February 17, 2025 • 12 mins
This episode we visit the St Philip's Church to discuss a nearly 40 year old photograph and the ghost its said to reveal. After that journey a few block over to discuss the tale of a woman scorned by her pupil who now haunts the ground of this $10 million dollar private residence.
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Get your Merch at https://the-carolina-storyteller.printify.me/products
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
On this episode of The Carolina Storyteller, we're gonna be
talking about a picture from a church in Charleston that
may show proof that ghosts actually exist. And why did
a woman have glass put on top of the fence
that surrounds the mansion where she held a girls' school.
Stay tuned. This is a Carolina Storyteller Shadow's Cream story.
(00:25):
As the camparies.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Bisa haunting. So with every sale, heap beds.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Well a good whisper.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
The Knights hosty by the fire, light up their color
show a lot of Storyteller Ji through the Storm, the
Missing Night of the Night.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Welcome back to the Carolina Storyteller, folks. I appreciate you
guys coming back. I know that it's been a minute.
I've been dealing with some health issues, but I'm back
and I've got a couple of great stories for you guys,
and I hope that you enjoy. So let's just get
right into it. We're going to start off with a
story from downtown Charleston. Now, when you walk the streets
of downtown Charleston in South Carolina, you're going to find history.
(01:25):
Wherever you look. There are buildings there from the birth
of America, that stand with stories held with inside their
walls that go back to the very creation of our nation.
We're talking way before the seventeen hundreds. No building stands
out more, however, I think, than the beautiful Saint Philip's Church,
which is located conveniently enough on Church Street. Today. You
(01:46):
can recognize this building by its stone steeple and clock
tower that rises high into the Charleston South skyline. And
while you're there you might see that there have been
renovations that have gone on over the centuries. At this
place is been there, but the church has been on
those grounds since the sixteen eighties. That's right, we're talking
(02:07):
almost four hundred, well over three hundred years, almost four
three hundred and fifty years. To say the church has
seen the passage of many historical events is an understatement.
In fact, the cemetery on the grounds has some three
thousand permanent residents. Famous Charlestonians, from actors to a wealthy landowners,
(02:28):
a former vice president, and signers of the Declaration of
Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America
have been laid to rest on that sacred patch of earth.
There are some who say, however, that not all who
were laid to rest at Saint Phillips actually rest. A
sign in the front of the graveyard states that the
(02:49):
only ghost at Saint Phillips is the Holy Ghost, and
then invites the reader to come to Sunday service, because
that's what you do with a church, is invite people
to come to church. But locals and visitors will tell
you a different story. There have been tales of ghostly
apparitions walking amongst the headstones, and many claim to feel
(03:09):
as if they're being watched as they tore the graves
of those that have gone, and many many years before
any of us were even born, probably before our parents
were even born. Actually, one such tale comes from June tenth,
nineteen eighty seven. Now, I at the time was still
a young boy growing up on the Wacama River, but
(03:30):
this isn't my story. This is about a man named
Harry who was walking the historic streets of Charleston that
day trying out his brand new camera. Now on a whim,
Harry sticks his lyne through the bars of the fence
surrounding that old graveyard and snapped off a few quick
photos of the graves, including one belonging to the still
born daughter of Sue Howard Hardy, who would die only
(03:52):
a few days after giving birth to said child. Now,
when Harry had these pictures developed, he was shocked by
what he saw. In the picture of the child's grave
was a figure of a translucent woman kneeling as if
in prayer. Harry investigated and discovered the identity of the
child and made the connection to her mother, Sue Howard
(04:13):
Harry Hardy. Sorry, Harry and Hardy are mixed up here,
I apologize, and of course Hardy is buried just a
few yards away. He also discovered that many had claimed
to see that same young woman in period dress near
that same tombstone Melton morning. Even more reports exist of
(04:34):
passers by hearing her sobbing tears for the daughter that
she never knew. The picture actually became rather famous in
the paranormal world as proof of the existence of ghost.
To this day, during tours of the area, copies of
the photograph are passed around for tourists to see and
look at their own eyes, the ghost of Sue Howard Hardy.
(04:57):
Yet it took thirty five years from when Harry took
his faithful photo for another photo to emerge. A young
woman named Cassie would once again capture Sue on film.
The photo that was taken in twenty twenty two captures
a different angle of the same figure over the same grave.
(05:19):
Now this may be proof of paranormal Maybe you're gonna
say it can be debunked. Maybe whatever it happened to,
people have pictures and there are ghosts in the pictures
at the same spot. Deal with it. Perhaps, maybe someday
Soux spirit will be able to rest. But from the
stories and the evidence that appears, she still mourns her
(05:40):
child to this day. So if you happen to visit
the old cemetery and you should hear a woman crying,
take pity on the young mother whose life ended without
ever being able to mourn the child that she lost.
