Nicholas A. McGirr's Blog, page 4
November 22, 2019
Pinckney Mansion Site
I discovered the Pinckney Mansion site while looking for more locations to investigate on my Interactive Ghost Hunting Experience Tours in downtown Charleston. It was completely by chance that my EMF detector started showing signs of paranormal activity while standing in the middle of the parking lot once known as 235 East Bay Street.
Built in 1746 and burned by the great fire of 1861, this site is chock full of paranormal activity and rightfully so. The home belonged to Charles and Eliza Pinckney and was an absolute marvel for the 1740’s neighborhoods being built in Charleston. Forget the Jones’s, keeping up with the Pinckneys was hard enough.
[image error]Original photo of Pinckney Mansion ruins by George N. Barnard
The remains from the Pinckney Mansion were eventually torn down after fire damage. The land eventually turned into an Irish Pub called Molly Darcy’s, but today, the address sits as a parking lot. There are plans to turn the lot into a hotel which could make for a very haunted stay, but the historians of Charleston are afraid that historical artifacts could be forever lost if the parking lot is too be dug up and accommodated to favor the new hotel landscape. An archaeological dig before the hotel is raised can bring new data to slave quarters, the gardens as well as artifacts that might bring light to the architecture of this very important era in American history.
[image error]Photo from the National Archive Records Group found on http://www.worthpoint.com
My fears are joint with historians and with good intent. Keep reading.
A local told me a story about the land after researching the readings from my EMF detector. The story said that another local witnessed a full-body apparition of a woman in period dress and he was able to circle her in full view. He literally walked around the full apparition of a woman in a dress!
Granted, Charleston is full of ghost stories, but rightfully so. I believe in the story and with evidence.
One of the stops on my Interactive Ghost Hunting Experiences is the address of the Pinckney Mansion. With each visit, I’m able to acquire new evidence using all the ghost hunting tools on my tours. I’ve visited the site several times without a tour group and was still able to capture EMF readings in different areas of the parking lot. The fact that I cannot recreate the same type of pulses on any given night or day tells me that the spirit activity moves around, but stays on site.
I’ve even tested this theory. There are wires and other street light cables around the site and even on the wall of the front of the site that faces East Bay Street. There are absolutely no signals or pulses from the EMF detector when placed on or around the wiring!
I will also say that the EMF detector erratic pulses also emulate a light just outside one of the nearby buildings. When holding up the EMF detector so that both the light and EMF detector are in view, the two resemble the same erratic pattern of pulses. I’ve only seen this happen once thus far but will be tested on all future tours.
Using the spirit box, both the “Ghost Detector” app and the physical spirit box, I, along with ghost hunting tour groups have captured different phrases. The term “we will” has occurred several times within one tour. Even though I couldn’t find a relative piece of history with this phrase, I found it interesting nonetheless that it revealed itself to two different ghost hunters on the same night.
Later, on one of my tours, the name “Lucas” came through. The interesting thing about this name is that Eliza Pinckney’s maiden name was “Lucas”. I was standing near St. Philip’s Church when this name came through, so of course, I had to research. Eliza Lucas Pinckney isn’t buried in St. Philip’s Church Cemetery. She’s buried in Philadelphia, PA., but her husband Charles is buried at St. Philip’s, but his name has no relation to Lucas.
Why the significance with Eliza Lucas Pinckney you might be asking? Eliza is the mother of Charleston’s indigo crop which was the saving Grace after rice plantations began their decline.
[image error]Eliza Lucas Pinckney, photo found on the National Park Service website.
Eliza was also the mother of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, one of the signers of our U.S. Constitution. I would say that Eliza is a large part of the history of South Carolina and finding the site of her former home using an EMF detector is quite the find.
Eliza has done more than just mother one of our founding fathers and begin our indigo crops. She was also the international businesswoman for insuring her indigo crops would help South Carolina by exporting it to various locations in Europe. You can read more about Eliza’s life on the National Park Service website. She’s absolutely fascinating.
[image error]Zoomed copy of Page 4 of the U.S. Constitution showing Charles Cotesworth Pinckney’s signature. Digital copy found on http://www.constitutionday.com
As for the SITC Ghost Hunting Experiences, I will listen intently to each and every tour to listen for any EVP’s (Electronic Voice Phenomenon). This site will change again in the future and I’m hoping that the new construction will not disrupt any of the paranormal activity. As most of you already know, construction can either enhance or destroy this type of evidence.
An archaeological dig can also bring about new evidence and data that will tell us more about the Pinckneys’ life as well as the architecture about this unfortunate building that housed so much historical significance. You can read more about the future of the Pinckney Mansion site on the Post & Courier website.
If you’d like to support this blog/podcast, you can always to keep me fueled and ready for more investigations. Your contributions to my craft are always appreciated!
Works Cited
Behre, Robert. “One of Charleston’s most intriguing archaeological sites could be lost forever.” 16 July 2018. Post & Courier. https://www.postandcourier.com/news/one-of-charleston-s-most-intriguing-archaeological-sites-could-be/article_835fd8dc-7f99-11e8-acb1-0b1ca7fa47f1.html. 19 November 2019.
National Archives Records Group. Charleston: Worthpoint, n.d. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/south-carolina-history-charleston-1811125761.
National Park Service. “Eliza Lucas Pinckney.” 22 August 2019. National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/chpi/learn/historyculture/eliza-lucas-pinckney.htm. 19 November 2019.
“U.S. Constitution.” Page 4. n.d. https://www.constitutionday.com/the-constitution.html.
October 23, 2019
Dock Street Theatre
With a long history of changing businesses and fires, the Dock Street Theatre is known as the first building to be used for entertaining plays in the United States. However, the building we now know as the Dock Street Theatre is the third business to call this plot of land home.
Its original building was the Dock Street Theatre named after Dock Street where it is located. Dock Street later became Queen Street, but the name Dock Street stuck.
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After a fire in 1740, the building was rebuilt into Planters Hotel, which is when the first haunting story hails.
Lady of the Night
Nettie, a lady of the night, is often seen wearing a red dress near the second floor. Yes, an actual apparition. Her story goes a little something like this:
Nettie used to work at St. Philips Church just down the road from the hotel. At the age of 25, she was not at an ideal age for marriage. Watching the men enter the hotel for their nightly pleasures, Nettie wondered if she, at the age of 25 was still desirable. She was said to pretty, just not at marrying age. She had passed her prime.
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Nettie’s dream was to become part of Charleston’s high society. Descending from a poor upbringing, this made things difficult to become part of the desire, not to mention, at the age of 25, she was well past marrying age.
Soon, after watching all the prominent people of Charleston enter the Planters Hotel, she sought employment as a prostitute at the hotel. After appearing in a red dress, Nettie was one of the most desired women of the hotel. Although still unhappy she often stared at St. Philips Church, longing to go back from the second-floor wrought-iron balcony.
