SPIRITS on the GO!
Regional: Southeastern United States
South Carolina
Summer 2007
Mary N.
The Old South is a legend unto itself with the beauty of moss-draped trees, the azaleas, the sweet smell of the magnolias, and wonderful hospitality of its citizens. Woven into the fabric of this area are other legends that are talked about around a campfire, written about in books, and handed down through the generations. These are the stories of the ghosts that roam throughout this part of the country.
In the summer of 2007, Evie and I took a trip to South Carolina in pursuit of haunted locations and to visit the sites of well-known coastal Carolina ghost stories. The trip took us near Beaufort, into Charleston, up to the Grand Strand and then into Sumter and Lee counties. Even though I had lived in South Carolina for many years and was familiar with the some of the stories, in fact had visited some of the sites, I had never explored them as a paranormal investigator and was eager to do so.
Our first stop was an old church which stood in ruins. In its cemetery were members of some of South Carolina’s most prominent families. The church had a fascinating tale to tell....one of being burnt to the ground during the Revolutionary War only to be rebuilt and then destroyed again by fire during the Civil War. The walls alone now stand in silent tribute to those buried on its grounds. We took a number of pictures hoping to catch a glimpse of a ghostly parishioner or soldier who was caught in time, but unfortunately, there was nothing unusual in our photographs.
Next on our agenda was a trip to Charleston. We spent a little time in a small, reputedly haunted Confederate cemetery in the Mount Pleasant area..Here I did have a sensation that we were being observed. We visited a plantation said to be haunted by the young son of a former owner who killed himself on the staircase of the mansion. He is buried in a small garden just below the house. Unfortunately the mosquitos were so bad that we were not able to explore it further. A few pictures did reveal orbs that were most likely only dust.
While in Charleston, we took two evening ghost tours, one of which was especially good. The guide named Rebel Sinclair was quite gifted in telling the haunted history of Charleston and some of its citizens who were buried in church cemeteries in the center of the city. She pointed out the final resting place of a young woman whose spirit is often seen by passers by at night. We entered some of the cemeteries and were allowed to take pictures. One or two of pictures taken by Evie showed some unexplained phenomena. The second tour was to the old jail built in the very early 1800s. It was just outside this jail that Evie clearly saw an orb which she was able to capture in a photograph.
Leaving Charleston we headed up Hwy 17 to the Grand Strand to explore further. We stopped at Pawley’s Island, the site of the legendary Gray Man who has warned the inhabitants of impending hurricanes for well over 150 years. It was the perfect day for it as there was a hurricane passing by out in the Atlantic which gave the sky a very threatening appearance, making it seem that at any time we would see him walking down the beach attempting to convince the residents to get out of harm’s way.
Our next stop was to visit the grave of Alice of Murrell's Inlet, another of the well-known ghost stories. The legend has it that Alice was in love with a young man beneath her social class or so said her brother, a local physician. In order to stop this relationship, Alice was sent to a boarding school in another part of the state. Through a bit of subterfuge, she had managed to extend an invitation to the young man to visit her and to accompany her to a dance. He gave her a ring as a token of his love, a ring that she wore on a chain around her neck. Tragically Alice became very ill and was sent home for her physician brother to tend her. It was then that he noticed the ring she wore, and in a rage, yanked it from her neck and threw it far into the gardens surrounding the house. Shortly afterward, Alice died. She was buried in the very dress that she was to have worn to the dance. Originally said to have been buried on the grounds of the house called the Hermitage (the house has since been relocated), sbe is now buried in the churchyard of All Saints Waccamaw Episcopal Church. Her stone is flat, containing only the name "Alice." The grave had single roses laid on it as well as coins in memory of Alice. (Legend also has it that if one walks around the grave 3 times backwards, that his/her wedding ring will be tugged)
Traveling up to Myrtle Beach, we went to Barefoot Landing which has an entertaining show called Legendsof the Grand Strand, that recounts 4 ghost tales of Carolina: the pirates, Alice, the Gray Man, and the lowcountry legend of the Boo Hag, a horrible creature who sucks the breath from an unsuspecting sleeping victim and who can enter that person. To ward her off, one must either put a broom at the end of the bed or a sieve over the keyhole, the theory being that she must stop to count the straws in the broom or the holes in the sieve before she can approach her victim. This keeps her busy until dawn and then she disappears and the intended victim is safe. It was a short show, but well-done. I would recommend it if in the area.
