The Paranormal part of my trip: Part 1
7-27-2006
As most of my Paranormal related friends know, Charleston, SC is one of the most historic and haunted cities in America.
I found out during my trip that one of the reasons why it is so haunted is because for many years the city had little or no building codes. Therefore, new homes and buildings would be constructed over existing graves and cemeteries without the bodies being removed and buried elsewhere.
Another reason is because many neighborhoods have been declared historical sites and therefore existing construction can only also be kept up or restored but never torn down. A lot of people in the Paranormal field feel that spirits tend to hang out at places that were familiar to them during their lifetimes. Therefore that is why spirits stay in the same Charleston area where they once lived.
My first Monday in Charleston, I decided to schedule a ghost tour for my family. We went on the tour described on this site. Ghost Tour
As you can tell from the site, the tour is based on a book written by Julian Buxton, a former local college professor who grew up in a haunted house. The book’s name is, “The Ghosts of Charleston” and the book is described later on at this URL: Ghost Book This tour was a 90 minute tour. However, I will tell you the two best parts of it and then something that happened only to me.
In the first best part of the tour, they took us past the old jailhouse where most prisoners were kept and showed us the gallow area in the back yard. Here is a site with information and pictures of this jail. Jail Info She told us that public hangings were the norm in Charleston during the 18 hundreds and that these events were like public entertainment for the community.
Then she told us the story of Lavina Fisher. She was a very beautiful woman who was probably the first female serial killer. She and her husband operated a boarding house outside Charleston called, ” Six Mile House”.
When a solo boarder showed up at their door, Lavinia would spellbound the guy with her beauty and ask him many personal questions. She wanted to be sure that no one would miss the guy too much if he should turn up missing. If the guy was a good candidate, her and her husband would murder him and then confiscate all his belongings. They would sell the victim’s property in town for a profit and bury his body in the grounds of the boarding home. When they were finally caught, Lavinia went to the gallows dressed in her wedding gown. Just before she was hung, she asked the stunned crowd that if anyone had a message for the devil to let her know because she was about to meet him. Since then, her ghost has been seen in a number of locations, including the Old Jailhouse. Here is a picture I took of the outside of the jail.
In this tour, we were not allowed to enter the jail so I decided to schedule a tour inside this jail during my next night in Charleston. Stay tuned for part 2 of this story which I will write later.
In the next best part of the tour, we walked passed by a building called, ” The Wagner Building”, which was used to house offices in the old days but it is now currently a restaurant. You can find out more about this restaurant at this site: Haunted Restaurant . She told us the story of a cotton merchant who was having problems with bill collectors. He rounded up all the cotton he had and shipped it to another location hoping that it would be sold for a profit and he could pay off his debts.
It turns out that on the night the ship was to leave the port with his shipment, it caught fire and he ended up loosing everything he ever owned. This man’s office was on the third floor of this building which is now a restaurant. He decided to hang himself right there. He used wire to hang himself instead of rope and was decapitated.
Today, the decapitated spirit is seen by diners who frequent the third floor. Normally this floor is closed to the public however there are some local diners which request to be served dinner on this floor. The last time the apparition appeared, a new manager which had just graduated from college saw it. He was so frightened, he quit his job on the spot and went back to live in New Jersey with his parents. Here is a picture I took of the restaurant.
Now I will tell you the story about what happened to me while I was standing on the street looking up at this restaurant. Some of you may know that since I was 8 years old, I have had more then one close encounter with a Ghost. I do not know whether this would count as a ghost story, I will let you decide this.
As I just stated, while I was standing on the street, I felt that all of a sudden there was pressure on the back left pocket of my jeans. It was as though someone’s hand was pressing down on the pocket. I knew there were other people in the same crowd where I was so I did not panic. I however thought that it may be paranormal in nature. So, I decided quickly to take my own hand and without turning around, slap the pocket so I would hopefully trap whatever was causing the pressure on the pocket. I thought that if it was someone’s hand, I would slap it and find out who was doing it. Also, if it was an insect, I would also trap it. Well, as you might have guessed by now, there was nothing there to slap or touch. Right after my own hand slapped my jean pocket, the pressure disappeared. As I said, you guys decide whether this was a ghost or not. I invite your comments to this experience or any part of my tour.