It is said that during one of these daydreams on the balcony, that lightning struck the wrought iron Nettie was leaning on and it killed her instantly. It is also said that Nettie died during an abortion. Urban legends can be tricky that way.
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The funny thing about this story is that Nettie is said to be seen wearing her red dress on the second floor in an almost full apparition. Notice the “almost”. She is seen from the knees up. Why? During the reconstruction of the hotel back into a theater, the second floor was raised one foot and therefore it is said that Nettie’s spirit is walking on the original flooring of the Planters Hotel. Interesting, right?
What’s with the Booths and Theaters?
The other said spirit to be haunting Dock Street Theatre is that of Junius Booth, the father of John Wilkes Booth. Little history lesson: John Wilkes Booth was the assassin of our 16th President Abraham Lincoln. The irony here is that Lincoln was shot in a theater.
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Back to Junius…
Junius didn’t die in the theater which is what makes this story so interesting. He was one of the most famous actors that came out of Dock Street Theater and his apparition is seen wearing period garb from the early 1800s.
My Self-Guided Tour
Although there is no physical proof of these two apparitions, I can see where odd feelings and the eerie nature of the facade of the building can give these tales some merit.
I’ve received EMF readings (or electromagnetic field) when around this building, but have yet to capture any apparitions or spirits in my pictures. Who knows, maybe you can analyze the photos in this post and tell me if you see anything?
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While taking a self-guided tour of the theater, I found myself tip-toeing around while snapping photos and letting my EMF detector tell me which direction to take. The EMF detector spiked from time to time, but I was unable to recreate any specific incident of spikes which tells me something (or someone!) was with me. The theater is beautiful and hopefully soon, I’ll have an opportunity to see a show and catch a few spirits along the way.
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I found my way to the courtyard which is an excellent relaxing garden area with a fountain. The internal waiting area also contains a bar, where I could feel the nostalgia just pouring off the furniture and paintings on the walls. If you get the chance during your stay in Charleston, be sure to check out this self-guided tour. It’s completely at your own pace and well, you could search for spirit activity!
With the open self-guided tours of Dock Street Theatre, I plan on visiting as often as I can with different pieces of equipment from my ghost hunting tours. Hopefully, one day, I will catch evidence myself either through the spirit box, photographs or some cold spots. If you happen to capture any evidence before I do, please feel free to leave in the comments below. I would love to hear your story.
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Pirate Booty Legend
It is said that the Pirate House, located just one block away from the Dock Street Theater used to house pirates, yes, including Blackbeard himself when pirates were in town. Hence, the title of Pirate House.
Allegedly, there was an underground tunnel leading from the Pirate House into Dock Street Theater for pirates to do dealings and enjoy a show. There are stories that say that Blackbeard hid his treasure in that tunnel before it was filled in after the last renovation of the theater. Now, I’m sure that this is a grapevine urban legend simply because other stories will claim that Blackbeard never set foot on Charleston soil, merely stayed upon his ship in one of our harbors. Who’s to say which is true, but who doesn’t love a good pirate treasure story?
Join Me on a Ghost Hunt!
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If you’d love to hear this story and more about haunted Charleston locations, join me for my Interactive Ghost Hunting Experience with the same name, Stories in the Cemetery. It’s October and well, you should be doing something a bit Halloween-ish, shouldn’t you? I’ll see you soon on one of my tours around this amazing city! Click below to check the dates and times of your tickets.
September 28, 2019
Philadelphia Alley
History
Philadelphia Alley, named after the help from Philadelphia after the fires of 1810, has had many names. Along with “Philadelphia Alley”, it was also known as “Dueler’s Alley” and originally named “Cow Alley” because it mainly held livestock.
This post will focus on why it was called “Dueler’s Alley”. It’s the name that also gives the alley a famous urban legend haunting. Which, of course, is the purpose behind my investigation.
Handprints in the Bricks
There are a few unique attributes to the alley that contribute to its spookiness. Search hard enough in the laid bricks and you’ll find the handprints and fingerprints of the slave children who made those bricks. These prints usually came from the child who was given the unruly job of turning the sundried bricks while they hardened.
Bricks like these can be found all over the Charleston area including Drayton Hall and Boone Hall Plantation. I was fortunate enough to stumble upon these bricks while exploring Philadelphia Alley. They’re not difficult to find.
[image error]A full handprint in brick on Philadelphia Alley. Photo taken by Nicholas McGirr
[image error]Partial palm print and fingerprints in brick on Philadelphia Alley. Photo taken by Nicholas McGirr
Entry to St.Philip’s Church Graveyard
During the times where dueling was a way to settle differences, an entryway to St. Philip’s Church was provided for easy disposal of the losing party of the duel. How convenient. So, instead of waiting for an ambulance and a time of death report to come through, the townsfolk simply picked up the loser and took him to his grave.
[image error]Photo taken by Nicholas McGirr
The Whistler
So, now comes to our urban legend slash haunting of Dueler’s Alley. It is said that Dr. Joseph Brown Ladd, a known whistler, can be heard while walking through the alley. During my early morning walk through the alley, the only whistling I heard came from the early morning birds nearby and there were quite a few of them. There are also claims of heard gunshots while walking through the alley at night.
Now, Dr. Ladd was only in town after being shamed in his own hometown in Rhode Island. He was courting a young woman that he was intending on marrying, but his fellow townsman felt that he was only after the young lady’s family funds that she inherited after her parents had passed away.
So, to prove his lack of cowardice to establish his practice, he fled his hometown and came to Charleston, SC. Upon his arrival, he immediately became friends with Ralph Isaacs, who saved Ladd from a robbery and a group of conmen. This friendship contributes to the other party of the duel later to come.
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However, as Dr. Ladd’s popularity grew, the friendship with Isaacs began to dissipate and Isaacs began to resent his friendship with Dr. Ladd.
After a showing of a Shakespearean play, Isaacs and the doctor began to argue about one of the actresses which quickly turned into an argument about Dr. Ladd’s love, Amanda, back in Rhode Island. After a few slandering words (some of even went public in a local paper), a duel was set up for them in Dueler’s Alley.
The duel would follow the rules of standard dueling and Dr. Ladd had no intention of shooting his friend. However, Isaacs had a different plan.
Although Ladd’s shot was intentional to the side of his opponent and friend, whereas Isaacs made a direct hit into Ladd. He was forced to retreat back home.
59 Church St.
Dr. Joseph Brown Ladd was living at 59 Church Street where he retreated after his soon to be famous duel with Ralph Isaacs. So, no, he was not taken through the entryway to his grave to St. Philip’s Church. He was aided to the second floor of his home where he spent his last ten days suffering from the gunshot from Isaacs.
