Situated in the hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, overlooking the French Broad River sits the famous Biltmore Estate. It goes without saying that the Biltmore has created its own story here in Asheville, and has perhaps fashioned itself as a beacon of Asheville’s history as well. But for the majority of locals and tourists alike, there is an underlying record of life surrounding the grounds of the Biltmore Estate: the story of the Shiloh Community.

Dear Reader,

I started my time at UNC Asheville in Fall 2020, smack dab in the middle of the pandemic. Only a few months before, I skipped classes on March 13, 2020, as it was the designated Senior Skip day. It’s ironic to look back and realize that I skipped the last day of normal schooling, and wouldn’t step foot into any of my high school classes ever again.

One of the first weekends of my freshman year, I was taken on a bit of a road trip up to what’s known as Helen’s Bridge. As the story goes, Helen, a mother who lost her child in a house fire, hanged herself from the bridge that now bears her name. Whether that’s the truth is not my place to say, but it is a fairly famous local place for people investigating the paranormal. With shadowy figures and possible car trouble when driving under the bridge, it’s become quite the little showstopper for supernatural activity in Asheville.

Research is built into the core of UNC Asheville’s teaching. It’s part of the UNC Asheville student experience every semester to work on preparing posters, finishing speeches, or polishing up a short film to present at the Undergraduate Research Symposium, and to know a couple dozen students across the campus doing the same. Calls for research and the opportunity to present at the Symposium are constantly posted on bulletin boards and department doors. In fact, about 70% of students participate in undergraduate research projects.