Ghosts and Boo Hags Still Roam Free
Stories whispered of long ago became the stuff of legend.
Tidal rivers mourn the loss of long-forgotten tales.
I began to wonder if these spirits were real.
Unexplained noises began in the attic shortly after moving into the old house on the river. It sounded like chains being dragged around on the attic floor. We had recently cleared the space of squirrels and cut back any overhanging limbs along the roofline.
What could it be? Night after night the noise would start shortly after dark. One night we began to hear footsteps going thump, thump as they climbed the wooden staircase to our second-floor bedroom. My husband grabbed his shotgun and opened the massive door only to find nothing.
The house had a storied past with tales of headline soirees.
Maybe the original owner, Arthur Barnwell, was returning for one of his legendary parties where he would bring in the Ziegfield Folly girls from New York and entertain with lavish dinners and dancing.
Locals told me his parties would last for days. They would swim in the pool underneath the glow of a dozen pink chandeliers and dine on local seafood brought by boat from the mainland.
Arthur Barnwell was a wealthy and handsome man who traced his local roots to Col. John “Tuscarora Jack” Barnwell, a founder of Beaufort. He had made his fortune with his seat on the New York Stock Exchange before coming to Beaufort. Rumor says he had killed a man in Charleston and couldn’t go back.
Local were not pleased with Barnwell. The headlines in the local newspaper blared, “Arthur Barnwell spends Wall Street Gold on Coastal Playhouse.”
Story is credited to noted local reporter, Chlotilde Martin. 1931
After hearing the noise, I walked out on the upper porch that evening only to see a wisp of wind move slowly toward the house. It took a human form, then disappeared into darkness veiled in mystery and gray shadows. Was it the ghost of Arthur Barnwell returning? Could it be the man from Charleston seeking vengeance? You decide.
Along the winding dirt roads of the Sea Islands, hidden in village enclaves the stories whispered have become the stuff of legend. But to those who have lived on the islands for generations, they understand it’s no secret. It’s that “old black magic.”
Often the rhythm of drums could be heard drifting through vast marshlands surrounding the property, floating across farmlands and nearby Broomfield. This was to be a reminder of things that must never be forgotten: those tales told by fathers and grandfathers to their children of the spirits that exist in darkness, known here as the “Root.”
Along with the tens of thousands of captured slaves from Sierra Leone who poured into the Lowcountry came their customs and beliefs. The fact that they were now in South Carolina did not change what they had been taught to believe. Concepts taught by their ancestors survived until the end of slavery, the following decades, and many to this day.
The fate of the Barnwell House? Tragedy struck late one night.
A second strike blocks all 911 calls.
Walls that could tell some of Beaufort’s more intriguing stories were suddenly destroyed on a stormy Sunday evening in August 2018. The Pleasant Point mansion was destroyed when fire swallowed its pecky cypress walls and all the contents within.
All that was left was a pile of rubble. It’s signature white columns laid across the front lawn.
Now only the melodic cadence of whippoorwills and cicada and the gentle splashing of waves against the shore broke the silence of the night.