[image error]59 Church Street, home of Dr. Joseph Brown Ladd
The Readings
As for my investigation of the Ladd/Isaacs duel, I found little evidence, but some evidence is better than no evidence! I researched this story during the daylight hours. Hopefully, with my upcoming “Stories in the Cemetery” Interactive Ghost Hunting Tours (hosted by Charleston Cavalier Tours) I’ll find more substantial evidence.
There were spiked EMF (electro-magnetic field) readings while in the middle of the alley. The morning was quiet aside from the whistling birds (or was it Dr. Ladd?) and the EMF detector spiked in several areas multiple times. I spent over an hour in the alley looking for light posts and other electrical entities that might deter an accurate reading but could find none. The EMF readings were true while I stood in the middle of the alleyway with nothing in arms’ reach.
I also had a spike on the EMF when I placed the device near this sign that is posted on the home at 59 Church Street:
[image error]Spiked EMF readings on the home at 59 Church St. Photo taken by Nicholas McGirr
Now, I haven’t researched Thomas Rose yet, but as my investigations continue, I’m sure I will come back to this location for multiple investigations.
On my future Interactive Ghost Hunting tours with the tourists that come through Charleston, I will keep a sharp ear for the whistling and gunshot claims that roll through this alley. All tours will be recorded for the tourists to have access to later and it is through these recordings that I hope to stumble across and verify the claims of hearing the Whistler and/or the Gunshots that mortally wounded Dr. Joseph Brown Ladd.
[image error]Rustic metal sign found in Philadelphia Alley. Photo taken by Nicholas McGirr
Stories in the Cemetery Interactive Ghost Hunting Tour in Downtown Charleston
To hear the story of Dueler’s Alley and other haunting tales around downtown Charleston, be sure to sign up for my email updates and follow this blog. To visit the website to purchase tickets for my upcoming tours, please click: http://www.charlestoncavaliertours.com. I can’t wait to investigate haunted locations with you!
August 3, 2019
Charleston’s Old Jail
With three different trips to Charleston’s Old Jail, the evidence is substantial to say it is truly haunted.
The Old Charleston Jail is the final home to Lavinia and John Fisher. Lavinia was known as America’s first serial killer and it is questionable whether her husband, John, was involved with the murders she was charged with.
If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know that we were using apps for smartphones to aid in our investigations. Our third and final trip to the old jail, we used a K-II EMF reader, a voice recorder as well as an actual spirit box. With my team in tow, we each had a device we were in charge of and the results almost matched what we caught with the smartphone apps.
To elaborate, an EMF reader detects an electromagnetic field near a specific area. We tested the reader around our home with a spike around surge protectors with multiple electronics plugged in. The spirit box uses radio waves to randomly spit out words as it scans through each individual radio signal. The voice recorder was so we could record any words that came out of the spirit box by saying them out loud.
The front gates of the old jail gave us plenty of words with the smartphone app along with some strong EMF signals. One of the words that came through the app was “chair” and after some research, I found that there is an old wheelchair inside the jail that is said to be haunted all on its own. Feel free to check out the “Links” section below to watch a YouTube video that discusses this chair.
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Also, during the first and second visits, quite a few names came through the app. It wasn’t something we were expecting, but there was a definitive pattern.
Please keep in mind that we did not take the interior tour, all three of these visits were simply by walking around the building. We did not want to be influenced by tourist attractions that speak of the legends, we wanted to remain in the dark.
With our last and final trip using everything but our smartphones, we found a few hot spots with our EMF reader where one of the team members felt dizzy and a bit disoriented. We tested this by removing ourselves from that area and then returning to the exact area. I also wanted to note that is was approximately 50 feet away from the building, in the parking area. The EMF spiked and remained there until we walked away leaving one of my team members feeling disoriented. Here’s a pic of the EMF detector:
[image error]EMF Detector spiking near the back steps of the Old Charleston Jail.
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Another hot spot with the EMF reader was at the bottom of the stairs that sits behind the building. I climbed the stairs to catch a stronger signal, but it was only at the bottom of the stairs where the meter spiked. No disorientation from any team member occurred.
As for the spirit box, over 40 phrases came through our hour-long walk around the building. Phrases like “It’s an accident”, “July 20th”, and “Free the cannon”. I was unable to find a connection to any of these phrases, but “July 20th” sticks out in my mind and I plan on investigating further in the downtown Charleston library where the records are kept from all inmates who entered and served time in the old jail. Perhaps a second post/podcast episode will be in order with my findings.
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One other phrase stands out; “Why John?” came through about 20 minutes into our tour. This could refer to the questionable involvement of John Fisher, (Lavinia’s husband) with the murders he was charged with. It is said that John Fisher before his death wanted to address the public and apologize for any wrongdoings he may have caused. Lavinia, on the other hand, did nothing of the sort.
Names that came through the spirit box app: “Kennedy”, “James”, and “Madison”. Notice how all could be first or last names.
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Names that came through the physical spirit box: “Why John?”, “Father Morgan” and “South Carolina”. I mention “South Carolina” here only because that’s five syllables that were able to come through during a speedy search of radio signals by the device.
Overall, the disorientation of team members, the spikes of EMF outside the building and the terms that came through the spirit box(es), I can conclude that there is something residual staying at the Old Charleston Jail. With the other phrases that came through, I can also conclude that someone or many someones are trying to clear up any urban legends that are surrounding the mystique of the long-standing building.
There are plenty of resources I will need to investigate before making a second post about the Old Charleston Jail,. As for now, if you have any connections to the aforementioned terms, please reach out to me. I would love to hear your take on the Old Charleston Jail and its mysteries.
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RESOURCES and LINKS
Listen to the Podcast episode on the Old Charleston Jail here:
https://nicholasmcgirr.files.wordpress.com/2019/08/e11-old-charleston-jail-20294aba172e5.m4a
You can find my podcast, “Stories in the Cemetery” on all major podcatchers. Reviews on Apple podcasts are greatly appreciated.
June 6, 2019
USS Yorktown Tour
Welcome first time visitors and followers! I’m Nicholas McGirr, Author of the Afterlife and you’ve landed on another blog post of haunted stuff. This blog (and podcast) is intended to entertain you with my research on haunted locations for inspiring my fiction works. I hope you enjoy another adventure with me! Read on for this week’s post on Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
Memorial Day Weekend
Visiting Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant, SC with my daughter on Memorial Day weekend turned into not just a history lesson for her, but also a haunting search for both of us.
Patriot’s Point is the home of the USS Laffey Destroyer, the USS Clamagore Submarine and the “Fighting Lady” herself, the USS Yorktown Aircraft Carrier. We thought Memorial Day weekend would be a perfect time for some exploration on all three vessels.


