Little River South Carolina is one of the oldest communities in Horry County. This quaint fishing village dates back to the early 18th century and derives its name from what local Indian tribes called “Mineola,” meaning “little river.”

Early fishermen and farmers, dating back even further to the late 1600s and 1700s, utilized the narrow waterway that empties into the inlet and onto the Atlantic Ocean.

Being somewhat of a secluded port, Little River, as legend has it, was known by infamous pirates such as Captain Kidd, Anne Bonny, and Blackbeard himself, who frequented the area and took advantage of its hidden route as a means of transport.

Known today for its historic waterfront and the world-famous Blue Crab Festival, it’s not pirates you’ll find openly exploring Little River but tourists instead.

But among all the local attractions, and nestled amid the coastal vacation spots, there sits an almost seemingly out of place Victorian house that’s been part of the Little River community for well over one hundred years.

I’m referring to the beautiful Brentwood Restaurant & Wine Bistro, known for serving up some of the most spectacular Lowcountry French cuisine you could ever imagine!

My visit to The Brentwood began around 7:00 pm on a Wednesday in June, and while it looked as though some overhead clouds were starting to roll in, so did a cool coastal breeze, making for a perfect early summer evening. 

Owner and head chef Eric Masson had arranged for me to dine in prime Brentwood style. While the other guests were seated on the outside patio area enjoying an evening of live entertainment, my husband and I were escorted to one of the five dining rooms inside the house, ours being the upstairs front.

The view from the three bay windows looked out and onto the beautiful front lawn and gazebo. The charming grounds reveal why The Brentwood is a favorite among South Carolina wedding venues.

Our dining room had an elegant yet nostalgic feel. The walls were artistically finished with individual corks collected from the wines enjoyed by Brentwood’s guests. The open brick fireplace, original to the house and having a unique character all its own, allowed a glimpse of an adjacent dining room.

Our server and guide for the evening, Eric (I’ll refer to him as Eric #2) began to share the story of this famous Victorian beauty we’d traveled so far to see.

The History

This magnificent house, built in 1910 by Clarence McCorsley for himself and his wife Essie, didn’t always sit at 4269 Luck Avenue. In fact, the house was initially erected across Highway 17 and remained there until it was moved more than sixty years later to its present location.

The story goes something like this: Clarence and Essie lived happily in this home, starting a family and raising four children. The McCorsleys shared many happy memories here until sadly, Clarence passed away in the late 1940s. With all four children grown and married, Essie was left all alone in the house. Regardless of her circumstances, Essie was determined to stay in the house Clarence had built. 

It was then that Essie McCorsley decided to rent out the upstairs rooms to traveling guests, as hotels in the area were scarce. Many of her guests were visiting fishermen. For one dollar a night, she would provide them with a comfortable bed, a hot shower, and for an additional fifty cents more, a hearty breakfast.

As the fishing town of Little River became more and more popular, the desires for its properties were in high demand. Essie was approached on several occasions about selling her property, as developers had their eye on her prime piece of real estate. Their plans were to purchase it, only to demolish the McCorsley house and to build profitable businesses.

Essie McCorsley simply wouldn’t have it.

She was not about to give up the home that she and Clarence had worked so hard for and had raised their family in. The offers continued, all of which she refused.

After much deliberating back and forth, contractors finally came up with a proposition for Mrs. McCorsley: If she agreed to sell the property, they would cover the expense to relocate the house across the highway.

Just a few years before her death in 1974, that’s exactly what happened.

After Essie’s death, the house did not stay in the McCorsley family and soon changed hands, becoming “Grandma Mary’s” an eatery known for home-cooked meals.

From there, the house was purchased by brothers from Brentwood Long Island, who ran The Brentwood Restaurant for thirteen years. Upon their retirement, the current owners, Chef Eric Masson and his wife Kim, purchased the property in 2007 and established The Brentwood Restaurant & Wine Bistro.

Eric (#2) went over the menu with us and we were left to contemplate our order. My husband and I were both thoroughly enjoying this decision-making process as we studied each of the tantalizing entrée choices.

And while the romantic melodies of French music drifted throughout our dining room, almost whisking me away to an evening in Paris, I, for some reason, felt the need to repeatedly look over my shoulder, several times, towards the bay windows.

