Legends and Lore of South Carolina

by Sherman Carmichael

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.

Genres: Nonfiction

112 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 2012

Reviews

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another so-so book with so-so stories by the author. Many I'd heard before and felt that the author left out a lot of interesting details.

[Pamela Poole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this short book as part of my research for writing an upcoming novel series set in the LowCountry of SC, and it has a lot of helpful information collected in one place. This is a non-fiction book and doesn't contain scary stories written artfully to entertain readers by a campfire. It contains lists of facts about South Carolina (flag, state tree, etc.), historic places to visit, information about historic events (SC is rich in history), and lore the author has collected. For example, the Gullah practice of putting colored bottles on tree-like structures or hanging them from the branches of trees came to my attention a few days ago at a local museum, and though I knew it was rooted in superstition, I wanted to learn more about why they did so. This author brings it up in the book, explaining that it was supposed to lure and catch evil spirits that would bother people at night as they slept.

When the author writes about legends, folklore, and supposed hauntings, he reports the details and different versions as a journalist would do, not as a creative writer. When he can't support the accounts with any records or facts in his research, he states so. This format was just what I was looking for, but for readers who prefer just the stories as entertainment, there are probably other books that would satisfy more than this one. There are also some YouTube channels that go on site to creatively report on the legends and lore of South Carolina.

This book is good for readers who are looking for facts and collected information.

[Brandy Montgomery · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was one I picked up when I visited Camden for their ghost walk a few years ago. It wasn’t quite what I expected. I really thought it would be about ghosts and mythology in South Carolina. There were a good number of these stories in the books, but there were quite a bit of history tidbits as well. I took stars off because the writing is quite choppy and because with a name like Legends and Lore, I don’t really want to know about the history of a podunk town in the middle of nowhere that didn’t survive because people left it.

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was super cool but the writing style was odd to me. Some stories were written beautifully, but others were random and did not flow. While others I felt abruptly ending. But overall good book

[Tanya · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't even finish the book it was so boring.

[Douglas Reedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great to read!

For anyone interested in South Carolina, this book is for you. There are many tales about this state and it's past.

[Ray Perdue · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure if he really understands the regions of South Carolina. Is Newberry in the Upstate? Midlands? Who knows, how about both!

[Jeff Mueller]

Enjoyable read

Good book with a lot of interesting trivial history. Good for those interested in short stories Abbot many parts of South Carolina.

[Katherine J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun to read all these stories from the state I live in!! And some definitely are spine chillingggg

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit dry not useful if you didn't know the state of South Carolina. The county in England is Buckinghamshire, not Buck County.