Peter Ferguson

Many people have claimed to see ghost, or something supernatural throughout their lives. The mysterious light that appears at night time on US Highway 21. At the beginning of Lands End Rd. there is a moss covered tree that it is said, if you park next to it at night you will experience an extraordinary and ominous light blaze past you. Lands End Rd. is located in the warmth of the coast in Beaufort, South Carolina. Much history surrounds the low country cities. The Charleston-Beaufort area has history embedded deep in its roots almost everywhere you go. During the civil war, Charleston was a key city for the confederates and was eventually going to be over taken by the Union as the war was winding down. They needed Charleston because it was the south’s biggest port.

During an attempted invasion of Charleston, Union soldiers were able to sneak up behind a Confederate soldier and cut off the head of Private Frank Quigley. Many of the Charleston and Beaufort area locals believe the mysterious “Land’s End Light” is the deceased confederate soldier searching for his head. In the research I did, many of the ghost light theories are believed to be the “spirits of people who are beheaded stays on earth in search of their head. (Jones)” Although this is a far-fetched idea it it’s still a possibility. It is also believed the light will lead you to the spot where Private QUIGLEY http://eatsleepplaybeaufort.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/fremont5soldier.jpg was beheaded.

           
For many locals, Lands’ End Light is very real, there have been many first-hand accounts of people who have claimed to see this supernatural light. The Charleston newspaper usually does a story about this supernatural phenomenon every other year during Halloween. The local police told local news stations about the line of cars parked along the ominous stretch of highway hoping to see the mysterious light. It can only be seen in the midst of the night and it’s believed if you are scared or fear what isn’t known then the light won’t appear. If you have an open mind and accept the unknown it will appear.

           
Humans go out seeking the unknown because we, as a species, want to understand the unexplainable. Two people died in the pursuit of this mysterious light in their vehicles. While in pursuit of the supernatural light the two men ran their car off the road into a tree. The mystery of the unknown fascinates us and makes us eager to learn more. As long as there are folk lore and ghost tale stories, there will always be people wanting to know more. Although some people might not realize what they really are getting themselves into.

Works Cited: 

Atteberry, Tom. “The ghosts of St. Helena’s chapel of ease and Land’s End light – true hauntings from South Carolina’s sea islands.” A gothic curiosity cabinet, 16 Oct. 2016, http://www.gothichorrorstories.com/behind-urban-legends/the-ghosts-of-st-helenas-chapel-of-ease-and-lands-end-light-true-hauntings-from-south-carolinas-sea-islands/.

Gooch, Bary. “Lands End Light – Frogmore, St. Helena Island, South Carolina.” SC Informational Highway. 16 Oct. 2016, http://www.sciway.net/hist/lands-end-light-st-helena-island.html

Jones, Louis. “The Journal of American Folklore.” American Folklore Society, vol. 57, no. 226, Fall 1944, pp. 237-254, JSTOR, doi: 10.2307/535356.  

Roberts, Nancy. nt. 2012, Eatsleepplaybeaufort, http://eatsleepplaybeaufort.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/light1.jpg 

Links for further research:

Graydon, Nell. South Carolina Ghost Tales, Beaufort Book Shop, Inc, 1969. This book is about all the supernatural phenomenon that go on in South Carolina. In this particular excerpt of the book it gives extensive information on Lands End Light and its history.

Heffernan, Erin. “The ghosts of Beaufort County: From strange lights to the Blue Lady locals share favorite ghost stories.” The Island Packet, 17 Oct. 2016,  http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/community/beaufort-news/article39629214.html. This web source talks about the many theories on what the supernatural light came from. This article also gives locals first-hand accounts as well as other ghost tales. 

Schlosser, S.E. “South Carolina Folklore.” American Folklore, 18 Oct 2016, http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/united-states-folklore/south-carolina-folklore/. This web sources discusses the importance of the many folk lore stories in South Carolina. The author also discusses many of the details of Lands End Light. 

