In Chapel Hill next month (Oec. 15-16) tne private doors ol mysterious Gimghoul (Hippol) Castle will open
tor a rare Christmas Candlelight four. They w.ll close again at midnight, perhaps never permitting the public
to enter again, (photo trom Norih Carolina Collection. UNC Library)
This Christmas At
Gimghoul Castle
Thp truth about Peter Ilromgoole may
never be* known, but his legend lives on
in Glandon Forest.
By JANE HIGH! MeML KKY
by hollering at the top of our voices.
PEELE — I take it. gentlemen, that
the sentiment of the club is to invite all
those we have named, including
Josephus Daniels upon his move to
Raleigh. Without objection I'll proceed
accordingly. Now what shall we name
the club?
PRICE — What about the Progres¬
sive Club? We all consider ourselves
to be progressive, and we look to the
future rather than dreaming about the
past.
DABNEY — I agree with every
word you say. but to call it the Progres¬
sive Club will be like waving a red flag
in the faces of the political bulls. And
with many citizens a Progressive is
suspect.
PEELE — I have a name to propose
that should not create any adverse reac¬
tion. yet has some significance: Watau¬
ga Club. Watauga County is famed for
its vigor and its pioneering spirit. And
in American history the Watauga As¬
sociation was composed of a group of
young men like John Sevier who strug¬
gled "to build up a new state out of the
chaos of the old.”
ASHLEY — 1 second that sug¬
gestion.
PEELE — Are there further sugges¬
tions? (Pause) If not. that will be our
name. The floor is now open for nomi¬
nations for officers.
JONES — I nominate William
Joseph Peele as president and G. Edgar
Leach as secretary. That ought to
suffice.
PEELE I hope there will be fur¬
ther nominations. (Pause) If not. I
declare these two duly elected. Which
night of the week do you prefer for
your meetings?
THOMPSON - Don’t make it
Wednesday. Except for one or two of
you heathen, we all go to prayer meet¬
ing on Wednesday nights.
PRICE — We’ll leave the meeting
dates up to you. Mr. President. And
before we adjourn, may I make a
prediction?
PEELE — Go right ahead.
PRICE — I predict that a century
from now. in the city of Raleigh, our
spiritual descendants and their beauti¬
ful wives will gather to celebrate the
one hundredth anniversary of the
founding of the Watauga Club!
PEELE — The meeting stands
adjourned.
THE END
(Presented <11 Ladies'
Night of the Watauga Club,
NCSU Faculty Club, Raleigh,
N.C. May 15, 1984).
i6
A merry and mysterious castle waits
in Chapel Hill to welcome curious
revelers this Christmastide. Gimghoul
Castle will play host to Chapel Hill
Preservation Society members who will
gather within for a Gala celebration
December 14 to kick-off the society's
annual Candlelight Tour of Homes. The
private castle, tucked away in Glandon
Forest, has an idyllic history and in¬
teresting legends. The revelers and
those who wish to be may feel a sense
of the past when they assemble in deep
December.
The history of Gimghoul Castle goes
back to the 1800s when a young law stu¬
dent at the University of North Caro¬
lina at Chapel Hill, Wray Martin, in¬
fatuated with King Arthur and the
Knights of the Round Table, decided to
form an order based on heraldry,
chivalry, romance, and mystery. Dur¬
ing Martin's moonlight strolls to Piney
Prospect, a peaceful wooded area near
campus which he renamed Glandon
Forest, he dreamed fantasies and for¬
mulated plans for a real secret society.
Wray Martin’s creative mind envi¬
sioned a mythical race of people called
Gimghouls inhabiting Glandon Forest.
A mighty fortress, interesting buildings,
and a wonderful palace called Hippol
Castle were located in the forest. He
imagined that the castle looked out over
a sea filled with islands. Strangely
enough, according to past University
President Kemp P. Battle in his book
History of the University of North Car¬
olina, it is believed that the true valley
below Piney Prospect was once a sea
during the Triassic Period. Wray re¬
corded his reveries to share with his
friends.
Distinguished Knights
In 1899 Wray Martin's secret society
became a reality when he and five
fraternity men organized the Order of
THE STATE, NOVEMBtH 1984
