Haunted hotel guide · Charleston, South Carolina
The Haunted Old Citadel: Embassy Suites Charleston Historic District and the Cadet Called Half-head
A pink, castle-like 1829 arsenal on Marion Square that trained Citadel cadets for nearly 80 years, now a suite hotel where housekeepers and guests report cadets who never checked out.
Few hotels look as much like a fortress as this one. The Embassy Suites by Hilton Charleston Historic District fills the old South Carolina State Arsenal on Marion Square, a pink stucco building with battlements, towers and gun ports. From 1843 it was home to the South Carolina Military Academy, the school everyone came to call The Citadel, until the cadets moved to their present campus on the Ashley River in 1922.
Its ghosts are military too. Housekeepers and guests have described cadets and officers on the top floor, especially in the corner suites, and one cadet with the top of his head missing has earned the grim nickname Half-head. The Huffington Post once called it the most haunted hotel in the South. Find it alongside its neighbors in our guide to haunted hotels in Charleston.
Embassy Suites (Old Citadel) at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 337 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29403, on Marion Square
- Opened Built 1829 as the State Arsenal; The Citadel from 1843 to 1922; opened as a hotel after a 1994 renovation
- Most haunted spots The top floor, once officers’ quarters, and its corner suites
- Best-known ghosts Cadets and officers, including a cadet nicknamed Half-head
- Booking the haunted room There is no single haunted room number. Book a suite and ask for the top floor and a corner if one is free. Requests are not guaranteed.
- Good to know 153 suites around a glass-roofed atrium (the old drill yard), breakfast and an evening reception included, small pool beside Marion Square
The ghosts of Embassy Suites by Hilton Charleston Historic District (the Old Citadel)
Half-head, the cadet with the missing skullcap
The Old Citadel’s most famous ghost is a young cadet whose head ends just above the brow, as if the top of his skull had been sliced away. Charleston Magazine reported in 2013 that paranormal researcher Ed Macy first documented him and gave him the nickname Half-head.
Witnesses include housekeepers and, in the story Charleston Magazine tells, a cardiologist who met him early one morning and ran from her room screaming in her underwear. His uniform never changes, so nobody can say which century he belongs to, and no record has been matched to him. Treat him as one of Charleston’s great ghost stories rather than a known person.
Cadets and officers on the top floor
The Charleston City Paper heard from guests and staff who reported cadets and officers in the jacuzzi suites on the top floors, especially the corner rooms. The story goes that the top floor was once officers’ quarters, and Discover South Carolina jokes that the ghostly cadets have claimed the corner suites with the best views.
One guest told the paper about waking to a figure and a bright light in his suite. When he reached for his glasses the figures moved, and he never got a clear look at them.
The weight of the building's history
Not every story here is a ghost. The arsenal was built in 1829 as a direct response to the alleged slave revolt plot of 1822 led, according to the authorities of the day, by Denmark Vesey, who was hanged with dozens of others. Historians still debate whether the plot existed. Many visitors find the building’s origins more unsettling than any cadet in a hallway, and it is worth knowing before you go.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- Top-floor corner suites: The rooms most often named in the cadet stories, with views over Marion Square.
- Top-floor hallways: Where housekeepers describe seeing uniformed figures.
- The atrium: The old courtyard where cadets drilled, now roofed in glass with palms and a fountain.
- The breakfast room: Restored brick walls with original gun ports, the most atmospheric corner of the building.
History of Embassy Suites by Hilton Charleston Historic District (the Old Citadel)
After the authorities announced a planned slave revolt in 1822 and hanged Denmark Vesey and others, South Carolina built an arsenal on what is now Marion Square to guard the city. Frederick Wesner designed the original two-story brick building around a courtyard, and it was finished in 1829.
In 1842 the legislature created the South Carolina Military Academy, and in 1843 cadets took over the arsenal. Its towers and battlements soon gave the school its lasting name, The Citadel. Around 1850 Edward Brickell White added a third floor and new wings.
