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"Maybe the most often told story in Georgetown County is the one about the "Gray Man." On more than one occasion, it has been said that the Gray Man has been seen on the beach in Pawleys Island just before a major hurricane comes. This has been going on for over a hundred years. People who have listened to the Gray Man’s warnings have always found their homes safe from the storms.
One of the legends says that there was once a young woman whose fiancé had just come back after being gone for several months. He was so anxious to get back to her, that instead of taking the safe route back to his home, he took a short cut through the marsh. On the way he and his horse got stuck in a patch of quicksand and were killed. After his funeral the girl was walking along the beach when she saw a figure appear. It looked just like her fiancé. The figure warned her to take her family and leave the island right away. The girl and her family left the island that night. When they returned they found that Pawleys Island had been hit by a massive hurricane. They were very surprised to find their home not damaged by the storm.
Another legend about the Gray Man says that he was the ghost of Plowden Charles Jeannerette Weston. Plowden was the original owner of what is now known as the Pelican Inn. Plowden was born in 1819 and was from a very wealthy family. When he was 12 years old his family moved to England so that he could get a proper English education. Plowden’s parents eventually came back to Georgetown but he stayed in England to continue his education. While he was in school he met the love of his life, Emily Frances Esdaile. They were married even though Plowden’s father was anti British. The couple received hundreds of acres of valuable property from his father. As years passed Plowden became a very respected and important man in the state legislature. Plowden caught tuberculosis and eventually died. Some people believe that Plowden is the Gray Man because he was such a faithful man to his home and those who lived in it.
There is still another legend about the Gray Man. Mrs. Eileen Weaver, who owned the Pelican Inn for many years said she has seen the Gray Man on several occasions. She said that the Gray Man was someone that she had seen before in a nineteenth century photograph. Mrs. Weaver would see two spirits in her home on regular basis. One was a man she believed to be the Gray Man and the other was a woman. After looking through some nineteenth century photographs Mrs. Weaver recognized the spirits looked like a couple that had inherited the Pelican Inn many years before. The couple were cousins of Plowden and Emily Weston.
Whoever the Gray Man is, it is said that he continues to watch over Pawleys Island and warn people of approaching deadly hurricanes."
