{"id":3332,"slug":"bath-bath-north-carolina","story":[{"heading":null,"paragraphs":["Bath is the first — the '05 incorporation that made it North Carolina's oldest, the Blackbeard who headquartered there. The refuge was the war's — the Tuscarora survivors who fled, the Cary Rebellion that preceded. The church is the '34 — the St. Thomas that's the state's oldest, the library that was the first.","The pirates were the neighbors — the Eden who may have shared the spoils, the Plum Point where Teach settled. The port was the '16 — the entry that was the colony's, the overshadowing that came later. Bath is the origin — the first town, the first church, the first library.","The file keeps Bath: the 1705 incorporation, the Blackbeard connection, the Tuscarora refuge, and the firsts.","Bath is the archive's North Carolina file — the first town."]},{"heading":"Why this file matters","paragraphs":["Bath is the archive's North Carolina file — the colony's first.","A town keeps its firsts — the file's suggestion being that Bath's hold is the primacy: the '05 incorporation, the Blackbeard who befriended the governor, and the church that's the oldest."]}],"name":"Bath","aliases":[],"type":"TOWN","type_label":"Town","cats":["LOCAL_FOLKLORE","HAUNTED_PLACE","COLONIAL","PIRATE"],"groups":["hauntings","legends"],"desc":"The oldest town in North Carolina—1705, where Blackbeard settled.","full_desc":"Bath is a town in Bath, North Carolina. The oldest town in North Carolina—1705, where Blackbeard settled. HauntHunt files it with the colonial era, pirate lore and local folklore. Ask the file who haunts it and it answers: Blackbeard. The dossier holds 2 reported claims, 1 legend, 1 documented fact and 1 named or described presence — documented record and retelling kept side by side. It is a living community — be a respectful visitor.","address":null,"city":"Bath","county":null,"state":"North Carolina","postal":null,"region":"South","lat":35.471227,"lon":-76.81108,"coord_kind":"CITY","status":"ACTIVE","access":"PUBLIC","access_notes":null,"ownership":null,"website":null,"phone":null,"year_built":null,"year_opened":null,"year_closed":null,"year_demolished":null,"designation":null,"current_use":"Historic site","research_notes":"NC2 batch; VERIFY task auto-queued.","stage":"SOURCE_RESEARCH","quality":{"level":"MEDIUM","score":59.4,"dims":{"location_confidence":0.75,"identity_confidence":0.65,"historical_confidence":0.8,"source_quality":0.3999999999999999,"paranormal_claim_provenance":0.8,"coordinate_confidence":0,"current_access_confidence":0.7,"freshness":0.65}},"claims":[{"id":3452,"type":"NAMED_GHOST_LEGEND","description":"Blackbeard is reportedly remembered. A North Carolina town's lore is municipal property; Bath keeps this account in its unofficial archive. The account has a collector's pedigree — written down as legend, which is the most honest status it can hold. Sources including 'Bath' keep the claim in circulation. The name travels further than the proof; the sightings keep renewing the lease.","evidence":"DOCUMENTED_LEGEND","evidence_label":"Documented legend","entity":"Blackbeard","where":null,"first_report":null,"approx_date":null,"confidence":0.8,"conflict_notes":null,"source":{"name":"Bath","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath,_North_Carolina","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4},"conflicting_source":null,"variants":[]},{"id":3453,"type":"APPARITION","description":"Reported figures in the town. Bath in Bath, North Carolina carries the story the way small towns do — as common knowledge no one quite verifies. It's an investigation claim — the kind that convinces the people who were in the room. The account appears in 'Bath'. It is the sighting the place is known for, and it hasn't stopped.","evidence":"PARANORMAL_INVESTIGATION_CLAIM","evidence_label":"Investigation claim","entity":null,"where":null,"first_report":null,"approx_date":null,"confidence":0.8,"conflict_notes":null,"source":{"name":"Bath","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath,_North_Carolina","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4},"conflicting_source":null,"variants":[]}],"history":[{"description":"The 1705 town is documented. A North Carolina community's documented history gives the file real ground underneath the local lore. It's verified history: the dossier's load-bearing detail. Sources including 'Bath' carry the record. The date is part of the site's documented spine. It remains the site's standing claim.","evidence":"HISTORICALLY_VERIFIED","date_start":"1705","date_end":null,"confidence":null,"source":{"name":"Bath","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath,_North_Carolina","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}}],"legends":[{"name":null,"summary":"Blackbeard is reportedly remembered. Bath in Bath, North Carolina carries the story the way small towns do — as common knowledge no one quite verifies. The story is documented as legend — recorded and retold, never verified as fact. Sources including 'Bath' keep the claim in circulation. The legend does what legends do — it explains the place in a way the records can't.","earliest":null,"evidence":"DOCUMENTED_LEGEND","source":{"name":"Bath","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath,_North_Carolina","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}}],"entities":[{"name":"Blackbeard","claimed_identity":"Blackbeard","verified":null,"summary":"Blackbeard is reportedly remembered. Bath in Bath, North Carolina carries the story the way small towns do — as common knowledge no one quite verifies. The report is preserved in sources like 'Bath'. The name travels further than the proof; the sightings keep renewing the lease. The account stays in the file — reported, retold, unresolved.","behavior":"Blackbeard is reportedly remembered.","area":null,"first_ref":null,"source":{"name":"Bath","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath,_North_Carolina","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}}],"events":[],"investigations":[],"encounters":[],"media":[],"persons":[],"visitor":{"tour_availability":"Verify before visiting","notes":"Public townsite; walkable areas are generally accessible year-round.","last_verified_at":"2026-09-18 11:32:55","source":{"name":"HauntHunt generic access guidance","url":"https://haunthunt.com/about#access-guidance","publisher":"HauntHunt editorial","type":"DIRECTORY","authority":2}},"sources":[{"name":"Bath","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath,_North_Carolina","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}],"conflicts":[],"wiki":null,"counts":{"claims":2,"history":1,"legends":1,"entities":1,"sources":1}}