Charleston Gothic: Part 6- Ghostly Alchemy

A wax figurine forgotten in museum storage. A book of poems that prophesied a ghost. A woman on a beach who found something she wasn't looking for. In the final episode of the Charleston Gothic series, the investigation returns to where it began — the Dock Street Theatre — and follows the last of three trails through Charleston's tangled relationship with Edgar Allan Poe. Along the way, a century-old literary vision resurfaces, a forgotten poet speaks truths the city wasn't ready to hear, and the question that launched the series finally gets its answer. Sources referenced in the episode: Books Israfel: The Life and Times of Edgar Allan Poe by Hervey Allen (1926) Carolina Chansons: Legends of the Low Country by DuBose Heyward and Hervey Allen (1922) The Arrow of Lightning by Beatrice Witte Ravenel (1926) The Dreamer: A Romantic Rendering of the Life-Story of Edgar Allan Poe by Mary Newton Stanard Edgar Allan Poe's Charleston by Christopher Byrd Downey Poe's Brother: The Poems of William Henry Leonard Poe by Hervey Allen and Thomas Ollive Mabbott Ghosts and Legends of Charleston by Denise Rolfe (2010) Poe-Land by J.W. Ocker Sheppard Lee, Written By Himself by Robert Montgomery Bird (1836) Poems "Edgar Allan Poe" by DuBose Heyward (from Carolina Chansons) "Alchemy" by Hervey Allen (from Carolina Chansons) "Poe's Mother" by Beatrice Witte Ravenel (from The Arrow of Lightning) Articles "A Source for 'Annabel Lee'" by Robert Adger Law (1922) Plays Nevermore by Julian Wiles (1994) Scholarly Work Thomas Ollive Mabbott's annotated edition of Poe's works (notes on "Annabel Lee") Louis Rubin's new edition of Beatrice Witte Ravenel's poems (1969) Historical Sources Charleston Evening Post coverage of the 1923 Charleston Museum diorama unveiling "The Mourner" an anonymous poem, Charleston Courier (1807) People Referenced as Sources/Informants Eric Lavender, Charleston tour guide Christopher Byrd Downey, author and historian Scott Peeples, Poe scholar (quoted via Ocker's Poe-Land)

You can listen to Charleston Gothic: Part 6- Ghostly Alchemy online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Charleston Gothic: Part 6- Ghostly Alchemy is an episode from Pleasing Terrors by Mike Brown.

This episode is 46:48 long.

This episode was published on Feb 22, 2026.

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