Charleston’s most haunted places

Charleston is a place where people from all walks of life come to enjoy the scenery, learn about the city's history, and indulge in the extensive culinary cuisine. Some even stay for a lifetime– eventually being buried in one of the city’s cemeteries or graveyards.

Then… there’s a side of the Holy City that draws a different kind of crowd. One that we can’t always see– the souls who were laid to rest, but never truly rested.

Here are ten of Charleston’s most haunted places.

Poogan’s Porch

📍 72 Queen St.
👻 In 1976, the grand Victorian home was purchased by Bobbie Ball and converted to a restaurant in the heart of a downtown neighborhood. The name comes from a scruffy dog named Poogan who came along with the house and was adopted by the new owner. Little Poogan is buried on the property + his ghost has been seen by customers from time to time.

But Poogan isn’t the only spirit living in the house... Well before Poogan’s time, Zoe St. Amand and her sister Elizabeth lived in the house together. When Elizabeth died in 1945, Zoe became very lonely + her mental state deteriorated. While her body lays in St. Lawrence Cemetery, her spirit has been seen wandering the restaurant on multiple occasions from those staying in Mills House Hotel across the street and by patrons using the ladies restroom.

Old City Jail

📍 21 Magazine St.
👻 When Ghost Hunters comes to shoot an episode– you know a location is haunted. In fact, the Old City Jail, which dates back to 1802, is known as one of the most haunted places in the country. Visitors claimed to have experienced being choked by hands; scratched, bitten, and poked; seen doors slam, objects move; have heard voices in empty rooms; + have been met with encounters of the ghost of Lavinia Fisher herself (known as America's first female serial killer).

The jail was home to notable inmates, including nineteenth-century pirates, Civil War POWs, slaves, + murderers– many who died during their time there.

While the jail is closed to the public, curious visitors can tour the space guided by Bulldog Tours.

White Point Gardens

📍 2 Murray Blvd
👻 While White Point Gardens is known as “must see” for tourists, and as a popular spot for weddings + proposals, the beautiful landscape has a dark past.

In the 18th century, Charleston’s ports became a hub for economic trade. But with that, came Edward Teach, a.k.a. Blackbeard; Stede Bonnet; + crews of men (i.e. pirates).

While we’re going to tell you more about Blackbeard in the coming weeks– long story short, 49 of the pirates were found guilty of crimes, were hanged from the trees at White Point, and then thrown into the marsh. Visitors have said they have seen faces staring at them from the trees + apparitions hanging from the oaks.

Unitarian Church Graveyard

Unitarian Church Graveyard | Photo by @scottstroud

📍 4 Archdale St.
While most of the city’s burial sites undergo continuous upkeep, this 1772 graveyard’s spooky overgrown brush + unkempt appearance is intentional– as the Unitarians believe in using the overgrown vegetation as a symbol of life after death.

👻 Legend has it that a 14-year-old girl named Annabel Lee fell in love with an 18-year-old man stationed at Fort Moultrie in the 1800s (perhaps Edgar Allan Poe). Her father didn’t approve and did everything in his power to keep the two apart. Still, the two would carry on their forbidden romance via secret meet-ups. However, their love did not endure, as the soldier was eventually transferred.

After his departure, Annabel died and was laid to rest an unmarked grave (so she couldn’t be found) in the Unitarian Church graveyard. Two days after Edgar Allan Poe died, “Annabel Lee” was published (coincidence?). It’s said that Annabel's ghost can be seen wandering the paths, looking for her long-lost lover.

👻 Mary Bloomfield, who died in Mount Pleasant in 1907, is alleged to haunt the graveyard as well. Bloomfield was happily married… or so she thought… for when her beloved husband departed for a business trip to Boston, he never returned. She was so heartbroken, it’s said that her ghost has been seen wandering the paths looking for him.

👻 Legends (along with some local tour guides) say that notorious serial killer, Lavinia Fisher haunts the graveyard, which is where she was thought to have been buried. However, Fisher was actually buried in a potter’s field (now located under MUSC) after her execution.

College of Charleston Joe E. Berry Residence Hall

📍 66 George St.
👻 Founded in 1776, the College of Charleston’s historic campus is no stranger to paranormal activity. The college's Joe E. Berry Residence Hall stands on the side of the old Charleston Orphanage, which housed sick children during the Spanish Influenza pandemic at the turn of the twentieth century. One day, some of the children who were not sick, accidentally started a fire on the ground, in which four children died of smoke inhalation. Once the college dorm opened, students reported hearing children laughing, chanting “Ring Around the Rosie” during the night.

Secessionville Hollows

📍 James Island
👻 In June 1862, Northern Troops attacked the Confederate earthwork fort called Tower Battery, where Colonel Thomas G. Lamar commanded about 500 men. By the time the battle had ended, more than 150 bodies lay across the marsh and forested area. It is said that the battle can still be heard on the land today, with reports of paranormal activity from James Island residents + visitors.

The Battery Carriage House Inn

📍 20 South Battery
👻 As one of the city’s most historic hotels, the inn comes with a long history of owners, visitors, + renovations which have made the inn what it is today. Both guests and employees of the inn reported run-ins with paranormal activity in three of the rooms.

Room 3, Room 8, and Room 10 have all had reports of ghostly encounters. The spirit in Room 8 has been known to come alive in guests’ dreams as a headless torso terrorizing them in the night. However, it’s Room 10 where guests are most likely to see a gentleman gliding throughout the room.

Dock Street Theatre

📍 135 Church St.
👻 Miss Nettie Dickerson, a resident of Charleston– and a prostitute– frequented the theatre during the 1800s seeking business from the wealthy men at the theatre.

Nettie was 25, and thus past the age that men considered worth marrying. So no matter how hard she looked, love was never in the cards for her–hence her chosen profession. Nettie, still ever the romantic– got a real job as a clerk at St. Philip's Church + used the money to purchase a red dress. And although she was dressed well and attended church, society would still not accept her. So one night, she climbed to the balcony of the theatre, and just as she yelled: “You can’t save me!”– a bolt of lightning struck her dead. Nettie’s ghost is often spotted at the theatre– red dress and all.

Boone Hall Plantation

📍 1235 Long Point Rd., Mount Pleasant
👻 Founded by Major John Boone and then sold to brothers John and Henry Horlbeck, the plantation house is haunted by the slaves who were forced to work on the land. Most commonly spotted are the ghosts of a young boy + girl.

Old Exchange & Provost Dungeon

📍 122 E. Bay St.
👻 Built in 1767, the building was formerly used as a customs house, commerce center, and a post office. The basement, however– was an underground dungeon which housed pirates, slaves, + criminals in heinous conditions. The most notorious execution that occurred here was of Isaac Hayne in 1781.

On multiple occasions, visitors have approached who they thought was a staff member dressed in Revolution-period attire– only to realize that who they were seeing was not a staff member at all.

Other places said to be haunted: Fort Moultrie, The Pink House, 37 Meeting St, 17 Chalmers Street, the USS Yorktown, Fenwick Hall Plantation, and the Old Citadel (Embassy Suites Hotel).