It’s about that time to start planning what you’ll be doing for Halloween!

Charleston has a reputation for having more ghosts than any other city in America, and ghost stories abound. It is a favorite haunt for ghost hunters, and Charleston’s rich and bloody history seems to have created an amazing number of lost spirits. From the days before Columbus through today, many deaths have taken place in Charleston—but not all of the dead have departed the city.

In particular, Dock Street Theatre and the Battery Carriage House Inn have been the setting for many ghost sightings. The ghost of Junius Brutus Booth, John Wilkes Booth’s father, has been seen wandering around the theater, as has the apparition of an unknown prostitute called Nettie. According to legend, Nettie was struck by lightning and killed in the 1800s when the Theatre was a hotel. The Battery Carriage House Inn has a ghost that tries to get into bed with women guests and put his arm around them.

And of course, as Charleston was a major site of the Civil War, residents and tourists regularly report seeing the ghosts of Civil War soldiers. The ghosts of Blackbeard the Pirate and scores of Civil War soldiers have also been seen on Folly Island.

Charleston’s ghost tours are some of the best in the nation, and Bulldog Tours and Tour Charleston, LLC have the most impressive tours in the city. You can take a ghost tour most months of the year, and tour guides take you through back alleys, jails, churches, and cemeteries with tales of voodoo, haunting, chilling deaths, and local legends and superstitions. Bulldog Tours’ Ghost and Dungeon Walking Tour takes you to the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon, while Tour Charleston, LLC’s Ghosts of Charleston Tour leads you through the Unitarian Church Graveyard.

Charleston’s residents love Halloween. In addition to ghost tours, you can join in on Boone Hall Fright Nights at Boone Hall Plantation, another haunted Charleston landmark. Fright Night events include Bloodstone Manor, a vampires’ lair; Fright Stalkers Corn Field, haunted land sure to scare anyone who dares enter; the Body Farm Haunted Hayride; and Psycho Clowns Side Show.

Other Halloween parties and events for all ages include:

• Halloween Howler Bar Crawl starting at Moe’s Downtown Tavern.
• Premiere of the play Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde at The Footlight Players.
• Scary’um Aquarium at the South Carolina Aquarium.
• Car, Bike, and Truck Show at Hooters.
• Monster Mash at Charleston Ballet Theatre.

As Charleston DUI attorneys, of course we caution you that police will have enhanced enforcement around Halloween, so please don’t drink and drive.

What other Halloween activities can we add to this list?