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Mandatory Meet Up - Episode 1
19 Plays10 months ago
Hey Y'all! We are Cristy and Rachel, two best friends in our 30s who decided to start a podcast!
In this episode we give you a little bit of insight into who we are and discuss our goals for this pod. We hope you will join us each episode!
We also wanted to celebrate Spooky Season with some South Carolina legends and haunts with some personal experiences thrown in!
Find us on social Media:
Tiktok @ Mandatory Meet up
Instagram @ Mandatory Meet Up!
If you are able, please help support those that have been affected by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton:
https://www.gofundme.com/s?q=first+responders&c=2&time-period=
https://www.gofundme.com/f/fuel-helicopters-to-save-nc-mountain-communities
https://www.gofundme.com/f/helping-hurricane-milton-victims-in-tampa
Transcript
Podcast Introduction and Friendship
00:00:29
Speaker
And welcome to mandatory makeup. I'm
00:00:55
Speaker
of watching the dawn of AI, I don't know everything, from like, from middle school we found each other all the way into like, major womanhood.
00:01:18
Speaker
yeah because you know we've had so much fun together but even though we've been besties for almost our entire life it gets harder and harder to spend time together so we um you know we've tried so hard to make sure we dedicate time to each other, but we, you know, we struggle with
Impact of Pandemic on Meeting
00:01:39
Speaker
it. So we've had to deal with the pandemic and we've not always lived in the same place. um But even when we live right down the road from each other, life gets in the way. So we have a hard time sometimes just making ourselves get there.
Motherhood and Self-Care
00:01:55
Speaker
Exactly. Being mothers is super, super hard, especially when you want to try to take yourself for and put yourself first.
Mental Health and Supportive Communities
00:02:30
Speaker
some amazing stories and Give you all a little insight into who we are, basically.
00:02:38
Speaker
We um both have also struggled with some mental health issues throughout our life and probably will continue to struggle with them for the rest of our lives. So we, you know, um feel that it's important to talk about them because We've been luckyily lucky enough to see that more and more people are talking about it and taking away a lot of the stigmas that have to do with it. And there's more communities out there that allow us to have a safe place to be open about it. But at the same time, we still, you know, there's still so many stigmas and
00:03:13
Speaker
so many things surrounding mental health. So we want to share our experiences with what we've had and be an open place for others who might also relate and want to find a community that they can find that's a safe place and with some fun and silly women. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. We just want a fun and safe space for
00:04:11
Speaker
We want to have a creative space for everyone to come to. And I think that's really important, especially as a mother, especially as just a woman in this country in general, we need to support each other. And that's what we're here for. Yes, we are definitely a group of people that like to fix each other's crowns and lift each other up and um not to let other people know that your crown was even uh, askew in the first place and try to be there to support each other. Um, while we focus on ourselves as well, because we are important too, and we do matter. And even though we are mothers and we have responsibilities outside of ourselves, if we're not taking care of ourselves, we can't take care of them like they deserve. So we have to secure our own life best first. Yeah.
Hurricane Helene Impact
00:05:00
Speaker
yeah But I think before we go any further, we do want to acknowledge um some stuff that's been going on ah pretty locally to us and near and dear to our hearts. um As I'm sure everyone knows, um the Hurricane Helene had come through and just destroyed parts of Florida and Georgia, North Carolina especially.
00:05:25
Speaker
ah parts of Tennessee and even parts of Northern South Carolina. So it has been absolutely devastating. um are um Our, I'm already coming to tears, but just seeing all the things that everyone has been going through and um you know i I've been in those mountains and I love those mountains and the people that are there um and i you know I have a high school friend, we have a high school friend that just moved out to that area a couple years ago and is dealing with this absolute nightmare right now. and Yeah, the mountains are very dear to
00:06:10
Speaker
to us because when you grow up in Myrtle Beach, you just want to go to the mountains because that's where vacation is right. But it's not just vacation spot for us. Like we literally spent all of our our lives. I'm currently up there all the time. I got married in Gatlinburg and I would go camping up there with my family. It's just very It's so sad what's happening up there. And it's so because it's like, what can you do when you're so
Fundraising for Victims
00:06:54
Speaker
far away? So donate, which is another part we're going to get to. We have a little funding. And we're going to post it on all of our socials to see, you know,
00:07:04
Speaker
to help donations for anyone who needs it up there. Kristina is more about that and she'll be able to tell you more about that. But um, I just want to let you know that we are, we are truly thinking of you. We're going to do whatever we can to help as much as we can. And, um, I hope that everyone up there stays safe and I, we're thinking about you and it's just the whole thing. It's just so devastating. It really is.
00:07:30
Speaker
Yeah, there's like you said, it's there's just no words. And it's just so heartbreaking. And um yeah, so we I have not set up my own GoFundMe, um just to be clear, but I did hear um of and someone shared with me a GoFundMe for um some of the first responders and rescuers that are working up in that area.
00:07:53
Speaker
so they are um taking donations so that they can help people because they are literally having to cut down trees to get through. The roads are completely gone in lots of places so they're having to ah swim across the raging rivers that are still, I mean they've receded quite a bit thankfully, but they're still high in some places and um just to get to areas because they're just impossible. There are some places where there's just no roads to get there anymore and it is ah just ah the worst case scenario. so
00:08:34
Speaker
We will definitely share um that GoFundMe. And if we find any others um that we can tell that have been um good places to donate, um you know, I don't know. I'm not up there, so I don't know what's happening. But we've heard some things that some of the government agencies are stepping in and ah taking or you know, trying to take to allocate funds and stuff. So we're trying to find some GoFundMe stuff. Yeah, if you don't know of anyone that, any GoFundMe's, if you're listening to our pod and you know that, then please share it with us. Like hit us up on like TikTok, Instagram. Let us know of all these GoFundMe's because we'll post them and we'll share them and try to help as many people as we can from where we are.
00:09:25
Speaker
There's, um, that's really important because we definitely want to help and we definitely want to, you know, help as much as we can, right you know, from the distance that we're at. So y'all, y'all know of any.
