Stories
White Point GardenPhoto: Brian Stansberry (photographer), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Walking tour · Charleston

Haunted Charleston Walking Tour

Pirates, prisoners and graveyards on the peninsula

1 h 8 min7 stops1.9 mi

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Stop 1 is free, no sign-up. All 7 for $4.99, refunded within 7 days if it isn't for you.

See the 7 stops

The 7 stops

  1. 1Start hereFree

    White Point Garden

    The Gentleman Who Bought a Pirate Ship

    Free sample · 2:29
    0:002:29

    You're standing in White Point Garden, at the very tip of the Charleston peninsula, where the Battery's seawall turns the corner and the harbor opens up in front of you. Make your way toward the northeast corner of the garden and find the small stone marker there, put up in 1943. It's for a pirate. Locals call him the Gentleman Pirate, and his name was Stede Bonnet.

    Bonnet did not grow up at sea. He grew up rich on Barbados, the heir to an estate of more than 400 acres. He was educated and held the rank of major in the island militia. Then in the spring of 1717, with no knowledge of sailing at all, Stede Bonnet decided to become a pirate.

    Most pirates got their ships by mutiny or by seizing one. Bonnet ordered his from a shipyard. He armed his sloop with ten guns and named her the Revenge. And here's the part that sounds like a joke but isn't: he paid his crew wages, like employees, instead of the usual share of the plunder.

    It went about as well as you'd expect for a man learning seamanship on the job. Bonnet was seriously wounded on the way to Nassau, the pirate haven in the Bahamas. Eventually he was caught, and in the autumn of 1718 Colonel William Rhett captured him on the Cape Fear River, on September 27. He was brought here, to what was then Charles Town. Judge Nicholas Trott sentenced him to death. Bonnet begged Governor Robert Johnson for mercy. Johnson refused. On December 10, 1718, Stede Bonnet was hanged near this spot. The shoreline then looked nothing like this; later landfill made the sharp edge you see now.

    Now look again at that marker. It says 29 of Bonnet's crew were executed close by. Twenty-nine were sentenced to death, but the evidence suggests only 22 were actually hanged. Seven men, at least, never met the rope the stone gives them.

    The stone also leaves out who was allowed to stand here. From Reconstruction into the Jim Crow years, Black Charlestonians could gather in this park on Independence Day to celebrate freedom from slavery, and on every other day they were not permitted to enter it, or to sit on its benches.

    When you're ready, walk east, then turn left onto High Battery; it's about 12 minutes to the Old Exchange, where a dungeon waits underneath the floor.

The whole walk

7 stories across Charleston

1 h 8 min · 7 stops · 1.9 mi

Starts at White Point Garden and ends at Old City Jail.

  • Plays right here in your browser, or in the app
  • One purchase for your group, on up to 4 phones
  • Refunded within 7 days if it isn't for you

Plan your walk

    How long

    About 1 h 8 min for 1.9 mi with all 7 stories. Going inside the sites adds time.

    Start and finish

    Starts at White Point Garden and ends at Old City Jail.

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    Questions people ask

    Can you do a ghost tour of Charleston on your own?

    Yes. This walk plays a story at each of seven stops, from White Point Garden to the Old City Jail, with the legend and then what the record says. There's no departure time: go by day or after dark.

    How long is the Haunted Charleston walk?

    About 1 hour 8 minutes in all, walking 1.9 miles and listening to all seven stories.

    Where does the tour start and end?

    It starts at White Point Garden on the Battery and ends at the Old City Jail on Magazine Street.

    What stops are on the route?

    The seven stops are White Point Garden, The Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon, Dock Street Theatre, St. Philip's Church, Circular Congregational Church, Unitarian Church Graveyard and Old City Jail.

    Do I need the app?

    No. After you unlock, the tour plays right here in your browser: keep the screen on and tap each stop. The free Stories app adds GPS auto-play, so each story starts by itself when you arrive, with your phone in your pocket, and works offline.

    How many people can listen?

    One purchase covers your group on up to 4 phones. Share the link from your receipt, or everyone can sign in to the app with the same email.

    Does it work offline?

    In the app, yes: download the tour on Wi-Fi before you go. In the browser you need a signal, which is fine on most city streets; open the tour once before you leave.

    When can I start?

    Any time. It is self-guided, so there are no departure times and no group to keep up with. Pause for coffee and pick up where you left off.

    Can I give this tour as a gift?

    Yes. Tap "Give it as a gift", type their email and a note, and pick the day it arrives (Christmas morning works). They open it in their phone's browser; you get the receipt.

    Can I get a refund?

    Yes. If the tour did not work for you, email support@getstories.app within 7 days and we will refund it.

    Who made this tour?

    Stories writes each tour from public sources, checks every claim against them, and narrates it with a synthetic voice. The sources are listed at the end of this page; if you spot a mistake, tell us at support@getstories.app.

    About this tour and its sources

    You're standing in White Point Garden, at the very tip of the Charleston peninsula, where the Battery seawall runs out and the harbor opens wide. Look past the oaks to the water. Ships have come and gone from this shore for three centuries. In 1718, pirates came too, and some of them never left. They were hanged near this spot. Even the stone marker nearby is shaky: it says 29 of the crew died here, but the evidence suggests only 22 were hanged.

    So here is the question behind this tour. When a ghost story is told, what actually happened? Behind every legend you'll hear today there are real people: prisoners, actors, ministers, mourners, and the people who dug the graves. In a city built on slavery, many of those people were enslaved, and their names are often the hardest to find. Where the record holds them, you'll hear them. Where it holds only a story, we'll say so.

    We'll finish at the Old City Jail, which housed prisoners for well over a century. Until then, watch the traffic and take your time.

    Now, stay right here in White Point Garden. Our first story is about a wealthy gentleman with no seafaring experience at all, and the very strange decision he made to buy himself a pirate ship.

    Written from public sources, every claim checked against them, narrated by a synthetic voice. Last checked October 2026.

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