The Ghosts of the Grand Strand

The Ghosts of the Grand Strand

Spend any time on the Grand Strand and you'll likely hear about two of the area's eeriest residents: Alice Flagg and the Gray Man.

Alice Flagg was the teenage sister of the wealthy owner of the Hermitage, a rice plantation near Murrells Inlet. She was sent by her family to boarding school in Charleston to keep her away from a boy who'd captured her heart. The young lovers managed to see each other on the sly and soon became secretly engaged. Alice wore her engagement ring around her neck, hidden next to her heart. She came down with a high fever and returned to the Hermitage, where she died with the name of her fiancé on her lips. Her brother discovered the ring and, in a rage, threw it in the marsh.

Although she was buried at the Hermitage, her body was later moved to the cemetery at All Saints Church near Pawleys Island, where it now rests under a marble slab bearing only the name "Alice." For many years, her ghost was seen wandering the marsh near the house, looking for the ring. Her spirit, it is said, can be summoned by walking around the grave backward 13 times.

The Gray Man, according to most renditions of his story, was a young man who, while rushing to see his sweetheart, was thrown from his horse and died. After his funeral, his love took to walking along the beach each night. One evening, she was approached by a ghostly version of her lover. "Leave the island at once," he warned. "You are in great danger." She heeded the warning, and later that day a hurricane struck. Ever since, the Gray Man has delivered storm warnings to island residents, most famously before Hurricane Hugo hit in September 1989.