Lavinia Fisher ran a hotel outside Charleston with her husband in the early 1800s. Guests checked in. They did not always check out. She would invite male guests to tea, drug them with oleander, and signal her husband to finish the job while they slept. When authorities came to investigate she attacked a man and threw him from a window. She was arrested, tried and convicted of highway robbery — they couldn’t prove the murders. She was sentenced to hang. On the scaffold she wore her wedding dress. She screamed at the crowd. Her last words were: if any of you have a message for the devil, give it to me. I’ll carry it. Then she jumped before the hangman could act. She hanged herself. On her own terms.
Interesting Fact Lavinia Fisher is considered by many to be America’s first female serial killer though this is debated by historians. Her ghost is one of the most reported hauntings in Charleston today. The Old City Jail where she was held still stands. Tours run nightly.
