Get double the chills in an evening of fun spooks and stories as you encounter two “haunted” museums!
“Gore and Folklore: The Haunted Museums” offers some of South Carolina’s best ghosts and legends on Thursday, Oct. 26 as “ghoulish guides” lead guests through the ghostly galleries of the South Carolina State Museum and the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum.
The “ghost hunters” begin at the Relic Room where guests will hear tales of 19th century Columbia surgeon and “champion amputator” Dr. Benjamin “Watt” Taylor and his “curved knowing forceps;” Spanish-American War Gen. Matthew Calbraith Baker and his wartime sword; and Confederate Sgt. Weller Rothrock (the Relic Room’s “resident poltergeist”) and his silver-mounted cane.
Guests continue to the State Museum where they will encounter the Gray Man of Pawley’s Island, the Lowcountry Boo Hag, the resident ghost of the State Museum and other otherworldly objects in a “haunted” gallery walkthrough. In addition, members of the Three Rivers Storytelling Guild will spook visitors with their tale-weaving talents and will tell eerie stories in areas of the museum that are appropriate to their subjects.
Those who brave the spooky tales and sights will be treated to cider and cookies after the tour. The tours, which start every half-hour beginning at 6 p.m., are nearly two hours long and are appropriate for guests ages 12 and older.
Tickets, available in advance or at the door, are $20 for adults ($15 for Friends of the State Museum) and $10 for children 12 and under ($5 for Friends of the State Museum). For more information, call (803) 898-4952 or (803) 737-8095, or visit the website www.museum.state.sc.us or www.crr.sc.gov.
