The Coastal Region
There is so much history in our state! Part of that history is the stories we hear about ghost hauntings. Charleston and the coastal part of the state is inundated with ghost stories from parks to churches to homes and gardens. Lots of our stories are famous and some are lesser known. Until I was looking for stories, I had never heard the following one.
The Unitarian Church in is the second oldest on Charleston. There is a story about a young girl named Anna Ravenel. She fell in love with a soldier stationed at Fort Moultrie in 1827. The 14-year-old was to be married to an aristocratic young man, but she fell in love with 18-year-old Edgar Perry, who fell in love with her. Anna and Edgar ignored her father, often meeting together in the church cemetery.
Anna’s father separated them by locking Anna up and having Edgar transferred to a fort in Virginia. Anna became very ill and died before Edgar could get back to her. Anna’s father was so determined to keep them separate that he had six graves dug in the cemetery and buried her in one, not marking which was his daughter’s. Edgar never found out which grave was Anna’s. Anna’s ghost is reported to still appear around her grave, looking for Edgar. The interesting thing about this story is that Edgar joined the army before he was old enough and used a pseudonym. His real name was Edgar Allan Poe, who among his works, wrote a poem about Annabelle Lee which could easily have been a poem about his love for Anna.
The Old City Jail is said to be one of the most haunted buildings in Charleston and there are plenty of reasons why. Thousands of people died at the jail. Probably the most famous hauntings is from Lavinia Fisher, so called the first woman serial killer, and her husband John who owned a hotel. They reportedly killed over 100 wealthy men and stole their valuables. Another famous “ghost” is Jacque Alexander Tardy is best known for piracy and killing people on several ships, blaming the chefs on the ships.
In the park near the Battery, called White Point, dozens of pirates were hung. Many left dangling from their nooses to deter other pirates from entering Charleston Harbor are rumored to haunt the park.
At the Edisto Presbyterian Church cemetery, Julia Legare is said to guard the family mausoleum. When she was a young girl in the mid 1800s, she fell very ill and the doctor declared her dead. Her family placed her in the mausoleum. 15 years later, when the family opened it to bury another relative, they found the cries that were heard after her death had been real. Julia was found at the door as if she had tried to escape. The mausoleum has been sealed again and again but the door is always found open. As if Julia refuses to be locked in again.
Central SC
Hauntings in Central South Carolina are almost as plentiful as those in the coastal region. Lost loves are a big part of the stories. Quaker Cemetery in Camden is an example. Agnes from Glascow, Scotland stowed aboard a ship and came to the US in search of her fiance. He had been sent to the US during the American Revolution to fight the colonist. She heard he was in Camden and followed him there. He had moved on, she fell gravely ill, died and was buried in the Quaker Cemetery. Her spirit is said to be wandering around the graveyard, searching for him.
The University of South Carolina has many stories. Some people report seeing lights on at night in the South Caroliniana Library where a former president, James McKissick, who is buried in front of the library, is said to be wandering around the building and reading the books. Students in one of the dorms reportedly have seen a female with long dark hair. She is thought to be the daughter of Dr. Black who was murdered by a group of soldiers. She avenged her father’s murder by poisoning the soldiers. Her spirit and those of the soldiers now reside in the building.
The Congaree River Bridge is apparently haunted by the restless spirt of a young girl sho stands by the side of the road trying to hitch a ride. She asks drivers to take her home. About half way there, she vanishes without a trace.
The State Museum is another place people report seeing a ghost. It is the ghost of a former mill worker, Bubba, who worked there when it was a textile mill. It is believed he died in an industrial accident. He is most often spotted on the fourth floor near the Old Country Store. Most of the time he is a real looking man wearing overalls but sometimes he is just boots and partial legs.
The Adluh Flour Mill is reported to be inhabited by a former longtime employee who died. It is believed that his soul is pinned to his old work cart which to this day has proved impossible to move.
The Keller Hall Bell Tower at Newberry College is where a love story is the source of the haunting. A female student reportedly jumped from the tower during the Civil War after finding out her Union soldier boyfriend had died in the war. Her ghost is spotted roaming the campus crying out for her beloved.
A search shows many, many more stories. Have fun looking!
In the Upstate of SC
Upstate South Carolina has it’s share of haunted places. Cry Baby Bridge is located in Anderson and is said to be haunted by the spirit of an infant who was thrown from the bridge by it’s mother. It is said that if you stop your car on this bridge at night and cut your car off, you can hear the baby cry and see it’s mom walking, looking for her child.
Hell’s Gate or Oakwood Cemetery is in Spartanburg and it reputed to cause issues with your cell phone during the day – battery draining, phone ringing when it is cut off, etc. At night it is said that you can see orbs, a white shrouding mist and hear the laughter or crying of children and hear disembodies voices. Photos have seemed to show small faces peeping from behind trees or headstones. Be careful if you go there at night because it has the reputation for being the site for grave robbing and Satanic rituals. These Satanic rituals have reportedly created a portal to hell so that evil spirts can mingle with the people buried there.
Greenville’s Tuberculosis Hospital in Greenville has been a tuberculosis hospital, an insane asylum, and a prisoner release site. It has since burned but they say you can hear voices, sobs, footsteps and other sounds here. According to legend, sometimes rain puddles turn red, supposedly the blood of the TB patients.
Woodruff is home to Seven Devil’s Bridge which can only be crossed on foot. Seven men were hung there are reputed to haunt the bridge at midnight. If you cross the bridge then, you will experience all manners of tragic experiences with most ending in screams of horror.
The Shamrock House, at the base of Sassafras Mountain, built in 1925, was a family dwelling. Now it is a guest house you can stay in. According to stories, a young woman who died there haunts the house. Lights turn on and off and doors open by themselves along with the ghostly footsteps and cold spots. This house has also been used as a backdrop of “The Long Journey Home, a Big Foot Movie” and “The Hills Have Thighs” movies.
Another haunted bridge in the upstate is Poinsett Bridge. It is one of the oldest bridges in the state and is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places. It is no longer used for vehicle traffic, but it used to be part of the main route from Columbia to Asheville. There are two stories about the hauntings – by a slave who was hung while the bridge was being built or that it was built on Indian land and the tribe haunts the bridge. Most of the reports about this bridge include strange lights which seem to float on the mountain, voices, screams and apparitions.
There are many other haunted sites in our state. Have fun checking them out!