00:09:39
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. We want the funds to go directly to the people as much as we can. Like we don't want it to go to a government agency to then have to figure out where it's going to go. We want it to go right into the source. Right. Yeah, exactly. You want to go directly to the source. So just to share them with us if you know of any, because we'll definitely post them and do the best we can to help in that manner. Right. For sure.
00:10:07
Speaker
Yeah, so, um, sorry. Yeah, a higher weight
Hosts' Backgrounds and Work-Life Balance
00:10:15
Speaker
ah so, yes, but, um, yeah, so we want this episode, um, to just kind of give you a little bit of background about who we are, kind of what we want, um, to do with our podcast. And then, um, a little bit later we have some, um, local legends and,
00:10:36
Speaker
South Carolina spooky stories to get into. um So that will be fun since this is October and we are both spooky queens and we love everything to do with the Halloween. but Happy Halloween everyone out there. Yeah. What are you and Chris going to be for Halloween this year?
00:10:58
Speaker
We are doing Beetlejuice and Lydia um in the red wedding scene. Nice. So me and Rama are going back and forth, but we're going to do Fred Flintstone and Wilma Flintstone. We're going to be in Flintstones. Cute. Yeah, I've got the whole like headpiece and everything. I'm going to look ridiculous, but I can't wait. I'm excited. Oh, man. That makes me want to do the Simpsons one year. Oh, my god yeah. That would be cool.
00:11:27
Speaker
That would be cool with Bard and Marge. Marge, right? Yeah, that would be cool. Yeah. That would be cool. I don't know what Bryon's going to be for Halloween, so I haven't decided what he wants to be for Halloween yet, so we'll figure that out. Yeah. I think Brenna is going as one of the characters from My Hero. Oh nice, yeah. And then Brenna, or Haven, is going as a vampire. Yeah, I remember she told me about that. She's excited about her costume this year.
00:12:12
Speaker
start a podcast. It's been a lot of fun, but it's been a lot of trial and error. So for now we're just very new. We're called newbies is what my son was called noobs. So that's what we are right now.
00:12:25
Speaker
um We're very much learning as we go, and we're hoping to find a rhythm and a good community to where, you know, we're all,
00:13:08
Speaker
Yes, exactly. And so if you are interested, we definitely want you to join us. So please interact with our content if you see it wherever you are, if you are watching on YouTube, if you are listening um on a podcast,
00:13:25
Speaker
However, you are enjoying this. I really hope you are enjoying this. But however, please interact with it. So every single platform has a different thing. So if you can like it, give it a like. If you can rate it, give it a rating. um You know, any of those things. And please share it. So if you know anyone that would be looking for something fun to listen to and to join us. And yeah, we want you to interact and um let us know that you're enjoying it. If you're on YouTube, leave us a comment.
00:14:08
Speaker
we'll get started we'll definitely be sharing more as we go for sure but um so i'm christy i will um and 37 um will be 38 i was born in december
00:14:33
Speaker
um Yes. We're trying! I'm trying. Aiming for it. I'm aiming for it, we'll say.
00:14:50
Speaker
But getting there, my thirties have been the best years of my life. So I feel much more like myself. I definitely have a lot more confidence in myself and I'm working on everything else. So it's getting there. But yeah, so um I was born in Pennsylvania, but um my mom and I moved down to South Carolina when I was four years old.
00:15:14
Speaker
And I grew up on the Grand Strand outside of Myrtle Beach. um And I spent um all of my years going to school and everything here in Myrtle Beach. I did spend um my vacations from school and breaks from school um up in Pennsylvania while I was growing up.
00:15:32
Speaker
And then I moved to Charleston in the Charleston area in 2016 with my children and dogs and my spouse. um So I have two children, two girls. I have a 10-year-old. Her name is Brenna, and I have a 14, almost 15-year-old, which is crazy. And her name is Haven. ah She is so excited to turn 15 and get her permit, which is terrifying. um If you are from the Charleston area, you know how terrible our traffic is. And to think of my child out there in that mess is scary. So yeah, I'm sure anybody, if you ah also have a teen, you probably can relate to that feeling. um And Chris and I have been together for 13 years. This past September, we celebrated our 13th anniversary.
00:16:28
Speaker
Um, I work remote. Um, so I've been working from home since 2018, which has been, you know, it comes with its ups and downs, but I love it. I so hope I never have to work in the office again. As much as, as much as I love my coworkers, which, um, I finally am the last couple of years. Once I found this company that I've been with, um, I finally can say that I absolutely love my job.
00:16:58
Speaker
I love the people that I work with, I love what I do um and it's really awesome to be a part of a team that is supportive and um cares about your work-life balance. The other day I did not sleep because I just could not stop thinking about the hurricane and I was watching every single reel and video that I could of all the people up there. And just I stayed up all night and I was just a mess. And the next day when I came in, I actually had a scheduled meeting with my manager. um And I had, you know, I've been sharing because they've been asking as well. Most of the people I work with are up in Pennsylvania. So or up in up north or scattered around the country. But there I don't think there's anyone else in South Carolina was our company, at at least not that I know of. um
00:17:48
Speaker
But I digress, which I am really good at doing. But um I had my one on one with my manager um after I had kind of shared about it and she shared with me, um which i I know, but it's always nice to hear it. But, um you know, she's like, you got to take a break and don't you can't absorb every single video and you can't watch every single thing because it will you can't I can't do anything. I can't go up there and I am gonna give what I can, um but you know.
00:18:19
Speaker
I, it was overwhelming and heartbreaking. And um so I had to take a pause, which I felt guilty doing, but for my own mental wellbeing. um And she told me, she's like, I want you to um try. She's like, you know, try to take the afternoon if you feel like you're coming down and you're really starting to crash and stuff. She's like, I want you to take the afternoon and ah just go rest and we'll be fine here. And so I, you know, was like, yeah, yeah, of course. and But I actually was able to get my work to a place where I was fine. what you know If I left, it wasn't going to hurt anything. and um So I reached out to her and I was fading fast. like I could feel i being up all night long. I was crashing really fast. and
00:19:04
Speaker
It was like two or three o'clock in the afternoon, and which my day wasn't too much farther from being over anyways. So I messaged her and was like, um I think I am going to take the rest of the afternoon off because I'm fading. And she's like, I'm so glad you listened to me. Good night. And I was like, it's so nice to be in a place that they like care about that stuff. Like, I've had so many jobs where they'd be like, oh, you're throwing up. I don't care. Get back to work. Like, you know, so.
