Order of Gimghoul

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The Order of Gimghoul is a secret society headquartered at the Gimghoul Castle in Chapel Hill, NC 35°54′43″N, 79°02′10″W. The Order was founded in 1889 by Robert Worth Bingham, Shepard Bryan, William W. Davies, Edward Wray Martin, and Andrew Henry Patterson, who were students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The society is open to "notable" male students (rising juniors and higher), and faculty members by invitation.

The society centers itself around the legend of Peter Dromgoole, a student who mysteriously disappeared from the UNC campus in 1833. The founders originally called themselves the Order of Dromgoole, but later changed it the Order of Gimghoul, "in accord with midnight and graves and weirdness", according to University archives. [1]

Tradition has it that the Order held to the "Dromgoole legend and the ideals of Arthurian knighthood and chivalry". From all accounts, the Order is social in nature, and has no clandestine agenda.

[edit] Gimghoul Castle

Gimghoul Castle It should be possible to replace this fair use image with a freely licensed one. If you can, please do so as soon as is practical.

The meeting place of the Order, known as Gimghoul Castle, was built in 1924 at a cost of nearly $50,000. Thirteen hundred tons of rough stone were used in its construction, and indeed it has the appearance of an ancient Scottish castle; so much so that it is listed in the International Registry of Castles. According to real estate records, the property is owned by a non-profit corporation incorporated in North Carolina entitled The Order of the Gimghoul.

It is unknown if Gimghoul Castle has any residents other than the caretaker, however, regular meetings are held at the castle, which is located at the end of Gimghoul Road. The road is located not far from UNC-Chapel Hill's main cemetery on campus near Carmichael Auditorium.

A ghost calling himself "Jack" is said to haunt the stretch of road between Gimghoul Castle and the Old Cemetery near Paul Green Theatre. He is variously said to have been an English or Irish writer and to have died of alcolholism in the 1930s. Students from decades back report encounters with the ghost, including detailed conversations via Ouija boards and other occult items.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Other North Carolina Collegiate Secret Societies

In North Carolina, the Order of Gimghoul and the Gorgon's Head Lodge at the University of North Carolina, and the Society of the Seven at East Carolina University, are the only collegiate secret societies whose existence is well documented. According to tradition these three, historically called "The League of Societies", meet annually as a sign of good will.