The Baynard Mausoleum of Hilton Head Island

“One marble door on hinges still hangs and works perfectly, the other has been broken away. Within are 21 sections for receiving coffins and six of these are occupied. Two of the coffins are of cast iron, formed to hold snugly the bodies of their dead,[...] The other coffins are all of heart pine and except for having been broken open by vandals in search of jewelry are still in good condition.””

— The State, Columbia, SC, May 29, 1927

the Oldest Surviving Structure on the Island

Atop Hilton Head Island’s highest bluff overlooking the Calibogue Sound was a grand antebellum mansion that for William Eddings Baynard and his betrothed, Catherine Adelaide Scott, was their dream of a life they could spend together and a place to raise their future family. 

 In 1846 Baynard began construction on a family mausoleum in the Chapel of the Ease Cemetery. It was without a doubt, the grandest and most impressive tomb seen on the island at that time.

Yet while the Baynard Mausoleum has somehow stood the test of time, tragically, its mission to protect those interred there has not been fulfilled, as today it sits under those moss-covered oak trees entirely empty– a victim to over a century of vandalism and theft– making this truly unique and historic structure the center to some of the island’s most infamous legends and ghost lore. A legacy that continues on to this very day.

ADDITIONAL LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Watch a news report on the discovery of bones in the believed empty Baynard Crypt.

Sources:

“Anthropology class uncovers 100-year-old bones on Hilton Head Island.” WTOC. Updated September 29, 2015. https://www.wtoc.com.

Carmichael, Sherman. Eerie South Carolina: True Chilling Stories from the Palmetto Past. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2013.

Lauderdale, David. “Hilton Head’s Zion Chapel of the Ease makes national list.” (Hilton Head Island, SC). The Island Packet, October 19, 2017.

Matrana, Marc R. Lost Plantations of the South. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2009.

Miller, Riley. “The Ghost in the Stone: Spooky stories tell tales of Hilton Head Island's distant past.” WJCL. Updated October 31, 2022. https://www.wjcl.com/article/hilton-head-ghost-stories/41823578#. 

Perry, Grace Fox. “New Activity Taking Place on Hilton Head.” (Beaufort, SC). The Beaufort Gazette, April 9, 1953. Newspapers.com.

Roberts, Nancy. South Carolina Ghosts: From the Coast to the Mountains. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2019.

Taylor, B.F. “Exploring Hilton Head is Interesting Experience.” (Columbia, SC). The State, May 29, 1927. Newspapers.com   

Thomas, Richard. “Hilton Head’s untold history: Captain Jack Stoney.” Local Life. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://www.locallifesc.com/hilton-heads-untold-history-captain-jack-stoney/. 

Thomas, Richard. “Hilton Head’s untold history: Grave Robbers once roamed Hilton Head.” Local Life. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://www.locallifesc.com/hilton-heads-untold-history-grave-robbers-once-roamed-hilton-head/

Wilson, Patty A. Cursed in the Carolinas: Stories of the Damned. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot, 2017.

Wooster, Lyman. “The Stoneys, the Baynards, and Their Mansion.” The Heritage Library, The Heritage Library Foundation. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://heritagelib.org/the-stoneys-the-baynards-and-their-mansion. 

Zepke, Terrance. Ghosts of the Carolina Coasts. Sarasota, FL: Pineapple Press, 1999.

The Face in the Courthouse Window

“Since 1878 there has been the picture of a man’s face so indelibly stamped on a window of the the Pickens County Courthouse that it looks as if a photographer had snapped his lens and made the likeness on the glass pane. But it was no human photographer who reproduced that countenance, which reflects the anguish and terror filling the heart of a man who knew that he was face to face with violent death””

— Kathryn Tucker Windham, "13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffery"

Unmoved by Soap, Water, or Modern Cleaning Chemicals…

On April 5, 1865, just four days before General Robert E. Lee surrendered, effectively ending the Civil War, United States Army General John T. Croxton ordered the destruction of the Pickens County Courthouse in Carrolton, Alabama. Why he did it is unknown. The community however, would not be cowed and vowed to rebuild. Yet to their horror, the new courthouse would not last either. On November 16, 1876 the people of Pickens County watched helplessly as their new courthouse, was consumed by flames, just as its predecessor had been– it too was the victim of arson.

