On Buncombe Road between the Ebenezer Church in Newberry County and Goshen Hill in Union County in South Carolina, there lurks a strange beast. Know as “The Ghost Hound of Goshen”, it has been witnessed by many reputable people. Some say it’s the dog of a peddler falsely accused of murder and hanged. Whatever the case, the dog is known to chase those who trespass in its territory. But don’t worry, it’s never caught anyone… That we know of…
Some say the ghost hound was, in life, the pet of a peddler making his way across the area in the early 1850’s. Unfortunately for the man, a murder occurred while he was passing through and was the scapegoat. After a sham of a trial, the man was hanged. His faithful dog stayed by his grave until either starvation or stones thrown by the townsfolk (depending on which story you hear) ended it’s life. It was after this that “The Hound of Goshen” was seen.
The earliest sighting of the Goshen Hound happened in 1855. William Hardy sent a young slave to the home of Dr. George Douglass to bring the doctor back to look at a sick man. When the boy arrived at the home of the doctor, he was terrified of something. After a while the doctor had calmed the young slave enough to hear his story. It seems the boy was riding on a mule headed for the doc’s, when he heard an awful noise coming from behind him. He described what he saw as the biggest, whitest dog he’d ever seen.
Immediately, the boy dug his heels in the sides of the mule to hurry the animal along. As they ran for all they were worth, the dog got in front of the mule, causing it to rear up almost throwing the boy off. The boy then said the dog just stared at him. It never left the boys trail until he had turned into Dr. Douglass’ yard. Dismissing the boy’s story, Dr. Douglass told the boy to go home only to have the child plead and beg to stay with the doctor for the night.
Years later, Dr. Jim Coefield saw the the animal. Try as he might, he was never able to give a rational answer for what he’d seen. Dr. Coefield even had a dog of his own who would walk along side his master until they got to the Ebenezer cemetery. Then, the dog would whine and disappear into the woods until the good Doctor had passed the ghost dog’s territory. Only then would he rejoin Coefield on the road.
In 1936, Berry Sanders was making the trip home when he came face to face with the ghost hound. Over a mile from the safety of home, Sanders ran the entire way, screaming. Only when he made it to the door did the animal turn and head back into the woods.
In the 1970’s an elderly woman was said to have had an encounter with the dog when it came into her yard, grew in size and leaped towards her. The woman fainted. When she awoke, the dog was no where to be found.
The latest sighting is said to have happened in 1998, but I could not find any information on that account.
So if you travel Buncombe Road between Ebenezer Church and Goshen Hill, keep and eye towards the woods. For the Hound Of Goshen still watches and waits. Ever ready to chase anyone from its territory.