00:19:32
Speaker
It's nice to finally have somewhere that they care about, too. So, ah yeah, that's my tangent. I met you at like, what, 4.35 in the morning? I was like, I just got a tornado message that it was hitting your area. Are you okay? Are you safe? What's going on? I was freaking out internally because I was like, if I have to get up and drive like a maniac to go get you and your fam, bitch, you're coming with. like The kids are going in
00:20:30
Speaker
night. And it bothered him with it all. He was like, I'm just gonna go back to sleep. Like, how can you, one, how can you sleep without a fan? I have to have a fan blowing in my face at all times
00:21:16
Speaker
I'll dodge through it. I'll swim around if I got to you. So yeah.
00:21:23
Speaker
Yeah, that was wild. Yeah, Chris, I was i would not have woken up. um I guess my alert emergency alerts were set to quiet because they did not go like I had them on my phone, but the alarms didn't sound, and I was out. But Chris chris was up the whole night, and um he came in and woke me up. And at first, waking up out of a dead sleep was someone who's like,
00:21:48
Speaker
Hey, wake up. And I was like, what what the hell? And then I was like, it's dark, but what is happening? And um he's like, there's a tornado. And I was like, Oh, shit. Okay. So then I was like instantly awake. And um yeah, we got in the bathroom. Luckily, nothing. I don't know.
00:22:10
Speaker
Um, where, I know there was, um, at least a cyclone activity around us, but I don't know if anything actually touched down here, but they, then at the same time, it was just like, they were spotting it all around us and on the beach. And, um, I saw when it went up towards, um, Myrtle beach, I saw some pictures of some, uh, one actual cyclone off the water.
00:22:39
Speaker
I think on the I did see that too. Yeah. Yeah. A little bit my 40s, it'll be fabulous. Who knows? We're not that far. I was born in a little town called King Street.
00:23:07
Speaker
in South Carolina, but I was raised in Dirty Myrtle, if you know,
00:23:38
Speaker
right before the pandemic hit. We literally had a summer where we were like having a great time
00:24:29
Speaker
me. and Groucho. And I have a kitty cat named Beaks who is like my little bundle of like good luck. I love him. He's eight years old now, but
00:25:02
Speaker
And you from the South, you know, like there's just nothing like the South, really, there junior high school, the Academy of Art, Science, and Technology, both pre-med students. Yeah, a long way, represent.
00:25:30
Speaker
So, yeah, it's been a long time, it's been a long time. Can you believe our 25-year high school graduation anniversary? Like, are your reunions next year? It's been 25 years. We graduated high school in 2005. 25 years. I cannot fathom that. It doesn't feel like it's been that long.
00:25:53
Speaker
No, it doesn't. Sometimes it feels like it was like just yesterday, but then also I can feel all the measures. Yeah,
00:26:18
Speaker
It really is. And I feel like since we've had kids, it just got more and more fast. Yours wants to drive, mine wants to drive, but they both want to start working. I'm like, no, you don't. You don't want to get sucked into that. Just enjoy your childhood while it lasts. It's going to go by so quick. right and But they want they want to get their permits. My son's only a year behind David. So it's like yeah watching it happen in real time with you. And then it's like, I'm right there. like Bryson started in high school next year. I even started this year. So it was like, oh my gosh. I remember being a freshman in high school and
00:27:04
Speaker
They really do. It's wild. and i yeah So to start things off, um we wanted to do some spooky
Lavinia Fisher's Story: Fact or Folklore?
00:27:15
Speaker
stuff. So we put together a couple local stories and haunts and legends. um So to kick things off, we're going to start with the story of Lavinia Fisher. um And she gained the notorious title of America's first female serial killer.
00:27:35
Speaker
The story of Lavinia Fisher, which she was also known as Lovely Lavinia, um is quite a common ghost story to the locals of Charleston, South Carolina. The thing with some widely known ghost stories is that over time, they become more and more like an endless game of telephone, where each retelling may shift and change the truth that fits the storyteller's narrative.
00:28:03
Speaker
Lavinia has been given the title, America's first serial killer, but her story may not be as it seems. She was born around 1793 and there was very little documented about her life before the events that took place in 1819 when the story of her life and death became local legend. Lavinia was born and grew up in and around the outskirts of Charleston. This is also where she would meet her husband, John Fisher.
00:28:37
Speaker
They both were said to be remarkably attractive and charming, both separately and as a couple. The fishers would eventually purchase and operate an inn on the outskirts of Charleston, where they offered a place for weary travelers to grab a quick bite while their horses were watered and fed, or even for a place to stay for the night before heading back on their way to or from Charleston. The inns were also a common place um for illicit activities, including gambling and paying for a partner for the evening, if you catch my drift.
00:29:14
Speaker
If you're familiar with Charleston, this may not be new information, but the city has been one of the busiest ports in the country since the founding of America, and it continues to grow to this day. In the state um oh in the start of the 19th century, being a busy port, the second busiest at the time, only behind New York City, meant that there were constant cargo wagons full to the brim with different goods being pulled to and from Charleston.
00:29:45
Speaker
Many of the busier cities around the country would have inns at different mile markers and to keep things simple, they would name the inns after the mile marker in which they resided.
00:29:58
Speaker
John and Lavinia Fisher operated the Six Mile Wayfarer House, which was located six miles north of Charleston. Also at this time, our country still had enslaved people, and Charleston's population was half made up of enslaved and free people of color, and was the only city in the country where those enslaved outnumbered the um enslavers The absolute disparity between those that have and those that have not was atrocious, with the top 4% of owners holding more than 50% of the wealth of the city. Then the War of 1812 caused the U.S. to experience an even worse economic downturn which resulted in the Panic of 1819, which some economists call the very first Great Depression.
00:30:51
Speaker
So while a lot of what I just said doesn't directly correlate to John and Lavinia, I do feel it's necessary um so that you understand the scene and what life was like at the time. And all of these different factors and many, um and a mostly enslaved and poor population being controlled by a very select few in a time where many, many people were in absolute desperate financial straits, crimes continue to rise and thieves became abundant.
