St. Philip's Church

The original St. Philip's Church served Charleston's (then Charles Town) growing Anglican population during the colony's early years. The church quickly became the social and spiritual center of colonial life, with Charleston's most prominent families filling its pews each Sunday.

During these early decades, the church saw Charleston transform from a struggling colonial outpost into a thriving port city. Wealth from rice and indigo plantations flowed through the city, and St. Philip's congregation grew in both size and influence.

The church also bore witness to the darker aspects of colonial life. The slave trade brought thousands of enslaved Africans through Charleston's port, and many were baptized in St. Philip's before being sold at nearby auctions. This tragic chapter of the church's history is said by some to contribute to its haunted nature.

In 1710, a massive fire destroyed much of Charleston, including the first St. Philip's Church. The congregation immediately began planning a new, grander structure. However, before construction could begin, another devastating fire in 1723 further delayed the project.

Finally, in 1723, a second church building was completed on the same site. This structure served the congregation for nearly 70 years until it too became inadequate for the growing parish.

In 1835, the congregation made the decision to construct a new church building on a different site—the current location on Church Street. The new church was designed by Joseph Hyde in an elegant stuccoed brick design that has become one of Charleston's most recognizable landmarks.

The present St. Philip's Church was consecrated in 1838. Its Greek Revival and Georgian style architecture, combined with its soaring 200-foot steeple, made it an instant landmark. The steeple, painted a distinctive white, became a navigational aid for ships entering Charleston Harbor.

During the Civil War, the church's steeple became a target. Confederate forces painted it black to make it less visible to Union artillery and naval forces. Despite the precautions, the church suffered damage during the bombardment of Charleston, though it survived relatively intact.

After the war, the steeple was restored to its original white color and the church underwent repairs. It has since been carefully maintained and remains an active, thriving congregation to this day.

St. Philip's Church is flanked by two historic graveyards—one to the west on the original church site, and one to the east surrounding the current building. These burial grounds contain the remains of some of Charleston's most notable historical figures.

Buried in St. Philip's graveyards are:

• John C. Calhoun - Vice President of the United States and influential statesman
• Edward Rutledge - Signer of the Declaration of Independence and youngest signer at age 26
• Charles Pinckney - Signer of the U.S. Constitution
• Colonel William Rhett - Colonial naval hero who captured the pirate Stede Bonnet
• Countless Revolutionary War and Civil War soldiers
• Victims of yellow fever epidemics
• Prominent Charleston families spanning three centuries

The western graveyard, on the site of the original church, is particularly atmospheric with its ancient tombstones, iron gates, and towering trees. Many believe it is also the most haunted.

On August 31, 1886, the Great Charleston Earthquake struck the city with devastating force. Measuring an estimated 7.0 magnitude, it remains one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded in the Eastern United States.

St. Philip's Church suffered significant damage. The steeple cracked, walls were compromised, and many of the tombstones in the graveyards toppled or were thrown from their foundations. In the chaos that followed the earthquake, several graves were disturbed, their contents exposed.

Some paranormal researchers believe this disturbance of the dead contributed to the increase in ghostly activity reported at the church in subsequent years. The earthquake, they theorize, may have awakened spirits that had previously rested peacefully.

One of the most frequently reported paranormal phenomena at St. Philip's is the sound of organ music emanating from the empty church, typically heard late at night or in the early morning hours before dawn.

Church staff arriving early for morning services have reported hearing a full church organ being played with great skill, performing hymns and classical pieces. When they enter the sanctuary to investigate, the music stops abruptly and the church is found to be completely empty.

What makes this phenomenon particularly intriguing is that witnesses report the music has an antique quality to it—as if being played on an older instrument than the church's current organ. Some theorize this may be a residual haunting, an echo of organists from the church's past continuing to practice their art in death.

One particularly detailed account comes from a church sexton who arrived at 5:30 AM to prepare for a 7:00 AM service. He heard beautiful organ music pouring from the church and assumed the organist had arrived unusually early. When he entered, the music continued for several more seconds before cutting off mid-phrase. The organ bench was empty, and when he checked, the organ's power switch was in the off position.

Multiple witnesses over the years have reported seeing the apparition of a woman dressed in colonial-era clothing in the church's balcony galleries. She's typically described as wearing a long dress with her hair styled in the fashion of the 18th century.

The ghost is most often seen during services, particularly during hymns. Witnesses report that she appears to be singing along with the congregation, her mouth moving in time with the music, though no additional voice is heard.

What's particularly unnerving about this spirit is her tendency to make direct eye contact with those who notice her. Several congregation members have reported looking up at the gallery and meeting the gaze of this spectral woman. When this happens, most witnesses describe feeling a profound sense of sadness emanating from her.

After holding eye contact for several seconds, the apparition typically fades away, though some witnesses report she simply turns and walks through the gallery wall.

The identity of this spirit remains unknown, though some speculate she may be a member of one of Charleston's founding families who helped establish the church and feels forever connected to it.

In the western graveyard, visitors and church staff have reported encounters with the ghost of a grieving widow who appears to be perpetually mourning her lost loved one.

