Each time a new month rolls around on Edisto it becomes our favorite. Naturally, October is the favorite this month.
October has it all. Great weather, amazing events, fun festivals, and the overall autumn feeling in the air that provides a gentle drift into the winter months.
One of the most popular events of the year took place just last weekend as several visitors and locals took part in the annual tour of historical sites put on by the Edisto Museum and Historical Society.
This annual event is wildly popular and sells out quickly leaving many upset that they miss it year after year. If you’re one of those people, don’t worry, we can share one of the best stories with you right here on the blog.
One of the most popular sites on Edisto for those interested in its history involves the haunted tomb in the Edisto Presbyterian Church cemetery. Legend has it, a young girl was buried alive and haunts the tomb to this very day. The story varies from time to time, but the most commonly told story involves Julia Legare.
This little girl fell ill and her family called in the doctors to try and save her life. Since this was back in the 1800s, medicine could only do so much for the girl, and she passed away. Or so they thought.
Little Julia’s family placed her body in the family’s mausoleum. They were consumed with grief and many reported that they could hear her wails. Knowing that it was impossible to hear their dead child’s wails, they thought it was just a trick of the mind. It wasn’t until 15 years had gone by and they had to place another body in the mausoleum that they realized this cries were real.
When the mausoleum was opened to inter the body of another relative, Julia’s body was found at the door to the crypt. She had been buried alive.
It is thought that her heart and respiratory rates dropped so precariously low that doctors were unable to detect them. Assuming she was dead, they had her buried, not knowing they’d just enacted the cruelest form of torture upon the child.
Once Julia’s body was re-interred and the crypt doors were shut, the family assumed their grief was all that remained to be dealt with. They were wrong.
From that day on, the door to the mausoleum never remained sealed. Chains, marble, and locks could do nothing to keep the door shut. Julia had been locked in once before and wasn’t going to let it happen again.
To this day, the door to the crypt remains open.
Naturally, this scary story brings many people out to the cemetery. Some take pictures, others peer inside the crypt hoping to catch a glimpse of the ghost, and others go just to take a look at some of Edistos history.
If youve ever gone out to the haunted tomb, what was your experience like?
