Many living in South Carolina are familiar with the more famous ghost stories, like the Hound of Goshen, the Gray Man, and Alice of the Hermitage. Occasionally, a forgotten tale emerges from a life or two lost long ago. Hilton Head Island is one of the most beautiful places to visit. I worked in that area for a few years and even enjoyed my trips to other islands and over to Beaufort to grab dinner. Meeting new people and striking up conversations was an everyday activity before the pandemic. One evening, I asked if anyone had a good story about the area. A person asked if I had heard of the Blue Lady of Palmetto Dunes, who still haunts the lighthouse. Honestly, I haven’t, but I did research when I got back to my room and discovered a disturbing true story.
The old lighthouse now sits on the fifth hole of the Arthur Hills Golf Course in Hilton Head. In the late 1800s, Adam Fripp kept the lighthouse and climbed the structure daily to keep the light burning at the top. In 1898, a powerful hurricane battered the coast of South Carolina. Mr. Fripp powered through the rough storm to keep the flame lit out of safety for a ship off the coast. The stress caused him to suffer a heart attack while climbing the ladder, and he fell to the wet ground below.
Mr. Fripp had a daughter named Caroline, who rushed to his side. Adam Fripp succumbed to his injuries, but not before he had given Caroline his dying wish to carry on the work.
Two stories exist about this famous story. One states Caroline rushed to the top of the tower and was viciously knocked over the side while trying to keep the light lit for her dying father. Both were found days later. Her father had two pennies placed over his eyes, and Caroline was found a few yards away in a blue dress, which was ripped and torn from the storm. Many believe Caroline placed the pennies over his eyes before she went up the tower. Another says Caroline survived and continued the work for her now deceased father for weeks, but the grief of losing him was too much to bear, and she ultimately passed away.
Whether the story is true or not, it did spawn a famous ghost story. To this day, when a storm approaches the coast, the skies darken, and Caroline can be spotted in her blue dress walking near the lighthouse, still tending to her post.
Written By: John G. Clark Jr
(Sources) Hilton Head Island Lighthouse Blog
Image Credit: New York Post
