More Ghosts of Upstate South Carolina
by John Boyanoski
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Not so long ago, residents of the Upstate thought only the Lowcountry was full of ghosts and hauntings. John Boyanoski’s 2006 collection of Upstate ghost stories changed that, and now he is back with More Ghosts of Upstate South Carolina. From a haunted former hospital to the historical witches of Fairfield County to the many ghosts of Winthrop University’s Tillman Hall, Boyanoski’s collection wanders the back roads and back hallways of the Upstate to tell the stories of a truly haunted region.
Haunted houses are scattered throughout, some still lived in and some abandoned long ago. Boyanoski also tells of a skeleton in a window, haunted railroad tracks in Spartanburg, a shadow no longer attached to its owner, a ghost that played with the family dog, the many ghosts of a Main Street Greenville art studio (including one Civil War soldier who held his bayonet to the artist’s throat), and more.
"These are stories that have never been talked about publicly," Boyanoski says. "They are family stories, rather than legends that have been passed around for years."
One of the most amazing hauntings in the book is Greenwood’s Inn on the Square—not because the ghost is scary, but because he is defective. Bill, as the ghost is commonly known, likes to frequent the hotel bar, where he often plays tricks on new patrons. (The regulars have learned to ignore him.) So why is he defective? At closing time, if the bartender forgets to remind him to leave, Bill gets locked in. He can’t pass through the door like most ghosts! And when Bill gets locked in, he gets testy. After his worst fit there were knocked over chairs and tables, a television ripped off the wall, and the security camera video to prove it!
"So many of these stories are so believable," Boyanoksi says. "Multiple sources, multiple witnesses. That’s unusual in ghost books."
Greenville, Greenwood, Simpsonville, Spartanburg. All are haunted. So is Abbeville, and Rock Hill, and Newberry. And Anderson, Pickens, and Chester. And Iva, Pendleton, and Piedmont. It is hard to find a town that isn’t. One Spartanburg County firehouse gets advanced warnings from its ghost, while in Travelers Rest, just between Greenville and the mountains, you’ll find a man who talks with ghosts almost daily. One even asked him to kill.
Scarier than the original, More Ghosts of Upstate South Carolina will keep you awake at night. And like the man in Travelers Rest, it may even haunt you in your dreams.
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John Boyanoski is a reporter for the Journal. He grew up hunting for ghosts with his cousins in the mountains of Pennsylvania.
ISBN 978-0-9761460-2-5 / 128 pp. / 6 x 9 paperback
$12.00 (Special online price; retails for $14.99)
Ghosts of Upstate South Carolina
More Ghosts of Upstate South Carolina
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Shelor & Son Publishing
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Mountville, PA 17554
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