Buried Alive in Wilmington, NC

The temperature made a drastic drop this week here in West Virginia...and while I absolutely have no problem with it...it does make me a little nostalgic for summer vacation.  This year, my family visited Carolina Beach, North Carolina and spent quite a bit of time in nearby Wilmington.  On one of our excursions into town, we made a stop at the small, historic cemetery located behind St. James Episcopal Church.

You won't find a tombstone with his name on it, but records to indicate that a young man by the name of Samuel Joselyn was buried in this cemetery back in 1810.  Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that Samuel was actually DEAD at the time of his burial!

Samuel came from a wealthy family, which afforded him the opportunity for a good education and the leisure time to get together with young men of similar means and discuss philosophical and academic ideas.  One rainy evening, the discussion turned to the topic of the afterlife and the survival of the soul after death.  Samuel and his best friend, Alexander (Sandy) Hostler made a pact:  whoever died first would come back and contact the survivor.

The two young men probably weren't thinking much about that pact on July 4, 1809.  On that date, Samuel married Mary Ann Sampson of another wealthy Wilmington family, and settled down with the intent to open his own law practice in town.  Unfortunately, his marriage would be a short one.

On March 16, 1810, The Jocelyn's and several other wealthy families were vacationing at one of their nearby hunting lodges. Mary Ann and Samuel apparently got into a fight that evening, and Samuel, in a rage, fled the hunting lodge wearing only a thin coat.  Due to the poor weather and Samuel's apparent poor state of mind, a search party went looking for them.  It wasn't until two days later that he was found in the swamp, lying in 4 inches of icy cold water.  He had apparently fallen or was thrown from his horse.   

Family and friends were distraught as Samuel was laid to rest at St. James' graveyard soon afterward.  Sandy Hostler took the loss of his friend especially hard.  The grieving Sandy was horrified when on the night of Samuel's funeral, an apparition of the deceased young man appeared before him.  The apparition spoke, imploring Sandy to "dig up my body."  Sandy, shaken by the vision, assumed that the ghost was nothing more than a product of his grief and his sleeplessness.  And then, the apparition appeared twice more.  At a loss of what to do, Sandy sought the advice of Louis Toomer.  Louis reminded Sandy of the pact that Sandy and Samuel had made, which Sandy had completely forgotten about. 

Louis further theorized that Samuel had somehow hidden in the coffin some sort of proof of life after death, and that's why he was so insistent that Sandy open his coffin. So, after much deliberation, the two young men decided that it had to be done.  They would exhume their friend's body themselves.

The night came and the two met just outside the graveyard's gates.  As they completed their grisly task, it finally became apparent that Samuel had not hidden any proof of the afterlife in his coffin.  It was much, much worse.

Samuel's ghost DID contact Sandy that first night, and on two subsequent nights, but it wasn't to share proof an afterlife.  It was an attempt to SAVE his life.  Samuel's face wore a twisted look of sheer terror.  His fingers had scratched the coffin lid until they were nothing but bloody stumps, bones exposed.  Samuel hadn't died in the swamp; he had died a horrifying death buried alive.  Perhaps by the time his apparition had come to Samuel, it had already been too late.  Or, perhaps what was his 'ghost' was actually his soul temporarily leaving his body in order to seek help.

Sandy is also long gone now, but Samuel's ghost is still scaring the residents of Wilmington.  Before the fence and the security cameras, locals would scare themselves by daring each other to lie atop of Samuel's grave, ear to the ground, for one hour.  Legend states that no one was ever able to last the entire time without fleeing.  Others refuse to even walk past the graveyard at night fearing they might hear the muffled cries of Samuel Jocelyn, reliving the horror of being buried alive.

*You can read more about Samuel Joselyn's story in the book, Ghosts of Old Wilmington, by John Hirchak!  The church is also one of the potential stops on the Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington Ghost Tour!*

Blog Bonus!

On Monday, I shared a blog post about songs based on real paranormal events and popular ghost stories.  One of my readers, the awesome Mr. Lewis O. Powell, IV who runs The Southern Spirit Guide, an awesome blog about ghostly goings-on in the Southern US, shared this song with me!  Sam Jocelyn's Ghost is a musical re-telling of the story by the ETSU Bluegrass Pride Band.  Definitely give it a listen!  (Here's the direct YouTube link in case the video below won't play.)

Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington

Last month, my family went to Carolina Beach, North Carolina for our summer vacation!  There was so much to see and do during our week-long stay, including spending some time in nearby historic Wilmington. With limited time to cram in everything, we decided that a ghost tour would be the coolest way to see and learn about the downtown area...and we were not disappointed!

Since we had my 8 year old son with us, we couldn't do the haunted pub crawl, but luckily, the same company offers a more kid-friendly Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington tour that we could take.  We purchased our tickets online, but they can also be purchased at the Black Cat Shoppe on Market Street.  The price runs $13 for adults and $11 for kids over 6.  (Check website for further pricing options.) Through most of the tourist season, tours run nightly at 6:30 pm and 8:30 pm. 

