HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
Charleston painted-lady inn on Rutledge Avenue
114 Rutledge Avenue, Charleston, SC 29401
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Mid-range Charleston bed and breakfast; rates and availability vary by season.
Access
Limited Access
Historic Charleston home with steps
Equipment
Photos OK
Downtown Charleston painted-lady architecture · Rutledge Avenue historic corridor
The Rutledge Victorian Bed & Breakfast operates on Rutledge Avenue in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, in a building described in regional inn directories as a 'painted-lady' Victorian. The Shadowlands entry and inn marketing materials describe an earlier fire and a 1980s rebuild, and the property has appeared in inn directories and lodging databases since at least 2004.
The building sits within the broader downtown Charleston historic district, near the John Rutledge House Inn (a separate property at 116 Broad Street that was built in 1763 by John Rutledge, signer of the U.S. Constitution). The Rutledge Victorian is on Rutledge Avenue rather than at the Rutledge homesite.
Sources
Local Charleston tradition holds that a young girl died in a fire at the original house on the site, and that her presence has remained in the rebuilt 1980s structure that now operates as the Rutledge Victorian. Guests have reported lights turning on and off without an obvious cause, sightings of a child's eyes at a window above the staircase, and occasional faint smells of smoke moving through the house as if carried.
The account is repeated in regional South Carolina paranormal writing and is included in some Charleston downtown ghost-walking-tour itineraries. No archival fire or coroner's record has been located in published sources, so the account should be treated as inn folklore rather than verified historical incident.
Book a room at the Rutledge Victorian Bed & Breakfast, a Charleston painted-lady inn with porch overlooking Rutledge Avenue. Pair an overnight stay with downtown Charleston's ghost-tour scene.
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