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Wytchery: A Gothic Cabinet of Curiosities and Mysteries

Wytchery: A Gothic Cabinet of Curiosities and Mysteries

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The ghosts of St. Helena’s chapel of ease and Land’s End light – true hauntings from South Carolina’s sea islands

The Ruins of Chapel of Ease, c. 1740, Frogmore, St. Helena Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina

St. Helena Island, a sea island located in the Port Royal Sound of South Carolina has a long history. Some say it’s the oldest settlement in the United States, founded shortly after its discovery by Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón, a Spaniard looking to colonize the sea islands, some time around 1520. Port Royal, located on the adjacent island of the same name, was once the capital of the Spanish colony of Florida, and today is best known as the bucolic and utterly charming city of Beaufort. Think Forrest Gump, as a fair amount of the movie was filmed there. Since its discovery, it’s been ruled at various times by the Spanish, French, English, Scots, United States and of course the Confederate States of America.

Noticing a resemblance to the portions of West Africa known for ideal rice-growing conditions, slavery became a hot commodity from an early time. In addition to rice – spices, cotton and indigo became valuable cash crops, made profitable on the backs of not only slave labour from Sierre Leone, but native Americans, as well as indentured servants from across Europe. At the time of the American revolution, St. Helena Island, see-sawing between French and Spanish rule became English.

All these influences formed a gumbo of culture, cooked in the sweltering South Carolina summers, somewhat isolated from the mainland. Today, most of the island’s 8,000 plus residents live in rural areas, and you find a very strong Gullah element as well.

Heading out towards Fort Fremont on the southwestern tip of the island known as Land’s End, you pass beneath the overhanging branches of what has come to be known as the hanging tree, from a legend that runaway slaves were once hung there as a warning to others who contemplated escaping their shackles and chains. If you find yourself here after dark, park beneath its branches, turn off you headlamps and wait for the Land’s End light. It begins in the distance like a single headlight coming down the road towards you, but as it grows closer you realize it’s much larger and not nearly as bright. Some say as it speeds by it leaves you charged with static electricity. Others have reported being overtaken by the light as they drove back towards Port Royal Island. No one agrees on what the cause for the light might be, though it’s pretty much agreed upon that the light is real, and even somewhat reliable. Some even claim the light appears every night, if you’re patient enough.

Sheriff’s patrols in the seventies reported that there might be a hundred or more cars lining this stretch of the road some nights. At least two people have died in auto accidents chasing down the light. Some say it’s nothing more than swamp gas. Others say it’s not bright enough to be swamp gas and it moves too quickly and with a purpose. Scientific studies were made on it in the seventies with no definitive conclusion, though one idea which seems to pull more weight than others is that it’s an optical illusion created by the distant lights of headlamps further down the road. Which perhaps is what led to the story that it’s the ghost of several children who were killed when the bus they were riding in slammed into the hanging tree.

Proponents of the supernatural claim it is the ghost of the unfortunate slaves hung from the tree, as it’s been said to hover among its branches. Some say it’s the ghost of a union officer who lost his head in the war. Another story is that it’s the soul of a departed confederate soldier. The unfortunate fellow was on patrol one evening, when surprised by union soliders, one of whom sliced his head off and tossed it in the bay, and that now he roams the countryside, looking for his lost head. Though let’s be realistic here … one doesn’t simply slice the head off another person, without expending a lot of force, and having exceptionally good aim. There’s an awful lot of bone to get through. And it’s unlikely that two soldiers trying to infiltrate behind enemy lines would take the time to saw, hack or otherwise pry the skull off a body. It’s not only time consuming, but from what I hear, incredibly messy.

Though it brings to mind the story of the another famous, headless soldier, up north in Sleepy Hollow, New York. Sleepy Hollow is of course known for more ghostly encounters than the headless Hessian. And so is St. Helena Island.

Rear View of the Ruins of the Chapel of Ease, c. 1740, Frogmore, St. Helena Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina
Rear View of the Ruins of the Chapel of Ease, c. 1740, Frogmore, St. Helena Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina

Just a bit before you reach the hanging tree, off to the left you find the ruins of an old church, what is known in the area as a chapel of ease. A chapel of ease was built to serve the plantation population of an area, too far away from a parish church to attend Sunday services. In the case of this particular chapel of ease on St. Helena Island, building was commenced about 1740, using tabby construction methods.
Tabby, for those of you unfamiliar with the method, refers not to a cat, but the building material. Tabby is a form of concrete made from lime, sand and oyster shells. The area was once heavily populated by native Americans, who ate oysters by the boatload it appears, leaving their shells heaped in great piles around the island. Oyster shells don’t decompose very rapidly at all, and it’s not uncommon to find piles thousands of years old throughout the world. It’s believed that this method of constructions dates from the Spanish period, as in Spain you find a very similar building method, which was brought there by the invading Moors from North Africa.