We took the 6:30 tour Friday evening with Jake and had a wonderful time!  Even my 8 year old son really enjoyed the stories, which were sufficiently spooky without relying on gore or really disturbing details. The history was fascinating, and Jake did an awesome job storytelling---he made the history and the hauntings interesting and was really quite entertaining, adding in a dose of humor where appropriate.

Paradise Alley

 As someone with back issues, I was hesitant at first at the thought of a 90 minute walking tour, but the pace and terrain were easy enough, and several of the stops offered a place to sit down. The emphasis on storytelling, rather than just a quick overview of each haunted location, led to there being less actual locations than I would have thought on the tour, but I found that surprisingly refreshing. On other tours I've been on, so much info is thrown at you in such a short period of time that it all runs together. With this tour, we still got in a good number of stops with a couple of additional tales without feeling  overwhelmed.  Plus, there was ample opportunity to take as many pictures as you'd like without feeling rush.  They do, however, ask you to refrain from recording the actual storytelling, due to copyright issues.

Throughout our jaunt around town, we learned the tale of Gallus Meg, a no-nonsense tavern keeper who is still making sure men who come to have a drink at the Blue Post behave themselves.  We heard the touching tale of a dog who refused to leave her owner's side, even in death.  The pair are still sometimes seen walking the streets of Wilmington, side by side.  We made a stop at the Burgwin-Wright House and even experienced the ungodly phantom stench that seems to be associated with the location's paranormal reputation.  Our next stop on the tour was at the local modern library which housed a painting with a mind of its own.  That was a really interesting tale that tied directly to the racial tensions in Wilmington during the Race Riots of 1898.  And finally, we ended the night in the world's creepiest alley/tunnel behind a former hospital where overnight visitors often report seeing children playing, hearing their laughter, and even feeling their tiny hands pressing down on them while in bed.  As I find the time, I hope to give each one of these locations (and a few more in the area!) their own blog posts.

Overall, I was very pleased with the experience, and I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone visiting Wilmington.  Our tour guide was obviously passionate about teaching the history of this fascinating former pirate town through a fun and spooky way.  He was knowledgeable, and really knew how to work a mixed-age crowd so that it was enjoyable for everyone.  However, one cool aspect of the this particular tour is that each one is a little different.  Each  tour guide has his/her own way of telling the stories, and not all tours stop at the exact same locations. So, you can definitely take the tour multiple times for a totally different experience. And, I personally thought that the price was very fair for a little under 2 hours of entertaining storytelling.

If you cannot make it to Wilmington, or if you simply want a taste of what you might experience while on the Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington, consider picking up a copy of the book, Ghosts of Old Wilmington, by John Hirchak!  Hirchak is the creator of the tour, and his book gives a really nice glimpse into some of the local legends you might hear on your tour. It makes a great companion piece to the tour, and can be purchased, along with other tour merchandise, in person at the Black Cat Shoppe or online.  

Theresa's Travels: The Museum of the Bizarre

It's been awhile since I've posted a Weird Wednesday blog and you can't get much weirder than the Museum of the Bizarre!

The Museum of the Bizarre, located in historic downtown Wilmington, N.C., was one of my favorite stops on our recent Wilmington/Carolina Beach trip.  For just a few bucks per person, my son, my boyfriend, and myself were able to spend an enjoyable hour or so perusing the oddities and other attractions that make up the Museum of the Bizarre.

I had first learned about the collection from Jacob the Carpetbagger, one of my all-time favorite YouTubers. Jacob posted a video about his travels to this unique Wilmington museum back in September of 2017...WELL before we decided to visit the area for vacation this summer.  However, when my boyfriend announced that he'd found us a great rental house in nearby Carolina Beach, I remembered the video and immediately put a stop at the Museum of the Bizarre on our itinerary!

Because I had enjoyed the video so much and knew this was a location I definitely wanted to check out, I didn't start reading the reviews from other visitors until after we had visited.  Don't get me wrong...the reviews aren't BAD, but a lot of people tended to focus on the size of the collection.  Admittedly, when we entered the museum, we were under the impression that there was going to be a lot more...so we were disappointed when we realized that the entire collection was just in the big room as you walk in.

And although I would have LOVED to see many more strange and unusual artifacts, I still had an awesome time.  The collection of strange and bizarre items housed at the museum is from the personal collection of owner, Justin LaNasa. As the story goes, when LaNasa, a local tattoo artist, was about to get married, his future bride gently suggested that his collection of anatomical specimens, taxidermy animals, horror movie props, etc. should be housed somewhere outside their home.  At the suggestion of a friend who owned the former serpentarium next door (which is now unfortunately closed down), the Museum of the Bizarre was born.  It opened its doors in April of 2015.