Legend, and history, placed the blame for the burning courthouse on the shoulders of Henry Wells, a formerly enslaved man who was said to be not the kindest of individuals and was in fact known to have participated in robberies. Though no evidence pointed to him as the courthouse arsonist, the community believed in his guilt, and it is said played a role in his death. According to legend, his fate at the hands of a lynch mob resulted in the vision of his face, permanently etched, in a window of the Pickens County Courthouse.

ADDITIONAL LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:

Watch Kathryn Tucker Window tell the story of the 'Face in the Courthouse Window.'

Sources:

Aheron, Piper Peters. Pickens County. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2000.

Hauck, Dennis William. Haunted Places: The National Directory. London: Penguin, 1997.

Higdon, David and Brett Talley. Haunted Alabama Black Belt. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2013.

“Mystery of the Pickens County Courthouse Face.” The Haunted Places. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://thehauntedplaces.com/mystery-pickens-county-courthouse-face/. 

Norman, Michael and Beth Scott. Haunted Heritage: A Definitive Collection of North American Ghost Stories. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 2002.

Reid, Tim. “Alabama Ghost Stories: The Face in the Courthouse Window.” CBS 42 News. October 29, 2020. https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/alabama-ghost-stories-the-face-in-the-courthouse-window/. 

Windham, Kathryn Tucker and Margaret Gillis Figh. 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 2016.

The Ghost of Alice Riley

“This magnificent and storied square was also ominously known as ‘hanging square,’ the place where the condemned met their fate on the gallows in the eighteenth century. Knowing its past history, one cannot walk around it at night or on a bright sunny day without feeling, and perhaps faintly hearing, the cries, moans and groans of those who met their deaths dangling from the end of a sturdy rope.””

— Michael Harris & Linda Sickler, "Historic Haunts of Savannah"

The First Woman Executed in Georgia

According to local legend, visitors to Savannah’s Historic Wright Square have been known to encounter a young woman dressed in 18th-century style clothing. Some are said to have been approached and begged for their assistance in finding the woman’s lost son. Yet when folks begin to search the area, the girl disappears.  Many believe this is the ghost of Alice Riley, the first woman executed in the colony of Georgia.

Alice Riley arrived in the American Colonies in January of 1734 as an indentured servant who would work for about five to seven years to pay back her debt and earn her freedom. To pay back the cost of the voyage she would be sent to work for William Wise, a man of questionable character. It would be a tragic assignment that led to Wise dead and Alice Riley convicted of a murder that some believe she may not have actually committed.

Additional Links From This Episode:

• Purchase the Feminine Macabre, Vol. 3.

Sources:

“Alice Riley.” Murderpedia. Accessed August 15, 2022. https://murderpedia.org/female.R/r/riley-alice.htm. 

Brown, Alan. Haunted Georgia: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Peach State. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2008.

Byrd, Georgia R. Haunted Savannah. Guilford, CT: Morris Book Publishing, 2011.

Caskey, James. Haunted Savannah: The Official Guide to Savannah Haunted History Tour, 2010. Savannah, GA: Bonaventure Books, 2005.

Freeman, Robert Michael. “Alice Riley: A Sad Savannah Story.” Freeman’s Rag (blog). April 28, 2018. https://www.freemansrag.com/historical-ruminations/alice-riley-a-sad-savannah-story

“The Ghost of Alice Riley: Savannah’s Most Famous Ghost Story.” Ghost City Tours. Accessed August 15, 2022. https://ghostcitytours.com/savannah/ghost-stories/alice-riley/. 

“The ghost of Alice Riley and the legend spanish moss.” Random-Times. July 29, 2020. https://random-times.com/2020/07/29/the-ghost-of-alice-riley-and-the-legend-spanish-moss/

Harris, Michael & Linda Sickler. Historic Haunts of Savannah. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2014.