Closeup of Tabby Wall Construction. Chapel of Ease, c. 1740, Frogmore, St. Helena Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina

Which is interesting when you think of it. This particular chapel, intended to make life more comfortable for white slaveholders and their workers, was built using a technique from Spain, when it was conquered by the Africans. Ironic, wouldn’t you say. At any rate, it was once known as the White Church, as the combination of oyster shells and lime caused the structure to appear to glow when it was still in its glory. Its glory days are long past, having been heavily damaged from a forest fire late in the 19th century.

Walking around and inside the ruins today, you find the atmosphere heavy with humidity, and hushed with the passing of time. To say the effect is gloomy would be too obvious. Edgar Allan Poe might have said that a stifling air of decay hangs like a decrepit mantle upon the place. Creepy is another word that comes to mind.

The St. Helena Chapel of Ease was ideally situated for the planters of the island, and by 1812, it had been granted the designation of parish church. Then on November 4 of 1861 Sunday services were interrupted by a messenger who brought news of the impending invasion of nearby Beaufort by Union troops to a Captain William Oliver Perry Fripp. Fripp’s ancestors had been instrumented in the building and upkeep of the chapel, as John Fripp III has left 500 pounds for the purpose in 1780. A year earlier, Edgar Fripp and his wife Eliza had taken their place in a mausoleum built for them in the adjacent graveyard back in 1852. Built by Charleston stone-cutter W.T. White, it remains on the property today, and still shows itself to be in quite good condition. According to a diary written by Thomas B. Chaplin on April 13, 1852, “Said vault was a fine affair and did not have to wait very long for it’s occupants, Edgar & wife. The Yankees broke it open during the war hoping for treasure. It is now somewhat out of order.”

The Vault of Edgar and Eliza Fripp, Chapel of ease on St. Helena Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina.
The Vault of Edgar and Eliza Fripp, Chapel of ease on St. Helena Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina.

To this day, the vault remains out of order. The planters left the island with the arrival of Union forces in 1861, and the church never regained its stature. Stories relate that union soldiers used it for services during the war, as well as northerners who came to the area, i.e. carpetbaggers, after the war to educate and train the former slave population.

The door of Fripp’s vault was ruined by the soldiers, and at some point it was decided to brick up the entrance. According to the story, workmen did a journeyman’s job of sealing the vault, only to return the following day to find the bricks removed and neatly stacked beside the mausoleum. Convinced that the supernatural was afoot, in part aided by police assurances that no one had been in the area the previous night long enough to complete such a task, the job remained unfinished. Today the vault is empty, the door half-sealed by bricks, and one finds the experience of looking into its vacant maw more than a bit unsettling.

Others report hearing whispered prayers and singing emanating from the interior of the chapel. Still other claim to have heard names being shouted in the silent burial ground, or the surrounding forest.

My personal favorite involves a lady shrouded in white, walking amongst the tombstones, a child in her arms, like a southern gothic Lucy Harker from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, carrying the child to her crypt for a midnight snack.

That such stories about on St. Helena’s Island, and around the Chapel of Ease is no surprise. With such a mingled heritage and bloodline, and about five centuries of history to feed it, perhaps it’s surprising that the ghosts don’t outnumber the living in the thick air of the South Carolina sea islands.

Gothic Travel Rating: A bit of traffic on the highway will intrude on the quiet and solitude, but a visit to the Chapel of Ease exudes southern gothic moodiness. The possible presence of alligators and snakes will certainly keep you on your toes as well. Maybe not the most frightening place in the area, but it’s hard to beat it for mood. The police might frown on you parking there at night, but have a friend drop you off and come back later. I dare you.

If you go: S.C. Sec. Rd. 45, St. Helena Island

 

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March 6, 2011 By gothiccurios 36 Comments

Filed Under: Behind Urban Legends, Haunted Graveyards and Cemeteries, Haunted Houses and Buildings, Low Country, The best in haunted travel tips, True Ghost Stories Tagged With: haunted house pictures, haunting stories, pictures of haunted houses, real ghost story, real haunting

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Comments

  1. tomas gomez

    August 5, 2012 at 12:44 pm

    i caught a ghost and images of people sitting in a tree and old man with a bucket hat on and more, on my ii phone. send me an e mail address to send it to. all you will say is wow!

    Reply
    • Margaret Bear

      January 16, 2013 at 11:00 pm

      Pls, send pix from Chapel of Ease.

      Reply
      • Andreas Cook

        September 16, 2018 at 11:43 am

        Can anyone send me these pics please just wenr there yesterday with my mom and bro. My mom is the one who saw the old man with bucket hat on she had us all spooked my email is andrew.cook871@gmail.com

        Reply
    • Beauton Byrd

      March 16, 2013 at 4:50 am

      send them

      Reply
    • Ambrosha

      March 17, 2013 at 8:27 pm

      please send your picture to ambroshaangel@yahoo.com, I am from Beaufort, SC and live on St. Helena Island and would love to see a picture such as this for my documentary!

