Jail Sentence: Eternal

There are more than just tourists passing through the walls of the Old Charleston Jail. After learning about the horrible conditions inmates suffered through, one would think those spirits would flee the premises. However, as tour guide Paulette Foley told us, there are still many spirits that inhabit and haunt what is claimed to be "Charleston's most haunted building."

Our tour guide Paulette Foley with Bulldog Tours explained to us off the bat how she was simply looking for a part time job and did not believe in ghosts whatsoever. Little did she know, after joining the team she would experience her first supernatural encounter only days after. Here are some photos of the room Paulette experienced a cement piece of the wall fly across the room, only to miss her head by fractions of an inch, inexplainable by anything other than the supernatural. 

In order to understand these spirits frustrations, we must first understand the buildings history. The Charleston jail, was not merely a jail, but a federal prison. Built in 1802, it was one of the first five federal prisons built in the United States. The aim for this type of punishment was to eliminate public humiliation and torture to become more civilized. People believed that long term incarceration would solve crime.

The prison was built to hold 150 prisoners, but it was always horribly overcrowded. The prison was closed in 1939 when the federal government came for inspection. They closed the place down in 48 hours because they deemed it unfit for humans. There was no indoor plumbing, no electricity, and many bugs, reptiles, rodents, and bats infesting the building. A journal entry from a guard at the prison describes the crunching of bugs he would hear under his boots, as he made his rounds at night by candle light. 

Throughout its 137 years of operation, 14,000 inmates died, 600 of those by execution. The prison held men, women, and children. The majority of people died of neglect and incredibly poor conditions. Surprisingly there were not many suicides or murders within the walls of the prison. This is likely because the inmates did not have the energy to kill themselves or others, they were just barely making it by, day by day. 

During our tour we were taken to the spot where hangings would occur. I learned that the youngest hanging was of a 15 year old boy for attempted murder. This jail also housed the first female in South Carolina to receive the death penalty, Lavinia. She was publicly hanged and is famous for not only haunting the jail, but also for her last words, "if anybody has a message for Satan give it to me now and I'll deliver it to him." July 7, 1911 was the last hanging done in South Carolina outside the Old Charleston Jail. The hanging took 39 minutes, and after that the state declared it inhumane. 

How Hangings Occured

The Room That Lavinia Haunts

Overall I had a great tour and learned a lot about the history of the building as well as the history of some of the spirits that still make their presence known to this day. It was so neat to be able to see the actual rooms where some legendary spirits roam. I even enjoyed the spook that our tour guide gave us. The eerie, dark, and empty rooms set the stage for a great haunted evening. I thoroughly enjoyed my time here. This type of tour is right up my alley, or should I say jail cell!