Choose Charleston

I first met Trey and Traci Smith a couple of years ago while covering the autumn Halloween scene for Charleston City Paper. Trey and Traci know how to scare up a good show. They ought to - for the past sixteen years, they have masterminded frightfully good carnivals, haunted houses, and hayrides, both in Nashville and the South Carolina Lowcountry.

So when I heard that they were opening a brand new ghost show downtown, I made it a point to catch a preview (those familiar with my blog Wicked Winter know my penchant for ghost stories, legends, and myths).

People can now catch Trey and Traci’s eerie twists on local lore and legend all year long. No more need to wait until October to discover what chills and thrills they’ve been brewing. Charleston Legends & Lore Ghost Theater (161 Church Street, across from Tommy Condon’s Restaurant) features shows on the hour and half hour Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 12 noon to 8 p.m.

The show itself is 22 minutes of harrowing history, told by a series of ghosts. A young boy who succumbed to fever soon after arriving in Charles Towne sets the stage, revealing details about the earliest days of Lowcountry colonization even as his revenant rattles about across the stage and staircase.

An early patriot executed for defying the British, a confederate soldier from the Time of Northern Aggression, Blackbeard the Pirate, a kindly lady speaking Gullah, and an ominous boo-hag all make their lingering presences known to the audience.

It’s actually a pretty exciting way to learn a few facts about the wicked, wanton history of Charleston from the early (pre-Riley) days of pirates, plagues, and peril.

The show is for all ages. Younger kids might get a bit weirded out by some of the objects moving about on the stage (Trey is very, very good at his craft) but the scariest stuff has been held in reserve.

But don’t fret, fright fans: Trey has plans for the scariest stuff later on, closer to Halloween.