Legends and Lore of South Carolina

Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright © 2012 by Sherman Carmichael

All rights reserved

First published 2012

e-book edition 2012

ISBN 978.1.61423.622.1

print ISBN 978.1.60949.748.4

Library of Congress CIP data applied for.

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgements

South Carolina Facts

THE UPSTATE

Campbell Covered Bridge, Gowensville

Union’s Crybaby Bridge, Union

Greer’s Haunted Bridge, Greer

Enoree River Railroad Trestle, Spartanburg

Oakwood Cemetery, aka Hell’s Gate, Spartanburg

The Jesus Monument, Spartanburg

The Devil’s Bridge, Spartanburg

Hangman’s Trestle, Spartanburg

Hagood Gristmill, Pickens

Anderson County Crybaby Bridge, Anderson

The Hound of Goshen, Union County

Lonely Bridge, Westminster

Rock House Road, Blacksburg

White Wolf Hollow, Blacksburg

White Wolf Road, Blacksburg

Cherokee Falls Bridge, Blacksburg

The Supermoon

THE MIDLANDS

The Bride of West End, Newberry

Old Whitmire Highway, Newberry

Madeline, Newberry

The Third Eye Man, Columbia

Colonel Isaac Hayne, Columbia

Agnes of Glasgow, Camden

Badwell Cemetery, McCormick

Forty-Acre Rock, Lancaster

The Jack-O’-Lantern Ghost

THE PEE DEE

The Georgetown Lighthouse, Georgetown

Annie of the Lighthouse, Georgetown

The Disappearance of Theodosia, Georgetown

Wedgefield Plantation, Georgetown

The Daisy Bank Ghosts, Georgetown

Little River Bigfoot, Little River

Sampit Bigfoot, Sampit

Hemingway

The Humpback Man, Pleasant Hill

Brown’s Ferry Midget Man, Brown’s Ferry

Brown’s Ferry Boat, Brown’s Ferry

Salem Black River Church, Mayesville

The Southern Belle Ghost, Mayesville

Colonel Kolb’s Tomb, Society Hill

The Church of the Holy Cross, Statesburg

Freeda A. Wyley

Manchester, Sumter County–Clarendon County

The Ghost of Alice, Murrells Inlet–Pawleys Island

The Gray Man, Pawleys Island

The Gray Man of 1822, Pawleys Island

Carolina Country Store, North Santee

Halloween

THE LOWCOUNTRY

House No. 90, Charleston

Haints, Hags and Plat Eyes, Charleston

The Ghost Car, Charleston

Simmons Alley, Charleston

The Malcolm, Charleston

The Headless Horseman of Fenwick Hall, Charleston

Strawberry Ferry Landing, Charleston

Strawberry Shipwreck, Charleston

The Pimlico Shipwreck, Charleston

The Mepkin Abby Shipwreck, Charleston

Blackbeard’s Ghost, Charleston

Old City Jail, Charleston

The Ghost of Sue Howard Hardy, Charleston

Sonic Boom over the Lowcountry, Charleston–James Island–Daniel Island–Wadmalaw–West Ashley

Cape Romain Lighthouses, McClellanville

The Ghost of Gauche, Beaufort

The Strange Tale of Dr. Buzzard’s Coffin, Beaufort

Ridgeville Bigfoot, Ridgeville

Jacksonboro

Pon Pon Chapel of Ease, Jacksonboro

The Jacksonboro Light, Jacksonboro

Biggin Hill Church, Berkeley County

The Ghost of Edingsville Beach, Edisto Island

Edisto Island Presbyterian Church, Edisto Island

Hilton Head Range Light, Hilton Head

Haig Point Range Light, Daufuskie Island

Childsbury, Summerville

Hagood’s Mill Cemetery, Barnwell

Medway Plantation, Goose Creek

Purrysburg

Bottle Trees

About the Author

PREFACE

Legends and myths are not built on nothing. They are not simply made-up stories. They always contain a modicum of truth.

Traditionally, South Carolina is known for its historical hauntings. What is it that makes South Carolina home to so many ghosts? Is it South Carolina’s turbulent and tragic past that has held so many spirits here? Whatever the reason, from the lonely highway to the mist-shrouded beaches, South Carolina is where the unexplained meets the every day. Haunted houses, haunted highways, mysterious monsters, ghost-infested plantations and many other unexplained happenings abound in South Carolina.

The dark, mysterious side of South Carolina has inspired many books. Truth be said, no fiction can compare to the accounts of hauntings and other mysterious events in South Carolina. Scientists won’t admit that ghosts and other supernatural occurrences exist. Are these highly educated people so close-minded to believe that just because it doesn’t fit into their way of thinking or they can’t take it into a lab and take it apart it doesn’t exist? If they can’t explain it, they just call it misidentification or mass hallucinations. Science says it cannot accept imaginative solutions because they have no demonstrable foundation.

