In discussing this with the First Lady, I strongly suggested that we purchase a king-size bed with no footboard from Craftique Furniture Company in Mebane, that we pay for this bed ourselves, and that when we left the Executive Mansion at the end of our term, we could take this new bed home to our farm with us. Mrs. Scott agreed to this, and our new bed was ordered. When it arrived, the Governor Fowle Bed was stored on the third floor of the Executive Mansion, where it is today.

Picture of Governor Fowle

One evening a few days later, Mrs. Scott and I were both in the bedroom reading (at approximately 10pm), and we heard this rather strange knocking that appeared to be coming from within the wall near where the headboard of the Governor Fowle Bed had stood.

The knocking lasted for a least one minute. The knocking had a rather unusual cadence to it, much like the bouncing of tennis balls after being dropped from a rather high distance. After the first knock, there was a long pause of several seconds. Then there was the second knock and a slightly less lengthy pause, then the third knock, and the pause following that was even less in length, until finally the pauses at the end were almost negligible.

Mrs. Scott and I paid no attention to the knock for the first several nights that it occurred. Then we began to notice that this knocking, which was not very loud, occurred every night. Further, it occurred around 10 o'clock, although there might be a variation of as much as thirty minutes. We discussed this several times, joked about ghosts in the house, then soon found ourselves listening for this knocking each night.

At first, we speculated that it might have some connection with the water pipes. However, there should not be any water pipes running in that particular section of the wall since it is not very close to the bathroom. Furthermore, we checked hurriedly when the knocking occurred to see if anyone was drawing water in the Mansion at that time. We were unable to find anyone drawing water when this knocking occurred. In addition to this fact, the knocking does not occur at other times when water is being drawn.

We, of course, do not believe in ghosts. However, the knocking does occur, and it is usually about the same time each night. For lack of a better explanation, we have named the knock the Governor Fowle Ghost. We assume that it is the ghost of Governor Fowle, requesting that the bed in which he died be replaced in the room.

There are two little sidelights to this story. One is that Mrs. Scott and I spent our honeymoon in this room and slept in the Governor Fowle Bed on September 1, 1951. (The narrator's father, W. Kerr Scott, was governor at that time.) The other is that the daughter of Governor Fowle today lives just down the street from the Executive Mansion. When a new governor moves into the Mansion, she soon thereafter pays a courtesy call on the new residents of the Executive Mansion. There are two questions she usually asks: "Is Father's portrait still hanging?" and "Is Father's bed still in his room?"

The bed isn't, but the knock is.