Off the coast of South Carolina, on Edisto Island, a mausoleum at the back of an old churchyard has become the center of one of the state’s most persistent ghost stories. The name “Legare” is carved over the entrance, and for generations people have whispered that a young woman named Julia was buried alive inside. This episode follows the legend to the historical record and asks what we can really know about the woman whose name turned a family tomb into one of South Carolina’s most talked-about hauntings.

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Episode Sources

• "Tomb of Julia Legare." South Carolina Picture Project. https://www.scpictureproject.org/charleston-county/tomb-of-julia-legare.html
• "The Legend of Julia Legare." Edisto Beach. https://edistobeach.com/the-legend-of-julia-legare/
• "Presbyterian Church on Edisto Island." South Carolina Picture Project. https://www.scpictureproject.org/charleston-county/edisto-island-presbyterian.html
• Jaime Rubio. "The True Legend of Julia Legare – Fact vs Fiction." Dreaming Casually, Aug. 7, 2014. https://dreamingcasuallypoetry.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-true-legend-of-julia-legare-fact-vs.html
• "Julia Georgiana Seabrook Legare (1829–1852)." Find a Grave memorial 65651815. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65651815/julia-georgiana-legare
• "Hugh Swinton Legare (1847–1854)." Find a Grave memorial 65655039. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65655039/hugh-swinton-legare
• "Presbyterian Church on Edisto Island Cemetery." RootsWeb transcription https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~cemphoto/history/sc/charleston/edisto/scehmedtall.html
• "Julia Georgianna (Seabrook) Legaré (1829–1852)." WikiTree profile Seabrook-911. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Seabrook-911
• "Julia Georgiana Seabrook (1829–1852)." FamilySearch. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/M4KR-51C/julia-georgiana-seabrook-1829-1852
• "William Seabrook (1773–1836)." FamilySearch. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LKLK-T93/william-seabrook-1773-1836
• "Robert Chisholm Seabrook (1821–1852)." FamilySearch. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/MZJY-FBZ/robert-chisholm-seabrook-1821-1852
• "Seabrook Plantation – Edisto Island – Charleston County." .https://south-carolina-plantations.com/charleston/seabrook.html
• "Cassina Point Plantation." South Carolina Picture Project. https://www.scpictureproject.org/charleston-county/cassina-point-plantation-2.html
• Historic Houses of South Carolina. J. H. Easterby et al. (PDF). https://archive.org/download/historichousesof00leid/historichousesof00leid.pdf
• "The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. XVII." (PDF). https://www.carolana.com/SC/eBooks/SCHGM/The_South_Carolina_Historical_and_Genealogical_Magazine_Volume_XVII.pdf
• "James Hopkinson Papers, 1847–1921." ArchiveGrid / WorldCat summary. https://researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/archiveComponent/41963032
• "Slaves of James Hopkinson (1810–1875), South Carolina." https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Slaves_of_James_Hopkinson_%281810_-_1875%29%2C_South_Carolina
• "1865 List of Abandoned Plantations, Edisto Island, South Carolina." https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:1865_List_of_Abandoned_Plantations_Edisto_Island%2C_South_Carolina
• "Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands – Berwick Legare, Edisto Island." Smithsonian NMAAHC Freedmen’s Bureau Digital Records. https://nmaahc.si.edu/freedmens-bureau/record/fbs-1662423774659-1662426204172-3
• "Lowcountry Ghost Stories." South Carolina Lowcountry Tourism. https://southcarolinalowcountry.com/lowcountry-ghost-stories/
• "Old Churchyard Cemetery" brochure, Parish Church of St. Helena, Beaufort (PDF). https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/09fbc323/files/uploaded/Churchyard%20Brochure-website.pdf
• "Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor." National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/places/gullah-geechee-cultural-heritage-corridor.htm
• "Port Royal Experiment." South Carolina Lowcountry Tourism. https://southcarolinalowcountry.com/beaufort-the-port-royal-experiment/
• "Emancipation Day: The Freed People of Port Royal." South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium.https://www.scseagrant.org/emancipation-day-the-freed-people-of-port-royal/

Episode Music

Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.