Who is the Gray Man?
Gray Rinehart spent most of his youth in Georgetown, South Carolina, just south of Pawleys Island -- and when he learned about the "Gray Man," the legendary ghost of Pawley's Island, he knew he had found his alter ego.
The Gray Man is famous on the Grand Strand of South Carolina. The Gray Man appears on the beach at Pawley's Island to warn residents about oncoming hurricanes. The Gray Man is not a writer, so far as we know.
The Legend of the Gray Man
The Gray Man first appeared on Pawley's Island, South Carolina, in 1822, to a young woman vacationing in the then-resort town of North Inlet. She was convinced he was the ghost of her suitor, who had died in a marshy area near Middleton Pond. The next day her father took her and the whole family to Charleston, and a hurricane struck the coast. The storm lasted two days, and killed almost everyone in North Inlet.
The Gray Man appeared again in 1893, just before a tidal wave struck Pawley's Island. He appeared twice in 1954: once in April, just before a tornado-laden storm struck the island, and again in October, before Hurricane Hazel destroyed most of the island.
According to the legend, those who see the Gray Man and heed his warnings will not be harmed when the storms come.
(See Ghosts of the Carolinas, by Nancy Roberts, or Ghosts of Georgetown, by Elizabeth Huntsinger, for more on the Gray Man and other Lowcountry ghosts. You can also click here for more of the legend.)
Gray's Legend (so to speak)
Gray Rinehart is not famous ... not in South Carolina or anywhere else.
Gray is not legendary, nor is he a ghost, but he and his family do consider the Grand Strand home. Aside from the year that his family spent in Myrtle Beach while he was overseas, their visits to the beach are almost as rare as the "real" Gray Man's!
Gray does not warn people about hurricanes ... but some of his writings have been cautionary.
Gray started writing in middle school, had a couple of poems published in his college's literary journal, "outgrew" it after college (except for some professional publications), began again in 1990 and started writing more seriously in 1995. Gray has yet to realize his dream of being a full-time, independent writer. One day, maybe ...