Haunted Old Charleston Jail

These days if a building is still standing past the age of 30, it almost inevitably has a ghost story attached to it. If a building has been standing for nearly 200 years, it likely holds hundreds of ghost stories. Add to that the fact that it was built on a burial ground and imprisoned those deserving and not through one of the darkest periods of American history. You then have a structure almost glowing with the paranormal. That building is the Haunted Old Charleston Jail.

Who Are The Ghosts of The Old Charleston Jail?

This is not a haunting with one lone spirit. This is a haunting with literally hundreds of ghost, some from the days of the jail. Other ghosts from a time period dating back to the 1700’s, prior to its construction. One of the most compelling ghost stories of the old Charleston Jail involves a woman named Lavinia and her husband. The couple for many years would lure unsuspecting travelers to their hotel, drug them, murder them and steal their belongings. After many years of running their scheme, they were tried and hanged. Before her death, Lavinia pledged that she would see the devil himself and asked the locals if they had any messages for the dark emperor. It seems she didn’t get very deep into the bowels of the underworld as her spirit still lingers in the halls of the jail to this day.

A Shocking History.

One of the most shocking facts of the Haunted Old Charleston Jail is the fact that up until the late 1930’s, it operated and housed both local and federal prisoners without running water, plumbing or electricity. This was truly a cruel and unusual mid-evil style prison operating in the United States at the same time Bing Crosby and Ella Fitzgerald were on the radio. Its no wonder, their restless souls still linger to this day.