I think when you take into consideration that the items are simply the collection of one enthusiastic collector, the lack of size isn't an issue.  Plus, what the collection lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality!  Obviously, I'm a weird chick.  My boyfriend is a little more mainstream than myself, but he still appreciates unique history and offbeat attractions.  My son simply just gets dragged to wherever the rest of us choose to go.  Yet, we all found things in the collection that were of interest to us!

We accidentally caught the cursed clown doll in the Photo Op spot of the stocks!

I was drawn to the more 'spooky' attractions.  Housed in the collection were plaster casts of Yeti and Bigfoot footprints.  There was an old Bozo the Clown doll with a sign warning visitors not to look it directly in the eye because it was cursed.  We saw a mummified Chupacabra hand and the signal lantern involved in the famous Maco Lights haunting.  There was even a Ouija Board owned by Houdini.  I also thought the signs posted throughout the museum noting that this was a haunted museum, so don't be surprised if you heard any weird noises, were pretty awesome.

Aaron is a huge fan of Houdini, so he too enjoyed the Ouija Board, as well as the specimen of Alexander Hamiliton's hair.  Other notable exhibits included a crystal skull, shrunken heads, a two-headed calf, tons of movie props, a Hand of Glory, a Freemason alter, and a variety of stuff in jars, lol.  There was also an extremely large 'Fiji Mermaid,' which allegedly was found at nearby Ft. Fisher.

My son, Luke, for some reason, got pretty freaked out while we were there.  Luckily, for an extra couple of dollars, he was able to explore the Hall of Mirrors exhibit (mirror maze) and also play unlimited games on the floor projector.  There was comfortable seating to wait in while Luke played, FREE ice pops, and a small gift shop where I picked up a sticker and some postcards.  Several of the exhibits were interactive, and even though photography of the collection was largely prohibited, there were a few photo op spots where you could take pictures.

I wish photography of the exhibits was allowed, because there was some really cool stuff in there that I would have loved to share with you all---but check out the video below to get an idea of what's there.  Overall, however, this was a really cool little spot in downtown Wilmington, N.C. There is so much to see and do in the Wilmington area, especially if you appreciate things supernatural and/or strange, and a stop to the Museum of the Bizarre makes a great part of any day trip to the city. 

Ghosts of Old Wilmington: Book Review

Title: Ghosts of Old Wilmington

Author: John Hirchak

Published by Haunted America, a Division of The History Press (6th printing: 2012)

Purchase Information from the Black Cat Shoppe

Despite my already extensive collection of regional ghost books from the Carolina Coast area, during my vacation I just had to pick up another!  The selection I chose was, of course, Ghosts of Old Wilmington, by John Hirchak.

So, our second full day of vacation was another day full of morning thunderstorms and rain on and off throughout the afternoon. After braving the lake that had formed overnight in the parking area of our rental house, we decided that since we were getting a late start, we might as well go into Wilmington for a few hours. One of the locations that I was really excited to visit was The Black Cat Shoppe, which I learned later was actually owned by the author!  Anyway, among the souvenirs I picked up there was this book, and its probably my favorite thing I bought on our whole vacation.  I tore through it that night.

At 128 pages, it was naturally a pretty short read, but it was also well written and entertaining. I also had an added layer of excitement---driving around town a bit that day, I had seen some of the locations mentioned as being haunted AND I knew that I'd likely be seeing even more in a few days when we went on the Ghosts of Old Wilmington Ghost Walk (which will be another upcoming blog post!). That made the stories really come alive for me since I knew I either had been or would be standing right by these places discussed in the book.

The book, Ghosts of Old Wilmington, reminds me a LOT of Ghosts of Old Wilmington, the ghost tour...and for good reason.  John Hirchak and his family started the ghost walk.  The collected stories and even the way they are told are similar throughout both the tour and this book, meant as a companion piece to the tours...but there are differences.  Not all the stories in the book will be told on your tour and not all stories on the tour are found in this book---so definitely don't think one can replace the other. 

If you do find yourself with a copy of Ghosts of Wilmington, you'll read tales of Samuel Jocelyn, who was buried alive in a local church cemetery; Gallus Meg, a rough tavern owner who is still assuring men follow the rules of her establishment; a ghost that likes to leave dimes with significant dates on them as presents; and plenty of others. There is a good mix of history thrown in, but not to the point where it bogs down the spooky stories.  Most, if not all, the stories found in the book are made even more interesting because they are from locations that are either open to the public, or publicly accessible in some way.

Even if you don't plan on visiting Wilmington, I'd still suggest this book.  There are some pretty fascinating stories that run a little deeper than the normal "footsteps were heard" type of haunting that is so often written about.  Wilmington is a cool little city, full of history and strangeness, and this book is a fun representation of some of its citizens that refuse to leave their southern home. 

BONUS BOOK PORN

New spooky books from Wilmington/Carolina Beach Vacation

Aaron got me these Wilmington/Carolina Beach books for Mother's Day to get me excited for our upcoming vacation

I already owned quite a few books ghost books about North Carolina, including one on the ship, the USS North Carolina!