The Gang takes on the Charleston Jail House.

Charleston City Jail. 

Not only do we go around the beautiful city of  Charleston looking for the best graveyards around, we also test our limits by going to a hunted Jail house. Sounds fun right? Charleston's Old City Jail has been opened for 137 years, and a total of 1400 inmates have died within the walls of the Jail, so yeah it is pretty hunted.

The gallows was the most used way of execution. Execution held the highest rate of killings within the jail, Murder or Suicide held the lowest numbers. Execution by the gallows tend to jerk the heads off of the prisoner.The youngest person to face the gallows was a 15 year old, who was guilty of murder. The last person to be executed by hanging , was Duncan on July 7, 191. Duncan was said to have suffocated for 39 minutes. After this, hanging was viewed as inhuman, and became illegal.

A description of how the gallows worked

The jail was segregated, until the first black inmate was brought in during the Civil War. This jail also housed men, women, and children. Women and men were kept in the same cell, and were often victims of sexual assault by the guards, and the inmates. Often, the women were in for prostitution. The youngest inmates were the age of ten and thirteen.

75% of the prisoners died as a short term prisoner due to infections, and of longer term prisoners, 60-65% died, Crimes of the prisoners ranged from  public intoxication, petty theft,  and prostitution. The prisoners often received extra punishments. For example, halfway through your time sentence, you would be taken downtown for public humiliation. These humiliations included, ether loping (cutting off part of the ear or nose), or by branding.

a lone noose, very creepy

Now, what is a hunted jail house, without a hunted jail house story? Lavina Fisher was the first female serial killer arrested in 1818. It is said that she cook dinner for people, and offer them some of her special tea. The gag is, she would put a poison in the tea called Oleander. Fisher did this for a total of 7 years, one guy escaped and told the local sheriff the twisted ways of Lavina Fisher. Fisher was the first women in South Carolina to be executed, and 2500 people came to view her execution. It took three grown men to handle Fisher. It is said that Fisher looked around the crowd and said "anyone here have anything to say to Satan having a dinner with Satan" and she then she was hung.

one of the cells

All in all, the gang handled the visit to the city jail well! Most were scared, but it was interesting and fascinating to see such a gory history right around the corner for the College!