This is my own true story.
The Vigilant Guardian Church
-or-
“Haint Misbehavin”
This is my own true story, a story that took place on a beautiful spring day two years ago. I helped a friend make it to day surgery at Mt Pleasant Hospital. For this West Ashley guy I felt half way to Georgetown. So me and my bud Jamie decided to venture out for a few hours and headed to McClellanville, a sleepy fishing village 30 miles north of Charleston. I hadn’t been there in 20 years, so sightseeing was on the agenda.
Not really knowing the town I first went through a section that was on the street grid but there were few houses. You could see that at one time there were more residences, probably lost to Hugo in 1989. Mostly just woods, coming around the corner was a noble Carpenters Gothic style church with cedar shingles situated prominently on a corner.
I recall no signage. So beautiful, yet so lonely, we had to investigate.
Stepping up on the porch I peeked in the abandoned sanctuary. It struck me that, quite a while back, this construction site was abandoned. Whoever left it never came back to retrieve tools and ladders and tarps. It was all very odd.
Leaving the porch we walked around to the large graveyard. The cement monuments with conch decorations clued me in the it was an African American graveyard. I had to muse, where are the descendants of these dead? Where have they gone?. We circled the church and as we were walking to the car on the road we sighted a rusty folding chair laying flat. Jamie, being the curious sort, pulled it back. I saw a brick cylinder with fast food trash. There might have been a valve down there. Jamie saw a sepulchre, brick compartments.* I told him to put the chair back so nobody would step in the hole.As he put it back and started to walk he said
“HEY! Something just grabbed my leg!”
Well, my input on that was if you knew Jamie like I do, you never know what he might say next.We got in the car and continued the grand tour. Maybe four minutes out he says to me
“Its gone, it let go. That thing in the graveyard.”
He could see I wasn’t getting it. He points down and says “Feel my leg!”
I will never forget that moment. Through the denim his thigh was plainly cold, an unnatural cold that made me recoil. My first thought was “dead meat”.
So remember, dear reader , should you seek out the old cedar church in McClellanville, remember to tread lightly on that hallowed ground.A vigilant guardian that tolerates no disturbance, the hain’t will getcha!
* We had this discussion much later.
Charleston Old Walled City Tours offers Ghost Tours each evening at 8 PM. Go to www.walledcitytours.com for details
Charleston Old Walled City Tours offers Ghost Tours each evening at 8 PM. Go to www.walledcitytours.com for details
Charleston Old Walled City Tours offers themed tours od Historic Charleston including the Old Walled City Tour, the Home and Garden Tour, the Slavery and Freedom Tour, and the Charleston Ghost Walk. Go to www.walledcitytours.come to learn more!
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