Spirit Box App, “Ghost Detector”
With this tour, we continued to use the “Ghost Detector” app since we knew that the weekend would pack in tourists. The “Ghost Detector” app, if you haven’t been following this blog, gives off white noise for spirit activity to communicate with the living. It records each word or phrase that comes through and allows me time to research it later without having to know all the history on front side of the investigation.
Please note that the app “Ghost Detector” is intended more for party games and hoaxes. However, the app does give off white noise which, in my earlier tours of alleged haunted locations, I was able to find the historical relations to many words and/or phrases provided by the app.
Previous Tours
Our tour was not guided, and we were able to freely roam all three vessels at our leisure. Some day in the future, I will take a ghost tour with Bruce Orr, author of “Ghosts in the USS Yorktown”. Like most tours, I do the heavy research after the tour is complete. Along with my research for the USS Yorktown, I read Orr’s book and it’s not one to overlook.
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The team of TAPS, the host of the TV Series, Ghost Hunters, also did an investigation on the USS Yorktown. TAPS was able to find an apparition as well as a shadow figure in their investigation. None of the activity they encountered was found to be harmful. In fact, most of the TAPS team experience was based on footsteps pacing on overhead catwalks. At one point in the show, part of the team set up a shadow box light, which makes an alarm sound when a beam of light is broken. Although they did not have evidence on camera, the light box did make the alarm sound once the team left the area. It can be heard in the background.
Our Tour
As for our tour and investigation, we did not encounter any eerie feelings, see shadowy figures out of the corner of our eyesight, or feel any cold spots. In fact, like the TAPS team, we used an EMF detector (electromagnetic field) to no avail.
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In truth, the Ghost Detector spirit box app seemed random as well. The words and phrases we received had no relevance in my research. The app did capture quite a few names with the closest relation of “Pierce” on the app, we found the dog tags of “Jesse James Pearson”.
With all the words/phrases grouped together, I was able to point out that a small group of words made sense and we’ve never seen them come through before. Those words/phrases were:
Preacher
Pray
Preacher (again)
Holy
God
Pray (again)
Keep in mind, that there were two phones running the Ghost Detector app. The above list is a conglomeration from all words/phrases taken from both devices.
It makes complete sense that the men who worked these vessels were no doubt men of faith and the list above came through the app on both devices.



Granted, this was the only bit of evidence I could find with the hauntings of the USS Yorktown, a very well-known haunt in the Charleston, SC area. I may one day do a full investigation of the ship and stay overnight.
If in the future, I decide to stay overnight on the USS Yorktown, I will report any findings of footsteps, apparitions and other supernatural activity. I will not provoke and try to duplicate any prior investigation. Experiences should be just that, an experience.
For now, I’m convinced that the haunting claims on the ship are indeed true and in the words of Mac Burdette, the director of Patriots Point: “They’re our guys!”
While exploring all the aircraft on the ship, I happened to notice a sign pointing off to an island in the distance:


I’m taking this as a “sign” of a future tour/investigation!
Not all hauntings have to be demonic or dark in nature. The claims on the USS Yorktown have been of fully uniformed men working the ship as if nothing’s changed for them. These are men who died for our freedoms, fought for the life we have today. We might be related to them and we may never have met them or known them personally, but they’re our guys. No one to fear.
To listen to the podcast episode from Stories in the Cemetery: visit here!
Works mentioned in this post for reference:
Ghost Hunters, SE 8 EP 10. (2012, May 2). Haunted by Heroes.
Orr, B. (2012 ). Ghosts of the USS Yorktown: The Phantoms of Patriots Point. Charleston: Haunted America.
May 22, 2019
Hauntings at Fort Fremont Preserve
Welcome first time visitors and followers! I’m Nicholas McGirr, Author of the Afterlife and you’ve landed on another blog post of haunted stuff. This blog (and podcast) is intended to entertain you with my research on haunted locations for inspiring my fiction works. I hope you enjoy another adventure with me! Read on for this week’s post on Fort Fremont Preserve in Beaufort, South Carolina.
Finding the location
Finding another location to investigate after my time at Old Sheldon Church was a fairly easy decision. Looking through online haunting catalogs (I love shopping for new haunts!), I found little information about the Fort Fremont Preserve, even though it is listed as one of the hauntings in Beaufort, South Carolina.
With this investigation, I was accompanied by April (my wife) and a third person to help manage the use of equipment while I handled Byron, my dappled dachshund.
The beach is surreal
It was late afternoon when we arrived. Our GPS didn’t take us to the front gates of the Preserve and we had to walk around the gated area through a beach to find a way in. There was a much easier way to enter the preserve, but we found it even more interesting to have to pass through a very small segregated beach area. There was no one on the beach, but the waves crashing in were calming. The beach made the entire area feel surreal and the eerie factor crept up on us as we kept exploring.
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Using a Spirit Box app
Like our visit to Old Sheldon Church, I wanted to explore the possibilities of a Spirit Box App. A spirit box uses radio frequencies or white noise (static) to allow spirits to communicate. If you’ve watched ghost hunting television shows, it’s the static box that spits out words.
The app we chose is called “Ghost Detector”, and it was chosen for the cheesey name. My thought behind the app is that it is intended for party games or hoaxes on friends. Nonetheless, it provides white noise and will keep a tally of words it thinks come through with the abled frequency settings.
Without having a psychic with me, or Psychic himself from my previous investigations, I found that I needed words or phrases to investigate through research. The “Ghost Detector” app was readily available, fun, and well, free.
I wasn’t sure what was going to come out of using the app, but I did notice that in both locations, Old Sheldon Church and Fort Fremont Preserve, that the words came through much quicker than when I tested the app in my home.
A brief history of Fort Fremont
This fort was one of six forts intended for the Spanish-American War. It was built in 1889 and then abandoned by 1910. It housed three disappearing canons, two of which were given to France during WWI and the other sent to New Jersey. To date, it is known that all three canons were scrapped.
This fort was never under attack nor was it used in the Spanish-American War. It housed approximately 110 soldiers which took care of the facilities that included a commissary, a bakery, a hospital and many other buildings. Overall, the entire fort area covered more than seventy acres of land. All to protect Beaufort from threats of the Spanish-American War.
The Haunted Claims
There are many haunting claims of this area including those of Land’s End which sits where the original fort would have extended.
It is said that there was a fight on the Fort Fremont grounds between soldiers and local African-Americans over moonshine. All survived but one: Pvt. Frank J. Quigley. It is also said that this soldier had intimate relations with a local’s wife and that’s how he died. Who’s to say? None of us were there.
This leads to the haunting of Land’s End Light, where it is said that if you drive to the end of the road near the beach that you will see a lantern swinging. Locals claim it is Pvt. Quigley.
Other claims on the Fort Fremont Preserve are of EVP’s (electronic voice phenomenon) or of smoky images that seem like spirits.
