The weather outside is frightful and there ain’t no fire around that’s currently delightful since we want to be anywhere but home let us go, let us go, let us go… dicktect the stories of four haunted beaches.
Join The Lady Dicks this week as we virtually visit:
- Pawleys Island, South Carolina
- Moss Beach, California
- Kaupoa Beach, Hawaii
- Mackinac Island, Michigan
If you’re stuck at home quarantined from the virus, join us for these short ghostly tales.
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Episode Script
In an attempt to make The Lady Dicks as accessible as we can (within our limited budget) we are now including the original script for each episode on its corresponding blog post. We would LOVE to be able to provide the entire transcript but unfortunately at this time it’s WAY out of our $0 budget ?, so, in the meantime, please enjoy this episode on haunted beaches:
Introduction
TAE: Welcome back to The Lady Dicks, I’m your host Tae and you’ll meet my co-hosts Nikki and Andrea shortly. You’re probably here to dick around—that’s obvi why we’re here too—but we’ll try to keep this shit just a little bit classy. It’s chilly up here in Canada—or it may be when we release this episode, honestly who knows, so we thought we’d throw you something that’s a little warmer. We’re going to be sharing stories of four haunted beaches today.
NIKKI: … but before we get to that, we’ve got a few housekeeping matters to go over. I’m Nikki and we’re glad you didn’t ghost us! If you’re brand new to The Lady Dicks welcome! We tackle all kinds of historical, mystery and paranormal stories with a tad bit of overly cheesy comedy. If that doesn’t quite sound like your thing, we totally understand.
ANDREA: Andrea here! We also want to disclose before we dig into it that we’re a podcast meant for adults. We don’t always use the best language and most of our topics get a little bit gruesome, so if you’re dropping the kids off at daycare right now you’ll probably want to wait until they’re out of the car.
TAE: We are happy to announce that Patreon is back by popular demand. You all requested it, so we’re bringing it back. We just re-did the account at the beginning of February and we’re in the process of getting all of the episodes up there, but you can sign up at any time. We have three levels of sponsorship right now, you can head to Patreon.com/theladydicks to get the full details—the link is included in the show notes—and sign up there.
NIKKI: If long-term commitment isn’t your thing, you can still drop us a one-time donation via Patreon. Our email is stories@theladydicks.com. And if you don’t have any coins to toss our way—no judgement on our part. Please rate and review the podcast. Every five-star review we get helps other people find us. And tell your friends and family to check us out!
ANDREA: Alright, now that all of the boring stuff is out of the way, let’s get started:
Pawleys Island, South Carolina
Pawleys Island is a South Carolina town that is known for a ghost known as “the Gray Man.” Now, South Carolina is said to be one of the most haunted places in the United States, so it’s really no surprise that it would be known for a few ghost stories.
The Gray Man is, by far, their most famous ghost, and locals say that if you see the ghost you need to get the hell out of town because anytime anyone spots him, a hurricane sweeps through the area shortly after.
This ghost is often seen lurking around the beach in all grey clothing—hence the name. Some people who have encountered this ghost say that he talks to them, others say he simply appears and vanishes. And while there are a number of stories about who he may be, no one knows for sure.
Most people believe the Grey Man is the spirit of a young man who drowned in the surf on Litchfield Beach after being bucked from his horse on his way to visit his fiancé in 1822. Another story says that he was a sailor who washed up on shore and died afterwards. Or he might have been a man returning from sea, but returned to find that his fiance had married his friend so he threw himself into the Waccamaw. He is also suspected of being George Pawley, the original owner of Pawleys Island who lived there in the early 1700s. Others suspect that the Grey Man of Pawleys Island is the ghost of Edward Teach, which if you recall from a few episodes ago is Blackbeard!
Regardless of who he might be, as the legend goes, after his death the ghost of the Gray Man returned to save said fiance and her family by warning them of a coming storm. In 1954, a woman claimed to see the mysterious Gray Man appear right before Hurricane Hazel hit. Not only did she see this ghost, but her house was spared from the devastation, even her beach towels were still hanging up, untouched by the storm.
Moss Beach, California
The Blue Lady of Moss Beach is one of California’s most famous ghosts, but fear not, she’s known for being a friendly spirit!
The Moss Beach Distillery sits on a cliff in San Mateo, California, near Half Moon Bay, and its history dates back to 1927. The restaurant-bar, originally known as Frank’s Place, was built by Frank Torres and was turned into a speakeasy (which basically means it sold liquor during the prohibition)—and it was even used as a drop spot for Canadian rum runners.
But, as we read in one article, “rum wasn’t the only spirit in Frank’s place,” there is also the Blue Lady.
The Blue Lady is suspected of being a “beautiful woman” named Mary Ellen, who “loved to wear blue dresses.” Mary was a married woman with a young son who fell in love with John Contina, a piano man. The two carried on an “illicit love affair” that ended when Mary tragically died.
No one seems to know exactly how Mary died, but there are a few theories:
- Some believe that Mary and John were out on a walk one night, and Mary was stabbed repeatedly while John was also attacked (but survived)
- Others think her husband was jealous when he found out about the affair and fought John, and somehow during this fight, Mary was stabbed. Then apparently John disappeared and washed up later on the beach.
- Or she might have died in a car accident during a bad storm.
