Of the many ghost stories at the notoriously haunted Myrtles Plantation, opened in 1796, one that seems ripe for a cold case investigation is the death of William Winter.
William was married to Sarah, the owner’s daughter. In 1871, a stranger on horseback arrived at the Myrtles calling for a lawyer, says tour director Hester Eby by phone. William came outside, and the stranger shot him.
“That [shotgun] blast blew him back into the gentlemen’s parlor,” Eby says. William tried to reach his wife, made it to the 17th step of the staircase, “and died in her arms.”
Sarah and William are two of the numerous spirits said to haunt the grounds of the plantation, which offers daytime and nighttime tours. Guests have reported hearing a woman, possibly Sarah, crying, or seeing a doorknob turning and finding it warm to the touch, among other occurrences. Often, they smell Sarah’s perfume, then hear William’s footsteps.
The sprawling plantation property, with cypresses, live oaks and draping Spanish moss, was built in 1796 by Gen. David Bradford and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. There are 12 rooms on the property: six in the spare-no-expenses antebellum mansion and six detached cottages, which sleep up to either four or six people. Assuming people sleep.
Some take off in the middle of the night with just their car keys and return in daylight for their things, Eby says. Others enjoy their rest, and still others can’t wait to talk about a “spirited” night. “They’re so excited when it happens to them,” Eby says.
