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.

Seven Devils Bridge

Woodruff, South Carolina boasts the presence of a dark urban legend that claims the apparitions of seven executed enslaved men can be seen haunting an old bridge just outside of town.

This episode of Southern Gothic is part of our Campfire Tales, a series of daily podcasts released during Halloween 2022!

The Tragic Death of Julia Legare

“Many of those who are most familiar with the phenomena of life and death, [... have] left precise instructions in their wills for various preventives which experience has shown to be necessary, and in some instances a combination of these, so as to make doubly sure that they shall not be subjected, like thousands of human beings, to the unspeakable horrors of being buried alive.””

— William Tebb & Col. Edward Perry Vollum, "Premature Burial and How It May Be Prevented"

Interred in the Mausoleum far too soon…

The legend of Julia Legare has been passed down for generations, likely due to the fact that it brings into focus a far-reaching human anxiety, the fear of being buried alive.

In 1852, while visiting her relatives at their home in Ediso Island, 22-year-old Julia Legare fell ill. Her diagnosis was not good, Julia had been struck with diphtheria and there was little that they could do for her.  Eventually, Julia just slipped further away deep into a coma, and after many days and nights passed their worst fear was realized, Julia succumbed to her fate.

After the doctor declared her deceased the family moved quickly to say their goodbyes and ready their beloved’s remains for burial.  It is said that in the week following Julia’s burial, the faint sound of weeping and screaming could be heard emanating from the church cemetery, yet no one walked the grounds to see if they could find the source. 

The mausoleum was not re-opened for over a decade following Julia’s death, but when it was, a horrific. Julia’s remains were not where they had been left. It seems that Julia Legare had been buried alive.

Additional Links From This Episode:

• Purchase the Feminine Macabre, Vol. 3.

Sources:

Brown, Alan. Haunted South Carolina: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Palmetto State. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2010.

“Buried Alive: The creepy true legend of Julia Legare.” Random Times, September 28, 2020. https://random-times.com/. 

Coffey, Brandon. “Tomb of Julia Legare.” SC Scripture Project (blog.), November 2014. https://www.scpictureproject.org/charleston-county/tomb-of-julia-legare.html .

Harra, Todd. Last Rites: The Evolution of the American Funeral. Louisville, CO: Sounds True, 2022.

“Inside the Julia Legare Tomb.” Stories in the Cemetery (blog.) January 10, 2020. https://storiesinthecemetery.com/. 

Jones, J. Nicole. Low Country: A Memoir. New York: Catapult Books, 2021.

“Julia Georgiana Seabrook Legare.” Find A Grave. Accessed July 1, 2022. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65651815/julia-georgiana-legare. 

“Julia Legare.” Creepypasta (blog.) Accessed. July 1, 2022. https://creepypasta.fandom.com/wiki/Julia_Legare. 

“The Legend of Julia Legare.” Edisto Beach (blog.) Accessed July 1, 2022. https://www.edistobeach.com/the-legend-of-julia-legare/. 

Meier, Allison C. “The Fear of Being Buried Alive and How to Prevent It.” JSTOR Daily, October 31, 2019. https://daily.jstor.org/the-fear-of-being-buried-alive-and-how-to-prevent-it/. 

Rubio, J’aime. “The True Legend of Julia Legare - Fact vs. Fiction.” Dreaming Casually (blog.), August 7, 2014. https://dreamingcasuallypoetry.blogspot.com/. 

Rubio, J’aime. Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous, and Unremembered. Self-published: CreateSpace, 2016. 

“The Story of the Haunted Mausoleum of J.B. Legare on Edisto Island.” Tales of Southern Haints, September 18, 2020. https://haints.org/. 

Tebb, William and Col. Edward Perry Vollum. Premature Burial and How It May Be Prevented. 1896. Project Gutenberg, November 15, 2015. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/50460/50460-h/50460-h.htm.

Mystery of the Confederate Submarine

“Accounts of the Hunley’s sinking had assumed horrific scenes of the men trying to claw their way through the thick iron hatches, or huddled in the fetal position beneath the crew bench in their agony. Sinkings of modern submarines always resulted in the discovery of the dead clustered near the exits in their desperate efforts to escape their cold metal coffins, because to sit silently and await one’s own demise simply defies human nature. The crew of the Hunley, however, looked quite different. Each man was still seated peacefully at his station.””

— Rachel Vance, In the Waves

The First Combat Submarine to Sink a Warship

On the night of February 17, 1864, an immense explosion took down the USS Housatonic, a massive warship that was part of the Federal forces’ twenty vessel blockade of the Charleston harbor. Yet the destruction came seemingly out of nowhere, as eyewitnesses in the crew claimed their only warning was the sight of a dark cigar shaped vessel headed straight towards them. What they soon found out was that this sloop-of-war was the victim of the first successful submarine attack in modern warfare.

Unfortunately for the crew of the H.L. Hunley, who carried out this historic mission, the Confederate submarine did not make it back to shore, giving way to a century old mystery– what happened to the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley and why did it go down in the fight?

Additional Links From This Episode:

• Visit the H.L. Hunley on weekends in Charleston, South Carolina.

