by Ali Koomen

Created on: August 22, 2008   Last Updated: August 13, 2009

Charleston, South Carolina is a city rich in culture and its roots are deep and bloody. It fought many skirmishes with France and Spain, and was also the victim of pirate raids and attacks from Native Americans. It played a large part in both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and local slaves were known to heavily participate in voodoo. Is it any wonder that this beautiful and historic city has many unsettled spirits?

BATTERY CARRIAGE HOUSE INN at 20 S. Battery Street proudly claims to be Charleston's most haunted inn. For a chilling read, their website www.batterycarriagehouse.com gives a link to letters from previous guests in regards to ghostly happenings around the hotel. Rooms 8 and 10 seem to be a hotbed of activity, with everything from apparitions (one is a very flirtatious gentleman ghost'), faces in mirrors, electronic devices turning on and off, things moving, the entire ghostly gamut.

DOCK STREET THEATRE (135 Church Street) is haunted by not one but two spirits. At one time it was known as the Planters Hotel, and a prostitute that stayed there died from a botched abortion but has yet to move on. The more famous spirit in residence is an actor named Junius Brutus Booth, father of the infamous John Wilkes Booth.

THOMAS ROSE HOUSE at 59 Church Street is also haunted by two spirits. A ghostly little girl is often seen in the garden and on the second floor. It's also haunted by a doctor named Joseph Brown. According to legend, he was a happy person and often whistled while he walked. However, he unfortunately died as a result of a duel. He can be seen walking through the house and grounds, and oftentimes, the sound of his whistling echoes through the walls.

1837 BED & BREAKFAST , 126 Wentworth Street, is the home of a 19th century cotton grower. It is said to be haunted be the ghost of a young man named George. He saw his parents being sold, and then died while trying to swim out to their boat in the harbor. He is a rather playful ghost, as he likes to shake the beds, makes lights flicker and chairs rock alone. The ghostly sound of a cracking whip usually makes him stop his hijinks.

OLD CITY JAIL, at 21 Magazine Street, is haunted by an old jail-keeper named Cedric, and visitors occasionally smell his pipe tobacco smoke. It's also haunted by Lavinia Fischer, an evil innkeeper said to rob and kill guests to her home. Pirates were held here, as were Civil War soldiers, not to mention the various flotsam and jetsam of the wicked and evil. Who knows how many

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