A Mysterious Ghost Is Rumored To Visit This Southern Island Before Every Hurricane

Storms like Hurricane Florence bring devastation wherever they make landfall, but they might also draw out something spectral from this sleepy South Carolina island.

Pawleys Island in South Carolina is a pretty spot that draws visitors in nice weather, but is occasionally pummeled by hurricanes. Local legends tell of ghostly figure who emerges before a major storm to warn the islanders of the impending disaster. They call him the Gray Man.

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According to locals, the Gray Man has appeared before each of the five most deadly hurricanes that have struck the island over the last 200 years. Rather than an ill omen, they consider him a friendly entity that seeks to warn people that they should flee before an especially devastating storm.

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"I think everyone in the low country has heard the story, especially when hurricanes or tropical storms begin to form around our area. It’s always something you hear people bring up. He’s a friendly entity. … Not that it’s a good thing to see him, but when someone does claim to see him, it gives us locals an idea of what we’re dealing with," 23-year-old island local Rian Fontaine told Yahoo Lifestyle

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Though no one knows exactly where he comes from, there are few stories concerning the origins of the Gray Man. A popular theory holds that he is the ghost of a young man who died on the island before he could propose to his beloved.

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The tale goes that one evening, his ghost appeared to his former love as she was walking along the beach. He told her to leave the island immediately because it was not safe. The young woman packed up her family and left for the mainland, only to return a few days later to find that a hurricane had ravaged the island.

Others believe that the Gray Man is the specter of the island’s original owner, George Pawley, who died there in the 1700s.

No matter what you believe, the Gray Man of Pawleys Island seems to take the safety of island residents pretty seriously.