Harris, Michael. “Murder & lies: The ghost of Savannah’s Wright Square.” Savannah Now | Savannah Morning News. October 30, 2014. https://www.savannahnow.com/story/news/2014/10/31/murder-lies-ghost-savannahs-wright-square/13526612007/

“History of Savannah.” Visit Savannah. Accessed August 15, 2022. https://www.visitsavannah.com/article/history-savannah. 

Michaels, Brenna & T.C. Michaels. Hidden History of Savannah. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2019.

Temple, Sarah Gober & Kenneth Coleman. Georgia Journeys: Being an Account of the Lives of Georgia’s Original Settlers and Many Other Early Settlers. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2010.

McRaven House's Haunted History

“McRaven House is a time capsule crammed with the priceless heirlooms and mementos of every family who ever crossed its threshold…Time travel is possible here; follow in the footsteps of each of the prior inhabitants. If you get lost, they will find you.””

— Barbary Sillery, "The Haunting of Mississippi"

The Most Haunted House in Mississippi…

The McRaven House of Vicksburg, Mississippi has earned a national reputation for the amount of paranormal activity said to occur there.

The home was said to be first built in 1797 as the hideout for a notorious highwayman. Over the next 220+ years, McRaven was expanded twice, survived the brutal Siege of Vicksburg during the Civil War, served as a hospital during that same conflict, and been a home to numerous families.

Largely unchanged since the additions were constructed, each section of McRaven House: Pioneer, Empire, and Greek Revival, remain excellent examples of the architecture and lifestyle of the time that they were constructed. This feat is so unique that in 1963 National Geographic Magazine did a feature on the home, calling it a “Time Capsule of the South.”  Today open to the public for tours, McRaven House serves as one of the most complete and well-preserved homes in Vicksburg from the antebellum era.

Additional Links From This Episode:

• Purchase the Feminine Macabre, Vol. 3.

Sources:

“African Americans and the campaign for Vicksburg.” National Park Service. Updated March 15, 2018. https://www.nps.gov/vick/learn/historyculture/african-americans-and-the-campaign.htm.  

Brown, Alan. Ghosts Along the Mississippi River. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2011.

Brown, Alan. Haunted Vicksburg. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2010.

Carter, Josh and Jacob Gallant. “We spent a night inside the most haunted house in Mississippi. Here’s what we saw.” WLBT. September 29, 2021. https://www.wlbt.com/. 

Coleman, Christopher Kiernan. Ghosts and Haunts of the Civil War. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1999.

Frazier, Terri Cowart. “Haunted History: Several Spirits Supposedly Reside in Vicksburg Home.” The Vicksburg Post. November 19, 2018.https://www.vicksburgpost.com/. 

“McRaven.” McRaven Tour Home. Copyright 2021. https://www.mcraventourhome.com/.  

“McRaven House: Vicksburg’s Most Haunted Mansion.” Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau. Accessed July 30, 2022. https://visitvicksburg.com/. 

Newman, Rich. Ghosts of the Civil War: Exploring the Paranormal History of America’s Deadliest War. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Worldwide, 2017. 

Parker, Seth. “The Haunted McRaven / Bobb House | Vicksburg, Mississippi.” Parker Studios (blog). July 28, 2019. https://sethparker.net/haunted-mcraven-house-vicksburg-mississippi/. 

Roberts, Nancy. Civil War Ghost Stories & Legends. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1992.

Shoemaker, Mary McCahon. “Bobb House.” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson, November 6, 1978. https://www.apps.mdah.ms.gov/nom/prop/27689.pdf. 

Sillery, Barbara. The Haunting of Mississippi. Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing, 2011.

The Vicksburg Herald. “Are There Ghosts in Vicksburg. A Haunted House.” July 22, 1864. Newspapers.com.

Frank the Library Ghost

Now Entering Frank’s Study

Although the Red Lady may be Huntingdon College’s most well known ghost, she is certainly not the only one!

