
Episode #187
Episode 183: Haunted Behind Bars - Old Charleston City Jail
Charleston, South Carolina is city known for its beauty, history, and centuries-old buildings that fill the streets. But beneath that beautiful history is a much darker past. For more than a century, the Old Charleston City Jail was a place of incarceration. Thousands of people were housed in its walls — criminals, enslaved people awaiting sale, prisoners of war, and others. Disease. Violence. Overcrowding. Executions and death were all extremely common among the inmates. The building eventually closed its doors in 1939. But the stories didn't stop. They only spread further. Today, the old jail is associated with reports of a multitude of unexplained footsteps, voices, moving objects and more. And then there are the stories surrounding some of the jail's most notorious prisoners. But here's the problem: Some of these details of the history have been embellished, becoming folklore. Separating the documented history from the legend isn't exactly simple. What really happened inside those walls? What experiences are real? Where does fact end, and the haunting begin? “The Haunted Old Charleston Jail” on Haunted Rooms Co. Ghost Hunts ( https://www.hauntedrooms.com/south-carolina/haunted-places/old-charleston-jail ) “The Old City Jail of Charleston” on US Ghost Adventures on June 19, 2024 ( https://usghostadventures.com/haunted-places/the-old-city-jail-of-charleston/ ) “Haunted History: Charleston’s Old City Jail” by Katie Turner on Count on News 2 on October 11, 2019 ( https://www.counton2.com/haunted-history/haunted-history-charlestons-old-city-jail/ ) “The Old Haunted Charleston Jail” on Nightly Spirits on April 8, 2020 ( https://nightlyspirits.com/the-old-charleston-jail/ ) “Old Charleston Jail: Where Evil Still Serves Time” by Tim Nealon on Ghost City Tours ( https://ghostcitytours.com/charleston/haunted-charleston/charleston-jail/ ) “The Old City Jail” on Charleston Terrors on October 26, 2019 ( https://charlestonterrors.com/the-old-city-jail/ ) “Holy Spirits: Learn the Haunted History of the Old City Jail” by Holly Roberts on Charleston: The City Magazine, October 2025 ( https://charlestonmag.com/features/holy_spirits_learn_the_haunted_history_of_the_old_city_jail ) “Was Lavinia Fisher America's First Female Serial Killer?” by Jordan Friedman on A&E: Crime and Investigation on February 2, 2026 ( https://www.aetv.com/articles/was-lavinia-fisher-america-first-female-serial-killer ) “Old City Jail Paranormal Investigation” on Charleston, SC ( https://www.charleston-sc.com/old-city-jail-paranormal-investigation-charleston-sc-123318.html ) https://www.charlestoncvb.com/plan-your-trip/tours-attractions~204/walking-tours~1160/haunted-jail-tour-at-the-old-city-jail~9972.html https://www.charlestoncvb.com/plan-your-trip/tours-attractions~204/walking-tours~1160/haunted-jail-tour-at-the-old-city-jail~9972.html https://kids.kiddle.co/Jacque_Alexander_Tardy#The_Crawford_Incident https://www.nps.gov/places/old-jail.htm?utm https://www.nps.gov/people/denmark-vesey.htm https://www.charleston-sc.gov/2010/History?utm_ https://thegenxtravels.com/2020/01/16/the-haunted-old-city-jail-in-charleston/ https://www.charleston-sc.gov/160/Old-Slave-Mart-Museum?nid=160&utm_ “Spirits of the Slave Dungeon” on Paranormal State, Season 5, Episode 3 on TUBI

