You Might Be Strolling With A Ghost At This Haunted Plantation In South Carolina
By Nikki Rhoades|Published June 21, 2020
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Nikki Rhoades
Author
Nikki is a lifelong Ohioan with a love for literature. She holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Akron and has enjoyed publishing her written work since 2007. She has a love of travel and does so frequently, though she believes that home is where the heart is — she continues to work in and around Cleveland as a digital content specialist to this day, working on everything from commercial scripts and social media posts to grassroots marketing initiatives.
When one thinks of something haunted, we all tend to envision the same thing: a decrepit, creaky, moldy old structure that hasn’t known love in far too long. However, the ghosts of South Carolina prove that, sometimes, the loveliest landscapes and historic landmarks make an ideal eternal home. Hiding near Charleston is a haunted South Carolina plantation that is breathtakingly beautiful… yet its infamous hauntings have attracted the attention of famed spirit seekers and locals alike. Prepare to stop and smell the flowers… and be prepared to encounter a phantom or two at Magnolia Plantation.
Life after death is a hotly debated subject, but we all dream of spending that state of being in a place that is, essentially, paradise. In South Carolina, locals can tell you that Magnolia Plantation and Gardens is paradise.
As one of the oldest public gardens in America, this gorgeous garden has had plenty of time to grow. Its beauty has attracted the attention of famous Americans like Orson Welles and Eleanor Roosevelt... and some say that its beauty is also enjoyed by those that have left the world of the living.
The grounds, which consist of 464 acres, are meticulously kept and instantly immerse visitors in beauty.
Some on-site gardens, like Flowerdale, have been around for generations (in this case, since 1680). You can also view the old ricefields via a one hour boat tour.
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But visitors are also immersed in history, as this is one of the oldest plantations in the South.
Both Ghost Adventures and Ghost Hunters have swept through these grounds, searching for evidence of spectral stalking. Both found evidence of restless spirits.
As sad as it is to talk about the enslavement of a human being, it's a part of our nation's history. What we often hear, as a result, are accounts of life on cotton plantations. Rice plantations were much, much rougher. Not only was the work harder, but there was much more to do. Rice plantations, as you know, were common in and around South Carolina's Lowcountry. Rice plantations almost always had over 200 human slaves... whereas cotton plantations had around 25 at any given time. Heatstroke, disease, and dangerous native animals like alligators made working in the rice fields a very dangerous task.
This gorgeous landscape once served as a rice plantation, utilizing slave labor to grow its success.
The first slaves on this plantation came from Barbados in the 1670s. However, this area would go on to produce a creolized Gullah language as West African slaves joined the plantation. Today, this historical landmark actually offers Slavery to Freedom Tours that will help you connect with the memories of the people that once lived and worked on this former plantation. Most of the buildings on site are original, though one was built later. These sites also provided shelter to freedmen during the Reconstruction period.
The grounds would grow famous as a garden circa 1840 (their grand expansion was said to be a ploy by then-owner Reverend John Grimke-Drayton to lure his beloved bride down South), but before that they looked a tad bit different from the landscape we know and love today.
This is especially true depending on what moment in time you're looking back at. During the Revolutionary War, both American and British troops occupied this landscape. During the Civil War, the plantation house was burned... probably by Union troops, as you may have guessed. Could the disgruntled spirits lingering around this site be related to the Civil War era fire, or could it be the spirit of a slave from generations before that point in time?!
With more than 300 years of history, it is challenging to say which spirits are lingering around this historic garden... but some continue to have experiences here to this day.
Disembodied voices, soulful spirit music, grunting, growling, and more remind us that this peaceful garden has come a long way over the years. This author likes to think that the spirits of the old plantation hung around because they liked and appreciated the direction that the historic property moved in. Though it may have once been a place of cruel, unforgiving labor in the fields, it has transformed into a warm and welcoming historical landscape that even makes spirits feel right at home.
This haunted South Carolina plantation is a place of beauty and history, and some of that history is colorful in the worst way. Despite the difficulties of life as a slave on a rice plantation, this historic site has done a splendid job at preserving the importance of both West African culture and preserving former slave dwellings, empowering visitors to learn about and understand the evolution of our nation’s history.