00:31:20
Speaker
Highwaymen or gangs of thieves would wait on the roads in and out of Charleston to pillage the goods or to steal the earnings from the travelers' sales. These attacks on the travelers became worse and more frequent, causing the locals ah the local owners grief because it could possibly stop people from using Charleston to buy and sell and trade their goods if they are going to be attacked on their way in or out of the city and have their goods and or earnings taken anyways.
00:31:50
Speaker
There was even a report of a cow going missing on one of the farms and then there started to be rumors spreading that people people were also going missing from the Six Mile House. So the story goes that in 1819, Lavinia would use her goods, her good looks and charm to lure low
00:32:14
Speaker
She would use her good looks and charm to lure lone male travelers to come inside the inn for a bite to eat. While he ate, she would question him about his life. Why was he in town? Maybe was he here to buy and sell goods? Was he possibly wealthy? Would he have anybody that would miss him if he went missing and would it cause a stir?
00:32:36
Speaker
If she determined that he was a viable target, she would offer him a cup of her specially brewed tea. She would flirt and giggle along with the man making him feel comfortable and at ease while he sipped on his tea. But little did he know that her special brew contained deadly oleander. The tea would then cause the man to become drowsy so she would kindly help him to one of the inn's rooms to lie down.
00:33:02
Speaker
Once he would drift off, John, her husband, would enter the room and stab the man to death. The pair would then steal anything of value and dump the man's remains into the cellar. There's also a story or of retelling that states that once the man would actually drift off to sleep, that Lavinia would pull a lever, which collapsed the bed, and the floor would open up, causing the sleeping man to crash and plummet into a pit below. Wrong lever! I'm sorry!
00:33:40
Speaker
That's a crazy bitch right there. I had to say it. Can you imagine? That's some Sweeney Todd stuff. You know what I mean? Right? That's not like it pictured too. Yes. That's crazy.
00:34:01
Speaker
Yeah. So as these rumors were swirling around the owners of the siss Six Mile House, authorities were forced to investigate, but were never able to substantiate these rumors in the least. With nothing being done and more people being attacked and going missing, several locals decided to take things into their own hands.
00:34:24
Speaker
so an angry mob formed and began traveling out of the city towards the many inns at the different mile markers with the intent to find the alleged thieves and put a stop to things once and for all. The fisher and their crew heard the mob approaching and saw the smoke from the five mile house after the mob lit it on fire because the occupants would not vacate as they ah demanded by the mob.
00:34:48
Speaker
Once the mob approached the Fishers and the Six Mile House, they were also given the same order. Vacate the promises so we can search or we will burn the entire thing to the ground. So the so they all fled and once the mob searched and was satisfied that they didn't find anything, they left. But they did leave one member of the mob behind on the vacant property to stand guard and his name was Mr. David Ross.
00:35:15
Speaker
Once the mob had moved on, the residents of the Six Mile Helm came back and they found Mr. Ross alone. He would later recount that he was approached by the group who demanded him to leave. When he asked if he could get his things, he was told he would be shot. But then the Fishers arrived on the scene as well and attacked him, including Lavinia, forcing his head through a plate glass window.
00:35:41
Speaker
He did survive as I indicated and managed to escape and flee from the attack. The six mile house group pursued and John screamed at him, quote, you damned in feral, infernal rascal. If I ever catch you, I will give you a hundred lashes. That's an 1800 set too.
00:36:20
Speaker
it all he call me a rassal I wonder how insults were during that time, like the things that they would come up with and say, because I bet you they'd be ridiculous though.
00:36:55
Speaker
Listen to me. I always try to make a joke.
00:37:01
Speaker
That's okay. That's how we deal with life.
00:37:10
Speaker
He got to laugh at it. Yes. So shortly after all of this, um a John Peoples arrived at the Six Mile House to water and feed his horses. um I'm not exactly sure, but he seemed to be unaware of everything that was going on in the area. um So he just kind of arrived. But later in his affidit affidavit, David, he declared that he was ambushed by about nine to 10 people, including one woman.
00:37:47
Speaker
one yeah woman, who were all armed. He stated he could not describe or identify any of the assailants, but the group began to attack and beat him. He was able to get away on his wagon, but the two of the attackers followed on horseback and were able to stop and rob him at gunpoint. A little suspiciously, in my opinion, he wasn't able to identify the man who robbed him, but was able to later identify William Howard, John Fisher, and Lavinia Fisher in a lineup surrounding the incident.
00:38:18
Speaker
trying to escape
00:38:26
Speaker
I mean I guess he just showed up leaving and stopped to just do like he normally would but i how I mean the five if he was I don't know I that doesn't make any sense to me it seems like I wasn't there, obviously. I don't know. It seems that these people, I mean, I don't know. It seems like they were
00:39:10
Speaker
Supposedly he was just leaving, you know, traveling to or from Charleston with his horseback back and wagon to and stop there and then got attacked. But couldn't identify anybody. um And so to me it seems more like he was a plant.
00:39:29
Speaker
Because how would he have not known? If he was going to Charleston, the mob had left the six-mile home and was going to the seven-mile. So if he was coming to Charleston, he would have encountered the mob. But if he was coming from Charleston, they had already burned the five-mile house down and had come to the six-mile house. So if he was leaving, he would have seen that there was an angry mob going. So how would he have no idea that nothing was happening and just show up? That's a Spanish. To me, it seems like it was a Spanish. You know what I mean?
00:39:57
Speaker
Yeah. If you say you couldn't say anything, how can you know that it's her? You know what I mean? That's great. Right. it He couldn't, he wasn't able to describe anybody. He wasn't able to do anything. And then later on was like, Oh yeah, it was these three people were part of the 10 group.
00:40:26
Speaker
So you might be a little confused about the story because we did discolor the women serial killer, but then we're both like, we got your back. Um, so there's more to the story.
00:40:45
Speaker
that
00:40:48
Speaker
Yes. Just wanted to make that clear. All right.
00:40:54
Speaker
yeah
00:40:57
Speaker
So with the first twohand account or two accounts and some actual leads, the sheriff took the group of men out to the um to this sixm-mile house to arrest the group the next day, and they all surrendered immediately. So while searching the property, the sheriff's men found the skin of a cow matching that of one that was reported stolen.
