B & D Burgers 209 West Congress Street Savannah, Georgia
N.B. This article was edited and revised 15 September 2019.
In a city like Savannah with so much of the original built environment still intact, it can be expected that much of the spiritual realm will be intact as well. Even in places whose histories are not marked with tragic events, there still may be residual energy left from the many souls using these places over decades and centuries. Apparently, this may be the case of B&D Burgers, a gourmet burger joint.
According to two recent stories from Savannah ABC affiliate, WJCL, the B&D Burgers location on West Congress Street, well inside the large Savannah Historic District, may have some spirits lingering about it premises. The Savannah Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District, a recognition afforded to only around 2,500 sites in the nation, and even fewer historic districts.
B & D Burgers, 2017, by Michael Rivera. Courtesy of Wikipedia.
The plain, mid-19th century commercial building located on Congress Street looks out onto Ellis Square, one of the original squares laid out by General James Oglethorpe—the founder of Savannah and the Colony of Georgia—in 1733. The square and the market building within it were demolished in the mid-20th century and replaced by a not so glorious parking garage.
Spurred by this sad fate, locals began to band together to preserve the history that was being demolished around them. When the lease on the parking garage expired almost 50 years later, the city did not renew it and took over the square again with plans to renew the streetscape. The garage was demolished and replaced with underground parking while the square was recreated and reopened in 2010. All this has been witnessed by the little brick building on Congress Street.
For some time, the employees of the burger joint have thought the building to be haunted. One manager reported having had his name called when no one was present. Others have felt uncomfortable in the building’s basement. All of these things are classic signs of a haunting, but it wasn’t until surveillance video revealed some odd occurrences that a paranormal team was called in to investigate.
One video shows an odd light moving around the busy bar area and then seeming to hover. Another video shows a stack of plastic glass pallets toppling over on their own accord. Granted, these odd videos themselves do not preclude the presence of paranormal activity, though when combined with reports from the restaurant’s staff, paranormal activity becomes quite a bit more evident.
Paranormal investigators from 3D Ghost Hunters, did pick up on some spiritual energy within the building. Accompanied by a local psychic, the preliminary investigation of the building produced some high EMF readings and personal experiences for the investigators. A woman’s perfume was smelled, though none of those present were wearing any. Interestingly, when a brothel was mentioned, the odor of perfume got stronger. All of this evidence, coupled with the video and employee experiences appear to be enough to bring the investigators back for a full investigation.
WJCL included the surveillance videos on their website, but they do not appear to be working.
Sources
Colwell, Josh. “B&D Burgers Ghost Hunt.” WJCL. 1 May 2013.
Colwell, Josh. “Ghost Busters Anyone?” WJCL. 30 April 2013.
U. S. Post Office
729 4th Avenue West Point, Georgia
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. –Inscription on the façade of the James Farley Post Office, New York City, from the Histories of Herodatus.
Apparently, this inscription which is often considered the unofficial motto of the United States Postal Service should also include death. It seems that something is still at work within this old post office; something still carrying on its appointed rounds perhaps?
I was first introduced to the West Point Post Office’s haunted state when I took the local Ghost Walk that’s held around Halloween each year (see my review here). The post office was included on the tour, though I was skeptical of the legend which involved a young girl in a bloody dress being seen outside the building. To me, it just seemed like local tripe. That is, until I received an email a couple of weeks ago.
West Point Post Office, 2012, by Rivers Langley. Courtesy of Wikipedia.
Robin Jarrell, who has worked at this post office branch since 1996, wanted me to know about the ghost there; something far more believable than a girl in a bloody dress. They call him Joe, though his exact identity remains a mystery, and he tends to ramble about the building mystifying the employees. Robin invited me to visit, tour the building and hear their stories.
Built in 1932, the old building is quite intriguing. The main floor includes the post office and all of its functions. With the exception of a few modern additions, the lobby appears to be mostly original with banks of old post office boxes, marble flooring and original streamlined Art Deco-styled light fixtures. The post office’s main workspace occupies the remainder of that floor. The old, creaking wooden floor underscores the old techniques still employed to sort the mail here. No robots or complicated sorting mechanisms here, just the tried and true hand sorting that I imagine is still employed in small post offices throughout the nation. Above, a modern acoustical tile drop ceiling hides the catwalk that once existed above the floor from which employees were monitored to keep them honest.
From the lobby, a marble staircase leads to a series of rental offices upstairs. Again—in this now mostly empty series of rooms—the building really shows its age. This is also the domain of the ghost. According to Robin, footsteps are heard issuing from up here sometimes accompanied by the slam of a door. The employees downstairs often hear this but simply return to work with the chill of knowing that no one is up there.
