did something happen at the resort a long time ago, or has it something to do with Lanai Island being the place of nightmare?

• 

  The Haunted Jenny Dixon Beach and Wilfred Barret Drive27. June 2025

  One of the most haunted beaches in the world is said to be the Jenny Dixon Beach in New South Wales. Here, the last decades have been filled with stories of vanishing hitchhikers along the roads as well as older ghosts coming in from the sea. 

• 

  The Haunted Ihilani Resort: Does the Spirit Remain at Four Seasons Resort Oahu?26. June 2025

  After a guest reportedly died on the 17th floor in the Ihilani Resort in Hawaii, the guest stayed on as a ghost. Is the ghost still lingering, even after the hotel became the Four Seasons Resort Oahu?

• 

  The Haunting of Changi Beach: Singapore’s Ghosts of War25. June 2025

  After a World War Two massacre, it is said that Changi Beach in Singapore is haunted by its victims. Could it be that the Sook Ching Massacre has made ghosts haunt the beach, or is it something else staining the sand bloody red?

• 

  The Haunted Prince Waikiki Hotel and its Blue Lights24. June 2025

  The Prince Waikiki Hotel in Hawaii is believed to be haunted. Not only does the luggage of its guests seem to move, but a strange blue light is wandering the halls accompanied by voices from beyond. 

• 

  Porta do Alén, The Portal to Another Dimension23. June 2025

  At the top of a mountain in Northern Spain, there is a supposed gate to the underworld or possibly another dimension. The legend of Porta do Alén and its strange structure continues to be known as the Door to Beyond.  

References:

A Circle, A Line, An Island: Ocracoke Ghosts | Our State

Hunting ghosts on Springer’s Point at Ocracoke | Island Free Press

Confessions of a Ghost Tour Guide and Skeptic