Hurricane’s Grey Man, Part ll

So is the Grey Man just a whimsical legend? Does he actually appear to warn of impending hurricanes?

The residents of Pawley’s Island off the coast of South Carolina would firmly state he does exist. Shortly before each hurricane that has hit this island, in the last 200 years, at least one resident has seen this harbinger ghost.

Here are just a few of these eyewitness accounts.

In anticipation of an impending hurricane, one tenet farmer was herding animals when he encountered the Grey Ghost in October of 1893.

He spoke to the figure not realizing he was a ghost. “Hey mister you better follow me off the island, there is a storm brewing tonight.” When he received no response he continued, “I say follow me off the island there’s going to be a storm tonight.”

When he still received no reply he shouted at the man, “Are you crazy man, do what you want.”

When the next day’s hurricane blew right past his home and the plantation owners’ home without touching them, he realized that it was the Grey Man he had spoken to.

Genevieve Peterkin, a long-time resident of Georgetown County, states those who see the Grey Man before a hurricane are protected as well as their property.

She has heard many stories over the years. She states they are always reported in the local newspaper. Her favorite story happened in 1954.

A neighbor of hers in Georgetown owned a summer home on Pawley’s Island. He saw the Grey Ghost just before Hurricane Hazel blew in.

Pawley Island beach.

His home was so protected, that beach towels left hanging on his porch railing, were still there after the storm. Most of the properties around his were completely destroyed.

Peterkin states, she would not have believed this if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes. She feels people who see the Grey Man are truly blessed.

At midnight on September 22, 1989, Hurricane Hugo after laying waste to the Caribbean slammed into the coast of South Carolina.

Its winds hit speeds of 135 mph. Thousands were forced to flee their homes. In South Carolina alone there was over 5 Billion dollars in damage.

Over 9,000 homes were destroyed. Practically every structure on Pawley’s Island was demolished.

Jim Moore, a resident of the island recounts that Pawley looked like a giant dump pile. Chairs, coaches and iceboxes were piled up in the middle of roads.

Even though Moore’s entire neighborhood was destroyed his home was virtually untouched. His wife Clara, “was happy to find everything just as she had left it.”

Several weeks after Hugo hit, residents of the island started to wonder what had happened to the Grey Man.

Jim and Clara read a headline in their local paper announcing, "The Grey Man Failed To Appear.”

This jarred their memory. Two days before Hugo struck, the couple had a strange encounter.

The Moore’s habit was to take a walk along the beach every afternoon. During their walk two days before Hugo struck, they only saw one other person on the beach.

Jim waved and then greeted this stranger but as he did so this man who had been walking toward them just vanished.

Clara taken aback questioned Jim. “Where did he go?” At the time Jim had no response. He could not explain the fact that the man was there one minute and then the next he was gone.

After reading the headline it dawned on the Moore’s why their home had been spared--the man who had disappeared right in front of them was the Grey Man.

Here is an article by the Coastal Observer, a newspaper on the island, about the Grey Man.

In Part l of Hurricane’s Grey Man, one story about the origin of the Grey Man is shared.

The Ghost of Allatoona Pass

Allatoona Pass

One intriguing ghost story from Georgia involves the Western & Atlantic Railroad trains that traveled through the Allatoona Pass during the years after the Civil War ended.

Stories about sightings of a ghostly brakeman began to be reported seven years after the war.

This mysterious figure was always spotted sitting atop these steam-powered trains whether they traveled northbound or southbound just as they reached the Deep Cut at Allatoona.

One newspaper article published in the Atlantic Journal covered this story extensively in 1872.

“…For some months, railroaders--conductors, engineers, and brakeman --have been noticing, between Tilton and Allatoona, that when their respective freight trains would enter on to that portion of the track named, that their number would be reinforced by an extra train hand, which of course the officers of the W. and A. Railroad cannot persuade to sign the ‘death warrant.’”

In other words, these railroad employees saw a ghost. It seems this specter appeared regularly.

The witnesses that reported seeing this ghostly brakeman were not men to be faint of heart. All had served as soldiers in the Civil War, and they were used to seeing the horrors of battle.

So the sight of this ghost did not unnerve them. In fact, these employees were so unconcerned several tried to even collect a “fare” from this stowaway.

“…This individual appears suddenly on top of the freight cars, takes a seat and remains there for miles, then the unknown brakeman disappears. Conductors, seeing him, have often tried to collect a fare, but on nearing him, he would just vanish like the mist.”

The Deep Cut

An Eyewitness Account

Curiosity over the identity of this ghost led one engineer to seek an answer.

When I spotted the ghost on top of the 3^rd car from my engine I left my fireman in charge of the train and proceeded to walk toward this strange figure.

I approached him cautiously keeping my eyes on him, but as I neared him, he just faded from my view. Continuing down the line of cars I turned back and saw him sitting on the 3^rd car again.

As I made my way back he disappeared once more.

Feeling completely bewildered I became determined to discover what was going on.

I searched the entire train but found nothing. I went atop one car to return to my engine when I spotted the strange figure sitting in the exact spot where I had initially seen him.

As I walked toward him again, he vanished. At this point, I felt he was playing some sort of game with me.

This ghost continued to be seen atop trains in the Deep Cut for many years. There are several published stories about these sightings.

Newspapers across the South covered this story--this caused widespread speculation as to who this ghost was.

Allatoona battle site.

One prevailing theory put forth states he most likely was a Civil War soldier who died in the Battle of Allatoona Pass. Most believe he must have been a brakeman before the war started.

The following account backs these theories.