And then came the food…

Owner and award-winning Master Chef Eric Masson is a French native and certainly knows French fare.

Having earned multiple degrees in culinary arts, including one from the renowned and prestigious Ferrandi Culinary School in Paris, dinner at The Brentwood Restaurant is an unforgettable experience, to which I can attest!

Our three-course meal started with The Maison Brentwood Salad served with a miso vinaigrette and paired with fresh French bread and garlic herb butter.

With the many entrée choices, it was difficult to choose. Eventually I decided on the Shrimp Chardonnay, while my husband selected the Pork Osso Buco.

 Upon the first bites, we were elated with our selections!

Our dinner ended with a profiterole, served with ice cream, and a chocolate fondant with raspberry sauce.

But, award-winning cuisine isn’t all that’s served up here at The Brentwood. Among the talk of fine wines, exceptional entrées, and the most delectable desserts, is, well, a ghost story or two.

With the delightful distraction of such a magnificent meal and the ambiance of France all around me, for a moment, I had forgotten that I was sitting in one of the most haunted restaurants in the country…

The Haunts

Eric (#2) informed me that our dining room, the one we had to ourselves during dinner, and the one that I constantly felt the need to look over my shoulder while sitting in, (until the food arrived, anyway) just so happened to be the most “active” place in the house for paranormal activity.

Both Chef Eric and his wife Kim had no prior knowledge of any “ghosts” or “hauntings” in the house before purchasing the restaurant, and it wasn’t until three months after moving in that strange and unexplained things began to occur.

“It was a Friday night,” Chef Eric begins in his captivating French accent, “And everyone was gone. I was in the bathroom washing my hands, and I heard this voice, it was like a sigh, in a woman’s voice, and it was very, very loud, right outside the door, and I was really scared.

“I was like, ‘What is this?’ I didn’t even want to get out of the bathroom!” He jokes, with a wonderful, robust laugh.

“I called my wife and she didn’t answer the phone, and I was like, ‘What am I gonna do?’ And eventually, I was like, ‘Ok! I’m coming out now!’ ” He adds, with another laugh.

“But then, I totally dismissed the whole thing. Then, I was like, ‘It’s an old house, it was just water in the pipes.’ ”

That whole “water in the pipes” idea might have held some clout for a little while until Kim experienced the same thing.

Also reported is a tall shadow figure who’s been seen by many inside the house, including Kim, employees, and Brentwood guests.

Eric shares a story of a new employee and her first evening on the job.

“This individual was upfront about not doing the whole ‘ghost thing’ and certainly not believing in them.” 

Eric said that the new employee was about three quarters into her first shift when she saw Brentwood’s famous black shadow creature go through the open fireplace from one dining room and into another.

“After she finished up serving her last table, she handed in her apron and her resignation.”

Kim Masson had the opportunity to speak with one of Essie’s relatives who used to help her with the house. When she first described the voices and “sighing” sounds heard outside the upstairs bathroom door, the relative, Essie’s nephew, knew exactly what she was talking about.

“Oh, that’s Essie!” He said.

He told Kim that when Essie rented out the rooms, there was only one bathroom for the guests to share. Being the polite lady she was, she would stand outside the bathroom door, and rather than knocking to let her guests know they were occupying the lavatory far too long, she would simply let out a louder-than-subtle sigh until they got the hint.

On more than a few occasions, this bathroom door has become stuck, not opening from either the inside or the outside.

Eric shares about a lady guest who became so panic-stricken when she was unable to open the bathroom door, that she created quite a spectacle. The waiter tried to open the door from the other side but to no avail. Chef Eric was called, and when no one was able to open the door, this sent the woman into further hysterics.

 “So, they get a screwdriver. They’re about to take the hinges off the door because this woman is screaming hysterically! Before they could get to that first hinge, boom! The door pops open!”

And when this happens, the story is usually always the same; the person is trapped inside the bathroom for a good five to ten minutes or so, but once the screwdriver is obtained, the door easily pops open on its own.