• Check out the 1999 Made for TV movie, The Hunley on IMDB.

• Watch Drain the Oceans: Season 2, Episode 5 - Secrets of the Civil War on the Disney Plus.

Sources:

Brimelow, Benjamin. “The first submarine to sink a warship was more deadly for its own crew than for the enemy.” Business Insider, February 17, 2021. https://www.businessinsider.com/confederate-civil-war-submarine-hunley-first-sub-to-sink-warship-2021-2.  

Curry, Andrew. “A Civil War Time Capsule from the Sea.” June 24, 2007. U.S. News & World Report. https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2007/06/24/a-civil-war-time-capsule-from-the-sea 

Duncan, Ruth H. The Captain and the Submarine CSS H.L. Hunley. Memphis, TN: S.C. Toof & Company, 1965.

The Friends of the Hunley. “The Friends of the Hunley.” 2021. https://www.hunley.org/

“H. L. Hunley (submarine).” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. Washington DC: US Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1978. Accessed at https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/ 

Hicks, Brian. “One-Way Mission of the H. L. Hunley.” January 2014. U. S. Naval Institute. https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2014/january/one-way-mission-h-l-hunley 

Hicks, Brian. “Rewriting history: Discovery alters legend of doomed sub Hunley.” Updated December 8, 2016. The Post and Courier. https://www.postandcourier.com/archives.  https://www.postandcourier.com/archives/rewriting-history-discovery-alters-legend-of-doomed-subhunley-submarine-lifted/article_ebecd2a4-9288-51c7-b6e2-5f26ade4090b.html

Hicks, Brian and Schuyler Kropf. Raising the Hunley: The Remarkable History and Recovery of the Lost Confederate Submarine. New York: Ballantine Publishing, 2002.

Lance, Rachel. In the Waves: My Quest to Solve the Mystery of a Civil War Submarine. New York: Penguin Randomhouse LLC, 2020.

Lance, Rachel M., Lucas Stalcup, Brad Wojtylak, and Cameron R. Bass. “Air blast injuries killed the crew of the H.L. Hunley.” PLoS One, 12 no. 8 (2017). Accessed December 1, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0182244 

Roberts, Nancy. Ghosts from the Coasts. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2001.

Spence, Edward Lee. Treasures of the Confederate Coast: The "Real Rhett Butler" & Other Revelations. Miami, FL: Narwhal Press, 1991.

Stewart, Charles W. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion: Series 1 - Vol. 15. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1902. Google Books. https://books.google.com https://www.google.com/books/edition/Official_Records_of_the_Union_and_Confed/Bl1AAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1#spf=1584657754154

Still, William N., Jr. “A Naval Sieve: The Union Blockade in the Civil War.” Naval War College Review 36, no. 3 (May-June 1983): 38-45. JSTOR.

Walker, Sally. Secrets of a Civil War Submarine: Solving the Mysteries of the H.L. Hunley.  Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books,  2015.

Whipple, John. “The Birth of Undersea Warfare - HL Hunley.” Undersea Warfare, 2006. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20121016165452/http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/usw/issue_32/hunley.html

Hilton Head Island's Haunted Lighthouse

The Blue Lady of Palmetto Dunes…

Hilton Head Island’s Leamington Lighthouse was erected in 1880 to help guide ships away from the island and safely into Port Royal Sound; but according to local lore, the now decommissioned structure is home to the apparition of a young women in a blue dress.

Legends say that the woman is the daughter of a lighthouse keeper who tragically met his fate during a massive hurricane. As a result, she purportedly returns to warn of pending storms.

Ghost Hound of Goshen

One of South Carolina’s Most Wicked Spirits

Legend says that on Old Bumcombe Road in South Carolina, a man was hanged in the mid 19th century for a crime he did not commit. As a result, the spirit of his loyal canine companion is believed to continue to seek vengeance for his death-- a spirit now known as the Ghost Hound of Goshen.

The Boo Hag

The Gullah people claim the existence of a mythical creature that they believe stalks the living by day in the hope of sucking their energy at night.  This wicked creature is known simply as the Boo Hag.

The Gray Man of Pawley's Island

Each year, June 1st marks the first day of the Atlantic Hurricane season; and while modern technology has helped reduced the catastrophic destruction of these storms, on the small barrier island of Pawley's Island, South Carolina, locals believe it is the appearance of an apparition known as "The Gray Man" who truly warns them of impending disaster.

Legacy of Lavinia Fisher

Many legends claim that Lavinia Fisher was the first female serial killer in the United States.  She and her husband John operated an inn just outside of Charleston, South Carolina.  They named it Six Mile Wayfarer House, but their intentions behind the business were sinister.  It is said the Fishers targeted wealthy travelers, poisoning them at dinner and stealing their valuables.  For these crimes, the Fishers were executed on February 18, 1820.  It is said that Lavinia wore her wedding dress to the gallows and when it came time for her to speak her last words she unrepentantly bellowed, “if you have a message you want to send to hell, give it to me, I’ll carry it.” 

But the historical accuracy of this legend is entirely false.  In fact Lavinia may not have actually murdered anyone.