Cities such as Charleston, Savannah, and St. Augustine obscure a colder truth beneath the warm Southern sun. These Southern cities are alive with the echoes of those who never left.
In these cities, the dead don’t rest. Instead, they are woven into the fabric of everyday life. Today, we’ll be telling the stories of one of the South’s spookiest cities: Charleston is also known as The Holy City due to its abundance of beautiful churches. But they are apparently not enough to ward off the ghostly infestations!
Despite the charm of its cobblestone streets, the port city of Charleston has had a long and turbulent history. From war to slavery to epidemics to pirate onslaughts, Charleston has seen it all.
There are numerous haunted places in Charleston, and it would be impossible to describe them all here. At the same time, numerous ghosts are plaguing Charleston, including that of America’s first female serial killer, Lavinia Fisher.
Mrs. Fisher and her husband, John, owned an inn called the Six Mile Wayfarer House. Together, they would poison and kill unsuspecting travelers who stayed at their inn. They wickedly enjoyed strangling them in their sleep.
Mrs. Fisher was later sentenced to prison at the Old Charleston Jail, where she spent the rest of her life. Before she was killed (she received the death penalty), she famously uttered her final words – “Tell the devil I’ll be seeing him in a moment.” Visitors to the now-shuttered jail say they have heard Lavinia’s voice muttering this exact phrase.
Charleston has a long and complicated history with piracy, with many pirates using the Holy City as an unholy base. Some of them stayed in a building locals refer to as “The Pirate House,” an unassuming double tenement home constructed in 1740 with brick and Bermuda stone for French merchant Alexander Peronneau. A large sign written “Pirate’s Courtyard” greets you as you enter.
As Charleston.com notes, there is no documented evidence that pirates frequented the abode, but locals have always known it as The Pirate House. Legends abound of the ghosts of pirates who come back to search for a hidden treasure buried in the basement.
The Pink House – Warren LeMay from Covington, KY, United States, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pink House is another of Charleston’s most haunted structures. Originally opened as a tavern and brothel, it is the oldest masonry building in the state and one of the oldest in the country. It eventually fell into disrepair before it was restored and turned into an art gallery. At one point, it even served as a law office!
The art gallery later closed, and the building was recently sold as a private residence to a New Yorker planning on retiring in Charleston. The place is plagued by the ghosts of its past; pirates frequented the brothel, spending their loot on women and alcohol.
One visitor accidentally captured an old lady glaring down from an upper window, who might just be one of the women of the night who used to work there.
Of course, a discussion on Charleston’s hauntedness would certainly be incomplete without mentioning the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon.
The Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon – Copyright US Ghost Adventures
In 1694, a mere 24 years after Charleston was founded, the Half-Moon Battery was constructed in what is now 122 East Bay Street as a battery to protect the port city from hurricanes and invasion. This fortified wall, built in the shape of a half moon, later served as a center for commerce, trade, and exchange.
In 1767, given the relative peace that Charleston was experiencing, the South Carolina General Assembly ratified the construction of a New Exchange and Customs House. The wall served as part of the newly constructed dungeon in the basement of the Exchange House. This dungeon housed many prisoners, including Blackbeard and other pirates who terrorized Charleston
It is also where prisoners accused of treason against the British Crown were kept during its fight for independence. One of its most famous political prisoners is Isaac Haynes, who refused to serve in the Continental Army and was later hanged for treason.
To this day, you can hear the stomping of boots and the clanking of chains coming from the basement of the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon.
I also recommend taking a ghost tour in Savannah and St. Augustine if you truly want to explore the haunted South.
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