As Halloween grows near and the days become shorter, our imagination comes alive with everything that goes bump in the night. Simple tasks like checking your mailbox after dark or closing your blinds before bed might make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. This sensation happens to everyone, just as every town has its own ghost stories to tell–even Hilton Head Island! While the island doesn’t have many, we’ll include some stories in this guide that reach as far as Beaufort and Savannah.
Savannah, GA
We thought we better start off with the most haunted town in the United States, nearby Savannah, Georgia. Spooky season or not, ghost tours are a popular activity for visitors of the Hostess City. While you can totally tour the city by day on the convenient hop-on-hop-off trolley, if you’re looking to focus on everything that goes bump in the night, opt in for the Ghosts and Gravestones Tour that’s also operated by Old Town Trolley Tours. You’ll get a guided tour of the historic city, access two of the city’s most haunted venues, and take full advantage of the cooler temperatures after the sun goes down.
For those looking to experience Savannah’s ghosts first-hand, Old Town Trolley Tours also offers something called the Ghost Hunters of Savannah Paranormal Investigation. If you’re a fan of ghost-hunting shows, here’s your chance to head out with paranormal investigators and use all of the latest ghost-hunting equipment. Sounds a little too creepy for us, but say hello to the ghosts for us!
Let’s get down to what makes Savannah the most haunted town in the first place: the ghost stories. While we can’t retell every single ghost story in this article, we’ll highlight a few taken from the Ghosts & Gravestones website:
The Ghost of Gracie Watson
Bonaventure Cemetery is a popular landmark for visitors to visit because of how big, old, and beautiful the property is. Listen to your footsteps echo against the Lowcountry symphony of eerie quiet and cicada song, as you admire the grand works of art that many of the gravesites are marked with. It’s also where one of the city’s most well-known ghosts was laid to rest: Gracie Watson. The daughter of a hotel manager, Gracie passed when she was only 6-years-old, and presents are still left at her gated gravesite today. Her ghost has been seen in Johnson Square—where her father’s hotel used to be.
The Revenge-Seeking Spirits
Another cemetery, Savannah’s Colonial Park Cemetery is considered one of the city’s most haunted places. Firstly, this cemetery has more than 10,000 people buried there, with a lot of them buried in mass graves. That already means for some irritated spirits, but during the Civil War, the Federal Troops fighting for the Union are said to have made camp in the cemetery—a strange choice, but ok—and ended up desecrating and shooting up a lot of the graves and headstones. The already antsy spirits have been very angry ever since, and seek revenge to this day. So, if you want to experience cold spots or see orbs, head to this haunted hot spot.
The Ghost Pirates
When we say “Ghost Pirates,” you might think of Savannah’s minor-league hockey team. Let’s just say they were aptly named. A key port on the East Coast, the city’s harbor saw friendly sailors as well as not-so-friendly pirates. Visitors today can still visit one of the pirates’ most frequented haunts (pun intended), the Pirate’s House. Opened in 1753, pirates would meet over drinks and sometimes kidnap other patrons using underground tunnels that led out to the Savannah River. While the restaurant is still open, you won’t have to worry about being forced into a life of pillaging with a pirate crew. You might just have an encounter with a ghost pirate instead.
Learn more about some of the nefarious pirates that have set sail in Lowcountry waters, here.
Hilton Head Island
The Lady in Blue
The ghost of Caroline Fripp, otherwise known as the Lady in Blue, is one of the more popular ghost stories on the island. Legend says that during a terrible hurricane, Caroline found her father dead or near death—some stories differ—after suffering from a heart attack while doing his best to man the Leamington Lighthouse, now called the Hilton Head Island Rear Range Lighthouse. After covering his eyes with pennies, she took on the work of keeping the lighthouse lit to help ships find their way through the terrible storm. For weeks afterward, Caroline could be seen pacing back and forth from the cottage to the lighthouse, reliving the awful tragedy. Some say that you can see the ghost of Caroline still in her blue dress, pacing back and forth on stormy nights. Some have seen a blue light shining from the top of the now-abandoned lighthouse in Palmetto Dunes.
Watch this short video about the lighthouse (sans ghost story) on Palmetto Dunes’ Youtube Channel:
Stoney-Baynard Ruins
Located in the Sea Pines property, the grounds of the Stoney-Baynard Ruins are considered to have the most paranormal activity on the island. This historic site lets you see what was once a grand plantation originally built in the 1790s by Captain Jack Stoney. Constructed with tabby, visitors can circle the remaining walls of the main house as well as see more outlines of other buildings like the slave quarters. Some say you’ll be able to see the ghost of William Baynard roaming the grounds, and some have even seen his funeral procession. It honestly makes sense that he’d haunt what was once a grand home overlooking the Calibogue Sound, especially when you learn that his family had to evacuate the property when the Union invaded the island during the Civil War, ultimately raiding and eventually burning the home.
Hilton Head Island was no exception to the historic conflicts that affected the rest of the Lowcountry, collecting its own storied past. Residents from years past, especially those of the island’s founding families, can’t seem to let go of their beloved island.
Zion Cemetery & Baynard Mausoleum Costumed Cemetery Tour
Will you be in town this October? The Heritage Library will be holding tours on October 1st, 8th, and 15th of the Zion Cemetery and Baynard Mausoleum. Tickets are now on sale for $12 for non-members, and children 12 and under are free to attend with an adult. Don’t worry, this tour starts at the not-so-spooky time of 10:30am, so you’ll learn about the island’s history and hear some fascinating stories told by costumed guides.
Learn more on the Heritage Library’s website.
Beaufort, SC
The Lowcountry as a whole is brimming with history, and it’s no wonder we’ve run into a happy—or not-so-happy—haunt or two. Only an hour’s drive from Savannah, and even less from Hilton Head, Beaufort is known to have various intriguing ghost stories, one telling the tale of a spirit that predates the town itself by a couple hundred years.
The Castle
Grenauche, or Gauche, sailed with a French expedition party in 1562 led by Jean Ribault. After creating a French Huguenot colony in Florida, Ribault led his party north and landed at Port Royal, a town just beside Beaufort after which Ribault was named. Grenauche, the court jester for the party, died during this leg of the journey. Some say he died on the grounds of what was to be The Castle, a three-story mansion built by Dr. Joseph Johnson that had quickly been converted into a Union hospital and morgue during the Civil War. Others say the spirit of Grenauche wandered the marsh for hundreds of years until he came across the elegant estate, immediately moving in as it reminded him so much of home.
Knocking and faint jingling from the bells on his costume have been heard within The Castle’s walls, furniture has been known to move around, and handprints appear on the windows. Children throughout the years have been more inclined to see Grenauche. The lively spirit was said to have appeared at a tea party Dr. Johnson’s daughter, Lilly, was having with her doll. When Lilly was older, Grenauche tapped out messages that were eventually translated from 16th-century French and proved that Grenauche was quite the character.
Read more ghost stories like the Land’s End Light and St. Helena Island’s Chapel of Ease on Beaufort’s tourism website, Eat, Stay, Play, Beaufort.