One YouTube video shows a couple investigating with a Spirit Box app similar to the one I used. The words that came through their app were much different than that of what came through my phone. They had words like “chemical”, “No one”, “Spirit”, “Charles” and “This is one”. Towards the end of the video the woman claims that the spirit box answered her questions by using her name.
All of these stories were just creepy enough for me to want to visit for myself.
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Headaches
Upon the arrival while my team and I walking through the beach area, I began to get a migraine. I’ve had a history of migraines, but hadn’t had one in quite some time, I pushed on so I could discover the grounds.
As I did, the headache grew stronger as I got closer to the fort until finally I had to come to a stop once we reached the front of the fort with the cavernous openings. I had to sit down, my eye was watering to the point I couldn’t see and I had sweat pouring down my brow and neck.
My team checked on me as I sat down. Byron stayed with me as April took a few photos and the Spirit Box app was running picking up a few words before I decided I couldn’t handle the headache any longer.
April had to help me to the car since the migraine behind my eye was causing it to strain and water profusely. Once we reached the car, the headache eased slowly, my eye stopped watering and the sweating seemed to come to an end. After 20 minutes, I was able to drive us home.
I tell you about my migraine due to a connection in my research. Keep reading…
Spirit Box Findings
Now we come to the cheesey Spirit Box, “Ghost Detector” and the words it gave me for research. I was able to connect the history of the Fort Fremont area with six out of the nine words it recorded. Not too shabby for a free app.
[image error]
The only three words not connected to this area: “January”, “Warrior” and “Tea”. But let’s work backwards on this list to see the connections.
Three: I connected this term to the three canons that were stationed at the fort.
Friends: There is an organization called “Friends of Fort Fremont” that preserves the land and educates on the history of Fort Fremont. Also, notice there are “three” F’s in their title.
Soldiers: This one is pretty obvious as there were over 100 soldiers stationed at Fort Fremont.
Now, I’m going to tie a story together for the words, “Raid”, “Weak” and “Rocks”.
Going further into the history of this land, it is known that Harriet Tubman led a raid of Col. Montgomery’s men to the Combahee River (just across from Rock Creek) to weaken the rebel’s Army camp and freed over 700 slaves in June of 1863.
[image error]Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman, pgs 85-6
The area that Harriet Tubman started this raid was near the grounds where Fort Fremont currently stands. I looked into the maps of these areas to show where the Combahee River and Rock Creek are in relation to Fort Fremont. You can see Fort Fremont on the bottom left of the map, Combahee River with the Red pin and Rock Creek in the very top right corner.
[image error]Google Map of Fort Fremont, Combahee River and Rock Creek
Dear Reader, I would love to be convinced that the legendary Harriet Tubman came through on a free app used for a game. But I needed more clues.
I found that Tubman suffered from migraines and seizures throughout her life due to a riot that happened when she was just a girl. These migraines and seizures were spiritual for her as she grew closer to her religious values.
Final Conclusion
My overall conclusion is that similar to Litchfield Plantation. I went in expecting one haunting, but through research was able to dig up a whole other history. This experience for me went further than just a history lesson, it became personal. The migraine I felt during this investigation was intense and I felt that it had something to do with the property at Fort Fremont.
I want to know your thoughts on the matter:
Do you feel that deeper histories arise when researching a haunted location?
Have you had an experience at Fort Fremont?
Tell me your ghost story and we’ll compare notes. Be sure to leave your comments below.
Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter to get wind of when my blog posts and podcast episodes are published and you’ll get a FREE audio book of my novelette, The Life Tree.
I’m a writer, and now you know another story that inspires my fiction. Thanks for reading,
Nick.
To Listen to the “Stories in the Cemetery” Podcast episode:
https://nicholasmcgirr.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/e9-hauntings-at-fort-fremont-bfc4cdec8eecb.m4a
May 6, 2019
Spirit Shoes at Old Sheldon Church
In Beaufort, South Carolina sits the serene and very still ruins of The Old Sheldon Church. Originally named Prince William’s Parish Church, the site holds gorgeous oak trees, randomly scattered headstones/graves and the remains of a twice destroyed Georgian style place of worship.
What better place to find supernatural happenings than a building that was destroyed twice?
Originally built in the 1740’s and 1750’s, the contributor who funded the church was that of William Bull whose grave is still on the grounds, allegedly. He was married to Ann Bull, and it was the stories of his wife, Ann, that led me to this visit.
There are stories online of a lady in a brown dress guarding the grave of her child. The gender of the child she’s protected is unknown by the headstone, but research states Mr. & Mrs. Bull had only one child. I mention this because of some of the research conducted on site later.
[image error]Stone marker connected to outside church wall. Photo courtesy of April McGirr.
Once Loved, Twice Burned
According to www.scriptureproject.org, the history goes like this:
“Originally organized and funded in the 1740s and 1750s by William Bull, whose Newberry Plantation bordered church grounds, … The church was set on fire in 1779 by British troops led by General Augustine Prevost during the Revolutionary War.
Tradition states that on January 14, 1865, near the end of the Civil War, General Sherman’s troops burned the church a second time as part of his “March to the Sea” campaign… In a letter dated February 3, 1866, …, Milton Leverett wrote that “Sheldon Church not burn’t. Just torn up in the inside, but can be repaired.” “
So, there it is. Destroyed twice in two different wars: The Revolutionary War and then the Civil War. It is a possibility that the materials inside the church were stolen by locals to repair their own homes during the Civil War, but the church was destroyed nonetheless.
There is no doubt that between both of these vandalizing acts of war, that death occurred on the grounds of the church.
My Visit
Our visit to this location was one of two locations that day. We visited the Old Sheldon Church in the early afternoon. There were others there also visiting the site, taking pictures and the site remains open to the public to visit the history of South Carolina without a cost or a tour guide.
[image error]Taken from behind the remains of Old Sheldon Church. The crypt of William Bull. Photo courtesy of April McGirr.
As said earlier, the grounds are covered with plenty of mossy oaks, some with cement blocks in them to retain the strength of the trees. The air is quiet and very still in this place as it sits in the backwoods of a very old South Carolinian city. It is exactly as you would suspect.
Some new testing
For our day in Beaufort, I decided I wanted to test a spirit box app and an EMF detecting app from my phone.
A spirit box uses radio frequencies to allow spirits to communicate. The app I found is called “Ghost Detector”. And yes, I chose it for the clichéd name. I tested this app at home first, playing with the features and waiting for anything to come through. At random intervals, it spits out a word. It seemed pretty bogus at the time, but thought I would give this a try at an actual haunted location. After all, according to the technology, a spirit simply needs the right frequency to communicate. Who cared if the app I was using was a hoax? It still provided random frequencies and that’s what the spirits needed.
I also want to point out that when toying with this app at home, the words came across my screen about every 5-10 minutes. While at Old Sheldon Church, the words came much faster.
