Free previewStop 7 of Haunted Charleston Walking Tour
The Woman Behind the Legend
You're on Magazine Street now, in front of the building Charlestonians call the Old City Jail. It's grey, grim and built like a small castle. Look at the top of it. It seems to stop a little short, and it does. When the jail opened in 1802 it rose four stories and was crowned with a two-story octagonal tower. The earthquake of 1886 badly damaged the tower and the top story, and both were removed. What you're looking at is a building with its head removed.
This jail held pirates awaiting the gallows and, during the Civil War, African American soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts captured at Fort Wagner. Tradition says Denmark Vesey, accused of planning a slave revolt in 1822, spent his last days here, though no surviving document proves it. Tonight's story belongs to a married couple, John and Lavinia Fisher.
That's the opening. The rest plays at stop 7 of Haunted Charleston Walking Tour (3 min in all). Unlock the tour to hear it all, or try stop 1 free first.
