Eerie South Carolina: True Chilling Stories from the Palmetto Past

by Sherman Carmichael, Kristen Solecki (Illustrator)

Master storyteller Sherman Carmichael is back with more mysterious tales from South Carolina--from Plantersville to Loris and from Beaufort to Clinton. Many of these stories have been told and retold throughout generations, like the red-eyed specter that roams the stairwells of Wilson Hall at Converse College or the haunted grave site of Agnes of Glasgow in Camden. In 1987, a construction company unearthed the bodies of fourteen Union soldiers from the Civil War--twelve of the bodies were found without their heads. The Abbeville Opera House has a chair that remains open to this day for a patron who visited long ago. Join Carmichael for these and many more rare and offbeat stories from South Carolina.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published August 20, 2013

Reviews

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 stars for the compilation of South Carolina legends and folklore, and well-done, in-depth research. 2 stars for grammatical errors and the author’s writing style. His sentence structures are very basic and choppy. At times, it reads almost robotic. It tends to take away the life from the rich stories he’s telling.

[Alicia Dollahan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I live outside Charleston and love the history of the area. Having previously worked downtown at a haunted tours company, when I randomly saw this book at a drug store, I had to purchase it. I thought, “What a great way to pass an afternoon home with a sick kid.” The book covers histories throughout the state of South Carolina, which I enjoyed. But the book itself was very poorly written, had multiple grammar issues, and just presented as something the author was rushing to publish versus taking the time to really develop. There was little full-circle development of the individual tales and the ‘eeriness’ was often missing or forced. The author’s writing style was chopping and elementary. This book is a quick and superficial dip into history, but I would pick it up at the library if you’re going to read it and know that there isn’t much ‘eerie’ in it at all.

[Heather Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author doesn't just give you eerie stories from around South Carolina, but he gives you the history of the area in which the story takes palce. Having lived in several areas of it was nice to hear some of the history as well as the the eerie stories. They're not gory so even a middle schooler could read them and enjoy.

[Ray Perdue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing outstanding, but some random bits of folklore and legends of South Carolina. There are several that were new to me, which surprised me since I've been immersed in South Carolina folklore for over 30 years. But, a few read like the random ghost stories you find all over the internet.

[Jennifer Triplett · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few interesting tidbits but wow this was not well-written or very thorough on any of the stories.

[Blythe Penland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was quite good. I saw it at the library and since Halloween is coming up, I thought it would be the perfect book to read. And it really was. I will admit, however, that it was more history than ghost stories. Which is good, I guess. At least it's got more hard facts than old wives' tale. My favorite story in this book was Morganna. It's weird, because Morganna likes to take things and I hate when I lose something. So it's odd that I would take a particular liking to the story. I think I like it because Morganna is playful and doesn't mean any harm. As well, she's not like other ghosts. There are no ghostly whispers or cold spots or anything creepy like that. Things just go missing and return six months later. And she communicates through beeps on the phone. That's pretty cool. I also really liked the introduction 'Just A Thought'. I've always heard that ghosts are supposedly spirits of the dead that got left behind. But in the introduction, it says that ghosts could be projections from other astral planes or could be people who got stuck during experiments, like time travel. That gives a much more scientific perspective of ghosts than what most people think, and I like that. I also enjoyed to learn a little bit more about South Carolina. Pretty small state. Nice to know about some of its rich history. I recommend this book to people who are curious about the hauntings of South Carolina.

[Cee · Rating 1 out of 5]

someone needs to stop telling Sherman Carmichael he can write.