You’ve undoubtedly heard the phrase, “a few bad apples can spoil the whole bunch.” Well, that’s what happened on Halloween night last year at The Castle in downtown Beaufort. So much so, that the owners of the house have decided not to host trick-or-treating this Halloween at the beloved local historic home at 411 Craven Street.
In a Facebook posting, owners Nancy & Dave Russell, explained their decision.
“A handful of teenagers and adults created issues last year that caused us to rethink the feasibility of safely continuing to host this event,” the posting says.
“The Castle is our home and we were extremely saddened to see the lack of respect of it, and our student actors, by certain people.”
Trick-or-treating at the popular local haunted historic home was started by the previous owners around 2017, and when the Russell family purchased the house in 2021, they wanted to carry on the tradition to provide a special Halloween experience for local kids that they won’t forget. “We had some 2,200 visitors in the few hours last year, and it’s a great way to be able to give back to the community, and some people would not have had the opportunity to visit The Castle,” Dave Russell said in an interview last Halloween.
“We are very sorry that we are disappointing the children of the community that look forward to and enjoy this event,” the posting added. “At that end of the day they were always the motivating factor for us to continue the tradition.”
The Castle’s History, and Its Ghostly Inhabitant
Also known as the Joseph Johnson house, The Castle is 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 being haunted by a 500 year old French dwarf, the Castle had a storied history during the Civil War as well, and that just adds to the aura around the legend. You can read about the rest of it here.
All it takes are a few bad apples….and, you know the rest. We can’t say we blame them for not hosting this year.
