ot Springs is a quiet little town nestled deep in the Blue Ridge almost at the Tennessee border. The French Broad River carries itself quickly through the town, and paddlers and kayakers flock to the town for its perfect rapids.

The Town gets its name from the natural hot springs which bubble up from the ground. The waters, renowned for their natural healing properties, brought tourists to Hot Springs to take the waters throughout the nineteenth century. But something near the springs never seemed happy with that success.

Two grand hotels have been built near the springs, and those two grand hotels have bothcome to ruin. Patton's White House, which was built in 1837, and at the time boasted the largest ballroom in North Carolina, burned to the ground in the middle of the century. Its successor, the Moutain Park, built in 1886, was an even grander 200 room hotel with a nine-hole golf course and sixteen marble-pooled baths, also burned to the ground in 1920. The town seemed cursed. But by whom, and for what reason?

Maybe the cause of the curse is the strong and noble ghost of a Cherokee man that people have reported seeing near the springs for the past century. The warm waters flowing from the earth were sacred to the Cherokee, and perhaps the spirit of this indian has taken offense at his sacred land being used as a dipping spot for wealthy whites.

You can still take a dip in the springs at Hot Springs, although on a much less grand scale than during the heyday of the resort. The water is pumped from the springs into hot tubs - and if you go, ask for tub number nine. It's the secluded one by the side of the river, where the ghost of the Indian is said to be most often seen.