During the day, residents and visitors alike enjoy the quiet beauty of the peaceful coasts and Lowcountry of South Carolina. But in a state where soldiers fell, slaves died without knowing freedom, and the practice of voodoo is still an open secret, the night is bound to be a bit more exciting.

From the bustling streets of Charleston and the graceful old plantations, to the foreboding coastal forts and the darkest heart of the swamps, spirits and creatures seem to lurk in every corner, and ghost tales abound.

A wistful Civil War–era gentleman’s escort still looks out from Charleston’s old Dock Street Theatre imagining what might have been. A bloodstain won’t wash off the floor at a plantation where the slaves were tortured. A gentleman ghost misses a good party and shows up during dinners to enjoy a glass of wine. A lizardman torments the citizens of a small town on the edge of a swamp.

Gather ’round the campfire or snuggle up alone under a quilt and enter the world of spirits. Who knows, you may meet one of these ghosts one day. . . .