From Saint Philip's Church, we're going to go not very
far to the Gare Street because our next tale from
(06:01):
the historic Holy City is the one of Madame Tabalday
and the Tavalde Mansion also known as the Stone Gate
of the sword Gatehouse. I got to quit saying the
wrong words here, which is located on Legare Street. Now
it's a private residence now, but the Devaldi Mansion was
first constructed in eighteen oh three, It replaced a building
(06:24):
that was already there on the premises, and over the
course of several decades, wings would be added to the
original home. In the eighteen tens, it would be purchased
by the Tavalde family, in the matriarch of which was
Madame Tavalde, would turn it into Madame Devalde's School, finishing
(06:44):
school for girls. Madame de Vande prided herself on being
a strict school arm and providing caring guidance needed to
these young daughters of the wealthy and elite of the South.
She built a reputation and as being the best in
the nation. Enter young Maria and her beau, Greg Morris,
(07:09):
who would become the Madam's undoing now. Maria was sent
to the school by her father because she wouldn't stop
seeing George Morris. Every attempt he'd made to dissuade them
from seeing one another had just ultimately failed, so he
sent her to the school and the plan worked. For
a brief period of time, Maria would sit sullenly in
(07:32):
the mansion, longing to see her love again. Finally, she
received a letter from George and it basically said that
they're going to be wed the next day, and so
it was under the cover of darkness that a friend
of George's, Missus Blanks, escorted Maria from Madame to Balday's school,
where she snuck out to Saint Michael's Church, where George
(07:57):
and a priest, Mister Dalca, were waiting. There, George and
Maria were wed, with the witnesses being Missus Blank's a
bridemaid named Sarah Seabrook, and of course mister Dunco officiating
the ceremony. Afterwards, Maria was returned to the school so
that the next morning George could come and claim her properly,
(08:18):
as she was now his wife. The next morning came
and George arrived with a carriage and you know, all
of the stuff that she got to show up with
to pick up your wife. He he knocked on the door,
staying and he was here to take Missus Morris to
her new home. Madame Duvalde answered the door and was like, look,
there's no Missus Morris here, and George was like, sorry
(08:39):
to inform you you're wrong. This vexed Madame de von Day,
and so she summoned all of the girls and all
of the staff down to the courtlyard to assemble, and
once they were there, she demanded that Missus Morris came forward. Now,
for several moments, no one said or did anything, until
finally young Maria stepped forward and admitted that she was
(09:03):
the newly married missus George Morris. Madame Tavonde was livid
and berated Maria at first for doing something so brash,
and then she turned on her staff and began berating
them for allowing this to happen. Now, George took this
opportunity to grab his new wife and whisked her away,
and apparently they went on to live happily ever after,
(09:24):
which is great for them. Madame Talvonde unfortunately did not.
She set out to increase the security of the school.
She ordered the ground to be surrounded by a concrete
and steel fence, the top of which was said to
be lined with broken glass, to prevent wayward boys from
sneaking in and corrupting her young charges. She also ordered
(09:48):
the commission of a pair of heavy wrought iron gates
with swords on them, hence the sword gatehouses. The house
is also known as These went at the entrance to
the school. We are meant to be menacing and to
tear anyone from entering in. And while she never again
had a pupil pull a stunt even close to that
(10:08):
of Maria and George, her repututation suffered, and by eighteen
forty nine the school closed its doors for good. Now
here's where the spooky part happens, because, of course I
tell ghost stories. The home would later become a residence,
private residence, and people would see the spirit of Madame
(10:32):
Devande walking the halls at night checking on the girls,
even though there weren't any girls there. Occasionally doors would
open and there would be a blast of cold air
that would come through them, supposedly Madame Devonde opening the doors.
Even more curious is that passers by state that at night,
when you walk past those stone gates, you can see
(10:54):
the eerie vision of Madame Devonnde staring out at the
gates at you anyone to intrude upon the grounds that
she protects viciously. Anyway, folks, that's our stories for today.
I really hope that you enjoyed them. I hope that
they gave you a little taste of the history of Charleston,
South Carolina. I hope that you were entertained, because that's
(11:19):
my goal is to entertain and educate. Remember that you
could support this show by going to Patreon dot com
forward slash the Carolina Storyteller. You can also check out
the website The Carolinastoryteller dot com, which has a link
to our store with all of our merchandise in it.
