One of the more disturbing legends to come to light occurred in the Six Mile Wayfarer house near Charleston, South Carolina, during the early 1800s. The story should rank in the same category as Jack the Ripper, but instead of feasting on women of the night, allegedly, the Fishers preyed on travelers who would stop overnight to seek safe shelter. The home’s name comes from its being six miles from the Holy City.
Traveling to Charleston by wagon in 1819 meant stopping often to rest and water horses. To do so, you would pull over at inns along the way, usually named after how many miles it lay outside a town.
According to legend, Fisher was an attractive lady who often flirted and entertained male guests, and she would question them about themselves, their lives, and their financial status before bed. Once she determined the status, she would send them to their room for the night with a cup of hot poison tea… right before her husband stabbed them to death and dumped their bodies in the cellar. Some believe hundreds of victims met their demise in this gruesome manner.
But is the story correct, or was she wrongly accused? In those days, Charleston was a target for thieves because traders were visiting, and they often fell prey to highwaymen along the road who stole their goods. These robberies became so problematic that Charleston residents feared it would discourage trade and hurt the local economy. On February 19, 1819, a mob of men set out to take the law into their own hands after a rash of recent robberies on the road failed to yield any suspects, as the victims could not identify their assailants.
A man arrived at the Fisher home to water his horses. He claimed to have been attacked but was able to get away. The man claimed two assailants chased him as he left in his wagon, robbing him at gunpoint. He identified William Heyward, John Fisher, and Lavinia Fisher as the ones who attacked him in a line-up.
The sheriff took a group of men to Six Mile House to arrest the responsible party the next day, with the group surrendering immediately.
While searching the property, the sheriff’s men found the skin of a cow reported as stolen.
The Six Mile House group went to the Old City Jail in Charleston to await trial. Both were found guilty of highway robbery and met their fate on the gallows, but Lavinia refused to leave the carriage. When the guards bodily dragged her out, she allegedly began begging and pleading with the crowd to help her, alternating between protesting her innocence, cursing, and blasphemy. The pastor stationed at the gallows tried to soothe her into making peace with God before the end. It has been reported that Lavinia screamed, “Cease!” at him. Legend says her final words were, “I will have none of it. Save your words for others who want them. But if you have a message you want to send to Hell, give it to me; I’ll carry it!”
Two bodies were discovered near the Six Mile House a few days after the Fishers’ arrest, but the deaths of the men were never attributed to them.
It should be added that Lavinia was hanged for highway robbery, and there is nothing ever to connect her to a murder during her lifetime. The couple is said to haunt the Old City Jail in Charleston.
I certainly don’t believe that Lavinia Fisher was a serial killer, but anything is possible. Their case will forever have a chapter in South Carolina’s haunted history.
Written By John G. Clark Jr.
