My Take on Fact, Faith, and Fiction

Is it wrong to believe?  To believe in ghosts, the supernatural, UFOs, or other unworldly (or maybe I should say otherworldly) things?  Unexplained happenings occur every day.  Some of them are spooky, some are strange, some are just unexplainable because we don’t know how they happened.  That doesn’t mean that I believe that every time something that is difficult to explain means that it’s something supernatural.  Quite the contrary.  I’m a very logical person and the left side of my brain always tells me there is a perfectly rational reason for it – I just don’t know what it is – but I want to dig deeper and figure it out.  The creative side of my brain however, guides me down that road less traveled and urges me to stop trying to fit all of the pegs into the round or square holes, because some of those pegs are actually octagonal, or multi dimensional  and just won’t fit and I just need to accept it.  It’s that battle between my right and left brain that makes this topic so intriguing to me.

So, are those little streaks of light in the photos presented in the previous post spirits or shafts of light refracted by the camera lens?  Who knows?  The logical part of my brain says it’s just the way the camera lens caught the sunlight seeping into the alley through the tree limbs, and the ambient light that surrounded the graveyard.  But the left side of my brain wants to have fun, wants to believe.  Now tell me, wasn't Christmas much more magical when you believed in Santa Claus?  And just because you don’t believe anymore, does it mean he never really ever existed?  Maybe, ghosts and other supernatural or unexplained things are like Santa.  They exist; they just don’t visit those who no longer believe.  Let the two sides of your brain fight that one out.  And if in the end, the logical side wins, what harm is done by letting the creative side think differently?  Just think back to when you did believe and what a wonder it was on Christmas Eve.

Dickens

Unitarian Graveyard Charleston, SC

On our recent trip to Charleston, we made a point to stroll through any graveyard that we came upon.   We’d taken walks through various graveyards during past visits, taking in the ancient stones and markings, reading names and dates of deaths of people of whom we’d never heard before.  We find the carvings on the stones to be an art form, as morbid or odd as that may seem, and the history of the city and its inhabitants seem to keep drawing us amongst the dead and the resting place of their earthly remains.  On this trip we came across the Unitarian Church on Archdale and the overgrown graveyard adjacent to the church.  We’d not read anything about this particular graveyard and did not know of the fact that it was overgrown purposely, or that the ghost of a woman named Annabel Lee (Poe’s inspiration for his fantastically, wonderful poem of the same name) has been reported to have been seen amongst the graves.  We merely saw another graveyard, with weathered headstones, looking most eerie under the overgrowth of weeds, wild flowers, and vines, so we decided to take a look around. 

The overgrowth, while almost horror “movie-esque,” was actually a bit distracting at first and we conversed about how badly it looked, about how what a shame it was to let such a beautiful plot of land fall into such disrepair.  I even recall making the comment that I felt the urge to gather a group of volunteers to clean it up.  It was then, as if on cue, we encountered an older gentleman, seemingly approaching or in his 70’s, with white hair, pale skin, and a red shirt entering the graveyard from a rear entrance – pushing an old lawnmower.  He passed us with little more than a nod of acknowledgement, averting his gaze as he pushed the lawnmower down the path leading toward the church.  At the time, we didn’t really think much of it, nor did we think much of it when we encountered him again, this time sitting on a bench near the building, the lawnmower sitting idle beside him, his gaze intent on the rear of the church.  We moved past him once more and stepped over the heavy chain that separated the Unitarian graveyard from that of the Lutheran church next door.  Little did we know that we were actually trespassing there, as we found that the gates at the front of the churchyard were locked.  Oops!  So after about ten minutes of exploration in that graveyard, we returned to the Unitarian church so that we could exit to the road, passing by the very bench where we last saw the elderly man.  There was no sign of him, nor of the lawnmower, but quite frankly we didn’t think about it at that time, and we continued on our latest romp through the Holy City.

A couple of days later, while sitting at home talking about our trip, we began talking about the Unitarian graveyard and about the man that we’d seen.  It was only then that it occurred to me that he was nowhere to be found upon our return from the Lutheran churchyard, and that we never heard the lawnmower running, nor saw the lawnmower again.  Where did he go and, perhaps more to the point, why did he walk into the graveyard to begin with?  Was he real?  Or rather was he alive or was he a ghost?  Perhaps a former caretaker at the church or maybe a “resident” of the graveyard who heard our plaints about the condition of the grounds and decided to prove that someone did care about the condition?  We may never know, but his sudden appearance at that very moment, and his subsequent disappearance, leaves us wondering if we had a ghostly encounter, in what we have since learned, is supposedly one of the most haunted churchyards in the old City.

Dickens

An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself. - Charles Dickens

If you are reading this, you have probably experienced some of the same feelings that I have in the city of Charleston, SC.  The Queen of Southern cities, Charleston is known for its history and its charm as well as its ghostly inhabitants which make popular tour topics.
I am from the South.  Born and raised.  If you examine my family tree, you will see that no one in my ancestral line has resided any further North than Virginia at any time.  Perhaps that's why I too am so comfortable in this part of the world. 
I have always felt drawn to the city of Charleston ever since my first visit when I was about ten years old.  It left an indelible impression on me that was not forgotten as I entered my adulthood and it continues today.  When I visit the city, I feel as though I am home.  When I leave, I know that I will return.  Was it my home? 
This blog is for those of us who feel an uncanny and somewhat supernatural attraction to Charleston.  My brain and the faith that I was raised in tells me there is nothing unusual here, but merely my mind's attempt to create a connection to a city I hold dear.  But my intuition tells me there is something more to this place than simply an historical and beautiful city of interest.  I am inspired to learn more about the richness of its past and open my mind to the possibility of spectral visitors. This blog will be a place to share stories from our walks and encounters among the streets of Charleston.  Come and walk them with me...