The Gray Man of Pawleys Island

The most useful ghost in America. The Gray Man is said to appear on the beach at Pawleys Island before a hurricane, warning whoever sees him to leave, and the houses of those who heed him are said to come through untouched. Residents reported him before Hazel in 1954 and before Hugo in 1989, and the story gets retold every time a storm turns toward the Carolina coast. Take the warning literally if a storm is coming: this is a barrier island with one road off it.