Who is in the window?

When I first heard that I was touring one of the most haunted buildings in the United States, I was super excited. I was looking forward to it all semester and when the night came that we would actually be doing the tour at The Old City Jail, I was ecstatic. I love listening to ghost stories and looking into paranormal things so this was a perfect trip to experience some real ghostly things. Of course, when I actually got there, things seemed to change. I began getting nervous even outside the jail and something did not feel right. The entire time my heart was beating and my legs were shaking even though I felt fine. There was definitely something in that place that did not like visitors.

The tour was from Bulldog Tours and our tour guide's name was Randy Johnson.
The jail opened its doors in 1802 and closed in 1939. "During that time, it is said that around 14000 people have died there" Johnson stated. With that information, you can assume that many people who were sent here never left. "One of the biggest killers inside the church was the yellow fever and often killed over a hundred people in just a month" Johnson stated.

The jail often suffered from overcrowding and the conditions were very poorly often with many sick people and not receiving proper care, dirty drinking water, and open floors that would leak excrements onto the occupants below. Along the walls you can see graffiti that the prisoners left. Despite what they did to end up there, you cannot help but feel sorry for them. Cages were pretty much in every room that held the prisoners, similar to cages where animals were kept. The cages where the insane prisoners were kept only gave them enough room to stand. They were kept like this for weeks at a time and many of them died. Once the jail was shut down, people were unsure of what to do with it so it fell into disrepair and was finally converted into what it is today: a popular tourist destination and one of the most haunted places in the United States.

Overall, the tour was really fun despite me being pretty scared. I got to learn a lot of history about the jail and of Charleston. I definitely would like to go back on another tour. Later that night when I was flipping through the pictures I took, I think I even captured a picture of a ghost. What do you think? Middle picture, Botton left window, and all the way to the left.

Outside view of the jail 

Can you find the ghost?

Hallway of the 2nd floor

Beyond the Grave Finale

Here are some pictures of my wonderful time in this class! This class was a very fun and interesting time and I learned a lot about the history in Charleston as well as many different facts about cultures across the world.

Beyond the Grave

Exploring the Beautiful Land of the Dead

When I first arrived to Magnolia Cemetery, I was shocked by how large the place was. I knew it was large but not nearly so as when first saw it. Walking around it, each marker was so unique and different than the rest and have some insight into who was buried there which was really special and cool to see how different they are from the markers that are being made now. I really liked how the nature was preserved and it gave the cemetery such a beautiful low-country look that was breathtaking. I think that the nature with the large and unique grave markers is what was my favorite part about the cemetery. You could see the years in the trees just like you could in the markers. There was still plenty of life where many dead are buried, as if the dead are living through the nature that is there.

These first two photos I took mainly showed the sort of nature and layout of the cemetery. As you can see, there are different ponds and paths that one can take when walking around the cemetery. The grave sights are also laid out rather close to each other but are separated by barriers or land marks. I think that the landscape design is brilliant and really adds to it's uniqueness.

The closeness of the grave markers as well as how different they are from each other really brings in a lot of diversity that is really beautiful. I also really enjoyed how there wasn't just regular grave markers but an array of different styles that we went over in class. One of my favorite parts of the cemetery was "Mausoleum Row". The mausoleums have this sort of gothic vibe that is really beautiful and also kind of intimidating as well, to keep in mind that you are so close to their actual bodies that aren't underground (which is not very common) is, as I said, intimidating but also really cool and poetic. 

The first marker that I took a picture of was that of 1st Lieutenant John L. Weeks who fought in WWI and died from a fatal injury to the head while playing football. He was in his early twenties when he died and was attending the Citadel before the war began.

The second marker that I took a picture of was the James Henry and Julia Augusta Parker Exedra Monument that is very popular and was often a place where classes were hold or where people could sit and relax while they were visit their relatives. James Henry died after getting blood poisoning post surgery in his knee when it was injured in a revolving door.

The third and final marker that I took a picture of was that of the William and Hattie Bird Monument. The monument is supposed to be his wife who died of heart disease at 44. William Bird who died many years later. I gathered this information from In the Arms of Angels by Patrick Harwood. 