For this show, Valmont, the Black Raven Chronicles, and Not
Just Paranormal, which will be returning next Saturday, We've got
(11:43):
a great show lined up for you. Then again, thanks
for listening. We'll see you next time. And oh yeah,
stay spooky, my friends. If you enjoyed this, be sure
to like, subscribe, and share, and also check out one
(12:03):
of these videos for playing the playlist right there
On this episode of The Carolina Storyteller, we're gonna be
talking about a picture from a church in Charleston that
may show proof that ghosts actually exist. And why did
a woman have glass put on top of the fence
that surrounds the mansion where she held a girls' school.
Stay tuned. This is a Carolina Storyteller Shadow's Cream story.
(00:25):
As the camparies.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Bisa haunting. So with every sale, heap beds.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Well a good whisper.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
The Knights hosty by the fire, light up their color
show a lot of Storyteller Ji through the Storm, the
Missing Night of the Night.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Welcome back to the Carolina Storyteller, folks. I appreciate you
guys coming back. I know that it's been a minute.
I've been dealing with some health issues, but I'm back
and I've got a couple of great stories for you guys,
and I hope that you enjoy. So let's just get
right into it. We're going to start off with a
story from downtown Charleston. Now, when you walk the streets
of downtown Charleston in South Carolina, you're going to find history.
(01:25):
Wherever you look. There are buildings there from the birth
of America, that stand with stories held with inside their
walls that go back to the very creation of our nation.
We're talking way before the seventeen hundreds. No building stands
out more, however, I think, than the beautiful Saint Philip's Church,
which is located conveniently enough on Church Street. Today. You
(01:46):
can recognize this building by its stone steeple and clock
tower that rises high into the Charleston South skyline. And
while you're there you might see that there have been
renovations that have gone on over the centuries. At this
place is been there, but the church has been on
those grounds since the sixteen eighties. That's right, we're talking
(02:07):
almost four hundred, well over three hundred years, almost four
three hundred and fifty years. To say the church has
seen the passage of many historical events is an understatement.
In fact, the cemetery on the grounds has some three
thousand permanent residents. Famous Charlestonians, from actors to a wealthy landowners,
(02:28):
a former vice president, and signers of the Declaration of
Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America
have been laid to rest on that sacred patch of earth.
There are some who say, however, that not all who
were laid to rest at Saint Phillips actually rest. A
sign in the front of the graveyard states that the
(02:49):
only ghost at Saint Phillips is the Holy Ghost, and
then invites the reader to come to Sunday service, because
that's what you do with a church, is invite people
to come to church. But locals and visitors will tell
you a different story. There have been tales of ghostly
apparitions walking amongst the headstones, and many claim to feel
(03:09):
as if they're being watched as they tore the graves
of those that have gone, and many many years before
any of us were even born, probably before our parents
were even born. Actually, one such tale comes from June tenth,
nineteen eighty seven. Now, I at the time was still
a young boy growing up on the Wacama River, but
(03:30):
this isn't my story. This is about a man named
Harry who was walking the historic streets of Charleston that
day trying out his brand new camera. Now on a whim,
Harry sticks his lyne through the bars of the fence
surrounding that old graveyard and snapped off a few quick
photos of the graves, including one belonging to the still
born daughter of Sue Howard Hardy, who would die only
(03:52):
a few days after giving birth to said child. Now,
when Harry had these pictures developed, he was shocked by
what he saw. In the picture of the child's grave
was a figure of a translucent woman kneeling as if
in prayer. Harry investigated and discovered the identity of the
child and made the connection to her mother, Sue Howard
(04:13):
Harry Hardy. Sorry, Harry and Hardy are mixed up here,
I apologize, and of course Hardy is buried just a
few yards away. He also discovered that many had claimed
to see that same young woman in period dress near
that same tombstone Melton morning. Even more reports exist of
(04:34):
passers by hearing her sobbing tears for the daughter that
she never knew. The picture actually became rather famous in
the paranormal world as proof of the existence of ghost.
To this day, during tours of the area, copies of
the photograph are passed around for tourists to see and
look at their own eyes, the ghost of Sue Howard Hardy.
(04:57):
Yet it took thirty five years from when Harry took
his faithful photo for another photo to emerge. A young
woman named Cassie would once again capture Sue on film.
The photo that was taken in twenty twenty two captures
a different angle of the same figure over the same grave.
(05:19):
Now this may be proof of paranormal Maybe you're gonna
say it can be debunked. Maybe whatever it happened to,
people have pictures and there are ghosts in the pictures
at the same spot. Deal with it. Perhaps, maybe someday
Soux spirit will be able to rest. But from the
stories and the evidence that appears, she still mourns her
(05:40):
child to this day. So if you happen to visit
the old cemetery and you should hear a woman crying,
take pity on the young mother whose life ended without
ever being able to mourn the child that she lost.
