Raleigh, NC Part I - Xoco Bar and Grill

OCTOBER 23, 2018

WELCOME TO RALEIGH

From the rich history, friendly people and great food to the delight of seeing everyone zip around on rented scooters, I can easily place Raleigh as one of my favorite cities to have been in. We had the pleasure of visiting some of the most haunted spots within the city, including our first stop at Xoco (said sho-ko) Bar and Grill, located in The Pine State Creamery building.

THE HISTORY

Built in 1928, the two-story, five-by-six bay building was intended as a dairy farmer's cooperative following the end of World War I. The building later housed a family-friendly ice cream shop after an addition to the building doubled its size in 1940. The building later expanded again in the 1960's, with a second addition and two wings.

THE STORIES

Several tales circulate about the Pine State Creamery building, the most famous of which also happen to be the most unpleasant. Several fires, a body found in a freezer and perhaps the most disturbing, the serial murders of two young ladies have landed this building in the top of the most haunted places in Raleigh.

Not much is said about the fires, other than they took place in the 1960's and 1970's causing significant damage. The body in the freezer has no time stamp to the story and the identity of the body is never said. There are several versions as to how the body got there, the two most popular seemed to be it was a worker that suffered a heart-attack or the result of a mob feud. The deaths of the two young ladies. however, gained wide-spread media attention as they were victims of serial killer, John Williams, Jr. A man that, in the 1990's, terrorized the heart of the city with a series of rapes and killings.

THE FACTS

I've been lucky enough to have found a decent amount of reports that can back up the stories that are told about the Creamery's history.

There were in fact, two fires that erupted in The Pine State Creamery building. They were not spread over a length of time but were back to back, occurring in the middle of night on February 16-17, 1976. The following is the report from February 18, 1976, on both fires by the Raleigh Fire Department, located in the department's online archives:

As you can read, no deaths and only minor injuries were reported as a result of either fire. It was also determined that the fires, although first suspected as arson, were ruled accidental as the result of an employee smoking marijuana in a highly-flammable area.

My search for the truth about the body in the freezer turned up nothing more than tales from past managers and employees. Despite being a morbid subject, I think the death, if it had happened, would have warranted some type of press coverage or archived report...perhaps even a temporary closure of the establishment for an investigation.

Our last story involves that of a drifter from Georgia, 36 year-old John Williams, Jr. A dark-skinned man with a reportedly low IQ, Williams had suffered a history of poverty and abuse. A history that, according to his legal defense, was the driving factor in the crimes he had committed. in the final decision made on June 28, 2002 by the Supreme Court of North Carolina, in the case of the STATE of North Carolina v. John Williams, Jr., the jury's findings and his sentencing are as follows, as reported by the court documents:

Targeting prostitutes and drug users, Williams often found his victims in the Glenwood South district of Raleigh. His victims' bodies were found in several places throughout the area. The body of Deborah Elliot was found the day after Christmas, in a section of the then-abandoned Pine State Creamery building, in the second of the three bays located there.

The following account is a graphic one, reported in the court documents:

Although it would be understandable for there to be resonating energies existing within the Pine State Creamery building, there have been no significant reports linking activity to the death of Deborah Elliot.

THE VISIT

Despite the horrific history, the building that houses Xoco Bar and Grill has to come to see much brighter days. Times have changed, businesses have moved in and the painful memories of the past are now just ghost stories...or are they?

When we first arrived at Xoco in the mid-afternoon, we found the place relatively empty. Given we were a bit earlier for lunch and it was a weekday, we didn't actual mind this at all. It proves difficult to read energies when a place is filled to the brim with them. The hostess was incredibly polite, greeting us in her soft, southern accent. After sitting down at our table and ordering drinks, I started doing a little more research to find where in the restaurant the most activity was known to happen...in this case, it was the bathroom.

Settled at the end of what the staff lovingly calls the 70's hallway, the bathrooms at Xoco would not be considered daunting. Dimly lit with dark walls and splashes of bright, bizarre color combinations, I wouldn't consider it as an area that would house tormented energies of days gone by. Nonetheless, I attempted to open up communication.

"Hello. Is there anyone here with me?"

Realizing I had said this in a public restroom could have proved entertaining if I had gotten a voice to answer back. Sadly, I received no response at all.

"Is there anyone here with me? I just want to talk."

I got an overwhelming sense of nothing. However, this nothing was in fact, something. I was being blocked...and hard. Whatever was there didn't want me knowing, hearing, seeing or feeling anything at all.

"It's okay, I'm not here to harm you. I'm not going to tell you to leave. I just want to talk."

Thoughts came to my mind but they were fragmented, random words...

Silver. Cold. See breath. Narrow. Close space. Tight space. Round belly. Hat. Something on his head. Messy. Unclean (like on a shirt).

The words were making no sense to me...I had fragments of visions but nothing that I could relate them to. As soon as the thoughts had come, they had ended. I was completely blocked and even harder than before. Whatever was there wasn't going to allow that to happen again.

I reluctantly returned to my table, not realizing that a significant amount of time had passed by. The rest of our meal went without issue, the staff and food equally impressive.

Overall, I didn't feel a sense of anything the whole time I was there. Neither happy or sad, not impressed or disappointed. I just simply wasn't. They had blocked me the second I walked through the door.