Boo! (Did You Look?)

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:Yeah, I'm not sure about this. I know there are more things on heaven and earth than are found in my philosophy, but...

On the other hand, some times I know things, and figure out things, that there's no way for me to know or figure out. And have you ever seen the Wim Wenders movie Wings of Desire? I ask you. Does that make sense or what?  (I am haunted by it, in the best way.)

On the other hand, there's coincidence.  And you know, physics.

So you know Susan Boyer. Yeah, trust me. This is gonna be good. And at the end, we have questions.

All the Ghosts In Charleston

  by Susan Boyer

I’m often asked if I believe in ghosts. One of my secondary characters, Colleen, is a guardian spirit. She’ll tell you in a skinny minute that she’s not a ghost, nor is she an angel. The distinction between a guardian spirit and a ghost, says Colleen, is that guardian spirits have passed on the next world and been sent back with a mission. Ghosts are spirits unable to move on from this world after their bodies expire. Angels are whole nother creatures.

But Colleen tells me there are enough ghosts in Charleston, South Carolina to populate a small city, and I believe her. It makes sense to me that people would have a hard time leaving Charleston. And there’s so much history there. The notion of spirits from all different eras existing in the same place has captured my imagination. I did quite a lot of research on these incorporeal beings for my new book.

Most of the resident spirits are well behaved, quietly going about their business trying to resolve whatever issue holds them in this world. Others have achieved rock star status. People pay money to go on tours just hoping to catch a glimpse of them.

I’ve never actually seen one of the more famous apparitions, but it’s not for lack of trying. I take my time in the ladies room on the second floor at Poogan’s Porch trying to meet Zoe Saint Amand, one of the two sisters who lived in the Victorian house in the French Quarter before it became the landmark restaurant. I’ve heard the stories of her appearing there. But then, it’s also said that she walks right in the front door and sits at a table like any customer would do. Zoe died in 1954.

I’d love to meet Zoe Saint Amand, or perhaps Nettie Dickerson, the beautiful courtesan who haunts The Dock Street Theatre—in her day, (her body gave up the ghost in 1843 as a result of a lightning strike) the building was the bawdy Planters’ Hotel. 

But I’ll tell you right now, I have no interest in laying eyes on the headless torso who occupies room eight at the Battery Carriage House Inn. (There are several theories about who this gentleman is, or was rather. The one that makes the most sense to me is that he was a Confederate soldier.)

Several famed specters hang out at the Unitarian Graveyard, and I spent many recent afternoons wandering its paths. I also went at night during one of the ghost tours. Sadly, the spirits were quiet that evening, but it was plenty eerie.

HANK:  What about you Reds and readers? Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever seen one?  
And we hope you have a lovely ghost-free holiday weekend...unless they're invited!  (What are your plans?)

Susan M. Boyer writes the USA TODAY Bestselling Liz Talbot mystery series. Her debut novel, Lowcountry Boil, won the Agatha Award for Best First Novel and garnered several other awards and nominations. Lowcountry Bookshop, the seventh Liz Talbot mystery, will be released May 29. Susan loves beaches, Southern food, and small towns where everyone knows everyone and everyone has crazy relatives. You’ll find all of the above in her novels. 



Private Investigator Liz Talbot is back in the seventh installment of Susan M. Boyer’s USA TODAY bestselling mystery series, Lowcountry Bookshop.

The Charleston streets are flooded by the combination of an epic downpour and King Tide. Late at night, Phillip Drayton is struck by a car and killed In front of his home along the historic Battery. When the police arrived, Poppy Oliver is on the scene. Is she a good Samaritan or his abused wife’s accomplice? A wealthy, anonymous benefactor hires Liz Talbot and Nate Andrews to prove Poppy’s innocence.

From a risqué exclusive club in an old plantation, to an upscale resale shop in the historic King Street shopping district, to a charming bookshop along the waterfront, Liz tracks a group of women who band together to help victims of domestic violence. In her most challenging case yet, Liz fears that even though she may find a killer, justice will be elusive.

Charlestown By Flickr: Spencer Means - https://www.flickr.com/photos/hunky_punk/7022019791/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33514905

spectre: Photo courtesy: Copyright: katalinks / 123RF Stock Photo