Arthur, a postal contractor, is the one person who probably uses this floor more than anyone. His schedule driving the mail requires downtime and he uses one of the old offices to relax. Commonly, he’ll hear footsteps out in the hall or in other offices and he’ll hear things being shuffled through. The old doors of these offices are fitted with opaque window panes and heavy brass knobs that really provide the weight of age. It was through the window of the restroom that he actually saw something. He’d heard footsteps and looking up from the toilet he saw something pass by the door. The window’s opacity blocked out any details.
It is Arthur’s polite, but no-nonsense demeanor that is in sharp relief to his very odd experiences in his garret room in the post office. In the small, cluttered room with a desk, computer and air mattress, he’s had the computers turn themselves on. At times, he’s heard footsteps on the roof as well, though getting up there appears to be a bit of a challenge. He has also had some moments where he has been awakened to the feeling of being smothered.
The issue of sleep paralysis has been frightening people for millennia. In centuries past, the blame for these has been placed squarely on the spirit world and even more specifically on creatures called incubi and succubae. The male form—the incubus, from the Latin incubo, “to lie upon— was believed to attack females and to sometimes impregnate them. The female form, the succubus—from the Latin succuba, “to lie under”— was believed to attack the male in his sleep. Both entities were supposed, over time, to slowly drain the life from the sleepers. Shakespeare includes a description of an incubus in Act I of Romeo and Juliet with Mercutio chiding Romeo, “This is the hag where maids lie on their backs, That presses them and learns them first to bear, Making them women of good carriage. This is she—“
He is interrupted by Romeo who responds, “Peace, peace, Mercutio, peace! Thou talkest of nothing.” Indeed, Romeo now has the weight of science behind his exclamation.
As science has explored and begun to understand “O gentle sleep!—Nature’s soft nurse,” (Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Part II) it has come to understand that sleep paralysis—a much gentler name than evil entities with Latinate names—is a common occurrence. An experience with such may only indicate an uneasy transition between stages of sleep. Though the experience may be terrifying it is not dangerous.
When people experience sleep paralysis in a paranormally active location, though, the black-and-white of science then meets the grey void of tradition and folklore. Could these instances actually be caused by spirit activity in these cases? Since I have begun interviewing witnesses to paranormal activity over the last few years, this is one of a few cases I’ve been privy to involving sleep paralysis in a possibly haunted location.
The first case happened at Unto These Hills Cast Housing in Cherokee, North Carolina. My friend, Philenia, was napping in the new dormitory building. The building occupies the footprint of the old girls dorm and while it is surrounded by buildings with fairly high amounts of paranormal activity, the new building—as well as the old one—had few occurrences. Philenia had been napping awhile when she awoke to the feeling of something climbing on her chest. She said she felt a hand over her mouth and could not move or breathe. When it finally released her, she jumped up upset and terrified.
While Arthur’s experience was not as dramatic as Philenia’s there’s still the question of cause left hanging. There are other cases of people being awakened by possibly paranormal activity. A cousin of mine grew up in an antebellum home in Newnan, Georgia. During the Civil War, Newnan was, like many Southern towns along the railroad, pressed into hospital service. Churches, government buildings and private homes quickly filled with the wounded and sick, my cousin’s home included. She spoke of being awakened to the feeling of something holding her feet down. She continued,
I could feel the pressure of hands. I assumed it was my mom. But when I looked down at the foot of the bed, I saw a small woman with a bun wearing a long, grayish blue dress that came all the way to the ground. It was a weird sensation because I could see her, but I couldn’t make out details. What remains with me more than the brief image I saw was the feeling she gave me. It was extremely peaceful and sweet and real. It was nothing like I had ever felt before that day or since.
When my cousin married and moved into a home with her husband, she began to experience a far less positive haunting. “I had a lot of experiences where I would wake up in the morning (sometimes at night) and feel paralyzed. I was completely aware but unable to speak or move. That was not pleasant at all.” This was in addition to other activity, some of which centered on her young daughter. While this was going on she took a photograph of her youngest daughter in which a grayish hand appears reaching towards the child. She no longer lives in the house and has experienced nothing in her new home.
As for Arthur, he pointed out a lounge chair on the other side of the room and said he’d slept in that chair several times without incident. The only times he’d been awakened were while sleeping on the air mattress. He noted that he would sometimes leave a radio on upstairs to hopefully placate the spirit or at least keep it at bay. He removed the radio and the activity has returned. “I don’t think I’ve slept since I took the radio out.” He remarked. I made the suggestion that he try sleeping in the lounge again or that perhaps he move the air mattress.