Most people in South Carolina have come to terms with the fact that we are not alone. Whether these stories are true or just campfire tales, they continue to survive the test of time.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to Beverly Carmichael for the many hours of proofreading and correcting my mistakes and to all the others who made this book happen: Ric Carmichael, April Asaro, James Ebert, Lynne Ebert, Garth Holt, Matt McColl, Cindy James, Barbara Nuessle and Dave Bilderback. Without these important people, neither of my books would have been possible.

SOUTH CAROLINA FACTS

South Carolina was first visited by Spanish explorers in the early 1500s.

South Carolina was named to honor King Charles I.

South Carolina was the eighth state to become part of the United States. It became a state on May 23, 1788.

South Carolina was admitted as one of the original thirteen colonies in 1788.

Before being known as the Palmetto State, it was known as the Iodine State.

South Carolina was the birthplace of Andrew Jackson, seventh president (1829–37).

The first battle of the Civil War took place at Fort Sumter

South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union in 1860.

The state flag was adopted in 1861.

The only major-league baseball player to wear the name of his hometown on his uniform was pitcher Bill Voiselle. He wore number 96.

Duncan Park Baseball Stadium in Spartanburg is the oldest minor-league stadium in America.

The first boll weevil found in South Carolina is on display in the Pendleton District Agricultural Museum.

Lake Murray is the only lake in South Carolina to house a monster. The Lake Murray Monster was first seen in 1973.

Johnston is known as the peach capital of the world.

Sweetgrass basket making has been part of the Mount Pleasant community for over three hundred years.

The introduction of tobacco in 1894 rocketed Mullins into being the tobacco capital of South Carolina.

The Lake City tobacco market was established in 1898 and is one of the largest markets in South Carolina.

The Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport was the first airport to open in South Carolina in October 1927.

The Upper Whitewater Falls is the highest cascade in eastern America; it descends for nearly 411 feet.

State capital: Columbia

Largest city: Columbia

Smallest county: McCormick, 360 square miles

Largest county: Horry, 1,134 square miles

Highest mountain: Sassafras Mountain, 3,560 feet

Largest island: John’s Island

Largest lake: Lake Marion, 172.8 square miles

State motto: While I breathe, I hope.

State song: Carolina

State nickname: Palmetto State

State dance: shag

State bird: Carolina wren

State game bird: wild turkey

State animal: whitetail deer

State butterfly: eastern tiger swallowtail

State insect: Carolina mantid

State fish: striped bass

State dog: Boykin spaniel

State reptile: loggerhead turtle

State spider: Carolina wolf spider

State amphibian: spotted salamander

State shell: lettered olive

State flower: yellow jessamine

State tree: sabal palmetto

State fruit: peach

State stone: blue granite

State gemstone: amethyst

State beverage: milk

State hospitality beverage: tea

State folk dance: square dance

State waltz: Richardson waltz

THE UPSTATE

CAMPBELL COVERED BRIDGE

Of the many covered bridges built in South Carolina, Campbell Covered Bridge is the last remaining one. It was built in 1909 and is located near the small town of Gowensville in Greenville County. It is the only authentic historic survivor of the many covered bridges built. Campbell Covered Bridge is owned by Greenville County and is one of four covered bridges built in northeastern Greenville County in the early twentieth century. Charles Irwin Willis built the thirty-eight-foot-long, twelve-foot-wide bridge across the Beaver Dam Creek on Pleasant Hill Road. Lafayette Campbell, who owned 194 acres and a gristmill, allowed the bridge to be built on his property so it would be easier for the farmers in the area to bring their corn to be prepared at his mill.

Campbell Covered Bridge was closed to motor traffic in early 1981 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. The Campbell Covered Bridge has been restored twice, first in 1964 by the Crescent Garden Club and again in 1990. More improvements and repairs were made in March 2001. Silvia Pittman owned the land around the bridge, and in 2005, she sold ten acres to Greenville County to construct a park around the bridge.

This bridge, like many other South Carolina bridges, has its mystery. But this one is not a ghost, not a mysterious death or a crying child or even a ghost light. This bridge has a family of trolls living under it. At least that’s what some old-time mountain folk think. When trolls set up housekeeping under a bridge, no one crosses the bridge without getting permission from the trolls. Trolls often lure their victims to their deaths by making noises under the bridge. In the old days, those who were crossing the bridge and believed in trolls would leave offerings of food at the bridge. This was a peace offering so the weary travelers would not meet an untimely death at the hands of the trolls. Trolls are a race of fearsome creatures from Norse mythology. There are many legends of different types of trolls, which include monsters of human appearance, ogres, fiendish giants, humanoid monsters and Neanderthal humans. In the middle ages, trolls were thought of as horrifying and even satanic creatures. Crucifixes, the name of Christ spoken aloud and other religious symbols would scare them away. Some believe they were demons that had fallen out of heaven and lived in subterranean hell.

UNION’S CRYBABY BRIDGE

Just before you get to Rose Hill Plantation in Union County, South Carolina, there is an old bridge with rusted steel frames on the top. This bridge, like many other bridges in South Carolina, is haunted. A tragedy happened there in the 1950s. After a fight with her husband, a young woman took her baby and walked away from her home. She walked for a while down a long dirt road trying to get her thoughts together. She walked onto