The EMF (electromagnetic field) detector was also tested at home. Electromagnetic Fields are said to determine whether there is spirit activity nearby.
I walked around my home placing my phone around electrical outlets and electronic items and it actually worked! I don’t know how my phone is able to do this through an app, but I went with the proof of little lights on my screen lighting up.
**(Note that while I used the EMF detecting app at Old Sheldon Church, there was no activity to be documented.)
I brought a third person with me to handle my phone with these new apps. April (my wife) was taking pictures as usual. Byron and I walked around reading as many headstones as we could find and the third person was gauging the apps letting me know which words were coming through the “Ghost Detector” app.
Shoes at the Church
As we were all exploring the grounds, the app was spitting out random words that made no sense. Like my investigations with Psychic, I thought these words might make more sense with research. Take a look at these screenshots:
[image error] [image error]
Notice that there was a word coming through every 1-3 minutes. This is more activity than I had at home.
Now take a look at this screenshot. This is from the same location, you can tell by the timeframes.[image error]
See the word “SHOES”? Yeah, I thought the same thing; stupid. I originally began researching these words with “RANDY” in mind since it came up twice. I found nothing. Even on the gravesite listing on www.graveyard.com did I find anyone, even a middle name, of Randy.
What I did find was section from the book, “Wicked Beaufort” by Alexia Jones Helsey. Here’s the section:
[image error]Jones Helsley, A. (2011). Yamassee War. In Wicked Beaufort. History Press Library Editions.
“SHOES” doesn’t seem so stupid now does it?
Arbitrary Headstones
This leaves me to wonder if these apps that are built to be hoaxes or just for fun can actually be useful. The “Ghost Detector” app seems like a hoax with the weird sound effects and the cheesey pixelated screen, but it gave me proof that someone was there. All the other clues listed like “MY SON”, “FIND HIM” and “RANDY” all seem relevant too, but I wasn’t able to find any research to justify any of these phrases.
I wanted to note that with all the 75 headstones in Old Sheldon Church, most of them seemed to be broken, cracked, sinking, or had some other type of vandalization. I can’t help but wonder if this was done by actual vandals or if the graves were moved from their original burials. The headstones were randomly placed as well. In other words, unless you are part of one of these families, the reasoning behind the arbitrary placement of these graves is uncertain.
[image error]Randomly placed headstones at Old Sheldon Churchyard. Photo courtesy of April McGirr.
Conclusive Evidence
With the end of our visit to Old Sheldon, I concluded that the grounds are indeed haunted. After the research and the common term of “SHOES” and the story from “Wicked Beaufort”, I have to say, I can see the connection.
Other words that came through the “Ghost Detector” app are inconclusive at this point, but may shine through with another visit to this location later. But for now, I’m convinced that there are those from beyond the grave trying to speak to us at Old Sheldon.
As always, let me know your thoughts below. Have you visited this site? Have you had an experience? Sometimes that experience doesn’t come to light until later.
This week’s book sponsor is “The Umbrella Tree” by Nicholas McGirr. Be sure to check out this title on Amazon or you can read about it here: The Umbrella Tree.
Listen to the podcast episode Right Here!
https://nicholasmcgirr.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/spirit-shoes-at-old-sheldon-ch-872237de723e5.m4a
April 26, 2019
Who is haunting Litchfield Plantation?
https://nicholasmcgirr.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/e7-who-is-haunting-litchfield-3eba9d06d4dff.m4a
Litchfield Plantation has a history of being haunted throughout several books, websites as well as paranormal investigation groups. The legend is pretty simple, it goes a little like this:
From http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com, it reads:
Litchfield Plantation – Some believe Dr. Henry Tucker, the plantation’s owner in the late 1800s, still remains. People have reported seeing him in the Blue Room. It is said he used to ring the bell at the entrance gate in the middle of the night, until the bell was removed several years ago.
Pretty simple, right? Only my investigation with Psychic proved another spirit is also watching the grounds at Litchfield.
If you haven’t been following my Show Notes blog or my podcast, the investigations I did with Psychic were basic. The principle was to prove a psychic’s ability by visiting and researching haunted locations. The psychic, whom I call “Psychic” had no idea where we were going with each trip. I simply warned him of what type of attire he should wear. Other than that, we showed up, he gets his vibes and I research his intuitive findings.
Now that the explanation is out of the way. I should note that Litchfield Plantation’s chapter in the book was never written. I had to jog my own memory from my visit in 2014 by going through all the data collected. The material you are reading is fresh and new, but from an old visit.
At the time of my visit in 2014, the Paranormal group, Lost Souls Paranormal had a few overnight stays and investigations in Litchfield. To date, I believe they are up to seven overnight stays. I mention this because I met with the LSP Team to swap research and findings. I also showed them parts of the grounds that I found later with Psychic.
Let’s get into the story…
The Litchfield Plantation Grounds
Upon arriving at Litchfield, Psychic of course, started his automatic writing. He continued this automatic writing throughout our tour.
We were lead by John Miller, the current owner of Litchfield. He’s a pure skeptic of the hauntings and the reason he allowed Psychic and I to tour the grounds was to fulfill his own curiosities.
The main house and grounds are beautiful and John tells us how the plantation is often used for weddings. And reasonably so.
The grounds hold the main house, the cook’s house, the caretaker’s home, and the old carriage house which is now being used as a church. Also, on the grounds is an old casing that was used to harvest rice; it is made of old shells and is stunning to study the architecture.
Psychic feels a female presence as we enter the main house and has claims of conversational phrases throughout the tour. His automatic writing shows things like “shells” “L/F”, “Child Not His Wife”, “Mint/Tea” and other key phrases that we’ll dive into individually.
[image error]
[image error]
Shells
In Psychic’s automatic writing, he mentioned shells, which was alarming at first since we weren’t going to be near the beach. What we found after we toured the main house was a giant casing that was used to harvest rice, a major crop throughout the Grand Strand in the 1800’s. This was my first clue that psychic was on the right track.
[image error]SAMSUNG CSC
[image error]
Mona, Age 16
Also, on the grounds are several headstone markers randomly placed. The most significant one that has the current owner stumped was a small marker that simply read “Mona, Age 16”.
[image error]
Through research, I was able to find the death certificate of a Mona Avant who died of pneumonia at the age of 16. Not much can be told by the death certificate as you can see, but the parents were both South Carolina residents. Through my research, this was the only “Mona” who died at the age of 16 that I could find in South Carolina.
[image error]
Later, Psychic confessed that he felt his breathing get very heavy while in one of the bedrooms and near Mona’s grave. I took this is him channeling the pneumonia that Mona would’ve felt while lying on her deathbed.
With the last name of Avant, I couldn’t find any owners of Litchfield Plantation with same surname. Which could lead to the “Child Not His Wife” in Psychic’s automatic writing. I can’t say anything for sure on this topic, but found it interesting nonetheless.