As I toured the building from attic to basement, I didn’t really feel anything energy-wise that was off. I was guided up to the old attic entrance to the catwalks. The narrow, closet-like space felt quite different, though. As attics are wont to be, this one was hot and stuffy, though the atmosphere was charged with energy. It was almost like being surrounded by hot breath. While I’m not really sensitive, I do sometimes pick up on strong energy and what I felt was a feeling I’ve felt in only a few other situations. Needless to say, I didn’t stick around in the attic very long.
While the spirit or spirit may occasionally upset or mystify the employees at the post office, it’s not thought of as dangerous. Robin remarked, “We take it as a good spirit.” She thinks that the spirit is “looking for something or he needs something fulfilled.” Or perhaps he’s just going about his “appointed rounds.”
I’d like to thank Robin Jarrell and Arthur for extending me such hospitality on my visit and for sharing their experiences. I’m also grateful to my cousin and Philenia for sharing their experiences as well.
Sources
Conversation with Bonne B. 23 April 2013.
Interview with Arthur C. at the West Point Post Office, West Point, Georgia. 19 April 2013.
Interview with Philenia W. at the Cherokee Historical Association, Cherokee, North Carolina. 21 September 2012.
Interview with Robin Jarrell at the West Poing Post Office, West Point, Georgia, 19 April 2013.
Johnson, Forrest Clark and Glenda Major. Treasures of Troup County: A Pictorial History. LaGrange, GA: Troup County Historical Society, 1994.
West Point Depot Visitors Center and Museum. Ghost Walk. 15 October 2010.
Kehoe House 123 Habersham Street Savannah, Georgia
Savannah has worked hard to promote its ghosts. Perhaps it may be one of the more, if not most, active cities in the South. Its huge historic districts are just crawling with spirits, some strolling through its parks, stalking its streets and alleys, lingering in its gardens and cemeteries, residing amongst the living in private homes, floating between the tables of restaurants and bars and staying on past their reservations in the city’s hotels and inns. Savannah has no end of beautiful hotels and inns for guests and ghosts to haunt. From historic hotels like the Marshall House, 17Hundred90 Inn and the East Bay Inn to bed and breakfast inns like the Foley House Inn and the Hamilton-Turner House, ghosts and guests have quite a bit to choose from. Perhaps one of the grandest among these is the Kehoe House on Columbia Square.
Savannah was laid out by James Oglethorpe, the founder of the Colony of Georgia, in a style used initially by the ancient Romans for laying out their military encampments. This style consists of broad avenues punctuated by squares. Over time the strict lines of this plan have been softened by the many live oak trees planted along the streets and in the squares. The oaks provide a verdant canopy over the still vibrant historic streets and squares. Columbia Square is one of more peaceful and less bustling squares while two of its structures anchor its historic character: the Isaiah Davenport House and the Kehoe House. The ghostly reputations of both these houses also anchor them in the annals of the paranormal world
Built in 1820, the Isaiah Davenport House was built almost 70 years before the construction of the grand Kehoe House just across the street. Isaiah Davenport was a master builder from New England who used his family’s home to demonstrate his building skill; while William Kehoe was an Irish immigrant who climbed his way up the ladder in the iron industry and eventually bought the iron foundry where he began as an apprentice. In building his home, Kehoe sought to demonstrate the beauty and flexibility of his iron products which were used in the window and door frames, railings and balustrades. Both the Federal Davenport House and the Queen Anne Kehoe House reflect the progress of the American Dream in the 19th century.
The fates of both homes took similar paths. Both remained residences until the early 19th century when Savannah’s fortunes changed and the neighborhood declined. The homes were both converted to boarding houses, but the newer Kehoe House eventually became home to a funeral home. Its basements where servants had once toiled to support the family saw embalmers draining the blood of the dead to be replaced with formaldehyde. The parlors on the first floor that once buzzed with the excitement of society’s graces were filled with weeping and sorrow as family and friends stole one last glance upon their loved ones in the Viewing Room. The perfumes and colognes of the living throughout the house were replaced with the perfume of flowers for the dead.
The Kehoe House remained as a funeral home for some decades until it was sold to a group of investors including football star Joe Namath. Intending to turn the grand house in a gentleman’s club, the investors were rebuffed by the residents of Columbia Square and the rest of the neighborhood. In 1990, the house was sold again and began a restoration to transform it into a historic inn.
