The boiler room legend, Jackson County

North Carolina · United States · School

The story says fifteen children in detention died when the school boiler exploded, and that their handprints are burned into the wall. No such event is.

A story told across Jackson County, North Carolina holds that fifteen or sixteen small children were given detention, locked in the school boiler room, and killed when the boiler exploded.

The details that go with it are the ones that make school legends spread. Screaming heard late at night. Children seen. Photographs that come back showing orbs and shapes of people in smoke, where the person taking them saw nothing at the time. And, on the boiler room wall, child sized handprints burned into the surface.

No incident of this kind appears in any record. A boiler explosion killing fifteen children would have been national news, and there is none. An update from November 2005 goes further and notes that on investigation no screams were heard at all.

We keep the entry with the correction because the legend is genuinely widespread in the county and people go looking for the school on the strength of it. The handprints, where they are pointed out, are marks on old masonry. Nothing burned them there.

FAQ

Where is The boiler room legend, Jackson County located?

The boiler room legend, Jackson County is in North Carolina, United States.