If you take NC 215 from Lake Logan onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, you’ll come across the Devil’s Courthouse at mile marker 422. The Transylvania County peak rises to 5,720 feet and features a unique rock formation.

Over the years, I’ve made that trip too many times to count. Some of my best memories were made while exploring the area with Aunt Sandy. I recall riding in the truck bed with Ebie and the two of us hollering into the darkness through every tunnel we encountered.

I don’t scream through the tunnels anymore, but I still visit the Devil’s Courthouse when I’m home. And why not? It’s a short hike with a massive payoff.

It has some of the prettiest views in all of Appalachia. From the summit, on clear days, you can see four states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee.

I always catch a chill up there, staring off into the wide open. Perhaps it’s the cool air of the high altitude – or maybe it’s a touch of vertigo. I don’t think so, though. The truth is, although the Devil’s Courthouse is beautiful, it’s also eerie.

According to local legend, the Devil’s Courthouse was so named because it’s where the devil holds court. Old folks claim Lucifer rises at night to judge the souls of the wicked. The guilty are tossed over the cliff, plummeting straight into the pit of hell.

They say the devil roams the woods at dusk, waiting for court to start. Those who run into him must stand trial. It’s rumored that the ghosts of the unjustly punished haunt the area.

I’ve never seen any ghosts up there, but many claim they have. Others swear they’ve seen the devil himself. I can’t attest to that either, but I can say: the Devil’s Courthouse never fails to give me goosebumps.

Have you ever visited the Devil’s Courthouse? If so, did it give you the chills too?