00:41:23
Speaker
and with that search complete the group was uh the men and the sheriff's department set fire to the six mile house destroying everything inside that's a little extreme right that's the only evidence i found yeah that makes no sense men and their egos like it's a freaking cow skin though how you gonna set a whole house on fire for a cow skin let's do this Yes and I mean I guess they were using that to say that because they found like that was kind of being reported along the same time as all of the robberies and stuff are taking place so they tried to say that because one thing must mean the other which isn't the way things work.
00:42:12
Speaker
And nowadays, we actually have, you know, science and stuff that we can use too. Back in the day, all you had to do was say, oh, they're a witch, and you got to come up with a stake. Yeah, I got to keep remembering, like, times were way different back then. You know what I mean? Women didn't have a voice. Not only that, but people were very uneducated, and they just didn't have the resources like we do now. So that makes sense. That makes sense. But still, house Israel, come on, man. Yes. A whole house right now.
00:42:41
Speaker
Yes, that meant that they had searched and searched and searched. um And there was no evidence of anyone being dead in the house. There's no evidence of them keeping you know killing anybody. There was no evidence of the floor bright opening up and dropping into a pit. None of that stuff was real. um So.
00:43:04
Speaker
So the group was taken to Charleston's old city jail, which we will include some pictures of that. It's a really cool place. um We definitely have some stories about that. And that is how we kind of came to know about Lavinia is from the old city jail.
00:43:21
Speaker
Um, and so they were kept there to await trial. And that jail is, I mean, I don't know what it looked like back then, but it has been standing for quite a long time and it has been through, um, a lot and there's a lot of information about it. Okay. So the three, William Howard, John Fisher, and Lavinia Fisher were charged with common assault and assault with the attempt to murder and highway robbery. The murdered duo, buried duo were placed in a small holding cell together, which resulted in the pair along with another accomplice attempting to escape. But that would be, um, oh, but there would be a blanket sheet rope. that they had created ripped while John was scaling down the side and Lavinia was still inside the jail. So because she was still inside and their rope had broken, he would not leave and he just stayed on the outside until they came back and got him and brought him back inside.
00:44:24
Speaker
On January 17th of 1820, John and Lavinia were finally convicted of their charges of common assault and sought with the intent to murder against john against David Ross. excuse me They were additionally convicted of highway robbery against John Peoples, with highway robbery being a capital offense at the time. This meant that the Fishers had been given a death sentence.
00:44:48
Speaker
John spent his time before the execution date consulting with a pastor and seeking um some understanding and salvation. While Lavinia did not turn to religion, and she did believe that some divine power would prove her innocence and set them free, but no salvation came. And on February 18th of 1820, John and Lavinia were escorted from the old city jail to the gallows.
00:45:18
Speaker
The old story states that she donned her wedding dress but this has been added for effect in different stories as she did not have a white wedding dress because that was not an actual common practice um at the time and because um they had burned down their house and everything inside so there was no way for her to be donning her wedding dress.
00:45:42
Speaker
But once their carriage arrived at the gallows, John had resigned to his fate and exited the carriage and walked up to the gallows. But Lavinia was another story. She would not get out of the carriage. The guards eventually dragged her from the carriage while she was wailing.
00:46:01
Speaker
She began to beg and p plead to the crowd and her guards, alternating from pleading her innocence to cursing them, um and all of them stood silently with venomous insults and profanities being ah thrown at her. The gallows' pastor attempted to calm her to no avail, and she growled at him, quote, cease. I will have none of it. Save your words for others that want them. But if you have a message you want to send to hell, give it to me. I'll carry it.
00:46:32
Speaker
Then, with a noose around her neck, she leaped off the gallows, not allowing the sensors to take her life. ah delay that's true Which is not true.
00:46:43
Speaker
No. That has been part um of the stories. I didn't make that up. Lots of people say that. um No, she did not. She and John were both hung that day, unfortunately.
00:46:57
Speaker
But they were never charged with murder, and there was no evidence of any murder at all. So the mob had searched, the police had searched, and nothing was ever found. um They were only charged with the two attacks, which I also don't know if that is legit. I mean, the first one, when they came back to their house, the people who forced them to leave their house were still there.
00:47:23
Speaker
i can see them being pretty pissed off and chasing the person out of their house. um But the other person who supposedly came up, I don't know, might have been a plant. Probably was because, you know.
00:47:39
Speaker
the way it grows. So how did she get this notorious title? um You know, there is a lot of different things, um but I think most of it has to do with the fact that stories are more fanciful if you add some, you know, fun little spooky things here and there. And the facts, yeah, the facts were not as interesting if you just tell that these people were singled out and murdered.
00:48:07
Speaker
um and may not have done anything to have deserved to be killed for. um It's pretty wild. That is pretty wild. That's why i'm like I have her back. She
00:48:27
Speaker
Yep. Yeah, and she's known to be this notorious person, but we don't really know. um There was a little bit of talk that they may have been part of a gang, but there was still, like I said, like there was no evidence of anything. They came in and searched her house and left. Yeah, there was a doctor say. There was a word in her house. If they had been, yeah, if they had been robbing, where's all their stuff that they'd been robbing? Yeah. That's crazy. Yeah.
00:48:56
Speaker
So rest in peace to the Fishers. The next story we're going to talk about
Ghostly Legends of Olgun Church
00:49:51
Speaker
spiritual part of life, I guess you could say.
00:50:27
Speaker
know. I didn't know it was called the Chapel of Ease, but it does indeed carry a very haunting history that has given rise to many chilling tales over the years. It is located on St. Helena Island, which, you know, that it's a Georgetown area.
00:50:42
Speaker
Right, yes. And originally built in the 1740s to serve planners who lived from the far from the parish church as part of the parish community. And the chapel's eerie ruins still stand, which draws visitors who were intrigued by the legends that surround it. The church was used regularly until the Civil War and after the war it was abandoned.
