Ghost Stories
As most of us know - the area around Pawley's Island is teeming with ghosts and their stories. Here are a few of our favorites from around the island…
THE GREY MAN
Perhaps the most well-known ghost story on the island, the Grey Man is believed to be a young man who tragically died while crossing the pluff-filled marshes during a storm to see his fiancé. It is said that the Grey Man warns island residents of impending storms and countless families recount how they were spared because of the ghost's warning. A lesser known story identifies the young man as possibly being Plowden Charles Jeannerette Weston, the original owner of our Inn. For deeper insight into the Grey Man, tap here.
ALICE FLAGG
A story of love lost, legend has it that Alice fell deeply in love with a man that her brother, who was her ward, deemed unsuitable to the family. Alice defied her brother's wishes and continued the courtship, becoming engaged and hiding the ring on a ribbon she wore around her neck. In effort to separate the doomed lovers, her brother sent Alice away to boarding school in Charleston. However, soon after, Alice became gravely ill and it was during her caretaking that the ring was discovered. Distraught and heartbroken, she passed soon after.
While the famous 'ALICE' grave marker is now believed to belong to another member of her extended family, it is still custom to leave Alice gifts at the grave marker in All Saint's Cemetery. Many have claimed to have seen the ghost of Alice - always in a long white dress; and if you walk backwards around her gravestone 13 times, it is believed she will make an appearance.
THE TERRIERS
Another legend that involves our beloved Inn is the story of the two Boston Terriers who haunt our halls. Said to have once belonged to a caretaker, one of the dogs ran into the ocean to help save a drowning boy. The poor pup did not survive the ordeal and his companion soon passed shortly there after. Guests have reported hearing barking and the unmistakable sounds of dogs in the hallways.
Have you heard the pups or seen the Grey Man?