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.

John Henry: Steel Driving Man

With A Hammer In My Hand…

When the Civil War drew to a close, the United States’ railway networks, particularly those in the Southern states, were in shambles. During the Reconstruction era, the rehabilitation of the southern rails and expansion of transcontinental railroads became a major undertaking, and as the importance of the railroad rose.

In the three decades after the Civil War over 170,000 miles of track were added to America’s railway system; it opened the western states for further settlement and reestablished the accessibility of the southern states. The accomplishment required a considerable workforce, and railway companies became a significant employers of thousands of men finally freed from enslavement.

The work was dangerous, physically intensive, and time consuming.  It's unknown exactly how many men lost their lives to injury or illness while expanding the nation’s railroad system during Reconstruction, but the legacy of these men lives on in one of the most enduring folk heroes in American history...the ballad of John Henry, the steel-driving man.

Refuge in the Great Dismal Swamp

The dreariest of places…

It was in 1619 that the first enslaved Africans arrived on the shores of Virginia Colony. Over the next two and a half centuries, as the colonies expanded, so too did the number of enslaved persons. Also on the rise were the number of men and women willing to risk everything in an attempt for freedom.

In Virginia, many of those men and women who fled enslavement took refuge in the Great Dismal Swamp. From as early as 1700, those men and women, known as maroons, established settlements within the seemingly inhospitable swamp.

Knowledge about what life was like in the Dismal is uncertain. But it is certainly a place of duality, where freemen escaped to, but companies brought enslaved men to work.

Although little physical evidence remains today, it is believed that prior to the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, more than 2,000 people lived in the Great Dismal Swamp.

The Mysterious Death of Meriwether Lewis

American Explorer’s Unsolved Death

On May 14, 1804 Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out on what would become a two year expedition across the western half of the United States.

Yet for all the successes of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, there lies a shadow over the legacy of the famed Meriwether Lewis-- for as this daring explorer was able to survive the treacherous journey into the vast wilderness of North America, his life came to an end not long after his return-- a tragedy with mysterious circumstances that over two centuries later remains unsolved.

Madame Félicité Chretien

A Real Life Scarlett O’Hara

Just north of Lafayette, Louisiana -- in the small town of Sunset -- is Chretien Point, a beautiful creole style two-story mansion that once served as the centerpiece to a vast cotton plantation known as Chretien Point.

Today, the enduring legacy of Chretien Point is not in its bricks or furnishings, but in the story of its mistress, Félicité Neda Chretien. Commonly referred to as a ‘real-life’ Scarlett O’Hara -- Madame Félicité Chretien was confident, strong-willed, intelligent, and beautiful.

Félicité learned how to successfully run a plantation from her father, and it was she who saw Chretien Point Plantation through its most prosperous days, and it was Madame Chretien who saved it from its darkest.

Legend of Peter Dromgoole

A UNIVERSITY DISAPPEARANCE

For almost two centuries the legend of the disappearance of Peter Dromgoole has been told by the students of the University of North Carolina.      

In 1833 Peter Dromgoole arrived to study at the University, and although he initially failed the entrance exam Peter remained to prepare to retake the test.  Yet before he could do so, Peter Dromgoole vanished without a trace. 

The oft-told legend of Peter Dromgoole is one of a love story that ends in a tragedy.  There is another version of the tale, one that looks at Dromgoole family letters, in an attempt to discover Peter’s path from North Carolina. 

Today, centuries later, the mystery remains unsolved.  What actually happened to Peter Dromgoole? 

The Waverly Hills Sanatorium

MOST HAUNTED PLACE ON EARTH

On July 26, 1910 the Waverly Hills Sanatorium opened outside Louisville, Kentucky; the hospital on the hill was dedicated solely to the treatment of those infected with the highly contagious and often fatal disease, tuberculosis.  During its forty years in operation, thousands would pass through the hospital doors, though most would survive, hundreds would not.  Although modern medicine has largely made tuberculosis an illness of the past, the stigma of it lingered.     

In the decades since the sanatorium closed and the site deteriorated, it gained a new reputation, as one of the most haunted buildings on Earth. 

The Eliza Battle's Final Voyage

ALABAMA’S PHANTOM STEAMSHIP

The Eliza Battle was once one of the most luxurious steamboats on Alabama’s waters, but her untimely demise by fire has left many to believe that she can still be seen on the Tombigbee River’s water– an omen of death.

The Curse of Julia Brown (Revisited)

The Voodoo Curse of Frenier

This episode of Southern Gothic revisits a topic previously released on the podcast.  To hear the original episode "The Lost City of Frenier" join us on Patreon for access to our archives!

On September 30, 1915 a vicious hurricane made its way through Southeastern Louisiana leaving almost 375 people dead and entire communities destroyed. One such town was the small farming community of Frenier, where a legend has since entered local lore with the claim that this particular’y gruesome storm was brought on by the curse of a local Voodoo priestess named Julia Brown.

Hotel Brunswick's Phantom Harpist

Historic Southport, North Carolina

Southport, North Carolina began as a small settlement of river pilots who made their money guiding ships through the dangerous waters of Cape Fear River, but the town’s beautiful environs quickly positioned it as the summer destination for wealthy Wilmington families. As can be expected from a coastal town, legends of men lost at sea are common; however, Southport boasts a truly unique North Carolina ghost story.