“L/F” and “Tea”
Here’s where things got a little out of hand for Psychic and I. And I will say that I did not truly discover this reference until I listened to the audio when recapping this investigation.
After leaving the main house and thanking John for his hospitable tour, we went off track to venture down the other roads on the plantation. What we found was a few more headstones destroyed by vandals. One of the few headstones still in tact was that of “Wm Bowens”.
[image error]
When researching the symbols on the headstone, I found that the three chain links and the FLT in the links stands for the mantra for the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF), Friendship, Love and Truth. Taking a listen to Psychic’s testimony throughout the tour, he came across an “L” at first, then an hour later, an “F” and once outside, he mentioned “Tea”. Now, I might be reaching with the tea, but it is a bit coincidental that F and L came through first, then tea.
Slave Graveyard
I mentioned earlier that I met up with the Lost Souls Paranormal team. I took them to the site where I found the Bowens headstone. They pointed out that the small patch of land where the headstone stood was a full blown graveyard. I took a step back to get the full picture and it was then obvious to see the sunken in parts of land, each about 6 feet in length. Very few headstones, even broken, remained. There’s no telling how many slaves have been buried there and forgotten.
Secret Society
During the tour with John, he took Psychic and I into the caretaker’s house. Immediately, Psychic mentioned old secrets being held and something masonic. Give a listen here:
https://nicholasmcgirr.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/litchfield-secret-society.mp3
It wasn’t until I began researching the Bowens grave markings that I discovered the secret society of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Also, with the Bowens grave being in a slave graveyard, I decided to look up his race and investigate if blacks or slaves were even allowed into this society during that time period.
[image error]
As it turns out, Mr. Bowens was African American as his death certificate says “colored” in the race section. I also learned that African Americans were allowed into secret societies after the Civil War ended in 1865. It began in the northern states and slowly trickled down into the southern states. With Bowens’s death in 1916, he would’ve rightfully been allowed in the IOOF.
“L” Again
I want to revisit this “L” again since my audio with Psychic was so strong about it. With the legends of Dr. Tucker being the prominent urban legend, I dug into previous owners of the Litchfield Plantation.
I found Louis Claude Lachicotte and his wife Ella Florence Stokes Lachicotte who owned the property in 1887. There are plenty of “L’s” and even an “F” in these names. It would also match up with the time period of the graves on the grounds.


Granted, the word “medicine” came through in Psychic’s automatic writings as well, but that could also lead up to Mona’s death of needing medicine to ease her breathing.
As to exactly who is haunting these grounds, I cannot say for sure. The Lost Souls Paranormal Group have caught EVP’s of a girl laughing and a woman trying to tell them something. Could this be Mona? Or maybe even Ella? Nobody knows for sure, but all the same I was inspired by this investigation. It proved Psychic’s abilities yet again and well, I gained inspiration for my writing.
I’m Nicholas McGirr, Author of the Afterlife, and now you know another story that has inspired my fiction works. Be sure to click the book covers to the right to check them out.
Thanks, for reading,
Nick.
April 13, 2019
Foley House Inn: Romantically Haunted?
https://nicholasmcgirr.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/e6-foley-house-inn-romantica-5048849c41ac7.m4a
Our Haunted Weekend
So April and I decided that we needed a weekend away and what better way to enjoy each other’s company than through haunted Savannah, GA? A friend of mine told me “Nick, that’s not very romantic!” but to us, it was one of the best getaways we had in a long time.
We visited haunted locations like the Sorrel-Weed house and took a haunted tour around downtown Savannah, and we even stayed overnight in a haunted inn: the Foley House Inn.
The History of the Foley House
So, the stories go a little something like this:
From www.hauntedrooms.com, it reads:
“The Foley House Inn was built in 1896 by Honoria Foley. Honoria was the widow of an irish immigrant. The Foley House Inn was undergoing renovations in 1987 the owners found a skeleton not in the closet, but behind a wall they had just knocked down.
The Skeleton was thought to be that of a rich lodger that was murdered for his money. This discovery has led to the ghost of a man in top hat being seen walking in the gardens at night. The ghost has been nicknamed Wally by staff at the hotel. There have also been reports of strange noises and rushes of air at the hotel.”
No matter where I looked via the internet, this was the story. So, I felt like there was some justification to it, or…Foley House Inn is really controlling what media is portrayed. Regardless, the Inn was beautiful and I wanted a room, so I booked it. We stayed in Room 304.
[image error]
This Place is Stunning
Once we finally arrived at the Inn, we realized there were going to be quite a few steps in the process. The amazing staff checked us in, told us about parking and someone else took us to our room. We passed by the gorgeous dining room and made our way through a number of up and down staircases.
Winded from the steps we realized what part of the house we were in by the view from the balcony.
[image error]
We had access through the bathroom ceiling to the attic but April wouldn’t allow me to push through for EVP’s. Go figure.
More of the story goes to the garden that’s behind the old building, so we took plenty of pictures, of course. Although we didn’t see or hear any of the proclaimed hauntings in this area, we found it to be a serene area where one could enjoy breakfast after staying in a haunted room.
[image error] [image error] [image error] [image error]
A haunted night on the town
So, part of the legend from the Foley House Inn’s website states that guests will see someone in the garden wearing a top hat. This claim is that this person is the boarder that was buried in the walls of the Foley House.
During our haunted walking tour of downtown Savannah, our tour guide also mentioned this as we were walking through one of the many squares. His claim is that some people/tourists mistake a person wearing a top hat and costume as one of the many actors that provide a similar walking tour. If you haven’t been on one of these tours, some of the guides dress in costume for the effect of the ghost stories they’ll tell.
The tour guide also proclaimed that these sightings of a man in a top hat were in the early morning hours. The significance of this is that the tours don’t usually start until the afternoon into the evening.
With that said, I didn’t experience anything while in the Foley House itself, other than a magnificent breakfast and the noisy drinkers outside our balcony.
Byron needs to go outside
The next morning however, I took Byron out for his morning walk. I walked the many staircases down to the street before my morning coffee and out we went. I’m a writer, so morning coffee is a lifeblood first thing in the morning. Without it, I second guess anything.
We walked out to the square so he could do his business and we were the only beings on the bright sunny Sunday morning. Then someone walked by across the square wearing a white shirt, suspenders and a derby hat. He was walking pretty briskly. Then he was gone.
It didn’t dawn on me right away, again, I hadn’t had my morning coffee yet, the things I heard and read about this area with the man walking around in a top hat and that of the tour guide that mentioned tourists making the mistake that these people were tour guides dressing up the part.
I’ll first point out that the hat was wrong. The man I saw was definitely wearing a derby hat. A derby hat is completely different than a top other than color preferences. A derby hat is rounded, where a top hat is pipe shaped.
