Jason Profit - Haunted Greenville, South Carolina

Published by Haunted America

A Division of The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2011 by Jason Profit

All rights reserved

All images are by the author unless otherwise noted.

First published 2011

e-book edition 2013

Manufactured in the United States

ISBN 978.1.62584.156.8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Profit, Jason.

Haunted Greenville, South Carolina / Jason Profit.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p.).

print edition ISBN 978-1-60949-321-9

1. Ghosts--South Carolina--Greenville. I. Title.

BF1472.U6P756 2011

133.10975727--dc23

2011026265

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book is dedicated to my mother, Janie Ferrell. Long before ghost hunting was a popular thing to watch on television, my mother was chasing spirits out of peoples homes. Growing up with a mother who was so involved with the paranormal left me with a lifelong passion for the weird and ghostly. If it wasnt for her, I never would have spent years collecting the creepy tales of Greenville and investigating so many bizarre locations. Big thanks also to my wife, Angie, for listening to years of crazy ghost stories and putting up with all the bent forks, crazy hours and strange fans. I know it isnt easy being married to an oddball such as me. To my daughter C.J., not only are you a beautiful miracle, but you are also my greatest inspiration.

INTRODUCTION

GHOSTS, GHOST STORIES AND REAL LIFE ADVENTURES

You are about to explore a collection of haunted tales, grisly crimes and ghostly encounters. This book contains my personal research into some of the most haunted locations in Greenville, South Carolina. As explained in the acknowledgements, I was raised around the paranormal. My research over the past ten years led me to realize that this beautiful slice of the South is rife with ghosts. So many hauntings turned up that I created the Greenville Ghost Tour, which has become a trusted year-round tourist attraction. This book contains many of the same stories covered on the tour but also includes even more tales we simply cannot cover on the tour due to time constraints.

In some instances, the stories you are reading have been my own personal experiences with the other side. Other stories delve into the ghosts seen and experienced by many different people. In gathering the haunted tales I collect, I do not go to the books that may have been written about southern ghosts. Instead, I spend time getting to know people who live and work in the places where the hauntings are occurring. Many of the stories I have uncovered have never before been published in any books on the subject. Other stories include updated information about previously documented local haunts.

I am honestly a bit biased to believe in ghosts. When my mother was cleansing a home of spirits many years ago, I was bitten on the thighs by something not natural. I was two years old, and that was my first encounter with how real spirits can be. Since then, I have sought to research many areas of the paranormal, beyond just ghosts. Using modern technology, I have documented, in many instances, what I consider to be significant evidence of paranormal activity. In order to further study the rift between this world and the other side, I often use devices such as K2 electromagnetic field meters, digital cameras, ghost box devices and my own spirit communication software called CrossTalk EVP. As you read, you will notice that I reference these and other devices used during field research.

What are ghosts? Well, often the types of ghosts people report seeing or experiencing are more like an imprint of past events. These are called residual hauntings and are often reported to play a similar scene or event over and over again. The other kind of haunting is known as an intelligent haunt because it is able to interact with the living. Sometimes these spirits will touch, pull, talk or even bite and scratch. Other times these intelligent spirits will play with lights and even communicate in real time using technology. The stories in this book have a nice mix of residual-type ghosts and more serious intelligent-type haunts.

Most of the places I am going to write about are publicly available to visit. A few of the stories happened at private residences, and therefore, those locations will not be disclosed for privacy. Should you decide to embark on your own adventure to check out these haunts, always make sure you are not trespassing on private property.

To hear the stories told as they were intended, you can look up the Greenville Ghost Tour and experience storytelling at its best. Since the ghostly events are constantly evolving, I always get word when something new and creepy happens. You may find that when you come for a visit and take the tour, there have been some chilling updates. Whether in print or in person, allow me to be your guide as we take a journey into the darkness and briefly brush cheeks with the other side.

GREENVILLE ARMY STORE AND THE GHOST WITHIN

Sometime around 1946, Harry Zaglin opened the Greenville Army-Navy Store on Main Street downtown. Located at 660 South Main Street, it is one of the longest-running businesses downtown. The warehouse used to be located at 702708 South Main Street and is rumored to have been one of the oldest commercial buildings in the city. There seems to be some controversy as to exactly when the warehouse was built, but it is thought to have been built in either 1869 or 1872. Sometime prior to the end of the Civil War, it is said that General Wade Hampton was the speaker at an upstairs meeting of the South Carolina Democratic Party. This historic building used to be located directly across the street from the current Army-Navy Store. As of this writing, there is an open field of grass where the building once stood. As far as the Army-Navy building itself, it was constructed around 1890.

Three generations of Greenvillians have shopped at the Army-Navy Store, and little has changed in that time. Harry Zaglin was a big proponent of preserving the historic heritage of Greenville, so the store has always been a blend of retail space, odd museum and all-around meeting place. Many passersby have seen the now chipped oversize painting on the side of the Army Store that encourages the preservation of the historic West End district. It was this connection to the preservation of Greenville history that led me to begin the Greenville Ghost Tour at this very location years before writing this book.

Jeff Zaglin is now the owner of the Army-Navy Store and has been running the show since his dad passed away. After the Halloween tour season of 2009, Jeff had some interesting things to share with me. He explains that very little has changed since his father passed away and left him in charge of the shop. When you walk inside the store, you will see the old-style cash register on the counter, along with the old dusty war memorabilia, and you will feel like you have stepped into the past. Jeff went on to explain that the office is still pretty much the same as his dad left it. He still uses the same file cabinet and even his dads old desk.