Charleston’s Paranormal Theater

Author: Sara Nichols

     
 Two hundred seventy-eight years ago Charleston, South Carolina became the home to America’s first theatrical-only-performance theater.  On February 12, 1735, The Dock Street Theater was opened on the corner of Dock Street (currently Church Street).  The first play performed in the theater was The Recruiting Officer by George Farquhar. (Brown) For the next few years, many different operas and plays were performed in this new American theater.

        Five years after its opening, in the Great Fire of 1740, the theater was destroyed, along with many other buildings in Charleston.  Nothing was done with demolished building until 1809, when the Calder’s bought the property and built Planter’s Inn or Planter’s Hotel in place of the theater. According to two articles, Brown and Wordpress, Planter’s Hotel was a place for wealthy men to gamble, drink, and encounter prostitutes. (Brown) (Wordpress)  Planter’s Hotel was owned by the Calder’s until 1852, when John C. O'Hanlon  took over management and renovated the hotel and advertised a new wine room.  In 1855, it was renovated, as a hotel, for the last time, adding a recessed porch, carved wooden brackets, banded brownstone columns, and an iron balcony (Preservation Society).  

        During the Civil War the purpose of the hotel was mute, due to the enlistment of many of the men who previously stayed at the hotel, and it was shut down.  Following the Civil War, the hotel reopened in 1884 mainly as apartments for tenements.  (Preservation Society)

        The Works Progress Administration (WPA) recreated the Dock Street Theater in 1935. On November 26, 1937, Farquhar’s The Recruiting Officer opened the rebuilt theater.  The theater was now accompanied by a performing company, the Footlight Players, who performed regularly in the Dock Street Theater.
In 2007, the theater begun a third renovation and was made more luxurious and handicap accessible. This renovation was completed in 2010. Currently about 600 shows are performed each year at the Dock Street Theater (Hollings).
        Junius Brutus Booth was a known traveling actor who stayed in Planter’s Hotel often and partook in drinking, gambling, and rendezvousing with prostitutes. Nettie Dickerson was a prostitute who worked in the Planter’s Hotel in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Over the past one hundred years, locals have told the mysterious tales of these two lingering residents said to have been spotted at the Dock Street Theater.

        Many spectators and actors have expressed seeing Booth on the balcony level of the theater.  However, no one really knows who lurks in the balcony people just assume it is Booth because he was a regular guest at the hotel.
        It is said that Nettie was stationed out on the second floor balcony of the hotel every night, after the wealthy men started avoiding her and she stopped making money. One night she was ridiculing someone over the edge of the balcony and the balcony rod was struck by lightning and she was killed instantly. Legend says that her ghost still haunts men at night, and even chases them down hallways.
        Junius Booth and Nettie Dickerson’s spirits still lurk the property of the Dock Street Theater, however don’t be afraid, they probably won’t bother you.  Unless you’re a wealthy white man, resembling those that started avoiding Nettie as a prostitute.


Works cited:
Brown, Alan. Haunted South Carolina: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Palmetto State. Mechanicsburg: Stackpole, 2010. Print.
Hollings, Ernest F. “The Dock Street Theater.” The Library of Congress. The American Folklore Center. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.
The Dock Street Theater. Wordpress.com. N.p., 13 Mar. 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2013.
“30. Dock Street Theater, 1736.” Preservation Society of Charleston. Preservation Society of  Charleston. n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.


Links for further research:
1740 (November 18) Fire
http://www.preservationsociety.org/halseymap/flash/window.asp?HMID=37
A brief summary of the Great Fire of 1740, which destroyed the Dock Street Theater.
The Dock Street Theater
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/SC/200003498.html
A history of the Dock Street Theater without any paranormal information involved.
A guide to three of Charleston's haunted places
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/a-guide-to-three-of-charlestons-haunted-places/Content?oid=3632921
A guide to several places in Charleston, SC where a tourist could go to be spooked and potentially sight ghosts.

The Hampton Lillibridge House

Author: Kaiyla Oliver



Hampton Lillibridge from Crime Library on Vimeo.