I tried to follow the man after I realized what was happening. He was originally across the square from where Byron and I were and it is possible that he turned a corner and simply was no longer in my sight. But I never kept my eye away from him until he was gone. I moved towards the tree he disappeared behind and looked down every road. He was nowhere to be seen.
So to give a much clearer picture of where Byron and I were, I want you to remember the movie, Forrest Gump. C’mon, we’ve all seen it. The multiple scenes where Forrest is waiting for the bus telling his story to all the strangers…Yep, the very same square. If you remember, there are roads and sidewalks all around this square and I can guarantee you that I peered down every one of them looking for the derby hat guy. Vanished.
Did I actually see one of these men that other tourists proclaim to see? I can’t be certain, but I want to say “Why yes, yes I did.” I’d like to know your thoughts on my experience. Do you think I saw a ghostly figure walking through the square in downtown Savannah on a bright Sunday morning? Leave your comments below and share this post. I love telling stories, especially from real experiences.
April thinks I’m a zombie
I don’t know whether April believes me or not. If she were to go off my reaction once I climbed the staircases back up to our room, she would say yes, that I absolutely saw a ghost before I had my morning coffee.
But then again, she claims I’m a zombie before that first sip as well.
Tell me your thoughts and I’ll keep writing about haunted locations that I visit for the research for my books. It’s instances like this that keep me writing and now you know where I get the ideas for my books. Feel free to check them out on Amazon.
To read more about the Foley House Inn, be sure to check out their page on the hauntings here: Foley House Hauntings
Thanks for reading,
Nick.
References
Forrest Gump. Dir. Robert Zemeckis. 1994.
Foley House Inn
“Stories in the Cemetery” podcast episode on this topic coming soon!
So April and I decided that we needed a weekend away and what better way to enjoy each other’s company than through haunted Savannah, GA? A friend of mine told me “Nick, that’s not very romantic!” but to us, it was one of the best getaways we had in a long time.
We visited haunted locations like the Sorrel-Weed house and took a haunted tour around downtown Savannah, and we even stayed overnight in a haunted inn: the Foley House Inn.
So, the stories go a little something like this:
From www.hauntedrooms.com, it reads:
“The Foley House Inn was built in 1896 by Honoria Foley. Honoria was the widow of an irish immigrant. The Foley House Inn was undergoing renovations in 1987 the owners found a skeleton not in the closet, but behind a wall they had just knocked down.
The Skeleton was thought to be that of a rich lodger that was murdered for his money. This discovery has led to the ghost of a man in top hat being seen walking in the gardens at night. The ghost has been nicknamed Wally by staff at the hotel. There have also been reports of strange noises and rushes of air at the hotel.”
No matter where I looked via the internet, this was the story. So, I felt like there was some justification to it, or…Foley House Inn is really controlling what media is portrayed. Regardless, the Inn was beautiful and I wanted a room, so I booked it. We stayed in Room 304.
[image error]
Once we finally arrived at the Inn, we realized there were going to be quite a few steps in the process. The amazing staff checked us in, told us about parking and someone else took us to our room. We passed by the gorgeous dining room and made our way through a number of up and down staircases.
Winded from the steps we realized what part of the house we were in by the view from the balcony.
[image error]
We had access through the bathroom ceiling to the attic but April wouldn’t allow me to push through for EVP’s. Go figure.
More of the story goes to the garden that’s behind the old building, so we took plenty of pictures, of course. Although we didn’t see or hear any of the proclaimed hauntings in this area, we found it to be a serene area where one could enjoy breakfast after staying in a haunted room.
[image error] [image error] [image error] [image error]
So, part of the legend from the Foley House Inn’s website states that guests will see someone in the garden wearing a top hat. This claim is that this person is the boarder that was buried in the walls of the Foley House.
During our haunted walking tour of downtown Savannah, our tour guide also mentioned this as we were walking through one of the many squares. His claim is that some people/tourists mistake a person wearing a top hat and costume as one of the many actors that provide a similar walking tour. If you haven’t been on one of these tours, some of the guides dress in costume for the effect of the ghost stories they’ll tell.
The tour guide also proclaimed that these sightings of a man in a top hat were in the early morning hours. The significance of this is that the tours don’t usually start until the afternoon into the evening.
With that said, I didn’t experience anything while in the Foley House itself, other than a magnificent breakfast and the noisy drinkers outside our balcony.
The next morning however, I took Byron out for his morning walk. I walked the many staircases down to the street before my morning coffee and out we went. I’m a writer, so morning coffee is a lifeblood first thing in the morning. Without it, I second guess anything.
We walked out to the square so he could do his business and we were the only beings on the bright sunny Sunday morning. Then someone walked by across the square wearing a white shirt, suspenders and a derby hat. He was walking pretty briskly. Then he was gone.
It didn’t dawn on me right away, again, I hadn’t had my morning coffee yet, the things I heard and read about this area with the man walking around in a top hat and that of the tour guide that mentioned tourists making the mistake that these people were tour guides dressing up the part.
I’ll first point out that the hat was wrong. The man I saw was definitely wearing a derby hat. A derby hat is completely different than a top other than color preferences. A derby hat is rounded, where a top hat is pipe shaped.
I tried to follow the man after I realized what was happening. He was originally across the square from where Byron and I were and it is possible that he turned a corner and simply was no longer in my sight. But I never kept my eye away from him until he was gone. I moved towards the tree he disappeared behind and looked down every road. He was nowhere to be seen.
So to give a much clearer picture of where Byron and I were, I want you to remember the movie, Forrest Gump. C’mon, we’ve all seen it. The multiple scenes where Forrest is waiting for the bus telling his story to all the strangers…Yep, the very same square. If you remember, there are roads and sidewalks all around this square and I can guarantee you that I peered down every one of them looking for the derby hat guy. Vanished.
Did I actually see one of these men that other tourists proclaim to see? I can’t be certain, but I want to say “Why yes, yes I did.” I’d like to know your thoughts on my experience. Do you think I saw a ghostly figure walking through the square in downtown Savannah on a bright Sunday morning? Leave your comments below and share this post. I love telling stories, especially from real experiences.
I don’t know whether April believes me or not. If she were to go off my reaction once I climbed the staircases back up to our room, she would say yes, that I absolutely saw a ghost before I had my morning coffee.
But then again, she claims I’m a zombie before that first sip as well.
Tell me your thoughts and I’ll keep writing about haunted locations that I visit for the research for my books. It’s instances like this that keep me writing and now you know where I get the ideas for my books. Feel free to check them out on Amazon.
To read more about the Foley House Inn, be sure to check out their page on the hauntings here: Foley House Hauntings
Thanks for reading,
Nick.
References
Forrest Gump. Dir. Robert Zemeckis. 1994.