It wouldn’t be a 200-year-old Southern mansion without some ghosts, right? Here’s the story:
A young Yankee gent named George Morris from New York met a sweet southern girl named Maria Whaley at Edisto Island, located a few miles south of Charleston. The two were hopelessly in love. But Maria’s father, a wealthy plantation owner, wasn’t having any of George’s lower class Yankee crap. To make sure the two separated for good, he whisked Maria away to Talvande’s school. He knew Madame Talvande was strict and kept an ever-watchful eye on her students.
George eventually found Maria. The two hatched a plan to stay together, forever. During the day, Maria crept out of the school’s grounds, met with George, and the two ensconced in a nearby church. They were married. Maria then snuck back into the school.
The next day, George arrived and requested to meet with Mrs. Morris. When Madame Talvande figured out what had occurred, and that a student of hers had escaped from under her nose (and later, how everyone in town knew about it), she flew into a rage. Legends say she went to work building Sword Gate’s high walls so no other students could sneak away. To make sure she glued broken glass onto its tops.
Madame Talvande never recovered from the high-society scandal, and never forgave herself. Now her ghost wanders the mansion, peering in and out of windows, making sure no one escapes her watch again. She’s like a bonus security system.
In this tale, the two kids went on to live a happy life together. While this sounds a bit anticlimactic, it’s because Maria and George really did get married.