Unfortunately, my phone died before I could take anymore photos including the photo of myself.  Overall, my experience at the Magnolia Cemetery was very pleasant and was a very fun place to explore and learn. 

Charleston's Controversial John C. Calhoun

While walking through one of the many beautiful graveyards of Charleston, I stumbled across John C. Calhoun's gravesite and was instantly captivated by how extravagant and intricate it looked. His gravesite is at the Saint Philips Episcopal Church Cemetery on Church Street and is definitely worth a visit to go to and find his grave as well as many other promise people of Charleston in the past. I'm very thankful that I was able to find his grave because he is such a prominent historical figure in Charleston and there was a lot that I learned about the city from researching him. 

John C. Calhoun was born in 1782 and lived until 1850 though his years were anything but boring and he created quite the title for himself during his lifetime. Most of his life he spent in politics and began when he was elected in the House of Representatives in 1810. He strongly supported the war of 1812 and was known as a strong republican and was also a leader of the War Hawk faction during that time, those who were in that group believed in war and supported many measures in order to prepare the country for war. Calhoun became the Vice President from 1824-1828 after he failed running for president. 

John C. Calhoun was known for many things, including what was stated above, and also his very controversial beliefs. He was known for being a proud supporter of slavery and fought for the rights of the south and fair treatment between the north and south. His opinions of course sparked tension over the years and finally resulted in him resigning vice presidency to become senator in South Carolina. Throughout the years before his death, he accomplished many political affairs. He died of tuberculosis in Washington D.C. and was buried in Charleston. 

His present reputation in Charleston is not exactly a pleasant one. There have been many arguments about his statue existing in Charleston and let alone having a very prominent presence in Marion Square. The main argument that people feel his statue should be taken down was opinion on slavery and how we outwardly favored it. Nowadays, that will of course cause tension. But considering his beneficial stance in politics, his statue has many other meanings which people should try to consider.

Portrait of John C. Calhoun 

John C. Calhoun's grave marker

 “John C. Calhoun .” Wikipedia , en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Calhoun

Berggren, Jason D. "The War Hawks of 1812", pdf,  http://www.bandyheritagecenter.org/Content/Uploads/Bandy%20Heritage%20Center/files/1812/The%20War%20Hawks%20of%201812.pdf

Waters, Dustin. “Looking Back at the Origins of Charleston's Most Controversial Monument.” Charleston   City Paper, Charleston City Paper, 7 Feb. 2018, www.charlestoncitypaper.com/TheBattery/archives/2017/10/10/the-day-calhoun-rose-in-charleston.

What to Know about Death and Dying

When one considers a discussion one death and dying, it is not always an enjoyable conversation but in class that expectation was defied and we were given a wonderful and interesting insight into that world. Today in class we had the pleasure of listening to a lecture from sociology professor Dr. George E. Dickinson on Death and Dying. Many different topics can be considered when one discusses death and he covered many of them including society's idea on dying, death anxiety/fear, and even the different stages of the dying process. He also included other things such as the rising Death Cafe's in Western culture and present opinions on euthanasia in the United States.

Something that he discussed that really interested me on was his discussion on the different historical overviews throughout the years. It was really fascinating how death was thought of in different ages going from an age where you were to be reminded of death constantly and into the present moment where we are reminded of death but do not want to discuss it. During the time between 1830-1945 death was not really discussed. As the professor said, "Out of sight out of mind" was the sort of perspective that people had during that time which is one of the reasons why cemeteries were beginning to be built farther away from cities and were given a new mission when people came there to visit. "People visited the cemeteries to admire the beauty and enjoy life" as the professor stated and I feel that that can also be evident in present times.

Something else that really interested me was how our society denies death due to fear or anxiety. It do not want to consider death because it makes us uncomfortable as he stated. "We don't die in American, we just go to sleep." This perspective is common in this country and we often use euphemisms in order to avoid the harshness that "death" would have. 

Overall his lecture was very interesting and not at all heavy and perhaps dark that would often be suggested when one considers death and dying. He mentioned many interesting facts and stories that pertained to the subject that I really enjoyed listening to. I definitely learned a lot from him and maybe even hope to take his class in the future.