      Reply
    • i would love to see that picture!

      April 4, 2013 at 7:16 pm

      Thanks,love beaufort ghost!

      Reply
    • mike bigley

      April 18, 2013 at 12:09 am

      would love for you to email these pictures. I am a local and live a mile down the road from the site.

      Reply
    • Nancy white

      November 12, 2015 at 5:21 pm

      Would love to see
      803.379.4015 can you send in text

      Getting married here March 19th /16

      Love this place

      Reply
    • Michelle

      August 3, 2016 at 6:55 pm

      Please send pics of Chapel of Ease

      Reply
    • Bob & jo

      December 28, 2016 at 1:01 am

      I would love to see these photos. From chapel of ease. Thanks. Bob

      Reply
    • Had98

      April 1, 2017 at 5:41 pm

      I would love to see the pics!!

      Reply
  2. Leslie Ashworth

    December 6, 2012 at 2:14 am

    Really?
    So what did the air around you smell like when you took those photos?

    Reply
  3. tomas gomez

    January 6, 2013 at 2:33 am

    the air didnt smell. i was taking rapid pictures all around the property. when we got home i was looking through the picks. came across a stream thick rope of smoke in the lenz from top of pic to the bottom. i ereased that thinking it was a bad picture. the next pic was an image in smoke looking at me. it had eyes like ET head shaped something like a jaraf. and over the left ear of smoke. there was an image of a man sitting on a branch with a bucket hat on. he had a white beard and mustach. on the right on his clothes was an image of sand stone blocks with some kind of symbel on them. three blocks one over the other like an old building. in the middle of his chest there was a face of a man. to the right on his shoulder and arm was a black ladies face she was in a yellow dress with short hair, she had a nice face like a good person. to her right was a little dog. now the camera dosnt lie. ill never forget it. my wife said why are you taking pictures so fast one after another? i told her i was trying to catch a spirit. and i did.

    Reply
  4. Demeteria Simmons

    January 29, 2013 at 10:02 am

    Please send pics if you still have them!

    Reply
  5. mike bigley

    April 18, 2013 at 12:13 am

    would like to see the pictures. I am a local and live near the site. Happy hunting

    Reply
  6. Tanya L. Deas

    December 3, 2013 at 6:54 am

    Please send photos to me deastanya@Gmail.com hanks in advance this is so interesting

    Reply
  7. T.J.

    May 27, 2014 at 8:43 pm

    I live close to the Island, please send pictures if you still have them. And out of curiosity, have you ever heard of or photographed the Old Berry Shoals Dam and Bridge in Spartanburg, SC? Supposedly so eerie that it’s hard to spend more than a few minutes there. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Jess

      February 22, 2017 at 5:55 am

      Hi T.J… I have no idea how many years ago this may have been posted; I have just now stumbled across this in February of 2017. Anyhow I happen to live in Spartanburg very close to the dam that you speak of however I have never heard any stories.. you have sparked my interest greatly. Please contact me if you can by email. Jward1309@gmail.com

      Reply
  8. tomas gomez

    August 21, 2014 at 2:31 am

    i put the picture in the save file. its not clear now. what we saw was real. that’s all that matters. ill never forget it. and i bet it will never happen again.

    Reply
  9. Christina

    October 5, 2014 at 3:07 am

    ok the chapel of ease is quite a name where did it cme from.1. where have the Fripp’s gone were their remains ever located afterward ?2. what is poverty level on st Helena’s?3. Are the gulla people considered downcasts today?What about Dataw Island ,anyghosts there ?Is there any old restored legit
    plantation w/ active ghosts for tourists to visit?

    Reply
  10. ALLEN

    January 20, 2015 at 9:43 am

    To be honest and god is my witness I have walked home on foot three times from work passed this building three times late at night on foot between 1and 3 and once have I heard or seen any ghost at all.Chapel of ease is not near hunted at all. If so I will love to see and hear it also but as of now I haven’t seen or heard any ghost.

    Reply
  11. Lorraine

    July 19, 2015 at 6:48 pm

    Just visited there yesterday and didn’t capture any thing on my phone. It was a bit creepy but loved the history wished I had some paranormal but not this time.

    Reply
  12. Dsnook

    July 20, 2015 at 1:22 am

    Just visited this place in June with family. It was 92 degrees that day yet I was chilled as soon as I entered the church and walked the grounds. Definitely was followed by someone or something unseen. Very beautiful yet creepy. Well worth the trip.