There have been stories about the Hampton Lillibridge House, and how it is haunted. A man named Jim moved into that house, and had workers to work on things that needed to be. They were reportedly working the house, and heard many noises. Along with strange activity happening. One man was working upstairs and had a strange force that tried to move him into a deep hole in the floor. So to try and save himself he laid down on his back. Not only was this going on. But they heard loud sounds that sounded like furniture moving around, along with tools going missing. 

After hearing what the workers had told him. Jim decided to move into the house anyway. While staying the night there, he admitted that he heard strange noises, and felt strange forces among him.

Some say that when you look up at the third floor window. You see an old man dressed in black looking right back at you. That sounds creepy right?

This article tells the history of the house, and where all of the hauntings all started. There is a sailor who committed suicide. By hanging himself in the bathroom. Neighbors reported hearing the voice of a woman singing while the house was empty. They also reported strange figures of people dancing in the windows upstairs.

Work Cited

(n.p, Friday February 20, 2009) savannahspecters.blogspot.com

Ramsland, Katherine (Ramsland, 2011) http://vimeo.com/19534164

Three other sites to visit:

http://ghosttoursinsavannah.com/2013/02/12/the-hampton-lillibridge-house/

http://spectresavannah.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-hampton-lillibridge-house.html

http://www.rottenworks.com/index.php/2012/01/26/the-most-haunted-house-in-america-hampton-lillibridge-house/

The Legend of Alice Flagg

Author: Disaiah Whack

Why do ghosts roam the Earth afterlife? I believe that a spirit cannot leave this Earth if it is holding on to someone or something. In Alice Flagg’s case she holds on to something a special someone gave her. Love is one of the strongest emotions that humans hold on to, and in this case so do ghosts.

            Alice Flagg grew up in a wealthy family consisting of a long line of doctors. Her family lived in The Hermitage on  Murrells, Inlet. The Hermitage still stands and is now a tourist attraction. Traditionally, it would only make sense for her to find love in a young man from a wealthy family. Unfortunately, Alice found true love in a local lumberman, which her family disapproved of. During this time (mid 1800s) it was unpopular for women of a wealthy family to marry someone outside of their social status. Alice, being in love, decided to continued her relationship with the lumberman. Over a period of time her lover gave her the gift of a ring tied on a ribbon, which she wore around her neck underneath her clothes so that her family could not see.  She kept her relationship with the lumberman a secret from her family for months. Using the ring as a reminder and symbol of her love. Once her mother discovered the hidden ring, Alice was shipped off to a boarding school in Charleston, South Carolina.  Her brother took the ring and through it into the marsh so she could not wear it anymore.

While away at the boarding school Alice became sick from a terrible fever. Once her brother found out about her illness, he rushed to Charleston to retrieve his sister from the boarding school and bring her home. Unfortunately, Alice died by the next day. Some say as Alice was on her death bed she reached and grabbed for the ring on a ribbon that had been snatched from her neck. The tale tellers say that Alice’s ghost, to this day, still roams the land where The Hermitage once stood in search of her ring on a ribbon.

Many people travel to see Alice Flagg’s grave, and some locals pay a monthly visit to her grave site. Sometimes, local schools take field trips to her grave in search for the ghost. They leave rings, flowers, and money. They say if you walk backwards around Alice Flagg’s grave 13 times her ghost will appear unto you. What would you do if you came in contact with the ghost of Alice Flagg? Could you relate to her story? Do you feel as though her sickness could have been prevented if her family would have let her make her own decisions about dating?

Further Research

AngelFire. http://www.angelfire.com/sc3/mytrip/alice.html

This website provide further research of the life of Alice Flagg not listed in the article.

The Digitel. http://www.thedigitel.com/business/charleston-area-ghosts-alice-flagg-1833-1849-38942-0415

This website provides further information on Charleston area ghosts.

Georgetown Paranormal. http://www.georgetownparanormal.com/alice-flagg.html

This website provides further research on ghost hunts.