While we were in Charleston for a ghost hunting trip to the Meeting Street Inn, we decided to check out the Old Charleston Jail. This historic prison was built in 1802 and held many notorious criminals as well as Civil War prisoners of war. A local touring company offers midnight ghost investigations to groups of 4 or more. Luckily we were the only ones that signed up for Sunday night and had the place to ourselves.

Date: November 10, 2019

Location: Charleston, SC

Investigators: Chris, Matt, Kate, Semaj

 

Learning the Stories

Our investigation started with a tour guide who shared many fascinating stories. We learned that over 14,000 inmates died in the prison, but only about 200 of those were from executions. The conditions in this jail were inhumane, with overcrowding, torture, and rampant disease, that led to the vast majority of the deaths. 

The jail was set up with long hallways ending in glass windows that allowed a warden to sit in his office and watch all the cells at once. The old metal doors made screeching noises as they swung open and the prevalence of blinking motion sensor lights suggested the existence of movement that we were unable to see.

One story that stuck with me was about the metal stairway. Our guide pointed out how the steps and landing were well worn, all except for the last step. It was the 13th step and inmates would skip over this one out of superstition. It really gave a sense of how many people had lived here and how they were trying to survive as best they could.

EMF Readings in the Staircase

One area of the jail was set up as an apartment for the warden. Our guide showed us a creepy spiral staircase where supposedly awful things happened.

While exploring the staircase, we got high EMF spikes near the window. It may have been from something outside, but it was a little creepy knowing what may have gone on here.

Lavinia Fisher

One infamous criminal, Lavinia Fisher, was convicted of highway robbery and imprisoned here. Our guide told us she inhabited one of the cell rooms, and we attempted to reach out to her.

There were cells set up in this room that were not original, but they were a suggestion of what it had been like. Chris went into the cell and conducted an EVP session, and then we sent Matt in since Lavinia supposedly did not like men. Lavinia’s experience in the jail most likely included abuse by the male guards.

We didn’t catch any activity, but the room felt heavy, and overlooked a damaged part of the building from the 1886 earthquake.

Above Lavinia’s cell room was a room bathed in red light with strange markings on the walls. Our guide told us a story of how a young girl was talking to someone in this room that wasn’t actually there.


A room with a strange inset door may have been where the dead prisoners were transported out of the building. In this room supposedly a brick had flown across the room towards people. We conducted an EVP session here but didn’t catch anything. Our guide was particularly scared of this room and warned us not to go into this room alone. 

My Least Favorite Room

The room that haunted me the most personally was the room for solitary confinement. It felt like the size of a walk-in closet, but supposedly housed 8-10 small standing units for prisoners. These were solid metal containers with only a small slit of space near their eyes.

Given that there was no A/C, the metal units must have reached ferocious temperatures. It was horrible imagining living in these conditions. We set up the REM pod but did not catch anything.

EMF by the Gallows?

Before we left, our guide took us outside behind the jail. She told us they had been getting high EMF readings out here, and the theory was that the gallows had been located here.

There was a noticeable dip in the ground, and our EMF readers lit up to red in this area when we held them up high. We’re assuming there was some explanation for this, but it was a cool experience at the end of the night.

Did we capture paranormal evidence?

No, but we did get some high EMF readings in a couple areas. One of the stairways and an area outside had consistent spikes.

Our tour guide showed us some amazing photos on the way out that other visitors had taken, with ghostly shadows in the rooms we had just walked through.

The experience felt rushed though, since we only had 2-3 hours in the space. We would love to come back here and do a full overnight hunt with a larger group.

 

Check out the Bulldog Tours site and learn more on the Old Charleston Jail wikipedia entry.