Folly Beach Ghost Tours
Six years ago my lovely wife and I rolled some crazy dice. We took a chance at opening up a historic ghost tour in our storied, small southern Appalachian town of Franklin, North Carolina. Our bet paid off. Sure enough, thousands of tourists and locals alike collectively agreed that an evening with Where Shadows Walk, Historic Ghost Tours was well worth their ticket price. Guests were treated to three archaic graveyards, a historic and quaint downtown, the setting of the two-year Cherokee War that saw the likes of Francis Marion (The Swamp Fox) and notable others, stories of hangings and lynching, famous court trials, tales of culture and strife, tales of strange beasts, witches, ghosts and all things that go bump in the night, while absorbing more rich and true history than can be humanly sponged. Guests also got the chance to stand on the site where the last Confederate Soldiers of the American Civil War surrendered. I know, some of you are thinking, Appomattox Courthouse. That’s were Robert E. Lee surrendered the Confederate Army. That was by no means the final surrender of Confederate forces. Franklin boasts that site. Both my wife and I being teachers, both holding Masters degrees in our fields aided in the community’s and the region’s acceptance of such a rich and detailed tour. In the years that have passed since our debut gamble, Where Shadows Walk, Historic Ghosts Tours have expanded greatly in North Carolina. We now offer 6 very different tours in Franklin, a historic ghost tour of Waynesville, North Carolina and a historic ghost tour of Sylva, North Carolina. We’ll be opening a WSW Tour in downtown Nashville, Tennessee in April and in Danville, Virginia in the summer. That brings us to Folly!
My wife and I have been visiting Folly Island and the Charleston, South Carolina area for years. We so love the place, we’re in the process of relocating to the Charleston area, and Folly, our favorite beach on Earth, is our home away from home. So, when it hit us that Folly Beach didn’t have a historic ghost tour like Charleston’s down town boasts so many of, it was a no brainer. We proclaimed. We’re taking Where Shadows Walk to Folly. After the initial decision was made we began our trips, study, interviews and the like. We are pleased to announce, beginning Friday, March 23rd and Saturday, March 24th Where Shadows Walk, Ghosts of Folly Tour will be a reality.
Our Ghosts of Folly Tour, though it has “tour” in its title is a bit misleading. Folly Beach, as all locals know, due to storms, the ravages of the sea winds and a short continual residency in actuality, doesn’t offer the types of stately homes, gardens and historical buildings found on downtown tours. You won’t find homes from the 17th Century or beautifully crafted wrought Iron fencing. That isn’t Folly’s story. So, what we at Where Shadows Walk are offering guests is a historic ghost beach walk. 95% of our 2 hour tour takes place on the dark and mystical Folly sands with the Atlantic as our backdrop, and we don’t apologize for that, for where better to learn of wild-eyed spectral pirates, helpful dead sea captains and agonizing shipwrecks than on the shores they walked in life and from many reports, still walk? Where better than on the sand to learn of bloody Civil War battles, ghost ships and explorers? Where better than where the waves roll and tumble to learn of headless horsemen and Voodoo priestess? Where better than on the beach to learn of what’s been unearthed from the very same sands, what still runs screaming in the surf and what may rise up from the depths leaving awkward footprints behind only to be washed away by morning? Finally, where better than on Folly Beach can guests rebuild Folly’s wild and wonderful yesterdays in their minds, yesterdays filled with laughter, romance, dancing and song, yesterdays rife with Ferris Wheels and big bands rocking the pier, yesterdays so bright and wonderful one might imagine her heyday is through? There is no better place; however, they’d be wrong about her heyday. Folly Island is an island of ghosts metaphorical and supernatural. It’s the old stomping ground of pirates and soldiers, heroes and outlaws, and yes it had a magical time rivaled by few, but her best days, Folly’s shining time is to come. The ghosts of Folly Island’s past only work to ensure her eclectic, bohemian, family-friendly future will be bright. Folly Island, scared and weather-worn, gentle and laid back, historic and haunted is the perfect place for Where Shadows Walk, a ghost tour at the edge of America.
The 2019 Folly Beach Bloody Mary Competition results are in! We would like to say thank you to all of those who participated, as it was a tough decision across the board. Stacked with creative ingredients and extraordinary garnishes,this year’s competition was fierce.
Spend the Follidays on Folly Beach
