The house no priest can heal

“There is no such thing as ghosts” is what the workers kept repeating as they attempted to renovate the Hampton-Lillibridge house. They would soon regret ever stepping on the property.

Hampton Lillibridge was a man of pure fascination and interest. He was originally born on Rhode Island, and when he moved to the south, he built his house similar to those back north. In 1796 construction was completed, unfortunately, Hampton Lillibridge would die shortly after, and his widow sold the house. The new owner transformed it into a boarding home, in which a sailor hung himself in one of the rooms. This death would haunt the boarding home’s reputation, and eventually, became one of its reasons to shut down.

In 1963, Jim Williams bought the old and torn-down building and began renovations. The house was originally at 312 East Bryan street, but Jim had the house completely moved to its current location. During the move, an old roof beam collapsed and fell on a worker’s head, killing him. When the house finally arrived at 507 East Saint Julian street, the workers began experiencing terrible curses and hauntings. One man was supposedly dragged towards an open chimney shaft by an unknown force. When his coworkers found him, he was clawing the floor with his nails and was cold as ice. One of the workers suggested performing an exorcism, but as soon as the word came out of his mouth, a loud female scream filled the house.

Workers also reported seeing a man dressed in all black around the house. They would often spot him on the third-story window, or in a hallway. The apparition always wore a black suit with a tie and was described as a very lean and tall man.

During the reconstruction, a tomb was found underneath the house’s original location. Its walls were made of crushed oyster shells and rough lime, making it likely to be a native American crypt. The fate of this tomb is unknown, but it’s likely that it was just reburied and left alone.

When Jim Williams finally moved into the home, he expected to live in a comfortable historic house, instead almost every night strange noises haunted his sleep. Voices, moving objects, strange sensations on the back of his neck, and doors slamming in front of him were all normal occurrences during his residence. Tired of his lack of sleep and generally annoyed by the hauntings, Jim Williams hired Revered Albert Rhett Stewart to perform an exorcism on the house. So on December 7th, 1963, the bishop blessed the house, expelled malcontent spirits, and overall attempted to cure the home of its curses. For a week, the exorcism seemed to work, but soon enough the supernatural activities resumed as if nothing happened.

Eventually, Jim Williams moved out of the house and into the famed Mercer house where he would meet his grizzly fate. The house was sold for $1,500,000 in 2019 and has remained private property. To this day it still lies there, partly empty, waiting for its next soul to torment.