Prophetic Ghost Warns of Coming Hurricanes [PHIL-OSOPHY]
In classical antiquity, the Oracle at Delphi is a figure of great historical importance that was, and still is, shrouded in mystery. She answered questions, gave wise counsel and made prophetic predictions of the future. That was 1400 BC in ancient Greece.
Let's time travel to the year 1822. We're about a half an hour south of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on the shores of Pawleys Island, a barrier island and home of the Gray Man, a famous phantom in Southern ghost lore.
Legend holds that Gray Man is the ghost of a young man traveling up from Charleston to see his fiancée. On the way, he and his horse were caught at night in quicksand-like pluff mud in the marshes and went under. Gray Man's spirit has haunted the shore ever since, looking for the girl he loved.
The Paranormal Guide says the ghost of Gray Man warns local residents of coming storms and hurricanes. The first sighting of him was in 1822. The Gray Man got national attention just after Hurricane Hugo, when residents Jim and Clara Moore were interviewed on the television show Unsolved Mysteries. They told their story about seeing the man on the beach, and how he disappeared when they waved. Their house was spared in the hurricane, while the homes of their neighbors were heavily damaged.
Others who have encountered the spirit have credited him with saving them or their homes and belongings unscathed by severe storms.
He's been described as a man wearing gray clothing and a long coat, and sometimes as having no legs.
It's an interesting tale, no doubt, but I don't think it can compare to the saga of the English ship Concord, commanded by Captain Bartholomew Gosnold, floating in Cape Cod Bay, that appears in the mist before oncoming hurricanes coming to our region.
Phil Paleologos is the host of the Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilPaleologos.