Phantoms haunted history tours

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Colleton County Historical and Preservation Society’s (CCHAPS) popular Front Porch Phantoms haunted history tours resumed this year after Brice Herndon Carriage Company suggested horse-drawn tours through Walterboro’s spooky and historic neighborhoods. The tour route included stories in Hickory Valley and along Hampton Street.

For four evenings in October, two carriages drawn by Bonnie and Clyde, the Clydesdales, or Wendy and Kate, the French Percherons, left the Bedon-Lucas House at 6, 7 and 8 p.m. Volunteer tour guides wove a story combining history and reports of hauntings along the way. Ghostly and unexplained stories from the Perry-Smoaks-Lubs House on Savage Street, the Warren House on Fishburne Street, the Brown-Black House on Hampton Street and the Colleton Center were a few of the highlights of the tours. Guests also reported enjoying hearing about the history of the area, including the founding of Walterboro, the establishment of the Charles EsDorn Memorial Hospital, and the cyclone of 1879.

CCHAPS president Sarah Miller said, “These tours were more successful than I imagined they would be. We are grateful that the Brice Herndon Carriage Company suggested these tours. The proceeds will be used to for education and preservation of local history.”

The society is already collecting stories for next year’s tour. Those with stories they would like to share, can email the CCHAPS office at info@cchaps.com.