What happened
The Charleston County Jail was built in 1802 on a square set aside for public use as early as 1680 – a hospital, a poorhouse and a workhouse for enslaved people who had fled bondage also stood there. In 1822 a fireproof wing with individual cells designed by Robert Mills was added, and in 1855 it was replaced by a Romanesque Revival octagonal wing. The 1886 earthquake damaged the building so badly that its top floor had to be removed. The jail remained in use until 1939. Its inmates included Denmark Vesey, accused in 1822 of planning a slave revolt, pirates and Civil War prisoners, as well as John and Lavinia Fisher, executed in 1820. Lavinia is said to have lured travellers to an inn with her husband, poisoned them with tea and robbed them, and before her execution to have told the crowd: “If you have a message you want to send to hell, give it to me – I’ll carry it.” Since 2003 night tours have been run through the building, and visitors tell of a woman in a wedding dress, being pushed, whispers and clanging bars.
Witnesses
Staff and students of a building-arts college that occupied the jail from 2000, and tour participants since 2003; the building has appeared on television ghost-hunting programmes.
Explanations and hypotheses
The history of the jail is well documented by the National Park Service. The story of Lavinia Fisher, however, is largely legend: the Fishers were convicted of highway robbery, not murder, and the tales of poisoned tea and dozens of victims came later. Strange happenings were first reported only during the renovation after 2000 and have been tied to commercial tours from the start. Sceptics note that cramped, echoing cells and corridors invite auditory illusions and suggestion. Part of the tour revenue has gone towards conserving the building.
Legend A story handed down through generations – it can be neither confirmed nor disproved.
Sources
- National Park Service – Old Jail
- South Carolina ETV – The Ghosts of Charleston’s Old City Jail (2019)
More: Wikipedia (en)