Meanwhile the Davenport House remained a boarding house of the lowest order through the first half of the twentieth century. In 1955, the shabby structure was purchased by the step daughter of the owner of the Goette Funeral Home across the street. It was intended that the eyesore would be demolished and replaced with America’s contribution to historic preservation: a parking lot. History-minded citizens in the city created the Historic Savannah Foundation with an eye towards saving the derelict house. On several occasions they tried to purchased the home but their advances were spurned. With just hours until the home was to meet its fate, the owner relented and sold it to the Foundation. The home underwent years of restoration and once again held her head proudly among the historic ladies of Columbia Square as a house museum.
Davenport House by Carol M. Highsmith. Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
While now the Davenport House is devoid of living residents, there are spiritual residents remaining. One of the first stories told of the house dates to its days as a boarding house. Among its diverse residents were a number of Chinese families including Robert Chung Chan whose daughter reported this story to Margaret Wayt DeBolt who included it in her magisterial Savannah Spectres. The simple story tells of Chan encountering a large yellow cat as he entered the house one day. The cat followed him up the stairs and bolted through the front door and disappeared down the hall. A subsequent search of the house did not reveal the yellow feline.
From source to source the description of the cat changes, perhaps from witness’s unfamiliarity with cat breeds. James Caskey describes the cat as an orange and white tabby, though he notes DeBolt’s description of a large yellow cat while Robert Edgerly notes the same description. Dr. Alan Brown goes further afield in describing the cat as a large Persian. Regardless, guests visiting the Davenport house have seen and felt the large cat on the premises. Some may have the same experience as Mr. Chan with the cat scurrying up the front stairs and disappearing in the hallway. Others see the cat following them into the gift shop. Robert Edgerly reports a guest standing on the second floor felt a purring cat rub against his leg, though when he looked down, there was nothing there. It should be noted that the museum does not allow pets on the premises, though they have adopted the spirited feline as part of the museum family and they now sell a plush version in the gift shop.
In addition to the scurrying, four-legged spirit, the Davenport House also plays host to a two-legged spirit as well. Guests have seen a small girl playing with toys on the second floor. She was spotted at one point by two tourists who were touring the house near closing time. Concerned that the girl seemed to be unsupervised, they mentioned her presence on the second floor to the cashier in the gift shop. The concerned cashier thoroughly searched the house to no avail. Tour groups passing the house have also observed the little girl peering from the upper windows of the house. Alan Brown ventures that the child may be the spirit of Laura Davenport who died after falling down the stairs of the home.
With guests staying longer at the Kehoe House, there’s more of a chance for run-ins with the resident spirits there. One of the more prominent spirits is that of a woman in white. She has been known to enter rooms, possibly checking in on the guests. The late Nancy Roberts, the author of numerous books on ghosts of the South, stayed in room 201 and encountered the Lady in White during her stay. Her first night in the inn she stayed up expecting something to happen. Exhausted, she closed her eyes around 1 AM but was awakened around 2 AM by the sound of a key in the lock of the door.
I was still half asleep when I heard the sound in the door. Then I heard a sharp crack as if the door was opening, followed by the sound of the door closing with a resounding crash.
I immediately opened my eyes and sat up in bed. In the far corner of the room, I could see a tall woman with long, dark hair. The woman’s floor-length gown was a luminous white. With trembling fingers, I turned on the bedside light and looked again, only to find that she was gone.
The following night, the nocturnal visitor did not return, though Roberts and her husband did note a cold spot in the room and her husband complained of the strong scent of roses that permeated the room. Oddly, his wife did not notice the odor.
Kehoe House, 2009. Photo by rjones0856. Released under a Creative Commons License.
Robert Edgerly mentions an event that was related to him by hotel guests in 2004. A couple staying in the same room, 201, were awakened at 12:01 AM by a woman scream followed by the sound of someone falling down the stairs just outside their room. Rushing to the door and throwing it open, the couple found no one but the couple from room 203, just across the hall, who had been awakened by the same sounds.
These two rooms on the second floor seem to attract the most spirits. Ghost tour guide James Caskey surmises that at least some of the activity in these rooms may be caused by the spirits of a pair of twins who legend holds may have died in the home. The progeny of the Kehoe family, these curious twins died while exploring a chimney. As a result, their laughter and footsteps have been heard in the hall of the second floor. Additionally, a guest of room 201 was awakened by a young child caressing her face. The child quickly disappeared as the startled sleeper awoke.
