I have to openly admit that while I don’t find cemeteries to be spooky (well, usually don’t…there’s been a random few that definitely leaned toward the eerie side), I do love visiting them when I hear they have an odd or sad or wild story attached to a resident. And us Southerners, we do love our weird stuff don’t we? There is no shortage of head-scratching, tissue-clutching and turn-on-the-light stories around here!
So, in the spirit of October and the thinning of the veil, here are 5 southern cemetery tales that I hope you’ll find ghoulishly good. Fantastically fearful. Scarily scripted. Ok, ok, that’s enough of that…
The ghost of grand strand
All Saints’ Church Waccamaw Cemetery / Pawleys Island, South Carolina.
The (possible) grave of Alice Flagg is considered the most haunted site in South Carolina. Although it appears that the church that owns the graveyard may disagree with the idea of another ‘ghost’ out there in the world…
It’s a story that you’ve probably heard before – rich girl falls in love with poor boy, family says ‘no way in hell’ – couple is separated – girl dies, becomes a ghost and mourns boy for eternity. This one adds even more sadness as it’s said that as Alice lay dying she asked for the return of the token her beloved had given her so she might taken comfort in holding it again. Just a simple ring tied with ribbon that she had once worn upon her neck. And her family threw it in the brackish river instead.
It’s said that Alice is still looking for her lost love and the ring she was once denied, and if you bring her a gift to ease her heartbreak then she just might grant you a wish or appear before you. I heard that you had to circle her grave 3 times before making the wish and it’s obvious that I’m not the only one who was told that specific detail because there’s a distinctive groove worn down in the dirt around the stone. And look at the treasure trove of gifts!
I brought her a small shell and a fresh flower, and then shuffled around the grave a few times before asking her for a simple favor. I’ll let you know if my wish comes true.
Old Quaker Graveyard ghost
Old Presbyterian Cemetery / Camden, South Carolina.
Another South Carolina grave and another ghost story founded in the search for a lost love. This time it’s the tragic story of a young woman from Scotland who bravely traveled to seek out her soldier dear…
ℍ𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕝𝕖𝕖𝕡𝕤 𝔸𝕘𝕟𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝔾𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕘𝕠𝕨 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕤𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕕 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣, 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕤𝕙 𝔸𝕣𝕞𝕪, 𝕒𝕔𝕣𝕠𝕤𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕔𝕖𝕒𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕥𝕠 ℂ𝕒𝕞𝕕𝕖𝕟. 𝕊𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕟 𝕓𝕪 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙 𝕓𝕖𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕚𝕞 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕓𝕦𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕕 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕥 𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕓𝕪 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘 ℍ𝕒𝕚𝕘𝕝𝕖𝕣* 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕞𝕖𝕟.
It’s said that her ghost still searches for her lover to this day and it is often seen wandering about the connecting cemeteries, which includes a very old and historic Quaker burial ground, that are located near her stone-lined gravesite.
You can find a video of the story as well as some other hauntings of the area here.
*King Hagler/Haigler (many variations to his name) died 17 years before Agnes set foot on Carolina soil so the legend, dates or both are considered to be incorrect but no less interesting!
The unknown children
Springwood Cemetery / Greenville, South Carolina
Faded epitaph reads “Two little children. Names unknown. Found in old vault. 1912.“
This one is a both sad as heck and a mystery of sorts. In 1912 a family opened their vault after it had been sealed from the prior funeral. Inside they found the remains of 2 small children that were most definitely not supposed there. The cemetery’s site lists that they may have been the children of a local sharecropper but their identities still remain listed as ‘unknown.’ And the reason for leaving their little bodies on the floor of the vault has never been solved!
While there are no ghost stories involved here, it’s most definitely a haunting tale. The children did receive a proper burial but it’s heartbreaking to think of them abandoned and unnamed…
This cemetery has a detailed map here. And read about what is one of the weirdest graves I’ve found because it looks like lots of teeth are embedded in concrete. Whoa.
Is That You, Dr. Frankenstein?
First Presbyterian Church Cemetery / Knoxville, Tennessee
Supposedly, esteemed languages professor and minister Dr. Stephen Foster was obsessed with electricity and bringing back people from the dead!
Legend has it that Dr. Foster wanted to experiment with electric currents…and a warm dead body. And according to local lore he did just that with permission from the local sheriff.
Some 11 years after Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was published there was a real life 𝕀𝕋’𝕊 𝔸𝕃𝕀𝕍𝔼 moment right in the basement of the church – involving homemade batteries and the corpse of a convicted murder who died by hanging. The dead man took a few staggering breaths before Dr. Foster ended his experiment (and the man’s chances of resurrection) as the good doctor didn’t want to play God too much.
Now, there hasn’t been anything found in writing to substantiate these claims. And Dr. Foster’s faded gravestone in the cemetery only bears inscriptions referring to his amiable demeanor, his love for his students and other sweet accolades. Despite all that, you will hear the local ghost tours boast about Knoxville’s own ‘Dr. Frankenstein’…
The mystery of suicide rock
Nashville City Cemetery / Nashville, Tennessee
The ‘Rock’, also called Suicide Rock and Ivy Rock, has marked a grave that was fraught with spooky legends and mistaken identity. It’s only been a little over a decade since the true story emerged!
Ok, let me back up a bit. The legend of this rock started with tales of a young woman’s untimely death, and her lover moving heaven and literal earth to leave a stone to mark her grave. For decades folks believed that a quarrel led to a suicide, and that the rock and lantern (removed by the cemetery a few years ago for safe keeping) would lead the soul back to where it belonged. Other stories included a women’s accidental drowning or a carriage accident where the bride died on the way to the chapel. None of these stories were true.
And neither was the name attributed to The Rock – one Anne Rawlings Sanders. Anne is actually buried near the rock in a box tomb (you can see it to the right in the photos) but records became a bit muddied over time. It didn’t help that the rock was covered in ivy which obscured the name carved into the stone. Hence the ‘Ivy Rock’ title in some stories.
In 2013 it was officially announced that the person buried under the rock was Lucy Rawlings Steele, possible sister to Anne, and a small stone bearing her information was placed nearby. Lucy died of consumption, and her husband Edward had the stone and lantern placed there shortly after.
𝕃𝕦𝕔𝕪 ℝ𝕒𝕨𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝𝕖
𝔻𝕚𝕖𝕕 𝕄𝕒𝕪, 4 1847
ℝ𝕆ℂ𝕂 ℙ𝕃𝔸ℂ𝔼𝔻 𝕆𝕍𝔼ℝ ℍ𝔼ℝ 𝔾ℝ𝔸𝕍𝔼 𝔹𝕐 ℍ𝔼ℝ ℍ𝕌𝕊𝔹𝔸ℕ𝔻 𝔼𝔻𝕎𝔸ℝ𝔻 𝔾. 𝕊𝕋𝔼𝔼𝕃𝔼
Lucy’s husband moved from Nashville a few years after her death so that could account for how her name was lost for so long…
Find more ghostly tales on the blog here. And check back Monday for a roadtrip guide for all things unusual near my town of Athens, Georgia.
