Battery Carriage House Inn

Since the 1840s, this has been one of Charleston's most opulent homes, now operating as one of its most haunted hotels. Overlooking Charleston Harbor, the elegant inn harbors spirits from the Civil War era.

The Battery Carriage House Inn at 20 South Battery in Charleston was built in 1843 for Samuel Stevens, a wealthy commercial agent for plantation owners. The property changed hands several times before the Civil War, when it was abandoned and the area around White Point Garden across the street was fortified by Confederate troops. Local lore holds that the carriage house served as a makeshift barracks and possibly a field hospital for wounded soldiers during the Siege of Charleston. When Confederate forces had to destroy ammunition stores near 20 South Battery to prevent Union capture, a young soldier handling one of the highly explosive shells was blown to pieces -- a death that many believe explains the inn's most terrifying ghost.

Room 8 is considered the most haunted room at the Battery Carriage House and one of the most actively haunted hotel rooms in Charleston. Guests who dare to sleep there report being awakened by an apparition described as a headless torso floating beside the bed -- a figure with no head, no arms, and only the remnants of what witnesses say feels like a gray Confederate jacket. In 1993, a self-described skeptic had the most documented encounter. He awoke in the middle of the night to find the headless phantom hovering next to his bed and, driven by curiosity, reached out and touched it. The area was extremely cold, and the apparition responded with what he described as an animalistic growl before vanishing with an audible moan. The experience converted the skeptic into a believer on the spot.

Room 10 hosts a very different kind of ghost -- one the staff affectionately call the Gentleman Ghost. This spirit appears as a tall, slender figure dressed in formal attire, sometimes accompanied by a fragrance guests have compared to Old Spice cologne. The theory most often cited is that the ghost is an eighteen-year-old boy, heartbroken and despairing, who took his own life in the room during the period when the property served as university housing. Unlike the aggressive entity in Room 8, the Gentleman Ghost is courteous and even gallant. In one documented incident, twin sisters celebrating their birthday in Room 10 watched in astonishment as a tall, slender figure materialized through the wall, lay down on the bed beside them, then rose, bowed politely, and departed back through the same wall. The ghost seems particularly drawn to female guests and has reportedly been observed lying peacefully on the bed or gently touching sleeping guests' hair. One woman was so unnerved by the persistent presence that she spent the entire night reading the Bible, clutching it when she finally fell asleep.

Another former owner, Colonel Richard Lathers, who purchased the property in 1870, may account for some of the activity. His spirit is said to mainly appear to women, and he has been associated with the sensation of someone lying in bed beside a guest and touching their hair.

Room 3 has produced its own paranormal reports. A married couple experienced their cell phone making loud, unusual noises despite being completely powered off with no signal. They witnessed floating glowing orbs on two consecutive nights, with more appearing the second evening. After a visiting psychic confirmed the presence of multiple spirits and asked them to leave, the couple slept peacefully on their third night.

Today the Battery Carriage House Inn operates as a boutique hotel steps from White Point Garden and the Charleston waterfront. The inn has been featured on SC ETV's Ghosts and Legends series, and the headless torso of Room 8 remains one of the most frequently cited apparitions in Charleston's vast catalog of ghost stories. Guests can specifically request Room 8 or Room 10 -- though the inn makes no guarantees about what company they may have after dark.