Gimghoul Haunting - Visual Narrative

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is known for its academic prestige, its athletic talent, and its scenic beauty. As a student of the university and as a resident of the town of Chapel Hill I was surprised to learn its long standing history.

Down a gravel driveway at the end of Gimghoul Road, there is a hidden castle that is said to hold many secrets. The secluded wooded area surrounding the old castle is said to be haunted by the ghost of Peter Dromgoole and his lover Miss Fanny.

Peter Droomgoole was a former student at the university who was originally from Virginia. Peter Droomgoole fell in love with a beautiful Carolina girl Miss Fanny. They had a secret meeting place in a wooded area near the edge of a stone cliff. Stories say that Peter and Fanny met every night in this same area.

Peter was completely consumed by Fanny. Though Fanny was madly in love with Peter, it didn’t stop other suitors from pursuing her. A friend of Peter soon became a foe as he tried to steal Miss Fanny’s heart. Peter enraged with jealously tracked down his rival and confronted him for trying to steal away his lover.

Peter and his former friend agreed to meet for a duel at the “special spot” where Peter and Fanny often met. The legend says that Peter and his rival backed away from each other for ten paces in true dueling fashion. After a few minutes the duel was over and Peter lay wounded on the ground. Peter's opponent carried Peter's hurt body to a rock. As Peter lay dying his foe dug a shallow grave. Peter bleed to death upon that rock.

Miss Fanny searched all over campus for Peter and when her search turned up empty she went

to the cliff area to wait for her lover.

The story says that Fanny lay weeping for Peter on the rock where Peter was laid to die. Peter's body was never recovered and his grace remains empty. Legend has it that Fanny would often see a tall figure in the woods walking towards her. After Peter’s disappearance Fanny died from a broken heart in the same place where Peter died.

The haunting of Gimghoul says that in the wooded area behind the Gimghoul castle Fanny is searching for Peter so they can be together again. As in Fanny's story Peter ghost is searching for her. The legend says that the two lovers have been seen walking hand in hand through the woods. The rock where Peter is said to have died is still to this day red from his blood.

My intentions with the visual narrative project were to tell the story of the haunting of Gimghoul in Chapel Hill, NC. The previous photographs convey the legend that has been passed down for hundreds of years. Each photo describes different scenes of the story and is placed in order according to the narrative. I used black and white photographs to symbolize the time period in which the story took place. I hoped to communicate the love story of Peter and Fanny through the photos taken of the woman and man searching for each other. The photographs have been digitally enhanced to provide a ghost-like feel. The way I digitally enhanced the photos was influenced by media for when ghosts are portrayed in televisions shows and films they often have a white flush look to their bodies. Their faces are often blurred to add to the dramatic effect. The moods of sadness and sorrow were best conveyed in the photographs of the couple searching for each other in the woods. The placement of the characters in the photographs allowed me to alter their physical appearance without losing their initial structure.