On August 23, 1882 Italian harpist Antonio "Tony" Caselletta drowned in a sailing accident on the Cape Fear river, leaving behind a wife and child. His body was then buried in the Old Smithville Cemetery; however, many claim that his spirit continues to play his beloved instrument in the beautiful seaside mansion that once served as the Hotel Brunswick in historic Southport, North Carolina.

This episode of Southern Gothic features music written and performed by the Americana duo Harp & Plow.

The Sad Statue of Corinne Lawton

One of Bonaventure Cemetery’s Most Infamous Graves

After Corinne Elliott Lawton died in 1877, her parents commissioned a famous Italian sculptor to design the statue at her grave. The result still stands today in the historic Bonaventure Cemetery of Savannah, Georgia where the melancholy depiction of this beloved daughter has inspired a local legend about her death.

The Singing River

Mississippi’s Most Legendary River

It is said that on warm summer and autumn nights, those standing on the banks of the Pascagoula river may hear the sound of a melodic humming emanating from beneath the river’s dark waters. The origin of the sound is unknown, but numerous legends have been told to explain the mystery of this Mississippi waterway.

Sources:

Barnwell, Marion, ed. A Place Called Mississippi. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 1997.  

Cox, Dale. “Mississippi’s Singing River - The Mysterious Song of the Pascagoula.” March 17, 2014. Southern History. http://southernhistory.blogspot.com/2014/03/mississippis-singing-rivermysterious.html. 

Cox, Dale. “The Pascagoula - Mississippi’s Singing River: A Mermaid in Mississippi?” March 16, 2014. ExploreSouthernHistory.com. https://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pascagoula2.html. 

Gayarré, Charles. History of Louisiana: The French Domination. New York: Redfield, 1854. https://books.google.com. 

Norman, Michae and Beth Scottl. Historic Haunted America. New York: Tor Books, 2007.  

Skinner, Charles M. Myths and Legends of Our Own Land: Lights and Shadows of the South. Philadelphia, PA: J.B. Lippincott, 1856. 

Steed, Bud. Haunted Mississippi Gulf Coast. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2012.

Legend of the Female Stranger

Old Town Alexandria’s Most Infamous Mystery

In 1816 a mysterious couple arrived in Alexandria, Virginia and isolated themselves in a room at Gadsby’s Tavern. Unfortunately, the young woman was deathly ill and in spite of receiving assistance from a local doctor, she passed away. After burying his supposed wife, the man then disappeared. Speculation on their identities continues to this day, fueled by the eerie inscription in her tombstone: “To the memory of the Female Stranger…”

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 Boomtown of Thurmond

The Abandoned Town of Thurmond, West Virginia

Thurmond, West Virginia was incorporated in 1901, almost three decades after its founder Captain W. D. Thurmond took ownership of 73 acres of land bordering the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad line. The Confederate veteran envisioned a prosperous community to serve the many miners working in the coal mines of the New River Gorge, and reality quickly dwarfed his original dreams.  By the beginning of the twentieth century, Thurmond became the most prosperous coal town in the state; however, much to Captain Thurmond’s chagrin, some of this success came from the notorious reputation of Thurmond’s Southside.

Between the vice of Southside and the location of Thurmond’s train depot, the community grew rapidly.  People poured into town for both work and play.  At the height of Thurmond’s boom fifteen passenger trains stopped at the historic train depot daily, serving as many as 95,000 passengers a year; but with every boom there is a bust, and once the coal industry began to wane, Thurmond could not survive.

The Mischievous Feu Follet

Cajun folklore claims that in the swamps and bayous of Louisiana are supernatural entities that appear to travelers in the form of glowing balls. Much like the well known will-o'-the-wisp, those unlucky enough to be lured into the trap of these fiery spirits are often doomed to an early death. They are known simply as le Feu follet.

The Kennesaw House

The Kennesaw House of Marietta, Georgia was built beside the Western & Atlantic Railroad line in the 1840's; but over the course of this beautiful brick building's long life, it has seen numerous tragedies that has left many to believe that the building is haunted by spirits from the past. 

The Witch of Yazoo City

On May 25, 1904, a fire broke out in the business district of Yazoo City, Mississippi.  By day's end, the fire had consumed much of the community, leaving nothing but ashes.  Historians believe the fire started accidentally at the home of Herman Wise, but according to legend the cause was much more sinister-- revenge from the infamous Witch of Yazoo.

Watch Brandon tell the story of the "Witch of Yazoo City" live at the Palace Theatre in Gallatin, TN.

Murder of the Lawson Family

On Christmas Day in 1929, North Carolina farmer Charlie Lawson murdered his entire family before turning his gun onto himself.  Almost a century has passed since this gruesome crime, but the question of motive has remained unanswered to this day.

Gaineswood's Ghostly Piano

In 1843 Nathan Bryan Whitfield began construction on a grand mansion in Demopolis, Alabama.  The beautiful home, which he named Gaineswood, still stands as part of Whitfield's legacy; but some claim that echoes of a tragedy that occurred here remain as well.  Echoes that purportedly come in the form of a mysterious, disembodied piano.