As Halloween approaches and thoughts turn to ghosts, legends, and things that go bump in the night, I thought I’d help set the mood by sharing one of Wake Forest’s most chilling true stories. Unlike many spooky tales passed down through the years, this one actually happened – and nearly a century later, it remains one of the town’s greatest unsolved mysteries.

Between 1933 and 1934, an unknown arsonist, known only as the “Fire Bug,” terrorized Wake Forest College and the surrounding community. The first blaze struck in May 1933 in Wait Hall, the oldest building on campus (pictured, now known as Stealey Hall). Most students escaped safely, but two were forced to shimmy down a rope from the fourth floor – a rope left there for emergencies. Weeks later, another fire destroyed the town’s newly completed high school on West Sycamore Avenue. A source of great community pride, it had not yet even been connected to electricity.

Fear quickly spread throughout Wake Forest. Men organized overnight patrols, sitting guard with guns across their knees while their families slept. Students formed watch groups, and one even chased a suspect across campus before losing sight of him. Volunteer firefighters came to expect a fire call nearly every night.

Over the next two years, more than 70 suspicious fires damaged or destroyed 17 buildings, and every building on the college campus was targeted at least once. The fires made national headlines, and many townspeople became convinced the culprit was a college student. Investigators arrived from several states, one detective even enrolled as a student to room with the prime suspect, and bloodhounds twice tracked a scent to Hunter Dormitory. Eventually, suspicion centered on one student who reportedly held a long-standing grudge against several classmates and faculty members. The student was questioned after being found inside Alumni Hall, but his story raised suspicions, and without evidence, authorities had no choice but to release him. Soon afterward, he quietly left the college.

And then, just as suddenly as they had begun, the fires stopped. Yet no one was ever arrested. Was the Fire Bug frightened away? Did investigators unknowingly question the right person? Or did the arsonist simply disappear into history?

Nearly a century later, no one knows. Perhaps that’s what makes the story so unsettling. There was no confession, no courtroom verdict – only a string of devastating fires that abruptly ended, leaving behind one of Wake Forest’s most enduring mysteries.

The Fire Bug is just one chapter in the town’s remarkable past. Every fall, the Spirits of Wake Forest tours, presented by Wake Forest Downtown, Inc., bring our haunted history to life through stories of train wrecks and terrible tragedies, frightening folklore, and restless spirits that linger in the history of downtown Wake Forest. While the Fire Bug isn’t featured on this year’s tour, I hope this glimpse into one of Wake Forest’s greatest unsolved mysteries helps get you in the Halloween spirit. What other stories await on this year’s tour? You’ll have to attend to find out! For tour dates and tickets, visit WakeForestNC.gov and search “Spirits.”

Special thanks to the Wake Forest Historical Museum for providing the historical research and photo that helped bring this story to life.