On humid nights along the South Carolina and Georgia coast, when the moon hangs low and the marshes whisper, elders gather to share one of the Gullah community’s most chilling tales: the legend of the Boo Hag. They speak in hushed voices of a creature unlike any ordinary ghost, a skinless and sinewy being, red…
Murder, a Ballad, and the Ghost of Tom Dula (Dooley)
Long before his name became famous in song, Tom Dula was already a notorious figure in North Carolina’s foothills. Raised in Wilkes County and admired for his charm and fiddle playing, Tom’s life took a dark turn after the Civil War. He rekindled an affair with Ann Melton, now married, while also courting her cousin,…
Ghostly Downtown Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville’s downtown is a bustling hub today, filled with visitors flocking to Main Street’s lively shops, diverse eateries, and the iconic Liberty Bridge in Falls Park. Yet, beneath this modern vibrancy lies a history that’s seldom discussed—one woven with stories of haunts and hidden pasts. Long before the city’s present-day charm, this land was once…
Remembering The 2005 Graniteville Train Crash
On January 6, 2005, a Norfolk Southern train with forty-two cars attached, traveling at approximately fifty miles per hour, struck a misaligned switch, sending the locomotive into the path of a parked locomotive. derailing both. Three of the tank cars contained chlorine, and one car was breached in the accident, dumping 180,000 pounds of poisonous…
The Wreck of the Old 97
The late 1800s through the early 1900s were a bad time to travel by rail. We have highlighted many train accidents in the past, but it’s not often that a train wreck actually becomes a popular musical ballad. On September 27, 1903, a Southern Railway mail train, train number 97, and also known as the…
The Strange Case of Billy Wayne Cope in Rock Hill: Part 2
York County 911… What’s your emergency? In late November 2001, a 911 call was made from the Cope residence in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The caller stated that his daughter was “cold as a cucumber.” That caller was later identified as Billy Wayne Cope, who called after finding his daughter, Amanda, deceased in her bed….
Legend of The Blowing Rock
The Blowing Rock is North Carolina’s oldest attraction, and visitors who stop to take in the views at 432 The Rock Road in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, are familiar with the legend associated with the premises. In 1933, it was established as “North Carolina’s First Travel Attraction,” dating back almost 250 million years ago when…
Surry’s Witch
Many believe the first known person to have been accused of witchcraft lived in the present-day Northeastern United States, and that is not true. Actually, Joan Wright, or “Jane,” was the first known person to be legally accused. She is also referred to as “Surry’s Witch” and lived in Elizabeth City (Surry County) in the…
Is This the Real “Ghost” Town of Lake Hartwell
When the area was flooded to make way for the lake in the early 1960s, graveyards, roads, and buildings were lost forever beneath the serene surface of Lake Hartwell on the border of South Carolina and Georgia. But the biggest mystery that lurks on the bottom may be the small town of Andersonville. Yes, Ghost…
The Strange Case of Billy Wayne Cope in Rock Hill: Part 1
In 1997, I attended York Technical College in Rock Hill, South Carolina, to gain undergraduate credits toward a Bachelor’s degree. I am not a math whiz, and honestly, it’s the one class where my ADHD kicks in the most. During that fall, several students around the student center began to notice a larger man, who…