One of Beaufort’s most well-known and celebrated old homes is The Castle over on Craven Street in downtown’s Point Neighborhood. Lots of legend lives there, and the Castle is even home to a ghostly 500 year old French dwarf.
Also known as the Joseph Johnson house, it’s said to be super haunted, too.
In 1562, Jean Ribaut and his Huguenots came from France, founding the colony of Charlesfort on what is now Parris Island. It’s said that Ribaut brought a dwarf along with him, named Gauche; a jester by trade. It’s said that Gauche made up for his lack of height by being a rough customer. He reputedly died in a battle away from Charlesfort, impaled on a pike on the land that would be the site of the home of Dr. Joseph Johnson some 300 years later.
Gauche’s apparition has been seen by folks as far back as Dr. Johnson himself, both inside and outside of the home.
Dr. Johnson’s daughter Lily played tea party with the ghost many times as a child, and visitors to The Castle have seen him while on tours.
The ghost has been known to tap out messages in 16th-century French, move furniture, open and close doors and leave his red handprints on windows.
It’s said that the messages he tapped out were archaic 16th Century French. Once such translation was published in Tales of Beaufort by Nell S. Graydon, in which a house guest held a strange interview with the restless spirit and learned his identity. It claimed its name was Gauche and that it lived in the cellar because it reminded him of his home that he would never see again. When the guest asked if he could see Gauche, the jester replied, “No, I do not show myself to fools.”
When he’s around, some say, you can hear the ringing of the bells on his costume. House guests have reported seeing a wisp of fog rise out of the tidal creek by the house, take the form of a small man, and disappear into the night.
Other than just a French dwarf, the Castle has a storied history as well, and that just adds to the aura around the legend.
It was used as a military hospital by Union Troops in before construction on the home was 100 percent completed. The Johnson family moved into the house in 1861 and Beaufort quickly fell to Union forces later that same year.
During the rest of the Civil War, the house was used as a hospital and an outbuilding behind it was used as a morgue, and also the hiding place for some of Johnson’s valuables.
It’s said that even today, Gauche still makes his presence known, and the legend of The Castle continues on….ghostly French dwarf and all.
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