Most Haunted Places in America: The Charleston County Jail

In 1680, a plot of land consisting of 4 square acres was set aside for public use in what would become Charleston, South Carolina. On that plot of land there was a hospital, poor house, workhouse for runaway slaves, and from 1802 to 1939, the Charleston County Jail. Some say that people are still wandering around making the now haunted Charleston County Jail a great place to visit.

In the beginning, the first structures were a workhouse for slaves and makeshift hospital for “paupers, vagrants, and beggars.”  During these years criminals were punished with by way of shackles, whippings, and being deprived of food and water. Over the years the torture and executions seemed to increase with people being branded, drawn and quartered and even burned at the stake.

The current building was built as a jail and asylum. The building was built to house around 128 prisoners yet frequently was seen to have over 300 at any given time.  The conditions were horrid as people were locked in cages barely big enough for one person. Disease was widespread and tortures were continued as over 10,000 people died on the property before it was closed in 1939.

Though some of the most notable inmates would include pirates and civil war soldiers, disputable the most famous to be held in the jail would be serial killers John and Lavinia Fisher. Lavinia is considered to be the first female serial killer in America. Lavinia Fisher was hanged at the jail in 1820 and before the noose was put around her neck it is claimed she said, “If anyone has a message for the devil, give it to me– I’ll deliver it.”

There are many claims that have come out of the Charleston County Jail. An apparition of a black male has been seen wandering the halls in old ragged clothes. Lots of visitors as well as tour guides have claimed to be physically touched, grabbed or pushed. During a renovation in 200, workers claimed to see the apparition of a jailer walking on the third floor.

You may even encounter the legendary Lavinia Fisher whose apparition has been seen there along with Union soldiers of the Massachusetts 54^th or maybe get a glimpse of the thousands of slaves that were worked to death when beating were no longer working.

Currently you can tour the haunted Charleston County Jail and can get date and times here.

Related posts:

1. Burlington County Prison Museum Ghosts
2. Essex County Hospital Hauntings
3. Essex County Penitentiary Hauntings
4. Haunted Places: Monroe County Court House
5. Haunted Places: Battery Carriage Inn