Buzz
While the northeastern United States boasts numerous ghost stories due to its long history of European settlement, the South carries a darker legacy tied to slavery. Millions endured dehumanization, abuse, and death on Southern plantations, fueling countless stories of vengeful spirits. It’s no wonder that many believe these restless souls seek retribution.
10. Savannah Harbor
Although the international slave trade was officially outlawed in the US in 1820, pirates continued to profit by capturing escaped slaves and transporting them abroad, including to the Caribbean and South America. One such ship, the French vessel Grietely, arrived at Savannah Harbor in Georgia in 1854 to collect 71 fugitives.
Most of the enslaved individuals, primarily of Congolese origin, were forcibly gathered and loaded onto the vessel. While many were bound in chains, others were restrained with ropes. None of them wished to be there, and all were determined to resist. This was precisely why their captors were eager to dispose of these particular fugitives.
As the ship departed the harbor, several enslaved people on deck managed to free themselves from their rope bindings and jumped into the water. The crew fired at the escapees, but their troubles were far from over. Those below deck began attacking the ship, tearing apart planks on the starboard side. Water flooded in, causing the vessel to sink, as the captain’s arrogance prevented him from accepting assistance from nearby tugboats.
To this day, sailors in the harbor report experiencing an unseen force tugging their ships off course. Some even claim to hear voices speaking in French and Bantu dialects. Could these be the spirits of the enslaved, still fighting for their freedom? Some believe they remain unaware that slavery has ended, and their attacks on ships are acts of vengeance.
9. Plat-Eyes
The Gullah people, descendants of enslaved Africans, reside in the coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina. Among the area’s most peculiar hauntings is the plat-eye, a restless spirit believed to be the result of improper burial. These spirits are often said to guard hidden treasures.
Plat-eyes manifest in various forms, one of which is a humanoid figure with a single eye hanging from its forehead. According to legend, many of these spirits are tied to Confederate landowners who buried their wealth to protect it from Union forces. Stories claim these landowners beheaded enslaved individuals and buried them alongside their riches to invoke supernatural guardianship.
Other accounts describe plat-eyes as shape-shifters capable of transforming into animals. In 1935, the US government tasked writers with interviewing formerly enslaved individuals. One interviewee, May Ethel Pickett, recounted a childhood encounter with a plat-eye on her way home from church. She saw a white cat emerge from the woods, which then turned into a white dog. As she fled, she glanced back to find it had become a white mule.
8. Buckner Mansion
Fans of the TV series American Horror Story will instantly recognize the Buckner Mansion in New Orleans, as it served as the primary location for the show’s third season. The mansion is available for rent, provided you have the budget for it. However, be prepared to share the space with its resident housekeeper, who has been deceased since the 1800s.
Miss Josephine, a formerly enslaved woman who gained her freedom, managed the enslaved workers at the mansion. Trusted and skilled, she also served as a governess and midwife. Even after the Civil War and the emancipation of the enslaved, she continued to oversee the household with unmatched dedication. Guests claim she still maintains her duties to this day.
Visitors have reported hearing the sound of a broom sweeping and catching whiffs of lemon, her favorite scent, drifting through the rooms. Chandeliers sway, doors open and close on their own, and lights flicker inexplicably. Some have even spotted her ghostly figure in the windows. A lingering sadness permeates her room, a reminder of the enslaved women and infants who died there during childbirth. If this unsettles you, rest assured—there are seven other bedrooms available for your stay.
7. The Ghost of Suck Creek
Many ghost stories tied to slavery revolve around those who attempted to escape. Enslaved individuals who fled were often seen as resilient and rebellious, making the notion of their lingering spirits compelling. Additionally, the harsh punishments inflicted on runaways, often resulting in brutal deaths, create a natural connection to tales of restless spirits.
The identity of the runaway who haunts the Cumberland Trail near Suck Creek, Tennessee, remains unknown. It is believed he escaped from an exceptionally cruel enslaver in the 1790s. After fleeing the plantation, he ran along the trail until exhaustion overcame him. His pursuers, including the enslaver, a group of men, and hunting dogs, discovered him unconscious.
