Discover the history of two of the Lowcountry’s most beautiful and historic cemeteries. The tales of tragic deaths – murders, suicides, freak accidents – form a compelling tale of the challenges and triumphs of a Lowcountry community moving from the Reconstruction era into the 20th century.
For decades fortune hunters have been searching for a large cache of gold and silver coins taken out of Richmond, VA when it was evacuated on April 2, 1865. Tales of the Confederate treasure’s fate has become legendary, with different people searching for it in dozens of places across the United States, including SC. Are … Read more
This presentation lays out the rich and complex archaeology of Ireland, perhaps the most recently inhabited part of the planet. Discussion will begin with when the first colonizers arrived, where they came from and where they landed. The presentation will include slides, music, video and requires no previous knowledge about archaeology. And yes, it will … Read more
Skulls and crossed bones. Weeping willows and rosebuds. Did you know Charleston has more 18th-century burial grounds than any city in the United States? Find out why on this visual stroll through historic colonial and antebellum cemeteries as we explore a religious diversity unknown in the other thirteen colonies. Moreover, Charleston’s ancient graveyards are art … Read more
The South has a rich tradition of folk literature that draws upon oral tradition and colorful language for its substance. Legends, folk history, songs, foodways, customs, and unique dialects permeate the ghost stories of South Carolina and other Southern states. Dr. Williams draws upon the numerous collections of ghost stories and scary tales to create … Read more
Hear how a mule kick killed eight people, how to murder with voodoo, why we used to sit up with the dead, and learn of a haunted French Huguenot Cemetery.
Tom’s habit of photographing old gas pumps at country stores had him cross paths with the grandson of a man killed for $500—murder for hire. The mayhem that ensued made history, involved Strom Thurmond, and led to eight people’s death, all because a mule kicked a calf in the head. The sole electrocution of a … Read more
The 1920s and 30s were the highlight decades of the British “cozy”: the relatively bloodless type of murder mystery that one can read curled by up by the fireplace with a strong cup of tea. This talk will trace the development of the genre of British detective fiction from its antecedents such as Wilke Collins … Read more
Dozens of tales of ghosts and haunted places have found their way into South Carolina’s mainstream media. Many have their origins in the 19th century and most in historic places. Some places have only one or two supernatural stories while others like Charleston, Columbia, Beaufort, Chester, Darlington and Edgefield have numerous sightings and unexplained phenomena. … Read more
Edgar Allan Poe was stationed at Fort Moultrie in 1827 and 1828 under the assumed name of Edgar Perry. While there, Poe was gathering material for the first detective stories in the English language, including The Goldbug, which was set on Sullivan’s Island. He also created the first American detective—C. Auguste Dupin, who was the … Read more
Even though President Lincoln had premonitions that he was going to be assassinated, he was sitting in the unguarded President’s Box at Ford’s Theatre when he was shot by John Wilkes Booth. Controversy erupted in 1907 when witnesses said that the man who was shot in the Garrett barn was not Booth and that he … Read more
Sherman’s brilliant campaign through Georgia and the Carolinas ended in political turmoil with public insinuations from President Andrew Johnson’s administration that Confederate President Jefferson Davis had bought his freedom from Sherman with gold from the Confederate treasury. Sherman was accused by high government officials of being “a common traitor and a public enemy” while subordinates … Read more
Edith Russell, Titanic survivor. Fashion designer and journalist, flamboyant Edith Russell, loved the limelight. As a first-class passenger on the doomed ship, she required a first-class cabin for herself and a first-class cabin for her clothing. Her vivid, first-hand accounts of the sinking are spellbinding.
