Wampee House

This circa-1822 Lowcountry plantation home has been called the most haunted place in Berkeley County. The present structure is the third built on this site, each seemingly absorbing the supernatural energy of its predecessor.

Wampee Plantation traces its origins to 1696, when John Stuart received a 1,000-acre land grant from Lord Proprietor Sir John Colleton along Biggin Creek in what is now Berkeley County. The name Wampee derives from a Native American word for pickerelwood, a flowering plant that grew abundantly in the area and attracted the birds hunted by the indigenous people who had long used this land. Indian mounds are still visible on the property today. The current house, built around 1822 by Charles MacBeth for his widowed mother, is the third structure erected on this site -- each seemingly absorbing the supernatural energy of its predecessor. The MacBeth descendants, the Cain family, retained ownership until Santee Cooper acquired the property before the creation of Lake Moultrie in 1939, which flooded much of the surrounding land and reduced the original thousand acres to just thirty-three.

The haunting at Wampee is believed to center on an Indian maiden whose remains were discovered during excavation of one of the property's ancient mounds. The skeleton was found in a crouching position, and shortly after its unearthing, witnesses began reporting a woman with what has been described as a porcelain face appearing throughout the residence and grounds. A caretaker once observed a clear image of a young Native American woman dressed in buckskin and ribbons looking directly at her through a window until the apparition slowly disappeared with the setting sun. The ghost is also said to appear wearing a garment of flowing blue silk, seemingly woven from pickerel weed blossoms, with matching slippers -- a striking detail that connects the spirit to the very landscape that gave the plantation its name.

The paranormal activity at Wampee extends well beyond the maiden's appearances. A persistent cold spot occupies one of the bedrooms where the caretaker's dog refuses to enter. Tiny white lights have been seen drifting across the porch at night. Doors open and close on their own for hours on end -- activity that has kept Santee Cooper board members awake throughout the night during stays at the conference center. A visiting New York businessman once awoke to find a face hovering directly above his bed. False fire alarms plague the property with no electrical explanation. Guests have reported hearing giggling in the hallways and seeing shadow figures move through the rooms. NFL legend Terry Bradshaw reportedly refused to stay alone in the house during a visit.

Sandy Gibson, who served as caretaker for twenty-six years, has said plainly that he has a feeling he should not stay in the house, and he regularly received early morning calls from frightened overnight guests who wanted to leave immediately. In 2010, the Ghost Hunters of Charleston conducted a formal investigation using EMF detectors, thermal cameras, and laser grids. Co-founder Gene Newhouse reported that the electromagnetic spikes they recorded in one room were far more intense than any location they had ever investigated. When they asked the presence to show itself, the EMF meter spiked dramatically. A laser grid appeared physically bent, and team members experienced intense cold spots. Newhouse noted that electromagnetic interference from outside sources was virtually impossible given the house's remote location on the shores of Lake Moultrie.

Today Wampee Plantation can be visited through special events and tours organized by the Upper Dorchester County Historical Society, which restored the house. Fourteen formerly enslaved people were documented as remaining on the property after the Civil War in the 1867 Freedman's Bureau Register of Destitutes, ranging in age from twenty-six to ninety-seven. Their presence, along with the layered history of Native American habitation, colonial settlement, and three successive houses built on the same ground, may help explain why so many believe Wampee is the most haunted place in Berkeley County.