The group of white men brutally beat the enslaved man where he had fallen and then strung him up from a tree. Believing him dead, they departed, but the man was not yet finished. He managed to free himself from the noose, though his injuries left him too weak to escape far before collapsing once more. When the mob returned to retrieve the body, they quickly found the battered man. They dragged him back to the plantation and publicly disfigured him as a warning to others.
Drivers have reported sightings of a tattered figure darting through the woods, seemingly still attempting to flee. Near the hanging tree, screams and groans echo through the air. Others have seen the enslaved man wandering peacefully along the trail, perhaps seeking vengeance against those who ended his life. It’s a tragic tale of a spirit condemned to relive his harrowing ordeal endlessly.
6. The Spirits of Kingsley Plantation
Zephaniah Kingsley was considered relatively progressive for a slave owner. Once his enslaved workers finished their daily tasks, they were free to engage in activities like fishing or gardening. Any goods they produced and sold allowed them to keep the earnings. Kingsley married an enslaved woman named Ana in an African ceremony (alongside two other wives), and she eventually amassed significant wealth. He even took the time to learn an African language.
On the Jacksonville, Florida plantation, the true antagonist was a fellow slave who committed heinous acts of violence against the women. His own companions eventually brought him to justice, hanging him from an ancient oak. Legend has it that his spirit, known as Old Red Eyes due to the eerie glow often spotted, continues to haunt the area. Witnesses report seeing these luminous orbs trailing their vehicles, accompanied by the ghostly cries of his victims.
Another spectral figure, also with glowing eyes, is said to inhabit an incomplete structure on the plantation grounds. This spirit manifests differently based on the observer's character; kind-hearted individuals may encounter a benevolent white woman who greets them with a wave, while those with ill intentions face a terrifying wolf with eyes ablaze.
5. The Hunt-Morgan House
The Hunt-Morgan House, also known as Hopemont, holds significant historical importance. It was the birthplace of Thomas Hunt Morgan in 1865, who later received the 1933 Nobel Prize in medicine. While the scientific achievements of the Morgan family are noteworthy, the true highlight of this tale is their housekeeper Bouviette James.
Known affectionately as Aunt Betty, James looked after the Morgan children during the mid-1800s, including Charlton, Thomas Morgan’s father. When Betty passed away shortly after the Civil War, Charlton and his brothers served as her pallbearers. Despite the Morgans' pro-slavery stance—John Hunt Morgan was famously called the “Thunderbolt of the Confederacy”—their deep respect for Betty highlights the genuine bond she shared with the family.
Betty was laid to rest in the family cemetery. Following her death, one of the Morgan children fell gravely ill. A nurse tending to him fell asleep but woke to find a black woman wearing a turban and red leather shoes gently stroking the child’s forehead and humming a lullaby. As the nurse moved closer, the mysterious figure disappeared.
The child eventually passed away, and the nurse recounted the incident to Mrs. Morgan. She revealed that the family had once gifted Betty a pair of red shoes. Mrs. Morgan was comforted by the thought that Aunt Betty continued to watch over the children, even in death, and believed she would care for her deceased son in the afterlife.
Today, the house operates as a museum, open to visitors who wish to explore its history and perhaps catch a glimpse of Betty’s lingering presence.
4. Playful George
At 126 Wentworth Street in Charleston, South Carolina, the ghost of a young enslaved boy is said to linger. The building now operates as a bed and breakfast, but in its past, it was a private residence where a slave couple and their son George lived on the third floor. By all accounts, George’s life, though constrained, was relatively bearable. He spent his time running errands, working in the stables, and enjoying playful moments by the river. He was content.
However, his happiness was short-lived. The homeowner faced financial difficulties, leading to the sale of George’s parents, while George was left behind. Some tales claim George heard his parents were aboard a ship and drowned in Charleston harbor while attempting to reach them. The more widely accepted version is that he fled but was captured. When the owner retrieved him, George faced the threat of a bullwhip.