The Night I Met a Ghost

In October of 1934, an article published in the Atlantic Journal Magazine tells about another encounter with this ghost.

E.L. “Polly” Milan worked for the W&A Railroad for 73 years; by the end of his career he was an engineer.

At the age of 19, he saw the ghost of Allatoona Pass. At the time he was a brakeman, which historically was a dangerous job.

Air brakes were not in use yet, and Milan’s job was to help stop the train. He would move in between each car and manually apply or turn the brakes. He also was responsible for ensuring all couplings--that attach each car to another--were correctly connected.

His job required courage. He often found himself hanging between cars precariously as the train he was on thundered down a mountainside.

At midnight, during one trip the train he was on had just dipped into Allatoona. It was discovered two cars had separated. Milan was ordered to go back and flag or warn the train that was following.

Holding a pistol and a lantern he hit the ground and ran back up the hill. He stopped in the middle of the cut, which was 60 feet deep and 400 feet long.

He spotted a tombstone of a soldier at the north end of this dark cavern. He stopped before he reached this grave. He watched as his train was able to couple up and move on.

Misty orb captured
at pass.

After it had faded into the distance, he was startled to see a man who was glowing white. This man then approached him. But when he got within a few yards, he slumped down and sat on the ties.

Milan was not sure what to do as he watched this strange figure. He spoke to him but did not get a reply. Feeling very alone, his teeth clattered together loudly.

He recounts “something seemed to shove him toward the figure.” He reached out and touched it with the back of his pistol hand.

What happened next Milan stated he wasn't able to forget. He felt an odd cold sensation shoot up his arm. After this, all he remembers is running wildly down the track.

He had run over a mile and a half when the train he was supposed to flag overtook him.

This photo was taken atop the ridge
at Allatoona Pass shortly after Civil War battle.
The train tracks can be seen
approaching the cut.

Canada’s Haunted Hockey Hall of Fame

This ornate building in Toronto that houses the Hall of Fame was used for over 100 years as a branch of the Bank of Montreal.

For the past 60+ years a ghost known as Dorothy has haunted this building. There have been numerous books and articles written about this female ghost with countless witness reports.

One popular backstory has been circulated for years as to why Dorothy haunts this building.

It was believed by many that Dorothy was a teller at the bank. She became involved in an affair with the branch manager--a married man. Later, when this romance soured this man jilted her. She then committed suicide on the upper floor of the bank in the mid 1900s.

A newspaper article written by The Star in 2009 revealed their research about this well known haunting.

They discovered the popular backstory about Dorothy was actually true.

The Ghost of Dorothea Mae Elliott

Dorothea was only 19 year-old when she shot herself early one morning in 1953. She was transported to St. Michaels’s Hospital where she died later.

Dorothea was orphaned at the age of 9 when both her parents died within a few years of each other.

Employees that worked with Dorothea at the bank remember her fondly. She was a popular colleague who was bubbly and beautiful. Her looks were compared to a Hollywood star of the time--Rita Hayworth.

One female employee noted that she was tall and buxom, sophisticated and well liked by the men. This same employee noted that the morning Dorothea committed suicide her blue dress appeared to be wrinkled and untidy.

Finding herself rejected by this branch manager Dorothea took a .38 caliber revolver from a drawer it was kept in at the bank and went to the 2^nd floor women’s washroom where she shot herself.

Since her death, there have numerous reports of strange activity occurring in this building--first when it was still the bank and later when it became the location for Canada’s Hockey Hall of Fame.

An Active Haunting

For many years staff and employees have refused to be in this building after 6:00 p.m. Most refuse to go up to the second floor.

Common activity reported includes: cold spots, lights flickering on and off and doors opening and shutting without cause.

Other reports include: hearing moans and screams throughout the building as well as people hearing footsteps.

Some witnesses state a phantom hand touched their shoulders.

One former Hall of Fame employee, Rob Hynes who was an events coordinator had a scary encounter with this ghost.

He was in a kitchen on the 2^nd floor behind the conference room when he got a strong feeling someone was watching him. When he entered the conference room he saw one of the chairs moving around. There was no breeze in this room.

He quickly exited this room when this chair headed for him.

One young male visitor to the Hall of Fame started to scream, “Don’t you see her, don’t you see her.” He stated that he saw a woman with long black hair walking through several walls upstairs.

In the early 1990s before the Hall of Fame was located in the building a musician by the name of Joanna Jordan was playing her harp for an event being held in the Great Hall.

She looked up and saw a ghost looking down at her from the ceiling. She had not heard about this haunting beforehand. In later years, when she visited the Hall of Fame she refused to go up to the 2^nd floor.

45 foot high ceiling

More Sightings

On the site Toronto and Ontario Ghosts and Hauntings Mathew Didier wrote about the Dorothy haunting. He at one time worked as a teller at this bank branch. His post solicited many comments.

One man who left a comment was an employer of the bank in the 1980s when it was used as office space for the bank's computer department.

He states that there was a lot of poltergeist activity and cold spots in the building when he worked there. He and his fellow workers did not share what they experienced at the time afraid of dismissal.

Because of the building’s history he and others did not like staying after 6:00 p.m. or going up to the 2^nd floor. They found Dorothy liked to play pranks.

He and forty other employees worked in cubicles on the main level. One day he left his desk to copy a paper two cubicles down from his. He was only gone a few moments but when he returned he found his space in disarray.

His desk was messed up and his coffee cup was spilled. He also found his filing cabinets were locked. None of his colleagues were close enough to have done this in the short time he was gone.

There are many more stories about sightings of this ghost on the research society site mentioned above.