Charleston Continued

Charleston is a city rich in history. I was able to go on a few late night tours that were quick to cite many horrific occurrences in Charlestonian history and the consequent frequent hauntings around town. They report Charleston as being the 2nd most haunted city in the United States, second only to Philadelphia. There are certainly numerous lists of the "Top Ten" most haunted cities, but inevitably, Charleston shows up on many of them at least in the top 5. They have a history of wars, conflicts, earthquakes, hurricanes, and disease. I was able to take a few tours of some of the local graveyards. Apparently, graveyards and cemeteries are different things. Graveyards are directly next to a church, cemeteries do not border a church, although many are right across the street, only patrons with money and prestige were often buried in actual graveyards. On these tours I heard many stories of horror and some of sadness. The graveyards and cemeteries are small in size and have hundreds buried within their walls. Often there are mass graves made from necessity during epidemics of disease, or from mass casualties from war. These mass graves are often marked, if at all, by one marker noting the nameless souls laid to rest. Another common practice was to utilize the same grave for 5-6 people, burying them one on top of another. Headstones were then stacked almost on top of each other to name those that were beneath.

Many of the tombstones had skulls or crossbones on them, these were used as a deterrent to grave diggers to warn them of contagious disease and prevent the unearthing of the corpse and infecting more people.
The graveyards had hundreds of tombstones in them, many propped up on a side wall as people were unsure where they went as they have been displaced over time from traffic, hurricanes, or wear from the ages. Another interesting tidbit of information was the practice of encompassing the grave and filling the 'bed' with flowers. This was coined a 'flower bed' a term that continues to exist today, although in different context. Stories also abound of those who were buried alive or enclosed in crypts who woke up days later. Of course this was only found out after reopening a crypt to put in another dead body and seeing no bones/body where the last one was left. But they did find new bones directly next to the door, and often frantic scraping marks from 'deceased' attempting to free themselves from their entombment!

Charleston lore notes many ghosts that haunt the graveyards, cemeteries, and also many local businesses. Many photographs have been taken where orbs show up and these are considered to be spirits that can be 'seen' by the camera. Blue orbs are supposedly friendly, while those with more of a red hue are considered angry, evil and generally bad for you. It appears I was able to 'capture' one such bad spirit in this photo, I am unsure how much I buy into this, but it makes for a fun story - especially since I 'caught' one!

Another interesting tour was a tour through the inside of the old Charleston jail, built in 1790 it was used as a jail and continued operating up until 1939. It is in disrepair, but efforts are being made to restore it as a unique piece of Charleston history. It was built to house 128 inmates, but often was packed with over 300 men and/or women. Since it was built in the late 1700's and was never updated, except for minor repairs to the structure after earthquakes and hurricanes, it never had running water or electricity up until recently to allow for tours.

Stories of torture and horror abound at the Charleston jail, but here are some of the more popular. The old warden during the late 1800's was a particularly sadistic man who enjoyed torturing many of the inmates. He fabricated a pulley system to stretch them out, coined the 'Crane of Pain', dislocating their arms from the socket for days, he also had a coffin in the basement that he would lock prisoners into for days. If they didn't starve to death first, they were cooked inside lead coffin with the humid summer heat of Charleston. It is said that if a man was lucky enough to escape his penchant for pain, they would most likely succumb to disease and death in the near future. The jail was severely crowded back then and there was no air circulation, no facilities for bathroom and no electricity.

One of the most famous tales of Charleston, one that I certainly enjoyed hearing a few different times with some variations is that of the first female serial killer in the United States, Charleston's own, Lavinia Fisher. It is told that Lavinia was a very beautiful woman. She and her husband John lived 6 miles, or one day's ride, outside of Charleston and had their own inn. They would take in merchants traveling with goods and would kill these merchants while they stayed, then take the goods to Charleston and sell them themselves. They killed their victims by offering them Oleander tea. As the man went up to his room and went to bed, John would creep into their room and chop off their head with an ax. They put the bodies in lime pits and were not discovered until a merchant by the name of John Peeples refused Lavinia's tea (unbeknownst to her) and faked a sleepy trip up to his room. He heard John come into his room, saw the ax, and jumped out the window and ran all the way to Charleston, reporting what had happened.

John and Lavinia were arrested and brought to the Charleston jail. They were both convicted of their crimes and sentenced to death by hanging, her being the first woman in the United States to be convicted and sentenced to death. Lavinia was not only a beautiful woman, but smart too. She smugly accepted her sentence as the judge told her she would die by hanging. At the end of the judge's sentence she informed him she would not die by the gallows. He questioned her as to why not and she cited an often forgotten law that the state of South Caroline did not hang married women. Not to be outdone, the judge said "Fine then Lavinia, you are right about that... we shall hang your husband first and you will then be a widow and this state has every right to kill a widow who is convicted of robbery and murder!"

Lavinia took her sentence and continued to figure out a way out of this predicament. She was very sure of her beauty and as she watched her husband hang to his death she construed a new plan. She decided she would wear a wedding dress to the gallows, because of her beauty, she was positive that some fellow would request her hand in marriage thereby saving her from a hanging death. Well she was sorely mistaken and made that journey without one single request for marriage. As she walked onto the gallows stage she yelled at the crowd "If anybody has a message for the devil give it to me now, cuz I'll be in hell with him tonight". And as she finished those words she walked right off the gallows, hanging herself. As the story goes the crew then threw the switch activating the weight that was the hanging apparatus, and her head popped clean off since she was such a tiny little thing and the weight was built for the heavier duty of hanging men.

It is said that she still haunts the Charleston jail and has a penchant for jewelry and gems. Many visitors have lost earrings or other valuables, or felt a tug on their purse... The tour staff say that often the jewelry is located days or even months later in rooms that are unoccupied and closed to visitors.
The tours were a blast and I really loved learning the history of Charleston, its people, its stories, its society, and its legacy.