She's described as wearing Victorian mourning attire—a long black dress with a veil covering her face. The apparition is typically seen kneeling beside a particular grave marker, her shoulders shaking as if sobbing, though no sound is heard.

Those who have approached this spirit report an overwhelming wave of grief and despair that washes over them, sometimes bringing them to tears themselves. The emotion is so powerful that several visitors have had to leave the graveyard to compose themselves.

One tourist attempted to offer comfort to what she thought was a living grieving woman, only to have the figure turn toward her and reveal nothing but darkness beneath the veil—no face, just an empty void. The apparition then dissipated like smoke.

Researchers have attempted to identify which grave this spirit haunts, but the tombstone is so weathered that its inscription is no longer legible. The widow's identity—and the identity of the person she mourns—remains a mystery.

Both graveyards at St. Philip's contain numerous graves of soldiers from the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the spirits of some of these soldiers appear to remain on duty.

Visitors have reported seeing:

• Men in Revolutionary War uniforms walking the perimeter of the graveyard
• A group of Confederate soldiers standing in formation near their burial plot
• The ghost of an officer on horseback riding through the eastern graveyard
• Spectral soldiers standing guard at specific grave markers

One particularly well-documented encounter occurred in 2015 when a tourist photographed what appeared to be a Civil War soldier standing beside a tombstone. The figure was translucent but clearly visible in the photograph, wearing a gray uniform and holding a rifle. When the tourist looked up from her camera, the figure had vanished.

Some witnesses report hearing the sounds of military drums and marching footsteps coming from the graveyards late at night, as if invisible troops are conducting eternal drills.

A heartbreaking number of children are buried in St. Philip's graveyards—victims of yellow fever, scarlet fever, smallpox, and other diseases that claimed so many young lives in Charleston's early history.

Their spirits seem to remain as well. Church staff and visitors have reported:

• The sound of children's laughter and playing coming from the graveyard
• Small handprints appearing on the church windows
• The sensation of a small hand slipping into theirs while walking through the graveyard
• Seeing small shadowy figures running between tombstones
• Hearing a child's voice calling out "Mama" or "Papa"

One church custodian reported finding a collection of small toys arranged neatly on the steps of the church one morning—toy soldiers, a wooden top, and a rag doll. When he returned from putting his cleaning supplies away, the toys had vanished. Security cameras showed no one approaching or leaving.

These child spirits are generally considered benign and playful rather than frightening, though their presence is a poignant reminder of the epidemic diseases that devastated Charleston's population repeatedly throughout its history.

St. Philip's Church bells have rung out over Charleston for nearly two centuries, marking the hours and calling the faithful to worship. But sometimes, the bells ring when no living person is pulling the ropes.

Church staff have reported arriving at the church to find the bells ringing—despite the bell tower being locked and inaccessible. When they unlock the tower and investigate, they find the ropes still swinging as if someone had just been pulling them, but the bell chamber is empty.

This phenomenon seems to occur most frequently on anniversaries of significant historical events—the dates of major fires, the anniversary of the Great Charleston Earthquake, and dates associated with the Civil War bombardment of the city.

Some believe this is the ghost of a long-dead sexton or bell ringer, continuing to perform his duties in death. Others think the bells ring themselves as a kind of spiritual alarm, marking moments when the boundary between the living and the dead grows thin.

Beneath St. Philip's Church, accessible through a locked door, lies a series of crypts where some of Charleston's most prominent families interred their dead. These underground chambers are rarely visited, and for good reason—they're said to be extremely haunted.

Church staff who have had reason to enter the crypts report:

• An overwhelming feeling of being watched by multiple unseen entities
• Cold spots that move through the chambers
• The sound of whispered conversations in the darkness
• Seeing glowing eyes in the shadows
• The sensation of invisible hands touching or pushing them
• Equipment malfunctions, particularly lights and electronics

One maintenance worker who entered the crypts to inspect for water damage after a storm refused to ever go back. He reported that while examining the crypts with a flashlight, he clearly heard a voice directly behind him say, "Get out." When he spun around, he saw a dark figure standing in the doorway. He ran past it and up the stairs, and when he looked back, nothing was there.

The crypts are now only entered when absolutely necessary, and staff members insist on going in pairs.

In addition to the specific spirits mentioned above, St. Philip's Church and its graveyards are home to countless shadow figures and unidentified apparitions. These include:

• Dark, humanoid shapes that move along the church walls
• Figures seen walking through the graveyard gates that disappear when approached
• Transparent people sitting in pews during services who vanish when directly looked at
• Face-like apparitions that appear in the church windows when photographed
• Dark masses that float through the sanctuary and graveyards

Many visitors report feeling an oppressive atmosphere in certain areas of the property, particularly in the older western graveyard and in specific pews within the church. Some sensitive individuals report feeling nauseous or dizzy in these locations.

Paranormal investigation teams have recorded numerous EVPs (Electronic Voice Phenomena) at St. Philip's, including:

• A man's voice saying "This is my church"
• A woman singing a hymn in what sounds like an 18th-century dialect
• Multiple voices speaking at once, as if a conversation is taking place
• A child asking "Where is mother?"
• The sound of someone weeping

Photographers have captured numerous anomalies in photos taken at St. Philip's, including orbs, light streaks, and mists that appear to take human form.