After George’s untimely death, those who claim to have encountered his spirit describe him as retaining the playful mischief of a child. He manifests as a poltergeist, engaging in activities like opening and shutting doors, toggling electronics, and rocking chairs. Guests have also reported their beds shaking during the night. Staff members are often heard shouting, “Stop it, George!” throughout the house, and it seems he occasionally listens.
3. Igbo Landing
The tale of Igbo Landing (sometimes spelled Ebo or Ibo) is deeply impactful. The Igbo, a tribe from present-day Nigeria, were known for their fierce resistance to enslavement. Their act of defiance, which inspired the name Ebo Landing, has been immortalized in various media, including television and Toni Morrison’s Nobel Prize-winning novel, *Song of Solomon*.
A group of Igbo tribespeople, captured in Africa and transported to Savannah, were sold to plantation owners, including Congressman Thomas Spalding. Upon arrival at Dunbar Creek on St. Simon’s Island, the Igbo chief proclaimed, “The water brought us, the water will take us away!” He then led at least 10 others into the creek, choosing freedom over captivity.
The enslavers shouted at the group to halt, brandishing weapons, but the Africans had already resolved that death was preferable to a life of bondage. They stepped into the water and never returned.
Today, locals say that on still, misty nights, the sounds of clinking chains and the chant, “the water brought us, the water will take us away,” can still be heard. One woman even recounts seeing the apparitions of the men, bound in chains, barefoot, and dressed in tattered clothing. Some fishermen steer clear of the creek to avoid disturbing the spirits.
In 2002, a delegation of Igbo tribesmen journeyed from Nigeria to perform a blessing at the site. Their leader stated he had come “to summon their spirits and guide them back to Igboland.” After two centuries, perhaps the water finally carried them home.
2. The Deadly Cellar Of Allen County
In Allen County, Kentucky, there lies a cellar with a grim and deadly history. Before the Civil War, a house occupied the site, owned by a couple who enslaved 15 people. The enslaved individuals lived in an outbuilding behind the house, but when the owner deemed them disobedient, he would take them to the basement. There, he would chain them to the wall, sometimes for days, until he believed they had been sufficiently punished.
When the war began, most of the enslaved people managed to escape, except for two who were still chained in the basement. Enraged, the owner shot them in a fit of anger. To conceal the crime, he buried their bodies in the cellar and sealed it forever. He later died fighting for the Confederacy, and after his wife passed away years later, the property was inherited by a young family unaware of its dark past.
The cellar had a persistent, musty odor that the family couldn’t eliminate, and the children often claimed to hear strange noises from below. One night, the couple woke up drenched in cold sweat, convinced they had heard sounds coming from beneath the house. The husband went to investigate but never returned. When the wife followed, she discovered him dead at the foot of the stairs, his neck broken. She fled the house soon after.
The house no longer stands, but the cellar’s eerie smell and unsettling sounds are said to remain.
1. Booger Hollow
One of the most notable rebellions in the history of slavery was led by Nat Turner in Southampton County, Virginia, in 1831. Enslaved rebels killed 55 people, and many more were executed in retaliation. This event left many slaveholders anxious, prompting them to send their most defiant slaves further south to be sold. Among them was a man named William, who was sold to a farmer named Benjamin Hocking.
Hocking was a violent man with a quick temper, while William was a defiant individual whose spirit had not been broken by previous owners. Their combination was explosive, and Hocking grew increasingly brutal in his treatment of William. Finally, William reached his limit. As Hocking prepared to whip him, William seized an axe and turned it against his owner.
William’s freedom was fleeting. He was quickly arrested, imprisoned, and handed over to an enraged mob by the sheriff. The crowd brutally beat him to death with leather straps and discarded his body in a sinkhole. Other enslaved individuals were prohibited from recovering his remains.
A tale recounts that weeks later, a farmer passing near the site of William’s death heard screams, assuming another punishment was underway. When he approached to investigate—and possibly participate—he saw a slave tied up, screaming, and writhing in agony. Yet, no one else was present, and the slave appeared to be tormented by invisible forces. The farmer fled, but many others have since claimed to witness William’s ghost struggling against his bonds.
The ghostly sightings ceased abruptly in 1945. Perhaps William finally found his freedom.
