Magnolia Cemetery Charleston, SC

On our recent trip to Charleston, SC we visited a number of cemeteries and graveyards as is our custom.  We reacquainted ourselves with all of the old familiar “haunts” and also discovered another cemetery several miles north of the historic district.  Magnolia Cemetery’s sprawling grounds are home to the remains of many famous Charlestonians as well as more than 3000 Civil War soldiers and sailors, including the crew of The Hunley, who perished when the confederate submarine sank in 1864 after successfully attacking a Union warship on blockade duty just outside Charleston Harbor.  The sprawling grounds of Magnolia Cemetery, dedicated in 1850, are nestled among Spanish Moss-draped Live Oaks and is host to various water fowl and other creatures that make the lagoon their home.  Tip:  If you plan to visit don’t forget the bug spray.  Among the gravestones you’ll find ornate iron works and family crypts that just lend themselves to the classic southern cemetery style.

     While walking among the graves in Magnolia we had occasion to receive what we believe to be a message from a female spirit.  Mary Ann took out her smartphone to send a text message.  She began typing the name of the intended recipient when I heard her comment, “That was weird.”  When I inquired, she told me that she began typing a name to send a text and after the first two letters, M and A, the phone auto-completed the name.  So what, you say.  That’s why they call it a smartphone, right?  What was “weird” was that the name that appeared was not that of the person she intended, rather the name Maggie.  Further, Mary Ann does not have a Maggie stored in her address book, has never texted or called a person named Maggie…doesn’t even know anyone named Maggie.  So why Maggie?  You guessed it yet? 

     I looked down at the gravestone in front of us and pointed it out.  No the name was not Maggie, but it was Margaret, a name for which Maggie is a common nickname. A strange sensation coursed through me at the moment that I made the connection.  I wish that I had made a note of the details on the stone, such as last name and dates of birth and death, but I was too taken aback to recall those details at the time.  Mary Ann then quickly conducted a short EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) session.  Margaret, or as she apparently prefers, Maggie did not wish to speak to us through the digital voice recorder, but it seems clear that she was communicating with us.  Perhaps she doesn’t want to be forgotten.  I’d say she accomplished her aim because I’m not likely to forget her for a long time, if ever.