00:51:21
Speaker
I mean, they're beautiful gravestones, but they're everywhere. The whole part, like the whole left side of this church is just a huge cemetery. And what makes the ruins particularly unsettling is that the fire that destroyed much of the church in the late 1800s leaving only in the skeletal remains. And like I said, if you've been there, you've seen it, the only thing that's remaining is the, what is it called? The steeple of the church? Yeah, the first steeple. Yeah, and the front face. And like many old abandoned places, stories
00:52:04
Speaker
whose obsession with purging evil became increasingly disturbing. While there are no official records of a reverend gun associated with the church, local law claims he performed strange rituals, rituals, can talk in the church, but believing the land to be cursed. Now I have looked into this further and I
00:53:46
Speaker
that they heard screams carried on in the wind, but no one dared to investigate until the next morning when the chapel was found reduced to smoldering whirlwind. Pretty interesting. No bodies were ever recovered from the fire fueling rumors that the people inside had been consumed by something other than flames. Over time, ah locals avoided the area saying that the visitors to Olgun Church report glitching
00:54:50
Speaker
I can definitely relate to that, and we both can. I know that you went there months before me, before you were actually the one who told me about blood on church. And i'm telling you should tell your story because yours is really interesting and I can tell mine because ours is really interesting too, to say the least.
00:55:10
Speaker
Yeah, um so the first time I went there was kind of funny because there was just a few of us, I think maybe two cars, maybe like six of us or so. And we didn't really know where it was located. um And, you know, this was a long time ago, so we didn't have Google in the same way that we do now. um And you couldn't just figure things out the same way that you can. So we knew that it was close to this other place called Lucas Bay, um which was another um road that was, you know, kind of between Conway, which is west of Myrtle Beach, and then between there and south of that, which is Georgetown, um there's just a lot of country and back roads, and you've got some, so ah the Petey River, I think, runs through there, and
00:56:04
Speaker
So there's just a lot of country back that way but um there was this road and so we had gone there and investigated never saw anything happening there but we've always been obsessed with finding out things about the paranormal and wanting to like experience them and see if we can debunk the things that we've seen and then like just try to get to know it um and understand it and been completely fascinated by it and so my the group I was with we started driving and we're like maybe we'll just find um where we're supposed to go um we didn't we ended up in Georgetown at Walmart and we just found some locals and we're like hey do you guys have you guys heard of World Gun Church and a couple people were like no
00:56:53
Speaker
um And then they're like, but I think I know somebody who does so they um we found somebody and they told us how to get to it um so we turned back around they got in the car and um so we came to the flashing light and we took a right and started driving down this road and I can't put it into the right depiction of how like eerie it is back there because on one side so the road is mostly dirt there's the first part of it is paved and then you go onto the dirt road um the whole right side of the road is mostly protected um like a nature preserve
00:57:37
Speaker
So there is people that live out there, and after you pass the church, once you, I mean it's several miles down the road, but once you pass the church and go many, many miles down, there's a community down there. um But I digress again, as we were driving down the road, it's pitch black. Like it was a night where there was no moon, I don't think.
00:58:01
Speaker
And all we had is our headlights on both sides of the road are these tall pine trees because it's, I mean, thick forest that's just left to grow. um So you just have this dirt road lined with pin pine trees.
00:58:16
Speaker
And it's just pitch black. And we're trying to find this thing. We had only heard of it, so we didn't know what it looked like back then. um So we didn't know what we're looking for. We're just looking for a church called Old Gun Church. So we um get finally, where we see the sign, um the historic landmark sign.
00:58:37
Speaker
And we're like, oh, yes, that's the name of the church. I can't remember what it's actually called because Old Gun Church is just a nickname that we said that the locals have given it. me Yeah, that sounds right. I don't remember. Yeah. Well, anyways, I did know that like I had pulled it up and um was able to find like the name of the actual church. So we um saw that and we turned our car yeah as we're pulling into the little area that you can park and our headlights flashed onto that
00:59:15
Speaker
um the front face and it's an old gothic church, old gothic style church and it was probably one of the scariest things I'd ever seen at the time. I was so scared because I mean it's just the middle of the woods, it's pitch black and then there's just this gothic church and the stone front and the steeple sticking out and um so we got out of the cars and I was the only one that really was into all of this stuff. I kind of convinced everyone else to go with me. So um some of the people that we're with were like, hell no, I'm not even getting out of the car. I'm good. Like, we're here. Go ahead. So um me and my ex at the time um were the only ones that actually went and explored. Everyone else stayed by the car. So um we got out.
01:00:06
Speaker
and went inside and we were um going up to the steeple to look at the church. I mean, it's so, like you said, eerily beautiful. It was, um it's just, you know, it just was breath ta is a barely breathtaking. breathtaking. I can't really explain it.
01:00:36
Speaker
Yes, I think just being out there like in the middle of nowhere and um being in the middle of the woods and like that adds to the spookiness of everything there but anyway so we got in and we're looking around and we just had our flashlights and um i you're able to walk through the front part and look up into the steeple So we looked up and we're shining our flashlights and I swear on my life I saw there is a spot up towards the top where the bell would have been kept where there's just a ledge that sticks out of the side um and there was a railing and just like an old beam really is like a railing and
01:01:27
Speaker
So we went in and we were moving the um flashlight around and I swear all my life that I saw at least the upper torso of a person like the shadowy figure. It was just you know I couldn't see a face or anything like that but it was definitely like the I could kind of make out arms and a head and it looked like the person kind of leaned over and looked at us and then leaned back away from the railing. um And I looked over at the person I was with and I was like, holy crap, did you see that? And they're like, see what? No. and And I was like, I swear, like I told him what I saw. And we were like trying and like moving our flashlights around and trying to like, you know, just see if it was
01:02:13
Speaker
maybe just a trick of that, you know, something I had seen while we were moving it, but I didn't see it do it again. um And then we Eventually we're like okay so we want to like explore the rest um of the area there and look over at the gravestones to see if we could find any soldiers or something. um So we went to the right side I think first and there was a few graves um and we couldn't really make anything out so we saw over on the left side like you had mentioned there was um a lot older looking stones it seemed and
01:02:50
Speaker
um So we had walked over to that side and we found one that looked really old but it was covered in a bunch of leaves and stuff so he had been down and was clearing it off and I was just standing there holding the flashlight and to my right into the darkness I heard what sounded like heavy footsteps.
