You’ve been traveling all day, and you and your horses are both tired. Luckily, just outside of Charleston, South Carolina, there is a Wayfarer House, a rest stop where you could take a rest, and even spend the night. The hosts are quite friendly, striking up conversation, asking about you and your life. Before bed, the hostess gives you a cup of tea. Little did you know, it was poisoned. Your body was taken to the cellar and buried, unceremoniously, alongside their other victims. You have just met Lavinia Fisher.
Sounds like something out of a scary movie. Unfortunately for these travelers, there is some truth to this tale.
Lavinia Fisher was born in 1793 and grew up to marry a man named John Fisher. Together, the two lived just outside of Charleston, South Carolina, and owned the Six Mile Wayfarer House. This hotel was located just six miles outside of Charleston, and was a great place for weary travelers to take a break before heading into town.
It was also a convenient hideout for local gangs and highwaymen, neither of which were turned away by the Fisher’s. As a major port city, Charleston was full of traders and businessmen, ripe for the picking.
At the Wayfarer House, it wasn’t uncommon to pick up a game of poker, where the local gangs would cheat unsuspecting visitors out of their money. Even citizens of Charleston would stop by to pick up a game or two.
Those that didn’t gamble often spent an evening chatting with Lavinia and her husband. Lavinia was a beautiful and alluring woman. She would lure men, particularly rich men, into her parlor for a cup of tea and conversation. If Lavinia decided they were wealthy enough, she would bring them another cup of tea, this time poisoned with oleander – a deadly plant that left the guest feeling ill.
Some said that the bed in their room was connected to a trap door, and they would be dropped into the cellar and be left for dead. Others reported that those who didn’t die from the poison were then stabbed repeatedly by John.
The citizens of Charleston, having been cheated once or twice by these highwaymen, knew they had to do something. A vigilante gang went to the Wayfarer house in February 1819 in order to put a stop to the “gang activities” that were taking place. When they were confident that they had run off the highwaymen, they returned to town, leaving one of their group, David Ross, behind to keep an eye on things.
Not even a day later, Ross was attacked by highwaymen. He looked to Lavinia for help, not realizing she was involved with the gang. But she did not like Ross, and proceeded to attack him, choking him then smashing his head through a window. Somehow, Ross managed to escape.
From a sworn deposition by David Ross:
“David Ross being duly sworn deposeth that on yesterday about the hour of nine, William Hayward came to Six Mile House of which he was in possession, accompanied by another person, whose name in unknown by him, that the said Hayward cursed him, collard him violently, and pushed him out of the doors. The deponet then again reentered the house, and asked to take away the few articles that belonged to him; Hayward put his hand into his bosom, and said you damned infernal rascal, if you lay your hand on anything, I will blow your brains out.–By this time Fisher and his wife Lavinia Fisher came up, with two other men, whose names are unknown to him–that Lavinia Fisher laid violent hands upon him, choaked [sic] and boxed his head through a pain [sic] of window glass–whilst I was endeavoring to get away from them, Hayward and Fisher beat him unmercifully, with loaded whips aided and assisted by the other two men, whose names are unknown to him, there was also another woman, who aided and assisted, whilst they were beating him, the deponent leapt out of the piazza, and crossed the road through the woods then he got to the Four Mile House, but just as he had entered the woods, they fired at him, he got at least into the main road and on his way to town, near Freightous Bridge, he saw the whole party coming to town, Fisher exclaimed several times, you damned infernal rascal if I ever catch you, I will give you a hundred lashes.”
Just as Ross was making his way back to Charleston, another guest showed up at the Wayfarer House. John Peeples, a trader, came in looking for a room for the night. Lavinia composed herself and told him she had no vacant rooms, but welcomed him in to rest and have a cup of tea. What she didn’t know, was Peeples didn’t like tea, but didn’t want to be rude, so he accepted it.
After just a few hours, Lavinia excused herself for a moment. Peeples took that opportunity to dump his tea into a nearby plant. Once she returned, she was pleased to report that a room had suddenly become available.
Peeples was a smart man, and once in his room, began to question why Lavinia had asked him so many questions. Worried that he would be robbed, he chose to sleep in a chair in the room, instead of the bed. The sound of the bed collapsing, abruptly woke him in the middle of thie night, revealing the cellar of discarded bodies. He escaped with his life, and reported the ordeal to the authorities in Charleston.
From a sworn deposition by John Peeples:
“John Peeples being duly sown deposeth that on yesterday forenoon, the 19th into about eleven o’clock as he was returning home from town to his residence in the country he stopped near the forks of the road about 6 miles from town to water his horse that whilst his horses were watering a man came out of the 6 Mile House and told a boy who was with him that he must give him his bucket as he wanted to water his horse, the boy refused to give him the bucket saying he wanted it himself, he swore he would have it and immediately nine or ten persons, among them a tall, stout woman, came out of the same house to the place where he was armed with clubs, guns, and pistols, and immediately made a violent assault on him, some of them beating him with sticks and with their guns, and several times they flashed their pistols at him, that the woman appeared to be the most active in beating him, cutting him over the head and eyes with a stick–that after a while they left him, and reentered the same house, and the deponet proceeded about two hundred yards on the road where tow of the same men came up to him on horseback, and stopped his waggon [sic]–and said to him that they would kill him, both of them presenting pistols to him and snapped them at him and demanded of him his money, they then searched his pocket, and took out his pocketbook, which contained his money amounting to between thirty five and forty dollars and then rode back towards the house from whence they came, the Six Mile House–the deponent then came back to Charleston–the deponent doth not know the names of those persons who hath so cruelly beat him and robbed him but that he hath just cause to believe that among them was William Hayward, John Fisher and wife Lavinia Fisher, Joseph Roberts and John Andrews.”
The local sheriff responded immediately. Police arrived the following day and arrested John and Lavinia Fisher and William Heyward, the co-owner of the hotel. They searched the hotel and dug the grounds up. While their findings varied from report to report, they all agreed that items were found that could be traced back to dozens of travelers.
Some reports claimed the cellar even contained hundreds of sets of remains, while others claimed no bodies were ever found.
The Fishers plead not guilty, but were ordered to remain in jail until their trial. Ultimately, they were found guilty of multiple robberies and sentenced to hang. They appealed their conviction, and while they waited they began to plot their escape. Lavinia and John used jail linens to make a rope, which John used first. The rope broke, and instead of leaving Lavinia alone in jail, he returned, and both were kept under tighter security.
Their appeal was rejected in February 1820; their execution scheduled for later that month. Reverend Richard Furman, a local minister, was sent to counsel the Fishers. John begged him to save his life, while Lavinia wanted nothing to do with him.
The morning of February 18, 1820, the Fishers were taken to the gallows. John went quietly, praying with the minister whom he asked to read a letter. The crowd, numbering more than 2,000, listened to the letter, insisting on his innocence, and asked for mercy for those who had done him wrong in the judicial process. John began to verbally plead his case before the crowd, then asked for their forgiveness before he was hanged.
Lavinia was the exact opposite; she requested to wear her wedding dress and refused to walk to the gallows. She had to be carried while she ranted and screamed before the crowd. Lavinia stood beside her executioners, as they tried to fasten the noose around her neck, and yelled into the crowd, “If you have a message you want to send to hell, give it to me – I’ll carry it.”
As she dangled down, onlookers could see her wicked sneer as her dead eyes stared off.
The bodies of John and Lavinia Fisher were put to rest in a Potters Field Cemetery which sat just next to the Old Charleston jail. Many claim Lavinia still haunts the jail to this day.
Was Lavinia Fisher the first female serial killer? Would you consider Elizabeth Bathory a serial killer?