The Charleston Horror

The appearance of The Old Charleston City Jail itself is something to shudder at but its history is what holds all the horror. This jail, to give context to how long it was run, began operating “two years before the rise of Napoleon till two weeks after the Nazis invaded Poland” (Tour Guide) which was in 1939. Thousands, tens of thousands, maybe even more have died at this jail and it was not because of an outbreak of the cooties but because there was torture, hangings, inhuman conditions and so much more. This place is said to be haunted and it is not hard to see why.

Now this jail was built and began operation in 1802. Needless to say because it was made for prisoners so there was no running water, there was no heating or cooling, and there were no toilets. The prisoners were as open to the elements in the jail just as if they were outside causing them to freeze in the winter and sweat their asses of in the summer. The floors were also covered in woodchip shavings like a hamster cage due to the lack of bathrooms and running water. The silver with the woodchips was that they actually changed it out every week or so. Sadly that was no help; the prisoners that ranged from trespassers to murderers would succumb to infections or exposure and die in their chains and cages. “This jail originally was only meant to hold 140 prisoners but in the jails prime it would have housed upwards of 400” (Tour Guide) and due to this caused infection and disease to spread rapidly and uncontrollably.

The torture in the Old City Jail was far worse than its living conditions. Flogging and branding were the two most common in the jail. The branding would go onto the prisoners palm and would describe the crime that they were charged. The worse criminals would be branded on the face to make sure that everyone knew of the atrocities they committed. Flogging was even worse; the prisoner would have their hands tied to a pulley system connected to the ceiling and their legs secured to the ground. They would be stretched and whipped by something called The Cat of Nine Tails which had nine strands with knots at the end of each. "When used the strands of the Nine Tails would grab ahold of the skin and tear it from the body" (Tour Guide). This would have been done multiple times in succession. After they would go back to their pig stalls of cells where their wounds would be left untreated causing infection then death. As for the dead, they were buried at the back of the jail in the yard. 

There is no denying that The Old City Jail was a hellish or horrifying place to be when it was in use. There certainly could be ghosts that suffered at the hands of that place roaming the halls at this very moment. While in operation it was a mecca for death and torture in the city of Charleston but now it is not as intimidating. It is now a place where tours are given and history is told. The future for the jail is unclear as to if it will continue in its teaching practices but we can only hope that stays open to tell a piece of Charleston’s story and the story of the people that endured its horrors. This is Joseph Tyler Dunn and until next time; I see dead people.