And apparently John was a pretty serious player and this woman, Anna Philbrick, jumped off the cliffs and drowned after she discovered John was involved with another woman. In any case, there seems to be a lot of mysterious activity in the area attributed to the Blue Lady. These things include:
- Objects moving on their own
- Whispered voices
- Taps on shoulders
- Female patrons having their earrings disappear, only to later reappear along with other mysteriously missing earrings
A couple who once owned the joint reported that on several occasions they were locked out of their rooms, and once they regained entry and furniture would be inexplicably moved around.
Children often report seeing a lady in a blue dress. Employees also say that one day, all of the computerized cash registers had their dates changed to 1927. Employees also report hearing whispers, feeling a physical touch or being mysteriously called on their phones.
Regardless of who he might be, as the legend goes, after his death the ghost of the Gray Man returned to save said fiance and her family by warning them of a coming storm. In 1954, a woman claimed to see the mysterious Gray Man appear right before Hurricane Hazel hit. Not only did she see this ghost, but her house was spared from the devastation, even her beach towels were still hanging up, untouched by the storm.
Kaupoa Beach, Hawaii
Located on the island of Molokai, Kaupoa used to be a crowded tourist destination where beachgoers could soak up the sun and enjoy a light ocean breeze, but today this idyllic spot is abandoned (according to the internet). An abandoned playground can be found here, along with abandoned signs and instruction boards and “the remnants of the garden sweet.” All of which seems a fitting setting for a haunted beach.
Kaupoa, for those interested, means “place of the thieves,” though that’s probably the creepiest part of its story. What was once a hopping beach town, was abandoned in 2008 when Molokai Ranch—a luxury beach resort—shut down due to disagreements with the locals and abandoned the village. The town was more or less boarded up, and the beach sadly forgotten.
Since its closing, the resort’s village has sat abandoned and the tops of its palm trees have been cut off, apparently for insurance reasons, giving the spot an eerie vibe. Those who dare visit report feeling fearful and anxious. They also hear the sounds of playful swinging kids.
Mackinac Island, Michigan
Mackinac Island is known to have a “rich, violent and colorful history” making it a “prime candidate for hauntings.” This is due to two main reasons:
- The island is basically a gigantic Native American burial ground.
- Then they put a military fort on top of it, where naturally a ton of people were killed.
Creating what is basically a paranormal hot spot at this haunted beach.
The Island features the “Grand Hotel” known for an “evil entity” which is often described as a “black mass with glowing red eyes.” A maintenance worker of the hotel claimed that the evil entity “rushed him” while he was working on the theatre stage and knocked him off his feet, and out. Apparently he woke up two days later, left the hotel and never returned. Hotel staff have also reported seeing a man in a top hat playing piano in the bar, while others say there’s a woman in Victorian clothing who roams the hallways, and even crawls into bed…
According to legend, during construction of the Grand Hotel, construction workers uncovered human remains while digging the foundation. Perhaps the reason for all these creepy stories.
The next paranormal hotspot on the island is the Drowning Pool. Sometime in the late 1700s or early 1800s, 7 women were accused of being witches. If you recall back to our witch episodes, there are a few ways you can test whether someone is a witch…
Spoiler alert, these women were all innocent, because they were all drowned in the Drowning Pool, which is a lagoon on the island between Mission Point and downtown Mackinac. Unsurprisingly, they’re still a little pissed off and they hang out in-and-around the area haunting the waters. Witnesses have reported, “mysterious splashing, shadows and dark figures floating above the surface.”
Fort Mackinac is a popular tourist site. Visitors report seeing “strange orbs in pictures.” In the hospital on-site, visitors report feelings of sadness and seeing “apparitions of phantom limbs.” Others have reported hearing crying babies, mysteriously moved furniture and motion detectors being set off with no one around. Ghostly children are also reported at the Officer’s Stone Quarters, they play with toys then leave them on the floor.
The last haunted spot on Mackinac Island is Mission Point Resort which was home to “The Moral Re-Alignment” which was a religious movement that was started in the 1930s. According to legend, a man named Harvey that was dealing with a broken heart shot himself behind the resort but he wasn’t found until 6 months later. But some believe that Harvey was murdered…
Needless to say, the ghost of Harvey still hangs out around and is often reported in Mission Point’s theatre, where he apparently pinches and pokes people. A woman who visited the hotel claimed that when she was alone in the hotel room, when the bathroom door closed and the lights turned off. She apparently never returned to the room alone.
Haunted Beaches Episode Sources
The Lady Dicks episode “Take a Ghost-Filled Vacation on One of These Haunted Beaches” was originally researched in January 2019, some of the sources are no longer available.
References
- The 10 Most Haunted Beaches in America, Costal Living.
- Who was the hurricane-predicting ghost of Pawleys Island?, Myrtle Beach Online.
- Haunted Pawleys Island, Pawleys Island.
- Blue Lady Ghost of Moss Beach Distillery, Paranorms.
- Kaupoa, Molokai: Hawaii’s Haunted Beach Village, HuffPost.
- [No Longer Active] The Most Haunted Beaches in the World, Trip Advisory.
- [No Longer Active] Manualoa, Bacon is Magic.
The Lady Dicks Podcast was created by Tae Haahr. The Lady Dicks are Andrea Campion, Nikki Kipping and Tae Haahr. “Take a Ghost-Filled Vacation on One of These Haunted Beaches” was research, written, edited and produced by Tae Haahr. The Lady Dicks theme music, A Pink Panther, is licenced through AudioJungle.
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