It’s believed the Huntingdon College's Houghton Memorial Library is home to a mysterious, and mischievous spirit named Frank. Perhaps most unsurprising for a library ghost, is Frank’s has a particular fondness for playing with books.

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your favorite podcasts!

Sources:

Brown, Alan. Haunted Alabama. Haunted America. New Orleans, LA: Pelican Publishing, 2021.

Huntingdon College. Library: Ghosts. Houghton Memorial Library. Accessed January 14, 2022. https://libguides.huntingdon.edu/website/ghosts 

Mitchell Bennett Houghton (1844-1925). Find a Grave. Accessed January 14, 2022. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65121276/mitchell-bennett-houghton 

Rankin, M. (2020, October 30). Hauntings at Huntingdon: Frank, the Library Ghost. CBS 42 Birmingham. Accessed January 14, 2022. https://www.cbs42.com/news/hauntings-at-huntingdon-frank-the-library-ghost/ 

Serafin, Faith. Haunted Montgomery, Alabama. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2013.

Swancer, Brent. “The Mysterious Lady in Red and Other Hauntings at Huntingdon College.” Journal Online, March 22, 2021. https://journal.com.ph/the-mysterious-lady-in-red-and-other-hauntings-at-huntingdon-college/.

Walking tour. Huntingdon College. Accessed January 14, 2022. https://www.huntingdon.edu/admission-aid/learn-more/walking-tour/

The Red Lady of Huntingdon College

““Nearly all colleges have ghosts, legends that have grown up around some supernatural occurrences generations of students tell to each other [...] but the finest of those ghost stories, those college ghost stories, is told here at Huntingdon College in Montgomery.””

— Kathryn Tucker Windham

One of the most Iconic College Hauntings in America

Huntingdon College of Montgomery, Alabama regularly makes the lists of ‘most haunted’ universities in America as generations of students have claimed the ghost of a young woman haunts the fourth floor of Pratt Hall--an apparition that has become known as the Red Lady.  Legend claims that this young woman named Martha left behind her home in New York to attend the institution, but upon her arrival, she was overcome by homesickness and the loneliness of being misunderstood by the other girls in her dormitory.  As a result, Martha did something drastic that students continue to whisper about to this day.    

But did Martha actually exist or is this just another tall tale to frighten freshmen?  We will explore this question and more on this week’s episode of Southern Gothic….

Additional Links From This Episode:

• Watch Kathryn Tucker Windham tell the story of the Red Lady of Huntingdon College on Dr. Poppy Moon’s YouTube Channel.

• Listen to Wolfgang Poe on Season One of Ghost Tour.

• Check out Astonishing Legends: The True Story Behind the Exorcist - Episodes 219-221.

Sources:

Barefoot, Daniel W. Haunted Halls of Ivy: Ghosts of Southern Colleges and Universities. Winston-Salem, NC: J.F. Blair, 2004.

Brown, Alan. Haunted Alabama. Haunted America. New Orleans, LA: Pelican Publishing, 2021.

Brown, Alan. The Haunting of Alabama. Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing Company, 2017.

Crider, Beverly. “Strange Alabama: The Red Lady of Huntingdon.” AL.com. Advance Local Media LLC, April 17, 2012. https://www.al.com/strange-alabama/2012/04/the_red_lady_of_huntingdon.html.

Ferri, Jessica. “A Crimson Vision: The Red Lady of Huntingdon College.” The Lineup. Open Road Media, August 17, 2016. https://the-line-up.com/the-red-lady.

Hauck, Dennis William. Haunted Places: The National Directory. London: Penguin, 1997.

Huntingdon College. Accessed January 6, 2022. https://www.huntingdon.edu/. 

Huntingdon College's Red Lady. YouTube. Dr. Poppy Moon, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsinhmsF4gA&t=48s.

Kazek, Kelly. “Let's Look at the Real Sites From '13 Alabama Ghosts'.” AL.com. Advance Local Media LLC, October 26, 2018. https://www.al.com/life-and-culture/erry-2018/10/4e9023658d7208/lets-look-at-the-real-sites-fr.html.