    Reply
  13. Edith Hudson

    January 23, 2016 at 2:54 pm

    Hi, i would love to see that pic too if you dont mind please, i would really appreciate it. yours sincerely, edith

    Reply
  14. Angie

    January 29, 2016 at 2:06 am

    Thinking of my friends and I spending the day/night getting lunch and drinks before visiting. Thinking we will cab it from Hilton Head and make a day of it! Send me the pics please! I have a video on my fb in my home that has orbs floating all over. I was so scared that I made company sleep over. They are apparently harmless in that I have not been bothered and lived here 6 years.:)

    Reply
  15. Esha Pachare

    May 7, 2016 at 10:45 am

    Hi I would like to see those pictures pls send if you still have them on eshapachare@gmail.com.
    thanks

    Reply
  16. justin

    October 12, 2016 at 7:55 pm

    Both land’s end and the Chapel are easily some of the creepiest places in town.

    Reply
  17. jb

    November 19, 2016 at 10:05 pm

    I was just there. Wonderfully southern Gothic and bound to give you chills after dark

    Reply
  18. Tomas gomez

    September 2, 2017 at 4:06 am

    The pics I took were real as god is my whitnes! I still have the image in my computer but the clearness is gone but the shape of the smoke is still there I’ll try to find it and post it here . This is a true story and when was the last time men wore bucket hats around here I’ll look for it I promise haven’t bin back on this sight for a long time glad to see so much interest there’s a place on Hilton head called mitchelvill I used to drive a town car late at night through there 3am I told a customer every time I drive in here late at night I feel the love of the slaves . Some customers called me crazy and laughed but an old black lady once told me lot of us feel that at night she said the spirits like you that I should never be afraid I believe her .. I think spirits are real! I think the reason I got those pics yrs ago because the spirits wanted me to. So call me crazy if you want. But as god is my witness I saw what I saw . I’ll try to find what’s left of the image and post it on this site I even called the penn center . They weren’t interested in what I had . The man told me we want real things not pictures of ghostly images you know what I’ll never forget? The face of that black lady’s face in the yellow dress with the little dog I wish there was some way to find out if there ever was such a lady that lived around there in the 1800s imagin if there’s a photo of her some place? What a kind loving face she had what a good soul she must have bin. Ok it’s late time for bed I’m an old man hope I can find the image that’s left Mabey someone out there can bring back all the images in the picture by now:)

    Reply
    • Andrew

      September 16, 2018 at 11:47 am

      Can anyone send me these pics please just wenr there yesterday with my mom and bro. My mom is the one who saw the old man with bucket hat on she had us all spooked my email is andrew.cook871@gmail.com

      Reply
  19. Andrew

    September 16, 2018 at 3:09 am

    Please send me the pics…. I just left there with my brother and mom and my mom is the one who saw old man with bucket hat on looking at us through the middle window of the church my email is andrew.cook871@gmail.com

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Do Ghosts Walk the Ruins of St. Helena Island’s Chapel of Ease? « Ghosts and Ghouls says:
    September 9, 2012 at 9:26 pm

    […] National Register, Gothic Horror Stories Share this:StumbleUponTwitterFacebookTumblrPinterestRedditMoreLike this:LikeBe the first to like […]

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  2. Beaufort's Haunted History: St. Helena's Chapel of Ease | Beaufort, SC Local & Visitor Guide | Eat Sleep Play Beaufort says:
    October 14, 2012 at 10:01 am

    […] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqg4ktcyoIQ Sources: https://www.gothichorrorstories.com/behind-urban-legends/the-ghosts-of-st-helenas-chapel-of-ease-and-… http://www.hauntspot.com/haunt/usa/south-carolina/chapel-of-ease.shtml Photos property of […]

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  3. Beaufort’s Haunted History: The Land’s End Light | Beaufort SC Local & Visitor Guide | Eat Sleep Play Beaufort says:
    October 21, 2013 at 10:50 pm

    […] http://www.beaufortcountylibrary.org/htdocs-sirsi/ghosts.htm#TheLand’sEndLight https://www.gothichorrorstories.com/behind-urban-legends/the-ghosts-of-st-helenas-chapel-of-ease-and-… Image Source: […]

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  4. SC Lawmaker Praises “Hanging Tree” | Visit SC says:
    February 23, 2014 at 2:02 am

    […] to others who contemplated escaping their shackles and chains,” the website Gothic Horror Stories notes of that hanging […]

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  5. Beaufort's Haunted History: The Land's End Light | Experience Lowcountry Life in Beaufort, South Carolina! says:
    May 31, 2019 at 4:23 am

    […] http://www.beaufortcountylibrary.org/htdocs-sirsi/ghosts.htm#TheLand’sEndLight https://www.gothichorrorstories.com/behind-urban-legends/the-ghosts-of-st-helenas-chapel-of-ease-and-… Image Source: […]

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