Hauntings In Hendersonville: Part II

By: Dan Gibbs

Chanteloupe is the name of a grand house located in Flat Rock that was built by the Count de Choiseul in the 1830’s. By 1840, his wife, son, and two daughters were permanent residents at Chanteloupe and he traveled back and forth between Flat Rock and Charleston, SC as his business interests dictated.

In 1859, Madame Choiseul died in an accident at the home when she was found dead at the bottom of the steps inside the house. Some say it was an accident while others suggested that a domestic argument took a tragic turn. The Count left for France shortly after her death and left the house in his daughter’s care. She is buried at the St. Johns In the Wilderness Church.

Madame de Choiseul’s favorite area at Chanteloupe was the Gardens. It has been reported that her spirit still visits the gardens from time to time and she can be seen visiting her favorite plants and flowers. 

Chanteloupe was one of our favorite haunts to visit when my friends and I would go ghost hunting in high school, and at that time the house was unoccupied and falling into a state of disrepair. It has been purchased and brought back to its old glory but I have heard through various sources that Madame de Choiseul still visits her gardens frequently.

Beaumont, another grand estate near Hendersonville, was also built before the Civil War by Andrew Johnstone. He was murdered by Bushwhackers towards the end of the Civil War and I have always heard that the blood stains where Johnstone fell on the floor stayed for over 100 years. (“History of the Bushwhacking at Beaumont”hendersonvillebest.com)  

I have a personal connection to the estate off of Kanuga Road called Beaumont. My father was a caretaker for the man that owned Beaumont in the early 1960’s and there was the big house, Beaumont, and several smaller houses on the property. My father helped move him into the big house when he bought the property and about two days after that he asked my father to move him into one of the smaller houses because he was not staying another night in that house because it was “haunted.” For the remainder of my father’s time working for that man, Beaumont was used for storage and the house was never entered after dark.

Beaumont has also been restored to its former glory and Chanteloupe and Beaumont are private residences and should be respected as such. However, both of them do make for some great ghost stories, real and imagined.