01:03:13
Speaker
approaching. So at first, I was just like, maybe it's an animal, but it didn't sound like any animal footsteps I've heard. And if it had been, it would have had to have been a large animal because I've heard deer and stuff and they don't really make footsteps sounds as much. You'll hear like a twig break or the ruffle, rush, like ruffling of leaves, rustling, rustling. That's the word. Exactly.
01:03:43
Speaker
yeah so um so i heard it but i was just like maybe i'm hearing things at first um i wait a little bit i hear it again and it sounds like it's getting closer i waited a little bit still didn't say anything because i've just um try like i i do believe in the paranormal or whatever ghosts and all of that um but i still try not to be one of those people that automatically believes like oh i heard something it has to be a ghost like i tried to be reasonable and like try to figure out if there's anything else it could be be first like i'm gonna try to eliminate anything else possible before i jump to ghost so um
01:04:25
Speaker
But he stops. We figure out we're done looking. You know, our group is everyone's waiting on us anyway. So we felt a little bit of pressure to kind of get out of there. um So we start walking back towards the cars. And um I heard the footsteps multiple times getting closer and closer each time. Finally, he stops and looks at me and and then.
01:04:52
Speaker
just keeps walking and then he stops again and he's like I swear I keep hearing footsteps and I'm like okay we gotta get out of here because I've been hearing them for a while like I didn't say anything but while you were looking at the grave like I heard them heard them approaching this whole time and we started running back to the front um and left um but it was really weird because then you and I went back and heard footsteps in the same place. It was the same grave site that we were in too, the same grave stone. It was a gentleman who died during the Civil War. Yeah, because I was telling you about it. And we were sitting down because we were fixing to do some stuff, just talking everything. And then I heard a clinking sound. To me, it sounded like boots that had the spurs on the back. That's what it sounded like to me. And it was very heavy sounding. And I was like,
01:06:00
Speaker
Your brother and your ex. Oh, yeah, that's right. but Which one? Just kidding. No, seriously, I don't remember which one. I think I have an idea who it was. Oh, Chad. Yeah, that one. But yeah, we were there and we heard like the spurs or whatever. And at least I did. I heard the the boots and the footsteps. And I was like, Oh, it must be nothing because you know, we are in milk could be like, there's a lot of leaves. There are a lot of there's a lot of trees, a lot of oak trees and stuff there too.
01:07:01
Speaker
so we left. But I definitely would love to do it again now that we're older and more responsible and we know not to take care of the land and everything.
01:07:13
Speaker
Me and my brother and his girlfriend at the time went to Olga Insurance in the middle of the night and of course I was the only one who got out of the car and then they were too scared to come outside with me you know to look around so we left and but when we were leaving we saw a man who was been dressed in rags, basically. He looked like he was dressed in rags, basically. He had like a weird cap on, kind of like a soldier cap from like the Civil War time. And he had a sack, not like a Santa sack, but like a weird, I don't know, maybe it was like a potato sack. I don't know, it looked very strange. And she tied a swerve around him and kind of went right through him. And he was walking in the middle of the road. And mind you, it's it's dark. There's no lights. There's no straight lights.
01:08:00
Speaker
It was on a dirt road. There was nothing around for miles and miles and miles and miles. He had no way to know where he was walking because there's no lights. He had nothing on him to help him see where he was going. So it was very strange. It was very bizarre. And that's something me and my brother still talk about because it was just really weird. and It was kind of scary. It was kind of freaky.
01:08:24
Speaker
Yeah, that that would definitely scare me. There was one time I was driving down to Charleston. It was late. We were younger kids. And someone just all of a sudden walked out into 17, like between Georgetown and Charleston, which if you are from this area, there's like, there are houses there, but it was like a stretch where there was just nothing. And um this person just like walked out into the road and then was trying to flag my car down. um Yeah. I was like, hell no. but Sorry. Yeah. Because it just like appeared. Because like it but like you said, like there but at the time, there was like no there's no streetlights on parts of that road either. And um if you're familiar with South Carolina, if you're away from the main towns, it's dark. There's no streetlights. street lights there's no um
01:09:19
Speaker
Not a whole lot and it can be really dark sometimes out out in those back rooms. Yeah, very, very dark. Like no light whatsoever. The only light that's down there is the flashing light for you to know where to turn onto the road. It's right before Lucas Bay, which is on the right if you're coming from like the Myrtle Beach area. So yeah, there was like nothing. Nothing out there. It was very, very, very bizarre. Yeah. Yeah, we have some good stories. I'm enjoying this first episode of ours.
01:09:49
Speaker
Me too. Yeah, I hope everyone else out there is enjoying this. um There was one time that you and I went out to go exploring with another friend, because we had told lots of different people about our experiences out at Olgun Church. And so we took another
01:10:27
Speaker
maybe? Yeah, something like that. It was a very old, old car. And I'm not sure if it's cars. I don't see a lot of those cars on the road anymore.
01:10:38
Speaker
Right. Yeah. So it was coming towards us, which you do see cars out there occasionally. And there are people that live out there, like we said, but it's not super common. Like you're not going, you don't expect to. And they were going incredibly slow and coming towards us.
01:10:54
Speaker
um And then started flashing their lights at us and trying to like move into the middle of the road um So we kind of like slowed down at first like what the hell is going on because we're good people and we're empathetic and But we're like wait, we're three young women in the middle of the woods um without any way to protect ourselves we didn't have anything on us to like protect ourselves in any way at the time so um we just, I swerved around them and we just kept going and we were still a while, like a couple miles from the church so we kept driving, we didn't see them do anything like I just saw their taillights disappear behind us as we kept on going and we did our thing, went and looked at the church and showed our friend and um
01:11:41
Speaker
kind of forgot about the car and got back in the car and we're driving back out and you know all excited about what we just saw and the car was coming back again towards us and again swerved even more in front of our car and it's flashing their lights and um so I swerved into the grass and drove around their car and just looked it out of there. Yeah it was scary.
01:12:07
Speaker
I did remember that because I was like, why in the hell is this car trying to flag us down in the middle of nowhere during witching hour with blinking lights? What are you trying to do? Are you trying to make us stop? Because we're not going to stop. We've seen what happens to women who are nice to other people in the middle of the night.