“Lady in Red (Ghost).” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, November 25, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_in_Red_(ghost). 

Schexnayder, Brandon, Alicia King-Marshall, hosts. “Wolfgang Poe of the Birmingham Historic Touring Company” Ghost Tour (podcast), September 10, 2021, accessed January 5, 2022, https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/blog/gt001

Serafin, Faith. Haunted Montgomery, Alabama. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2013.

Swancer, Brent. “The Mysterious Lady in Red and Other Hauntings at Huntingdon College.” Journal Online, March 22, 2021. https://journal.com.ph/the-mysterious-lady-in-red-and-other-hauntings-at-huntingdon-college/.

“White Lady.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, January 5, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Lady. 

Windham, Kathryn Tucker and Margaret Gillis Figh. 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 2016. 

The Peyton Randolph House Hauntings

The Most Haunted Building in Williamsburg?

In our first minisode we travel back to historic WIlliamsburg, Viriginia…

The home, first constructed in 1721, is today one of the most original surviving structures in Williamsburg; the buildings longevity is believed by many to be the reason why many believe it to be so paranormally active.

In it’s 300 year history the Peyton Randolph house served as a meeting place for American Revolutionaries, and a hospital during the Civil War. With the numerous individuals who lived and died within its walls, its perhaps unsurprising that the accounts of strange occurrences of disembodied noises are said to date back to the late 1700s.

It’s even said that Revolutionary War hero and French General Marquis de Lafayette, experienced something he couldn’t explain when staying at the house in 1824. He was one of many to have an encounter in the Peyton Randolph House.

Ghosts of the Williamsburg Public Gaol

Some Prefered the Gallows…

In 1638, English colonists established their first significant inland settlement on the high ground of the Virginia Peninsula, between the James and York Rivers.  In 1699 Middle Plantation was renamed Williamsburg and given the honor of serving as the new capital of the Virginia Colony.  As a result Williamsburg has had a truly unique place in American history. It has been witness to practically every aspect, from the Colonial era through the American Revolution and Civil War, to its present state as a modern city with a population of over 14,000.  

One of Williamsburg’s most infamous historic structures is the Public Gaol-- a place where the accused once awaited trial. Each prison cell was designed to hold six inmates shackled to the wall, and although allowances were made for the accused to spend time in the exercise yard, the overcrowding and lack of sanitation made illness a real and likely possibility.

Conditions that are said to have been so bad the some would prefer the gallows over incarceration there.

Today eerie shadows have been seen moving about the cells on the first floor without explanation, and the balls and chains on display at what is now a museum have been known to move and swing by themselves.  Some have even reported hearing the disembodied sounds of prisoners banging on the wall from inside, despite the building being empty. 

The Curse on Barnsley Gardens

It would be the deepest disrespect to disturb the area…

In 1837 Godfrey Barnsley purchased 3,645 acres of land that had recently been opened for settlement by the state of Georgia. This and however, was taken by the state from the Cherokee people through the coercive Treaty of New Echota.

Legend says that the land Barnsley purchased and planned to build on was sacred ground for generations of Cherokee. Despite being warned of possible consequences, Barnsley built his family a grand mansion, known first as Woodlands, and later as Barnsley Gardens.

This unwillingness to respect the beliefs of the Cherokee people would be a tragic mistake that would lead to a series of unfortunate events for all of the Barnsley family who lived in the home.

The Surrency Family Poltergeist

Ghosts on the Rampage in Georgia…

In October 1872, a small Georgia community was bursting with visitors and curiosity seekers in an attempt to discover the truth behind mysterious happenings at the family home of Allen Powell Surrency.

In what many consider to be one of the most documented ghost story in American history, the Surrency family home seemingly became the epicenter of a destructive entity. From the benign—doors slammed open and closed and objects floated above the ground, to the life threatening—a child thrown from bed and another beaten by unseen hands.

Today, proponents of the paranormal say that the events in 1872 have the marks of poltergeist activity. The cause of such activity at the Surrency House remains a mystery.