Haunted hotel guide · Charleston, South Carolina
The Haunted Jasmine House Inn, Charleston: the Chrysanthemum Room and the Torn Newspaper
An 1843 Greek Revival mansion in Ansonborough with tall columned piazzas, a quiet courtyard and one memorable ghost story about a woman who did not want a guest to leave.
The Jasmine House, often still listed as the Jasmine House Inn, is a pale yellow Greek Revival mansion at 64 Hasell Street in Ansonborough, built in 1843. It has white-columned piazzas, rooms with 15-foot ceilings and working fireplaces, a carriage house set around a courtyard with a fountain, and the City Market a five-minute walk away.
Its ghost story has been told for years. A guest staying in the Chrysanthemum Room woke to find a woman standing near his bed and felt she did not want him to leave. When he checked out anyway, the story goes, he found his morning newspaper torn into tiny pieces and scattered across the floor. It is one of the smaller, stranger tales in our guide to haunted hotels in Charleston.
The Jasmine House at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 64 Hasell Street, Charleston, SC 29401, in Ansonborough
- Opened Built 1843; now a small bed and breakfast in the main house and carriage house
- Most haunted spots The Chrysanthemum Room in the main house, and the carriage house
- Best-known ghosts A woman who did not want a guest to leave and shredded his newspaper
- Booking the haunted room Ask for the Chrysanthemum Room when you book. The inn now lists rooms by type, so phone ahead and ask which room it is. Requests are not guaranteed.
- Good to know About a dozen rooms, breakfast included, evening wine and cheese, paid parking across the street, check-in has been handled at the sister Indigo Inn across the street
The ghosts of The Jasmine House (Jasmine House Inn)
The woman in the Chrysanthemum Room
The Jasmine House’s best-known story centers on the Chrysanthemum Room. A male guest woke in the night to see a woman standing near his bed. He did not feel threatened, but he came away with a strong sense that she wanted him to stay, and stay for good.
He left anyway. When he went to collect his things, the story says, his morning newspaper had been ripped into tiny pieces and scattered across the floor of the room. Nobody has ever said who the woman might be, and the tale has been passed along by ghost writers rather than recorded by the inn itself.
Something small in the carriage house
A visitor who stayed in a third-floor flat in the carriage house wrote on the Haunted Places website in 2018 that she heard what sounded like a small dog whining beside the bed, with no dog in the room, and found odd details in her photos afterward. She added that nothing bothered them. Like all user-submitted stories, it is one person’s experience and cannot be checked.
How much weight to give the stories
The Jasmine House is a pleasant small inn first and a haunted one second. The ghost stories are thinly sourced, and the inn does not promote them. If you want a Charleston stay where the ghost is the main event, the Battery Carriage House rooms at 20 South Battery or the Francis Marion Hotel are better bets; if you want a historic mansion with a story to tell over breakfast, this fits nicely.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- The Chrysanthemum Room: The room in the ghost story. Ask for it by name when you book.
- The carriage house: Rooms around the courtyard, where one guest reported the sound of a small dog that was not there.
- The piazzas and courtyard: The columned porches and the fountain courtyard, the best spots for a quiet evening.
History of The Jasmine House (Jasmine House Inn)
The Jasmine House was built in 1843 in the Greek Revival style that was fashionable in Charleston at the time,, with tall columns and deep piazzas. It stands in Ansonborough, one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, laid out in 1746 and named for Lord George Anson, a British naval officer. Local legend says Anson won the land in a card game, which is the kind of story Charleston loves even if the records are less colorful.
Much of Ansonborough burned in the great fire of 1838 and was rebuilt in the years that followed, which is why the neighborhood has so many houses from the 1840s. The Jasmine House is one of them.
Today the main house holds large guest rooms with 15-foot ceilings, hardwood floors and fireplaces, a parlor suite and a third-floor apartment, while the carriage house behind has rooms that open onto the courtyard. Breakfast and an evening wine and cheese spread are included, and the inn has long worked hand in hand with the Indigo Inn across the street.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Phone the inn to request the Chrysanthemum Room, since online booking shows room types rather than names.
- Ask where to check in before you arrive; guests have checked in at the Indigo Inn across the street.
- Parking is in a paid lot across the street, so factor that into the cost.
- You are a short walk from the City Market, where many of Charleston’s ghost walks start and finish.
- Pick up your newspaper early, just in case.
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: Ned Cohen and Room 1010 on Marion Square
- 20 South Battery (Battery Carriage House Inn): the Gentleman Ghost and the headless torso
- Old Charleston Jail: the city’s best-known haunted landmark
- 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 Jasmine House Inn haunted?
It has a ghost story: a guest in the Chrysanthemum Room saw a woman by his bed who seemed not to want him to leave, and his newspaper was later found shredded. The story is thinly sourced and the inn does not promote it, so treat it as a ghost story rather than fact.
Which room is haunted at the Jasmine House?
The Chrysanthemum Room in the main house is the room in the story. Ask for it by name when you book.
When was the Jasmine House built?
In 1843, in the Greek Revival style, in Charleston’s Ansonborough neighborhood.
Where do you check in at the Jasmine House?
Guests have checked in at the Indigo Inn across the street, which has handled the front desk for the Jasmine House. Confirm with the inn before you arrive.
Is breakfast included at the Jasmine House?
Yes. Breakfast is included, and the inn has also offered an evening wine and cheese spread.
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.
- Haunted Places: Jasmine House Inn
- Fodor's: Jasmine House Inn
- Oyster: The Jasmine House Inn
- Charleston Footprints: Ansonborough
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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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