Top Three Haunted Houses in Charleston

1. Sweet tea, biscuits and BOO!

Women who brunch at Poogan’s Porch at 72 Queen Street, may be taken surprise by the resident ghost in the ladies’ room. Before being converted to a restaurant in 1976, it was Victorian-style private home built in 1881. From the early 1900s to the mid 1940s, two spinster sisters named Zoe and Elizabeth St. Amand lived there in relative solitude. After Elizabeth passed away, Zoe was alone, depressed and distraught. One night, she was found wandering the streets calling for her sister. She was taken to a hospital and never returned home. Guests staying in the hotel rooms across the street have caught glimpses of Zoe staring out of a top-floor window wearing a black dress. Perhaps she is still searching for Elizabeth? Some don’t realize they’ve seen a ghost, until they recognize Zoe from a photograph on the restaurant’s wall.

2. A Reputation Cut Down

The black wrought iron gates adorned with swords look formidable at the entrance of 32 Legare Street (pronounced Lugree). Headmistress Madame Talvande was probably pleased with their message. During the 1880s, she ran a boarding school for teenage girls in what began as and is now a private home at 32 Legare Street (pronounced Lugree). Charleston’s elite entrusted their daughters to her strict instruction and watchful eye. After one student snuck away in the night to elope, a mortified Madame Talvande strove to make the property fortress-like and she died thinking her reputation had been ruined. Some say they’ve seen her ghost checking the bedrooms each night and scanning the property from windows. Sword Gate House, as it is now known, may be home to other lost souls. After all, the Federal-style home was originally built in 1803 and has had many occupants. You can be the next. The 17,142-square-foot residence is on the market and offered at $19.5 million.

3. Strange Bedfellows

Check in to the Battery Carriage House Inn and you may check out with a ghost story. Located at 20 South Battery, the original structure was built in the early 1840s. The property was badly damaged during the Civil War and underwent extensive remodeling in the French Second Empire style. In 1874, Andrew Simonds bought the house and his great-great grandson owns it today. Over the years, there have been reports of glowing orbs, an oddly malfunctioning cell phone and uneasy feelings of being watched. One often-seen spirit, called the Gentleman Ghost, is a non-threatening shadow-like figure who likes to climb into bed with female guests. If the woman wakes up and/or screams, he politely retreats though a built-in that was once the original door. He doesn’t split the room charge. Some paranormal researchers believe him to be a depressed college student who jumped to his death from the roof back when the property was used as university apartments. A less friendly apparition has also been regularly spotted. One skeptical guest became a believer when a headless torso who, despite not having a mouth, growled at him. Some believe him to be a Civil War soldier who lost his head in battle.

Happy Halloween!