HauntBound Press Fact Sheet · Updated September 2026
The Most Haunted Places in South Carolina
South Carolina has 104 documented haunted locations in the HauntBound index.
Top 10 identified after source-level analysis of the 24 strongest South Carolina candidates.
By the numbers
- Total documented
- 104
- Cemetery / Burial Ground
- 29
- Outdoor / Natural Site
- 20
- Museum / Historical Site
- 12
- Family-friendly
- 102
- Bookable
- 24
- Oldest documented site
- Circular Congregational Church and Graveyard (1681)
- Most-reported phenomenon
- apparitions
Ranked
- 1. Abbeville Opera House HauntBound identified five distinct published accounts at this working theater, across four kinds of published source. Four later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions and phantom footsteps. 5 original accounts · documented across 2 decades, 1915-2023 · retold in 4 later publications
- 2. USS Yorktown (CV-10) HauntBound identified seven distinct published accounts at this museum site, across four kinds of published source. Two later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions and cold spots. 7 original accounts · documented across 2 decades, 1987-2012 · retold in 2 later publications
- 3. Poogan's Porch HauntBound identified five distinct published accounts at this operating restaurant and bar, across four kinds of published source. Four later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include objects moving and phantom footsteps. 5 original accounts · documented across 2 decades, 1979-1996 · retold in 4 later publications
- 4. Alice Flagg's Grave at All Saints Cemetery All Saints Waccamaw Parish was established in 1737 to serve the Waccamaw Neck rice plantations. Its cemetery holds the marker of Alice Flagg, who died in 1849 at fifteen after her brother discovered and removed a ring from a secret engagement he opposed. The marker, inscribed only with her first name, has become one of South Carolina's most-visited folklore gravesites, and visitors leave flowers at the stone. 3 original accounts · documented across 2 decades, 1893-1960 · retold in 5 later publications Disputed by a historical authority. A county newspaper opinion piece, citing a historical researcher's article in a regional history journal, states the young woman behind the well-known ring legend was buried elsewhere, and that this cemetery's famous marker instead commemorates a different Flagg family member who drowned in an 1893 storm.
- 5. Oakwood Cemetery (Hell's Gate) HauntBound identified seven distinct published accounts at this burial ground, across four kinds of published source. One later publication retells those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions and disembodied voices. 7 original accounts · documented across 1 decade, 2013-2019 · retold in 1 later publication
- 6. Hotel Chiquola HauntBound identified four distinct published accounts at this working hotel. Two later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions. 4 original accounts · documented across 2 decades, 1982-2007 · retold in 2 later publications
- 7. Inn at Merridun HauntBound identified four distinct published accounts at this working hotel, across four kinds of published source. Five later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions and phantom footsteps. 4 original accounts · documented across 1 decade, 2015-2018 · retold in 5 later publications
- 8. 20 South Battery (Battery Carriage House Inn) HauntBound identified four distinct published accounts at this working hotel, across three kinds of published source. Two later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions and shadow figures. 4 original accounts · documented across 1 decade, 1992-1993 · retold in 2 later publications
- 9. St. Philip's Church Graveyard HauntBound identified four distinct published accounts at this burial ground, across three kinds of published source. Two later publications retell those accounts. Reported phenomena include apparitions and cold spots. 4 original accounts · documented in 1987 · retold in 2 later publications
- 10. Magnolia Cemetery Magnolia Cemetery was dedicated in 1850 on former plantation grounds along the Cooper River, and its Soldiers Ground became Charleston's principal Confederate burial site during the Civil War; the recovered crews of the submarine H.L. Hunley were reinterred there in 2004. Visitors describe marching footsteps and faint bugle notes along the Soldiers Ground after dusk, a young woman reported at the gate of the Hutty mausoleum, and the smell of seawater near the Hunley plot. Documented since 1850 · 8 independent sources
By city
- Charleston: 17 documented sites
- Abbeville: 5 documented sites
- Aiken: 5 documented sites
- Georgetown: 5 documented sites
- Greenville: 5 documented sites
- Union: 4 documented sites
- Spartanburg: 3 documented sites
- Camden: 3 documented sites
- Sumter: 3 documented sites
- Pawleys Island: 2 documented sites
- 50 more across the rest of South Carolina
Press images
- Abbeville Opera House K. Armstrong, National Scenic Byways Online (US DOT) hauntbound.com/images/locations/south-carolina/abbeville-opera-house/hero.jpg
- USS Yorktown (CV-10) Michael Rivera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Yorktown,_Patriots_Point.jpg hauntbound.com/images/locations/south-carolina/uss-yorktown-cv-10/hero.jpg
- Alice Flagg's Grave at All Saints Cemetery Edward Helms (Eshelms), CC BY-SA 3.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:All_Saints%27_Episcopal_Church,_Waccamaw.jpg hauntbound.com/images/locations/south-carolina/alice-flaggs-grave-all-saints-cemetery/hero.jpg
- Hotel Chiquola Rufus Fant, Anderson (publisher) hauntbound.com/images/locations/south-carolina/hotel-chiquola/hero.jpg
- Inn at Merridun Bill Fitzpatrick, CC BY-SA 3.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Merriidun.jpg hauntbound.com/images/locations/south-carolina/inn-at-merridun/hero.jpg
- 20 South Battery (Battery Carriage House Inn) ProfReader, CC BY-SA 3.0, via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20_South_Battery.jpg hauntbound.com/images/locations/south-carolina/20-south-battery-battery-carriage-house-inn/hero.jpg
- St. Philip's Church Graveyard Warren LeMay hauntbound.com/images/locations/south-carolina/st-philips-church-graveyard/hero.jpg
- Magnolia Cemetery Detroit Photographic Co. (1900) hauntbound.com/images/locations/south-carolina/magnolia-cemetery/hero.jpg
Images listed here may be republished with the credit shown; all other HauntBound images are not offered for press use.
Superlatives
- Oldest documented site: Circular Congregational Church and Graveyard Documented since 1681.
- Most documented: USS Yorktown (CV-10) 7 distinct published accounts.
- Top haunted stay: Old Citadel (Embassy Suites Charleston Historic District) Overnight stays bookable.
- Most family-friendly: Unitarian Church Cemetery Family Comfort rating: High.
Methodology
For purposes of the HauntBound Index, "most haunted" means the location with the strongest documented record of reported haunting phenomena. We evaluate the quantity, independence, persistence, and documentary quality of published reports. We do not attempt to determine whether paranormal phenomena are real, and we never count a source that only establishes a building's history as evidence of haunting claims. Repetitive coverage is subject to diminishing returns, so a story retold many times does not outrank a story independently documented. Rankings never consider commercial relationships.
The 2026 Index reflects sources identified and classified as of September 15, 2026.
Updated September 29, 2026: documented totals now exclude the private homes, operating hospitals and venues with nothing left to visit that were withdrawn on September 25 and 26. The ranked ten are unchanged.
Updated October 19, 2026: listings that could not be sourced, or that are private or have no public access, were withdrawn after an October review, so some of the state's town counts are lower. The documented total stays as published until the November update.
This is a documentation ranking, not a visitation guide; sites not open to visitors are marked on their entries.