From Saint Philip's Church, we're going to go not very
far to the Gare Street because our next tale from
(06:01):
the historic Holy City is the one of Madame Tabalday
and the Tavalde Mansion also known as the Stone Gate
of the sword Gatehouse. I got to quit saying the
wrong words here, which is located on Legare Street. Now
it's a private residence now, but the Devaldi Mansion was
first constructed in eighteen oh three, It replaced a building
(06:24):
that was already there on the premises, and over the
course of several decades, wings would be added to the
original home. In the eighteen tens, it would be purchased
by the Tavalde family, in the matriarch of which was
Madame Tavalde, would turn it into Madame Devalde's School, finishing
(06:44):
school for girls. Madame de Vande prided herself on being
a strict school arm and providing caring guidance needed to
these young daughters of the wealthy and elite of the South.
She built a reputation and as being the best in
the nation. Enter young Maria and her beau, Greg Morris,
(07:09):
who would become the Madam's undoing now. Maria was sent
to the school by her father because she wouldn't stop
seeing George Morris. Every attempt he'd made to dissuade them
from seeing one another had just ultimately failed, so he
sent her to the school and the plan worked. For
a brief period of time, Maria would sit sullenly in
(07:32):
the mansion, longing to see her love again. Finally, she
received a letter from George and it basically said that
they're going to be wed the next day, and so
it was under the cover of darkness that a friend
of George's, Missus Blanks, escorted Maria from Madame to Balday's school,
where she snuck out to Saint Michael's Church, where George
(07:57):
and a priest, Mister Dalca, were waiting. There, George and
Maria were wed, with the witnesses being Missus Blank's a
bridemaid named Sarah Seabrook, and of course mister Dunco officiating
the ceremony. Afterwards, Maria was returned to the school so
that the next morning George could come and claim her properly,
(08:18):
as she was now his wife. The next morning came
and George arrived with a carriage and you know, all
of the stuff that she got to show up with
to pick up your wife. He he knocked on the door,
staying and he was here to take Missus Morris to
her new home. Madame Duvalde answered the door and was like, look,
there's no Missus Morris here, and George was like, sorry
(08:39):
to inform you you're wrong. This vexed Madame de von Day,
and so she summoned all of the girls and all
of the staff down to the courtlyard to assemble, and
once they were there, she demanded that Missus Morris came forward. Now,
for several moments, no one said or did anything, until
finally young Maria stepped forward and admitted that she was
(09:03):
the newly married missus George Morris. Madame Tavonde was livid
and berated Maria at first for doing something so brash,
and then she turned on her staff and began berating
them for allowing this to happen. Now, George took this
opportunity to grab his new wife and whisked her away,
and apparently they went on to live happily ever after,
(09:24):
which is great for them. Madame Talvonde unfortunately did not.
She set out to increase the security of the school.
She ordered the ground to be surrounded by a concrete
and steel fence, the top of which was said to
be lined with broken glass, to prevent wayward boys from
sneaking in and corrupting her young charges. She also ordered
(09:48):
the commission of a pair of heavy wrought iron gates
with swords on them, hence the sword gatehouses. The house
is also known as These went at the entrance to
the school. We are meant to be menacing and to
tear anyone from entering in. And while she never again
had a pupil pull a stunt even close to that
(10:08):
of Maria and George, her repututation suffered, and by eighteen
forty nine the school closed its doors for good. Now
here's where the spooky part happens, because, of course I
tell ghost stories. The home would later become a residence,
private residence, and people would see the spirit of Madame
(10:32):
Devande walking the halls at night checking on the girls,
even though there weren't any girls there. Occasionally doors would
open and there would be a blast of cold air
that would come through them, supposedly Madame Devonde opening the doors.
Even more curious is that passers by state that at night,
when you walk past those stone gates, you can see
(10:54):
the eerie vision of Madame Devonnde staring out at the
gates at you anyone to intrude upon the grounds that
she protects viciously. Anyway, folks, that's our stories for today.
I really hope that you enjoyed them. I hope that
they gave you a little taste of the history of Charleston,
South Carolina. I hope that you were entertained, because that's
(11:19):
my goal is to entertain and educate. Remember that you
could support this show by going to Patreon dot com
forward slash the Carolina Storyteller. You can also check out
the website The Carolinastoryteller dot com, which has a link
to our store with all of our merchandise in it.
For this show, Valmont, the Black Raven Chronicles, and Not
Just Paranormal, which will be returning next Saturday, We've got
(11:43):
a great show lined up for you. Then again, thanks
for listening. We'll see you next time. And oh yeah,
stay spooky, my friends. If you enjoyed this, be sure
to like, subscribe, and share, and also check out one
(12:03):
of these videos for playing the playlist right there
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