Old City Jail
Built in 1802 on Magazine Street, the Old City Jail held some of Charleston's most notorious prisoners — pirates, Civil War captives, and runaway slaves — until it closed in 1939. Among its inmates was Lavinia Fisher, hanged in 1820 after a highway-robbery conviction that legend later inflated into the tale of America's first female serial killer. She is said to have gone to the gallows in her wedding dress, vowing to carry any message straight to the Devil. Since restoration began around 2000, visitors and guides have reported cold spots, disembodied sounds, and glimpses of a woman in a white-and-red gown drifting through the cells. The crumbling Romanesque building remains one of Charleston's most frequently cited haunted sites.
📍 21 Magazine Street, Charleston, SC 29401, Charleston, SC · Get directions