Mysterious castle emerges from deep inside sand dune on North Carolina beach. Can you guess what it is?

A mysterious castle has appeared on a beach in North Carolina after being covered by an historic sand dune for several years. 

North Carolina's Outer Banks are a tourist destination every summer, even inspiring a Netflix series named 'Outer Banks' about hunting for treasure in the region.

The dunes at Jockey's Ridge are the largest on the east coast and a must see for thousands of visitors every year for hangliding and snowboarding, with many things buried beneath over 400 acres of sand. 

As the dunes move because of the sun and wind and other effects, often things will rise up from the sand, as what looks like a sand castle has for the summer of 2024.

However, it's not exactly royal and it's not exactly sand, as it turns out its the remnants of a miniature golf course from decades earlier. 

A mysterious castle has appeared on a beach in North Carolina after being covered by a sand dune for several years

The castle still stands but erosion has had its way, as there are dead plants growing on it, pieces crumbling and the colors faded. 

It still stands at eight to ten feet tall, having survived nearly 50 years on the dunes, as a marking showing it built in 1978 claims.  

So how did this castle and the golf course get here?  

Against the wishes of locals and environmentalists, developers tried to start construction on top of the dunes in the 1960s and 1970s, according to WRAL. 

One such development was a miniature golf course to entice fun-seekers to stick around on the dunes. 

Mother nature had her way, however, as by the 1980s, the course had been entirely enveloped by the moving sands. 

The developers eventually gave up and sold the course to the state of North Carolina. 

This year, the castle hole has been uncovered which leads many to wonder what has happened to the rest of the golf course. 

The castle is from a miniature golf course that opened sometime around 1978 at the dunes

The dunes at Jockey's Ridge are the largest on the east coast and a must see for thousands of visitors every year for hangliding and snowboarding, with many things buried beneath over 400 acres of sand

Mother nature had her way, however, as by the 1980s, the course had been entirely enveloped by the moving sands

Library of Congress photos show there was once a hole structured around a giant sea monster and others with a ship, a giant octopus and a cobra. 

It's not known if these structures were torn down, according to reports. Their whereabouts remain a mystery.  

The natural shifting sands of the dunes at Jockey's Ridge may someday uncover them much like the castle.  

As the dunes are believed to be thousands of years old, it's likely they'll determine what emerges from its depths in the future.