More than 150 years ago, the legend of Alice Flagg of the Hermitage began. This young lady from the banks of the inlet in Georgetown County has touched the lives of many, including the Chandler boys – who grew up sleeping in Alice’s room. Variations to the history are plentiful, but there is evidence to prove…she did exist.
South Carolina author and ghost tour guide, Elizabeth Robertson Huntsinger, takes SCETV viewers on a journey to the 1840s for a love story; and brings the folklore alive through research-driven storytelling and beautiful imagery.
Jacquie Champion, a graduate of Dreher High School in Columbia, tells us about her first-hand encounter with Alice in All Saints Cemetery during the 1960s. And, watch Myrtle Beach residents attempt the ritual said to evoke Alice’s apparition.
Plus, meet the Chandlers. Their grandfather, Clarke Willcox, Sr., purchased the Hermitage about ten years after the Flaggs moved away. The home still belongs to their family and it’s listed as part of the ‘Murrells Inlet Historic District’ on the National Register of Historic Places.
To this day, Joe still gets goosebumps from time to time when he goes up into Alice’s room at the Hermitage. And, Bill insists that Joe and Ann painted the ceiling on the front porch “Haint Blue,” to superstitiously ward off ghosts.
The Hermitage is now a private residence. However, if you’re looking for a chance to encounter Alice, your best chances are at All Saints Cemetery in Pawleys Island, and along the banks of the marsh in Murrells Inlet, where the original Wachesaw Plantation once existed.
