This Haunted Road Trip Will Lead You To The Scariest Places In South Carolina
With its long history of hauntings and reports of paranormal activity, South Carolina holds the promise of all sorts of scary things. From haunted cemeteries to haunted bridges and ghosts that terrorize hotel guests, this haunted road trip through the Palmetto state is sure to both thrill you and send chills up your spine as you seek out some of the most haunted places in South Carolina!
The drive time for this spooky road trip is just over nine hours and here is a link to a Google Map with all the locations all plotted in one trip for you. Gas up the car and hit the road for this haunted road trip in South Carolina!
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One of South Carolina's crybaby bridges has been reported to have strange happenings. It too, is surrounded by a legend of a baby who was thrown from the bridge and still haunts the place with cries for help. The Gist Bridge is also known for another phenomenon: if you are traveling away from Union and stop in the middle of this bridge and put your car in neutral, it will roll uphill. Some say it's the spirit of the child pushing you off the bridge.
This famous and other crybaby bridge in the state is located in Anderson County. It's one of the real haunted places in South Carolina and is home to an apparition of a woman in a white dress who some think seems to be looking for someone. There's also an ages-old legend about a woman who tossed her unwanted baby from this bridge. Some people claim to be able to hear that baby crying.
Address: 2806 High Shoals Road, Anderson, SC, 29621
No haunted road trip would be complete without a visit to the most haunted cemetery in the state. From a witch ghost who roams this place at night putting flowers on the graves of children, to apparitions spotted even during the daytime hours, this is one creepy spot you'll remember forever.
The road trip takes you out to the Presbyterian Church on Edisto Island where the young Julia Legare was accidentally buried alive in the mid-1800s. Her family placed her in this tomb and then a few years later, upon opening the tomb to add the remains of another family member, Julia's bones were reportedly discovered in a pile by the door. To add to this notorious tale of ghosts in South Carolina, every time they put the door back on the tomb after discovering they'd buried her alive, it would mysteriously be cast aside. Eventually, the caretakers just gave up and left the door off.
A long long time ago, a preacher went out at night walking with a lantern along Parkers Ferry Road near the railroad tracks in Jacksonboro. He was looking for his teenage daughter. Somehow, he was hit by a train and died. Locals and visitors alike report seeing his ghost here all the time, carrying a lantern. Some people report hearing a train at the same time as they see the preacher's lantern. The legendary Jacksonboro Light haunting will make the hair on your neck stand up.
Possibly Charleston's most haunted inn, the Battery Carriage House faces White Point Gardens which is definitely haunted by the spirits of pirates hanged there. But the inn has at least three different rooms that are regularly visited by ghosts. One visitor was scared out of his wits by a headless man who showed up in his room in the middle of the night! If you're brave enough to spend the night in one of the real haunted places in South Carolina, then you can book a room here on any night of your choosing.
Perhaps one of the most famous ghosts in all of South Carolina, Alice Flagg was sent away to a boarding school in her teens because her family didn't approve of her boyfriend. Not long after being separated from the love of her short life, Alice got ill and and came back home only to fall into a coma. When she awakened she realized the ring her beloved had given her was missing from the chain around her neck. She died soon after. Now her ghost is seen roaming the area supposedly looking for the ring. Visitors to this grave that's believed to be Alice's grave leave coins and rings for Alice.
Address: 3560 Kings River Road, Pawleys Island, SC, 29585
What is the most famous ghost story from South Carolina?
Undeniably, the most notorious ghost story from South Carolina begins with the mid-1800s’ accidental burial of a young woman thought to be deceased. Julia Legare’s seemingly lifeless body was entombed in the family mausoleum located at the Presbyterian Church on Edisto Island. A short time later, after another family member passed away, the tomb was opened to inter the newly deceased loved one. Upon opening the tomb, it’s said that young Julia’s bones were found in a pile by the door; and what looked to be fingernail scratches on the inside of the door were assumed to belong to Julia – trying to signal she was alive.
What is the most haunted town in South Carolina?
Although not an official town in South Carolina, St. Helena Island is among the most infamous haunted locales in the state. From specific spots that have numerous reports of paranormal activity to roving ghosts, such as the headless soldier who walks along a main highway after dark with a lantern and who is believed to be looking for his lost head, this sea island in South Carolina has an insane amount of ghost sightings. In fact, the entire Beaufort area has more than its fair share of ghost stories!
What is the creepiest abandoned place in South Carolina?
If it’s a huge thrill you’re seeking in the way of a ghost sighting, then head to St. Helena Island to a fort that was abandoned long ago, yet is thought to be a permanent home to the spirits of some soldiers that may have passed through the fort at one time or another. It’s here that the headless soldier is said to have been decapitated after a disagreement with another soldier. Upon walking around the fort (now a town park), visitors have reported hearing the groans of the headless soldier, as well as seeing apparitions of other soldiers in uniform. (Learn more about this haunted place in South Carolina in this article.)
Address: South Carolina, USA
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Robin Jarvis is a travel writer and editor for OnlyInYourState.com with a bachelor's degree in Journalism. Her love for travel has taken her to many parts of the world. She's lived in the Carolinas for nearly three decades and currently resides in Charleston. When she's not working, she loves to cook with friends and check out new adventures. General questions and FAM tours: rjarvis@onlyinyourstate.com.
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