After rumors had gotten out about the bathroom door, Eric and Kim received an email from one of their customers, a burly man standing over six-feet-tall and weighing in at about two hundred and twenty pounds. He, too, had become trapped in the bathroom during a visit to The Brentwood.

He explained in the email, after several minutes of not being able to open the door he started to nudge it, hard, throwing his shoulder into it, almost fearing he would break the door down. The customer described the door as feeling like “a wall of cement.” 

Just when he was about to really lose his cool, the door effortlessly popped open, all on its own. Being a man of size and much capability of opening a mere bathroom door, he decided to remain silent out of fear of embarrassment.

 Eric confirms they have investigated the lock, the way the door is hung, and the doorknob, and there is no reasonable explanation why people on both sides of this door randomly aren’t able to open it.

Essie’s nephew also confirmed seeing that same tall, dark shadow figure. This towering black figure is believed to be that of Clarence, looking after his house.

Other unexplained happenings have occurred at The Brentwood, including pictures falling off walls, wine glass racks crashing to the floor, mirrors breaking, and a dishwasher going haywire, many of which have been caught on security cameras.

Orbs of different shapes and sizes have been captured on cameras, faces have appeared in mirrors, and cuckoo clocks randomly go off at various times during the evening, (the latter, I witnessed myself twice during my visit).

Kim also told of a Christmas day, years ago, when she was busy opening the restaurant for lunch. She explained she had just finished seating thirty or so guests when her daughter, who was six years old at the time, came running down the steps wanting to see the “little boy.”

“It was about 1 pm, and she comes running down the stairs and she was like, ‘Mommy! Mommy! Where’s the little boy?’ No kids, whatsoever, were in the restaurant at the time. Then she was like, ‘I was upstairs and saw in the camera a little boy that was following you!'”

Kim said her daughter described what she saw, and the little boy, in full detail.

“It’s not like she saw a shadow of somebody, she actually saw a little boy following me, and when she came downstairs, he was gone. That’s what freaked her out.”

The Brentwood, at one time, also had a regular piano player in the upstairs bar area. When Pierre decided to go downstairs and step outside for a quick smoke break, another piano player, a full-bodied “person,” was seen on multiple occasions while Pierre was away from the piano.

The gentleman was described as coming up the stairs, playing a quick song, and then tipping his hat, only to turn the corner towards the staircase and disappear. 

When a customer asked Pierre who his fill-in guy was, Pierre had no clue what he was talking about, nor did Chef Eric, Kim, or the rest of the staff.

During many of my visits, I have been told that ghosts sometimes appear as “solid” as real people, unlike the transparent images we think of when referring to apparitions. Kim states that, on many occasions, guests have claimed they’ve seen people at The Brentwood that just appear to be “out of place.”

Chef Eric’s take on the phantoms in his restaurant,

 “I try to focus on the food, not so much the ghosts!”

He says with a laugh.

After touring the house and hearing all its fascinating stories, I realized we had lingered past closing time.

Thanking Chef Eric, Kim, and Eric #2, our server and tour guide, my husband and I bid our farewells and made our way out the front door, hearing it shut behind us.

A few steps out, a lady came rushing around the corner of the wrap around porch. She was wearing a long, white billowing dress and clutching a small beaded evening bag. Avoiding a near collision, we felt her breeze by us, as she quickly headed towards the door as if she were running late for something.

She was a beautiful woman, her blonde hair short and wavy, a style almost distinct from the 1920s. I turned around, just to do a double-take, and she was gone. The only thing behind me was The Brentwood’s door, closed, quiet, and locked up for the night, yet I hadn’t heard the door open or close as it did just seconds before, when we exited.

I’m sure she was just a restaurant patron. She had to be… yes, I’m sure of it.

But, isn’t it funny how the power of imagination can almost make you, well, second-guess yourself?

Curious about both the food and frights here at The Brentwood Restaurant? Well you’re in luck!

The Ghost Dinner & Tour includes a full three-course meal, house tour, and an evening filled with all its haunting history. Reservations are required.

From fine dining, wine club, ghost tours, even cooking classes, The Brentwood Restaurant & Wine Bistro has it all!

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To explore all The Brentwood Restaurant has to offer!

Bio Channel’s My Ghost Story featuring The Brentwood Restaurant & Wine Bistro