South Carolina is well known for beaches, barbecue and palmetto trees, but plenty of mystery lies behind the idyllic façade. Some residents once claimed to be tormented by a creature that was part lizard and part man. South of the Border is one of the more famous and unique tourist attractions in the state--complete with a giant sombrero. Lynches River is the only river in the nation that crosses under the same bridge three times. Peachtree Rock Heritage Preservation in Lexington County is home to one of the most unusual natural formations in the United States. Author Sherman Carmichael details these and more in a collection of stories that can be found only in the Palmetto State.

The Palmetto State is home to many strange and unexplained events. The Gray Man of 2018 is Pawleys Island's most historic ghost. He has been seen walking the beaches before hurricanes. The tiny town of Hilda hears the mournful wail of a ghost train. The Bowery, Myrtle Beach's most legendary bar, hosts the spectral singing of Barman Joe. A ninety-two-foot crop circle appeared in the small town of McBee in 1994. And there's a host of Bigfoot sightings in the state. Sherman Carmichael delves into the mysterious side of South Carolina.

This new collection of eighty strange and unusual South Carolina legends is rooted in the state's deep history. Some originated centuries ago, such as the Agnes of Glasgow story in Camden and that of the ghostly dwarf jester Gauche, said to haunt a Beaufort mansion. Certain places hold secrets from different eras, including White Wolf Road in Blacksburg and the state's numerous historic cemeteries like the one at Salem Black River Church in Mayesville. These pages also contain simple explanations for local lore, like the Gullah tradition behind blue bottle trees that still decorate Carolina gardens today. These and many more crowd-pleasing yarns can be found in this volume from the desk of master storyteller, author and researcher Sherman Carmichael.

Examines the opera Porgy and Bess's long history of invention and reinvention as a barometer of 20th-century American expectations about race, culture and the struggle for equality.

Phantoms from Indian conflicts, American Revolution, and the Civil War still wander South Carolina.

Master storyteller Sherman Carmichael is back with more mysterious tales from South Carolina--from Plantersville to Loris and from Beaufort to Clinton. Many of these stories have been told and retold throughout generations, like the red-eyed specter that roams the stairwells of Wilson Hall at Converse College or the haunted grave site of Agnes of Glasgow in Camden. In 1987, a construction company unearthed the bodies of fourteen Union soldiers from the Civil War--twelve of the bodies were found without their heads. The Abbeville Opera House has a chair that remains open to this day for a patron who visited long ago. Join Carmichael for these and many more rare and offbeat stories from South Carolina.