Next stop was Sumter, South Carolina. For the remaining 3 days of our trip, we visited many old cemeteries throughout Sumter and Lee counties. Two stood out in our experiences: the Church of the Holy Cross (Episcopal) in Statesburg on Hwy 261 where Joel Poinsett (for whom the poinsettia is named) is buried and Salem Black Rive Presbyterian Church (also known as the Brick Church) cemetery on Hwy 257 in Mayesville. Just next to Poinsett's grave, we could smell the distinctive odor of cloves which was not detected anywhere else in the cemetery. At the Brick Church, there were several unexplainable things that happened. There have been reports of white forms moving through the cemetery late at night. When we got there it was late afternoon. When we tried the gate at the cemetery entrance, we found that the latch had been painted shut. Try as we might, we could not get it to budge. Evie decided to give it one last try, and it opened as easily and as smoothly as it would have the day it was installed. As we went inside, we walked to the right. As we did so there was the unmistakeable smell of fudge cooking! This church is not near any homes and stands alone in a remote area. The smell stayed near the grave of a young man. Had that been his way of trying to communicate with us? Had that been a favorite of his? When we were ready to leave, we tried to close and latch the gate again. Now the gate latch refused to work properly and even with the two of us pulling on it , we could not get it to latch. Unwillingly to just leave it open, Evie had a cord in her trunk that we securely tied around it to keep it shut. Although it was drizzling rain. the next day we went back to check on it, only to find the gate open with the cord dangling from it. Both of us got had a feeling that we did not want to go any closer, let alone back into the graveyard, and so left. If you are in this area, this is worth a visit. (by the way, the tombstones did seem to have a substance that made some of them "glow" a bit in the evening, which may account for the white "figures" late at night seen moving through the graves).
One last urban legend that we did check out, was the Wateree Bridge between Sumter and Columbia. The story is of a young girl often seen hitch-hiking who is picked up, only to disappear from the car of the person who stops to give her a ride.
Unless you are a paranormal investigator, a vacation to haunted locations and cemeteries may seem a bit bizarre, but those of us in this field understand what a fantastic adventure it can be! Spend some time off the beaten path and see what you can find..the trip will be well worth it.
Savannah Sept. 08
By: Jeanne Davis
Visiting Savannah is a must on any paranormal investigator's list of things to do. The city claims to be one of the most haunted cities in America, and that very well may be true. The number of ghost tours and other supposedly haunted locations are enough to keep any ghost enthusiast busy.
My friends and I visited the famous Pirate's House restaurant for lunch, and ended up on an impromptu ghost hunt. We had lunch in one of the many dining rooms decorated with pages from Robert Louis Stevenson's pirate novel "Treasure Island". Then we joined our pirate guide for a tour of the place, and some pirate stories. The stories soon turned to ghosts when my friend Scott felt a presence in one of the rooms. Our guide pulled out some dowsing rods and a digital recorder. She told us that she was a wanna-be ghost hunter. We started asking some questions. The rods were responding, and Scott could feel a male presence, but we heard nothing on our recording. Then our guide showed us a stairway down to the cellar. There are stories about tunnels under the Pirate's House that lead to the river, and that unsuspecting patrons would be lead down to the cellar and kidnapped on pirate ships. She said that customers couldn't go into the cellar, so she took Scott's video camera down there, and taped it for us. (we loved her) We continued through the rest of the dining rooms and heard many other stories about pirates and hauntings. It was a great time, and we thank Amber the pirate for making it so.
That night, we went on a ghost tour of the Sorrel-Weed house. The house was built in the 1830's and owned by Francis Sorrel. Famous visitors included General Robert E. Lee, and General W.T. Sherman.
In 2005, the Sci Fi program "Ghost Hunters" investigated the site. I had seen the episode right before the trip. Our guide told us about some of the "Ghost Hunters" findings along the way.
The tour started in the main house, where we were told that Francis Sorrel's wife had killed herself by jumping from a balcony. The story goes that she found out that Francis was having an affair with a slave girl that lived in the carriage house.
We continued into the basement, and the guide pointed out a place on the wall where the "Ghost Hunters" had found handprints with their thermal camera. Next, we went out into the courtyard where the wife had died from her fall.
The tour continued into the carriage house, where we heard the rest of the story of the slave girl. She was found hanging from the rafters on the second floor. It was called a suicide, but there were rumors that it was murder. We went upstairs to the room, and our guide played us a recording of an EVP that the "Ghost Hunters" show had got in there. It was eerie. It sounded like a woman screaming for help. While in the room, my friend Scott felt a cold spot. I took pictures, and got one with a bright orb in the rafters.
After visiting the house, our tour continued out into Madison Square, where we heard stories of Civil War ghosts. It finished outside the Colonial Cemetery with the story of the "Man-Beast" that haunts the cemetery. It was a great tour, and we'd recommend it to our ghost hunting friends.
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