Federal troops occupied the building after the war, and classes did not resume until 1882. The earthquake of 1886 caused light damage and a fire in 1892, thought to have started in a chimney cracked by the quake, did much worse. A fourth floor was added in 1910. In 1922 The Citadel moved to a new campus on the Ashley River, and Charleston County used the old building for offices for much of the 20th century.
The arsenal was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. In 1994 a local development firm renovated it as an Embassy Suites hotel, roofing the old drill yard in glass to create the atrium. The castle front on Marion Square, the battlements and the gun ports are all still there.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Ask for a top-floor corner suite when you book and again at check-in. They are popular, so book early around Halloween.
- Families who would rather not meet Half-head can ask for a lower floor; Ghost City Tours suggests exactly that for guests with children.
- Have breakfast in the room with the gun ports and look at the walls: this is the oldest part of the arsenal.
- The small pool sits right against the wall of Marion Square, so you can swim within earshot of the city and still be inside the old arsenal.
- The Francis Marion Hotel, home of another famous Charleston ghost, is across the square, so you can visit both on one evening walk.
Want to investigate, not just sleep?
Sleeping in a haunted hotel is one thing. Investigating one after dark is another. On a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt our team takes you through the building with professional ghost hunting equipment, runs EVP sessions and lets you explore on your own during free roam.
- USS Battleship North Carolina Ghost Hunt and Tour, Wilmington, NC: Investigate a WWII battleship on the Cape Fear River.
- Roanoke Island Inn Ghost Hunt and Sleepover, Manteo, NC: Ghost hunt, then spend the night in a historic Outer Banks inn.
More haunted hotels nearby
- Francis Marion Hotel, Charleston: across Marion Square, with Ned Cohen and Room 1010
- 20 South Battery (Battery Carriage House Inn): the Gentleman Ghost at the tip of the peninsula
- Old Charleston Jail: the city’s best-known haunted landmark
- The Marshall House, Savannah: a Civil War hospital hotel about two hours south
- Haunted hotels in South Carolina
- Haunted hotels in Charleston
Stayed in one of these hotels? Tell us what happened
We collect first-hand accounts from guests and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your stay. We read every story before it’s published.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Embassy Suites in Charleston haunted?
The Embassy Suites Historic District, in the Old Citadel, has one of the strongest ghost reputations in Charleston. Guests and housekeepers report cadets and officers on the top floor, and the Huffington Post once named it the most haunted hotel in the South. These are reported experiences, not documented events.
Who is Half-head?
A ghostly cadet whose head is missing above the brow, first documented by paranormal researcher Ed Macy according to Charleston Magazine. No one has identified him, and his uniform does not reveal his era.
Which rooms are haunted at the Old Citadel?
No room numbers are named in published accounts. The stories focus on the top floor, once officers’ quarters, and especially the corner suites.
Was the Embassy Suites really The Citadel?
Yes. The building was the South Carolina State Arsenal, built in 1829, and housed the South Carolina Military Academy, known as The Citadel, from 1843 until the school moved in 1922.
Is breakfast included at the Embassy Suites Charleston?
Yes. Like other Embassy Suites hotels it includes breakfast and an evening reception in the rate. Check current details with the hotel.
Sources
Facts on this page are checked against the hotel’s own website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. Read how we rate haunted hotels.
- Charleston Magazine: Haunted Charleston (October 2013)
- Charleston City Paper: See the real ghosts at these haunted hotels (2012)
- Wikipedia: South Carolina State Arsenal
- Discover South Carolina: 10 haunted South Carolina inns
- Ghost City Tours: Haunted hotels in Charleston
- Fodor's: Embassy Suites Charleston Historic District
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About the authors
The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every hotel in our guides using hotel histories, local archives, news coverage and the accounts of guests and staff, and we review each guide regularly so you are not booking a hotel that has closed or changed its name. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
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