01:12:28
Speaker
I know about Pee Wee Gaskins. I'm not trying to be another Merle, a Merle murder. Like I'm good. I'm good. Do not want to be a statistic. Don't want to be a statistic dude. We're good. and that time We were really young too when that happened. So like, we were like, we were not naive when it came to that. We knew you don't stop for strangers. Especially in that spot. It was so weird. Yeah. It was really, really weird.
01:12:56
Speaker
I remember that. It was freaking... and there's been different times we've been out there and we've both noticed like crazy weird orbs lights out in the middle of the woods in areas that aren't where the homes are and it's just all of a sudden you'll see there's just this right orb like out in the woods and it's just really yeah weird and sometimes it seems like it's floating it's very swampland back there too there's a lot of swampland in the woods too so it's like
01:13:27
Speaker
Why would there be a light there? No one lives back there. Yeah, it's really curious. yeah Yeah, there's a lot of the rivers and the swamp was like, no, probably eight foot tall fences on all four sides. And on one side of it is the swamp.
01:13:59
Speaker
and then behind that is a field that is overgrown and there's I think a house I think back behind there which is right on the river um so there was no way for a large enough animal to make those big footprints to be inside that you know the only thing that could have gotten in there would be a raccoon or a squirrel or a bird No, definitely not. I don't think I've ever seen any raccoons stomping around. That makes me want to go back though. The last time I tried to go back, was we couldn't because that was when the flooding happened. It was like right after the Great Flood. was like I wanted to take Bryce and I was like, we I want you to see something and we couldn't even make it. like They had all these signs like, don't drive, you'll get stuck. like
01:14:49
Speaker
And I try to go because I'm a hardhead. I was like, yeah, right. And I tried to go down. I was like, yeah, there's no, like they had like big signs, like built big signs to cut off. Like you couldn't even make it past like a little bridgey area. Like what, like, you know what I mean? Like the part that kind of elbows through before you actually get to the church, like that was completely underwater. So you couldn't even make it back there. And I was like, well, I guess that's not happening today. It happened another time.
01:15:19
Speaker
Yeah, we occasionally, because we still have, as you know, we still have family up in Myrtle Beach. So sometimes we'll leave Charleston and we kind of go the back way to go to Myrtle Beach, depending on where we're going and who we're going to go visit. There's different ways you can travel up there. So when we go one time, um as we were going past the flash of light, I kind of told the girls and Chris about it. and So Chris, I've told him all the stories and he's been really interested in wanting to go explore as well because he's never he's very much a believer in paranormal things, but he's never really had much of a true experience himself. So he wants that and you know is interested in it. So um whatever we did that day, I don't remember. But on our way back, um I was like, do you want to just go? And the kids were asleep.
01:16:16
Speaker
so it was probably about 10 30 or so and I pulled up and Chris got to see it and I woke the kids up and I was like hey girls look and they were so scared and they would not get out of the car they were so mad at me I was like, you wanted to see it. And they were like, not like this.
01:16:38
Speaker
but
01:16:40
Speaker
That was pretty funny. So I hopped out of the car like bun and they're like, let's they're like, They're like, that is so scary. So funny. But it was a few years ago. That is funny. Oh, it is. It is scary though. Like at night time, it's really like,
01:17:00
Speaker
What's the word I'm trying to think of? It's very, like, very tall. You know, the front of the church is very tall. So it's like, it seems like it's like hovering over you, too, when you pull up. Yeah, it's like domineering. Yes, very. That's what I'm trying to give. Yes, very domineering. It's like, whoa. It's a lot to think of at first. Yeah, because it's like right there. Like, it's not set back away from the road, really. It's like right on where you pull and park. It's like right there. So.
01:17:28
Speaker
and it's like The only thing that's separating you from that church is that big fence they put up. That's the only thing that's separating you two. And it's very much so in your face as soon as you drive up. You can't even like really see it from your car too. You have to get out of the car to really see it. It's so tall. Yeah. Well, thanks everybody so much for tuning in. We hope you enjoyed this.
01:17:57
Speaker
um We want to try to, I think we said this, but we're going to try to release content every other week. um So please make sure that you are subscribed or, you know, however you're listening. um Just click those.
01:18:14
Speaker
links so that we um you get to get notified when we are releasing new content like subscribe follow comment rate whatever you can do wherever you are listening or watching um like we said check it out on youtube if you're not watching over there already because we're gonna have some pictures of us and of the different topics that we talked about and we're going to try to
01:18:47
Speaker
Uh, no, I really hope that you enjoyed the first episode. I can't wait for us to like edit it, put it together and release it. I'm so excited. I hope that you enjoyed all of it. Um, yeah, look out for the, um, GoFundMe that we've heard about. We're going to link it on all of our socials. So you can help that with the hurricane Colleen victims and, um,
01:19:12
Speaker
Yeah. Look out for us. We're going to try to release one every other week for now, just until we get our bearings. So we know what we're doing because we're don't work. We're very new and we're trying to figure out, this has been a lot of trial and error. And, um, so far I think we've done a good job. So keep an eye out and yeah, please like us, follow us, share, because the better or the more following of the following we have more content we can push through. And, um,
01:19:40
Speaker
Yeah, next the next episode, we're going to focus on a couple more spooky stories, a little bit more, and talk about other things too. So, you know, ah just stay tuned. We're going to try to do one episode every the week for now and then possibly more, but we we want to try to get a good set stone and a good, like... Rhythm. Yes. Rhythm, a while we're doing it. Yeah, exactly.
01:20:04
Speaker
And I hope that you enjoyed it and um because we have, we we should have done this a long time ago, honestly. So we're very much looking forward to this and I'm very excited about.
01:20:16
Speaker
what you have to say, give us a thought, send us an email. And let us know um what other topics you want us to cover too in upcoming episodes, things that you want us to talk about. We're open to ideas and suggestions. And of course, you know, we want to talk about things that are important to us, but we also want you to enjoy listening and watching. So let us know what you're interested in. We're super excited and hope you enjoyed everything. Yes. As much as we have. Until next time. Yeah, until next time guys. Thank you. We love you guys. big Stay fresh. Stay fresh.