Legends of the Grand Strand... Pirates and Ghosts!
The Grand Strand has a storybook history. Indeed, dozens of books have been written about long-lost Indian tribes, colorful pirates, and roaming ghosts. But for the most part, these stories have been shared orally - told and retold over hundreds of years, generation after generation. Not surprisingly, the stories change over time, as different storytellers add their own embellishments. As a result, there are as many different versions of the same story as there are people telling it.the embellishments only add to the enjoyment of hearing, reading, or re-telling them.
The area's first inhabitants are the subject of the oldest and perhaps most elusive stories. While much has been written about Native Americans, documented facts about local tribes are quite scarce. Physical evidence of their existence and way of life has been more forthcoming, as arrowheads, pottery, and other artifacts continue to turn up. A new chapter in the area's history and lore was introduced after English colonists settled in the area and suddenly, it was necessary to import and export goods and supplies across the ocean. By the 1700s, scores of pirates had taken to the high seas to intercept cargo vessels and make off with the goods. The South Carolina coastal waters were especially productive for pirates, and the coves and inlets along the Grand Strand provided great hiding places for these marauders who became local legends. Edward Teach, called Blackbeard because of his coal-black beard, and Drunken Jack, who was left behind on an island with a huge stash of stolen rum.he died there but was apparently quite happy and died with a smile on his face!
The South Carolina coastal
waters were especially productive for pirates...
But ghost stories are the most popular of all the tales told over time. Everyone loves a good ghost story and most of them are, "good ghosts," fortunately! Alice Flagg, the ghost of the Hermitage and the Gray Man are both "good ghosts" who have endured the test of time and become a real part of the legend and lore of the area. Let's revisit the tale of Alice Flagg. a rich girl who died of a broken heart.
It is a common story, the tale of Alice Flagg, but a sad and desperate account of human nature. The Alice Flagg story begins in 1849...Alice and her brother, Dr.Allard Flagg, were living with their mother in Murrells Inlet, at the Hermitage, the seashore home of the owners of Wachesaw Plantation during the colonial period. Both the mother and brother become too deeply involved in the life of a young girl who falls in love with a man believed to be beneath her station in South Carolina aristocracy. Why, the man was no more than a common lumberman.
Alice, the young girl, was obsessed with the young man, paying little attention to either of them as she continued a clandestine relationship with the so-called "unfit" gentleman. One day, however, when the tall, clean-cut lumberman came to call and Alice was about to step into his carriage, her brother stormed out of The Hermitage, and yelled, "Stop!" He not only forbid Alice from riding in the carriage with her young suitor, but forced the lumberman to ride on horseback while he sat in the carriage beside Alice. Alice deeply resented her brother's attitude and the tyranny of her family. Her feelings were of no consequence to them and it pained her that neither of them could see how desperately in love she was?
Alice did not care to hear about the virtues of falling in love with someone who they felt would be a glorious addition to the Flagg family.she only wanted to be with her handsome young man and had no time to hear their arguments! In private, she accepted an engagement ring from her true love but her brother staunchly refused to allow Alice to wear the ring on her finger. Instead, Alice hid the ring on a ribbon and concealed it around her neck, while pretending she had returned it. Many days passed before her mother finally discovered the ring on her chest and the family fighting began in earnest once more. The mother was unkind, to say the least, shouting that the lumberman was deplorable, plebeian and unfashionable as well -- worthy of no better wife than a common shop girl!
The abuse continued and it became patently clear that Alice could neither persuade her mother nor her brother to change their attitudes toward her betrothed. Depressed and finally broken, Alice agreed to leave Murrells Inlet for Charleston where she would attend school...alone. But living in Charleston didn't suit her, the port city was loud and uncouth and she pined for her lost love.her life seemed meaningless without him and everything finally took its toll. First, she became frail and listless, then complained of some discomfort in the left side of her head. Lying on her bed, crying into her pillow, she wondered if she could survive a life without the man she loved?
One night, delirious on her bed, she began to think that she was trying to walk in deep snow. It was a mystical experience as she pulled herself through deep white powder, struggling, and then, floating through ancient glaciers and faraway valleys filled with sky-high white spires. Later that night, word went from the school that Alice had taken "sick" and should be sent home to Murrells Inlet. When her brother received word, he left at once in his carriage, but the way was long and arduous. When he finally arrived in Charleston four days later, he found Alice incredibly fatigued, with little strength even to nod to him. The journey home was even worse, all the jostling and jolting of the carriage on the uneven roadway only heightened Alice's nervousness. When at last, Alice was back at the Hermitage, she was weak and without hope.as time passed, she finally lapsed into a coma and then died. .
