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f ■ 6________mr.SiNl
GHOSTS ON
South Mississippi ripe with ghostly tales and legends
■	A river that sings, an ethereal harpist, a treasure-guarding headless skeleton and a moaning white dog are but a few of South Mississippi’s ghostly treasures. The Coast is rich in supernatural lore, and its backdrop of misty swampland, moss-draped oaks and stately old homes provide the proper setting.
There are tales of drowned Indians, restless pirate victims, cursed land and blood-smeared walls, all of which seem to move into the realm of reality this time of year. The unexplained, the unearthly, the spectral rightly take their place among other Coast legends that have survived for generations. Sadly, many of the best haunted houses have succumbed to fire or hurricane, and many of the oldest legends that were never written down have been lost to memory.
But enough remain to titillate the imaginations of those who believe. Or want to believe.
The Firewater Ghost off Biloxi Bay
The fisherman blinked his eyes into the darkness of the night, then turned to his companion. “So this is the famous Firewater Ghost,” he whispered. They stopped rowing and watched as a ball of fire darted from Biloxi to the Ocean Springs shore of Back Bay.
“It was a bluish light and traveled about one foot from the water,” Capt. Eugene Tiblier Jr. later recalled. The year was 1891, and Tiblier, like many before and after him, saw firsthand the phenomenon of the “Firewater Ghost.”
Locals believed it was a ghost who patrolled Biloxi Bay with a lantern in its hand. It would rush back and forth from the two shores, and often play hide-and-seek with those who watched it.
Then electricity came to the Coast, and the sightings have become less and less. Is it because of light pollution, or has the Firewater Ghost tired of his games?
Skeleton of Deer Island
The two men were exhausted. They had spent a long day fishing and decided to camp on Deer Island for the night. The coffee was brewing on the fire when they heard a rustling in the palmettos behind them.
“Ah, it’s just a wild hog,” one of them remarked as he went about the business of dinner. But when the noise persisted, the men turned around to investigate. What they saw sent them running to the boat, which they
Misty swamps, moss-covered trees and old homes pi
guilt. Unaware of the affair, Senior Vinesto thought Julia’s	1
moodiness was due to a lack of parties and the beloved	<
harp she left behind in Uruguay. So at one of the port-of-calls, he bought her a new one, and she sat on the deck hours on end, entertaining the crew and passengers. j Captain Hawes learned there was another Vinesto treasure he desired, a trunk of gold coins. Since he lusted after both the woman and the money, it was not surprising that	]
Senior Vinesto “accidentally” fell overboard and	|
disappeared.
mu aw *nonmnn