I Went Looking for Ghosts and Found Something Heavier

A Night in Abbeville

Last summer, an old friend and I were discussing our mutual interest in the paranormal. We decided we wanted an adventure. I had a doctor’s appointment scheduled in the Greenville, SC area. My friend discovered that the most haunted hotel in South Carolina was the Belmont Inn, located in Abbeville, SC and not too far from where I needed to go for my appointment.

When we arrived to the hotel, the energy was pleasant. We went to our room and realized there wasn’t much to do in Abbeville. In the spirit of the reason for our trip, we sought out more adventure and decided we wanted to go to a cemetery, specifically the most haunted cemetery in town. My friend looked it up and found that Upper Long Cane Cemetery was known to be the most haunted cemetery in Abbeville.

Abbeville, SC is considered the “Birthplace and Deathbed of the Confederacy”. It is also considered the “Cradle of the Confederacy”. I did not know this until recently, and it validates my experience. The square of downtown Abbeville was home to a couple of the most notorious events of the Civil War. On November 22, 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union on what is called “Secession Hill”. Secession Hill is known to be close to the intersection of Branch Street and Secession Avenue if you were to visit today. In May of 1865, the President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, held his last council meeting for the war at the Burt-Stark Mansion and this meeting marks the end of the Confederate government.

The Search — What We Found Before We Even Arrived

My friend and I knew nothing about Upper Long Cane Cemetery when she did her research. The cemetery dates back to 1760. Many historical persons are buried there, including former United States government officials, a Confederate general, judges, preachers, doctors, and soldiers who served in almost every war dating back to the American Revolutionary War. I was excited to visit a place so rich in history.

I was also looking forward to exploring the grave sites. There is so much to be inferred about a person based on the presentation of their grave-whether they were rich, middle class, or poor, if they had children, what they did for a living, their religious beliefs, ethnicity, what language they spoke, and even down to whether or not they loved music or enjoyed literature. Sometimes graves tell what people look like, either through monument or photograph. Graves tell stories, and I think that’s why I’ve always been fascinated by them, apart from the possibility of a paranormal experience.

First Impressions

It was late at night when we arrived to the cemetery. I can’t remember the exact time, but I believe it was after midnight. The cemetery does not have lighting, so it was pitch black. My friend and I had to use the flashlights on our phones to navigate and see where we were walking. We didn’t get too far into the cemetery when I noticed my excitement start to curdle. My heart began to race and fear coursed through my body at every step. I didn’t feel safe, and it wasn’t because I was in a cemetery at night. I’ve been to several cemeteries at night in my life and have never felt impending doom like I felt at Upper Long Cane Cemetery. What was supposed to be a thrill suddenly felt dangerous.

The Discovery That Changed Everything

I voiced my concern to my friend and asked if she was feeling the same way. She wasn’t. She was busy researching individuals buried in the cemetery and finding their grave sites. One of the common things we began to notice was that there were flat gravestones, some unmarked and others engraved with details of the individuals buried, behind more extravagant family grave sites. My friend discovered that those graves were the sites of enslaved people who had been buried behind their enslavers.

All of a sudden the energy shift made sense. There, in that moment, I began to realize what kind of people were buried in the cemetery and how much human suffering had occurred at their discretion. I began to think of the beatings and sexual abuse that the enslaved were subjected to, only to be buried behind their enslavers like dogs buried in an owner’s backyard. They didn’t even have the freedom to choose where they would get to rest.

Leaving Differently Than I Came

I finally convinced my friend to leave and I couldn’t get to the vehicle fast enough. I thought my anxiety would ease once we left, but it stayed with me throughout the night and I dealt with a lot of negative emotions into the next day. My spirit felt heavy.

I thought we would be visiting the cemetery for a haunting, but what I experienced was more real and human than I expected. Of course, I was haunted by my experience, but that’s not exactly what I was looking for in our adventure. I became haunted by humanity’s cruelty, not a spirit. Maybe what the cemetery was asking of me as its visitor was to notice those who often go unnoticed and to acknowledge their suffering. I don’t know if I was ready for this experience, but I will never forget it.

The Afterthought

Ever since my visit to Upper Long Cane Cemetery I have carried a greater respect for the stories of those who have preceded us. Stories build connection and we remain connected to the past through memories. Memories eventually dissipate when the person who holds them loses the ability to have them or passes on, but there will always be stories to carry life from generation to generation.