Alice Flagg was clothed in her favorite dress for her funeral at All Saints Church, but, of course, her engagement ring had been removed. Her corpse and waxy face clearly showed the pain of losing her true love, and then, her life. At the end, a plain marble slab, simply engraved, ALICE, was placed over her burial mound but many friends and relatives to this day, believe she is NOT resting in peace. Soon after her death, Alice appeared to several visitors to the Hermitage dressed in her beautiful white burial gown. She came in the front door and moved silently up the staircase to the bedroom that belonged to her. Her apparition has been "noted" early in the evening, but others claim to have seen her late a night. Visitors to her gravesite at All Saints Church in Pawley's Island have worn a path around her grave, believing that by circling it backwards 13 times, they can summon her ghost..
But wherever and whenever she is seen, she is always searching for something, while holding her hand over her chest. It is believed that she comes back to search for her lost engagement ring, removed when she was too sick to protest. Once, when a group of young people stood at the gravesite of Alice Flagg, a ring suddenly flew off the finger of one of the girls. The ring was highly treasured and it took the group much of the day to locate the ring. Even more interesting, the girl had been unable to remove the ring for several years due to a weight gain.
The legend of the Pawleys Island Gray Man also involves a tragic love story, as a soldier returns home to marry his sweetheart, circa 1820. A wealthy young planter was on his way to the island to propose marriage to his beloved.but he never made it. In his haste, he was galloping through the surf when his horse stumbled, throwing him to the ground. Tragically, his neck was broken, and he drowned in the surf. Two nights later, a blurred, gray ghost in his likeness appeared to his beloved as she walked on the beach. The figure disappeared as she drew closer, trying to reach him. That night, she dreamed of a horrible storm at sea, and in the morning, she told her family about the dream. They left Pawleys Island for the mainland that day, narrowly escaping a deadly hurricane.
The Gray Man was seen again before the infamous Storm of 1893 struck the coast, wiping out the settlement at Magnolia Beach just north of Pawleys Island. Since that time, the Gray Man has appeared before every major hurricane, including the disastrous Hugo in 1989. Those he shows himself to are mysteriously spared the storm's destructive power. The Gray Man has even been the subject of an episode of the popular television program, "Unsolved Mysteries."
Through the years, the Gray Man has appeared to both visitors and locals alike and their experiences have been related over coffee time and again.and yes, his appearance has always preceded a storm. These accounts are all documented, each story only adding to the already robust legend. Most stories involve walking on the beach with friends after dinner at a local tavern. The nights are unusually calm with the surf gently lapping at their feet.but up ahead, something is seen that is not only unusual but difficult to explain.material, loosely blowing in the breeze, that begins to take shape.a silhouette in the general shape of a head and shoulders ... no features really, but what it would look like if you draped a very light cloth or blanket over a mannequin. From the sand to the bottom of the cloth however, there's nothing.the cloth is floating free, three or four feet in the air. Goose pimples abound!
Now, suddenly, just where you would expect an arm to be on the figure, the cloth moves outward; motioning to the spectator.or so it would seem. When the cloth deliberately points a second time, it's clear that the motion means, "Leave.GO!" Although the motion is always subtle, it's very deliberate leaving no confusion as to what is meant.anyone would immediately pick up and GO.wouldn't you? Whether anyone has ever heard of the Gray Man or not, it isn't long before the meaning of their encounter is explained to them in one way or another!
In most cases, the explanation comes in the form of a violent storm the next day or even a hurricane. For those who understood the warning and left the coast entirely, the "apparition" may have saved their lives. Many say that has been the case. But if it is only a case of telling the story to a local the next day, the response is always and quite simply, "Oh, it was only the Gray Man! Be careful, it's going to storm!" And storm it does.a downpour, thunderstorm or even a hurricane! In the future, if you're lucky enough to have seen the Gray Man.heed his warning and taken shelter.inland!
If what has happened to so many before you
actually happens to you.pay attention, whether it's Alice Flagg or the
Gray Man! They're both considered "good ghosts" and as they say, "knowledge
is power!" Have you had an experience with Alice Flagg or the Gray
Man.or any other ghost in the Myrtle Beach area for that matter? If so,
please drop us a line at events@tripsmarter.com. We'd LOVE to hear "your
ghost" story and print it on these pages. Don't be shy, we've had "first-hand" experience
with quite a few ghosts.we're not afraid.we believe in them and we'll believe
YOU!
Tell us before it's too late.and we'll tell everyone! 