However, it seems that the activity is hardly confined to the second floor. Recently, one of my best friends (who has been previously mentioned in this blog), Troy Heard, and his wife, the ever lovely Kady stayed in room 101 of the inn. Troy knows well the stories of the Kehoe House and the rest of Savannah, having conducted ghost tours of the city while studying for his masters at SCAD. Kady, who has an abiding interest in ghosts, was most happy to hear her husband’s stories. While Kady does not consider herself to be sensitive, she stated that her entire stay in Savannah she could never quite get comfortable and relax.
Their stay in the Kehoe House was also not that uneventful. One night around 3 AM, Kady was awakened by an odd scratching at the window. While this may not be odd, she soon heard the sound of footsteps in the hall. The jingle of keys soon followed and she heard the door to the room across the hall being opened. The next morning, the couple was surprised to see the door to the room across the hall still propped open (the rooms are opened when they’re not occupied). They inquired at the desk to find that no one checked into that room late at night.
While the phantom feline at the Davenport House is seen quite regularly, it seems the Kehoe House may be more active. There’s also mention made of a light being seen in the cupola of the house as well as the voice of a small boy inviting passersby to come play. The Kehoe House pays homage to its ghosts on its website and many authors have noted that the front desk takes notes on the experiences of guests. Should you pass by Columbia Square late at night, don’t be startled to see or hear playing children or a large, yellow cat, they’re just very permanent residents.
Sources
Brown, Alan. Haunted Georgia: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Peach State. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2008.
Caskey, James. Haunted Savannah: The Official Guidebook to the Savannah Haunted History Tour, 2008. Savannah, GA: Bonaventture Books, 2008.
Conversation with Troy and Kady Heard, 12 February 2013.
DeBolt, Margaret Wayt. Savannah Spectres and Other Strange Tales. Norfolk, VA: The Donning Company, 1984.
Edgerly, Robert. Savannah Hauntings. Savannah, GA: See Savannah Books, 2005.
“History of the Kehoe House.” com. Accessed 15 February 2013.
Isaiah Davenport House. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Accessed 15 February 2013.
“Our Institutional History.” Davenport House Museum. Accessed 15 February 2013.
Roberts, Nancy. Georgia Ghosts. Winston-Salem, NC: John F. Blair, 1997.
Christ Church 6329 Frederica Road St. Simons Island, Georgia
In the velvet darkness Of the blackest night Burning bright There’s a guiding star No matter what or who you are There’s a light. –“Over at the Frankenstein Place” from The Rocky Horror Show music and lyrics by Richard O’Brien
Christ Church lies some distance from the hubbub that is the southern portion of Georgia’s Saint Simon’s Island. The past few decades have turned this quiet, island retreat into a vacation mecca. I’ve been coming here since I was young and I’ve watched with sadness as the island has been developed. Quiet marshes have become condo developments and gated communities. Restaurants and shopping centers have replaced forests of palmetto and live oak. Though, with the masses that arrive from all over the region to relax at the beach, the roads have not been widened to maintain the stately oaks lining them.
Christ Church, 2012, by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
The further north you travel, the development becomes more and more sparse. Interestingly, the Frederica area, the first area settled by Europeans, is not as well developed. This leaves the remains of Fort Frederica and Christ Church in far more bucolic settings. Though, some years ago I was heartbroken when a residential subdivision sprung up behind the church’s fabled cemetery. This place is one of my favorite places on earth. The beauty, history and mystery of this place provides me with solace. When I “go to a happy place” in my mind this is it.
Cycads grow in this Edenic cemetery. Photo 2012, by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Underneath the sprawling, moss-laden ancient oaks, this church and cemetery bear witness to a marvelous history. Fort Frederica, a fortified town a short distance down the road from the church was first ministered to by the inimitable Wesley brothers, John and Charles, in 1736, only three years after the founding of the colony of Georgia. John Wesley, General Oglethorpe’s Secretary on Indian Affairs and Chaplain, worked tirelessly to plant the seeds of faith among the rowdy bands who populated this most Southern of the colonies. Wesley would go to found a religious sect that would take the name of Methodists for the methodical way they led their lives.
Fort Frederica was mostly a ghost town by the American Revolution when the island began to be divided into plantations. In 1808 a small, clapboard building was erected within a small cemetery. The cemetery actually pre-dates the church by about five years. Over time, the cemetery became the burial sites for many of the families in the island’s plantations. It is from this pastoral period on the island that the legend of the Christ Church cemetery comes to us.
The azaleas are now blooming in the cemetery at Christ Church. Photo 2012, by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
The story has been passed around so frequently that there are numerous variations, but the basic premise remains the same. At some point during the antebellum years a young woman was buried in the cemetery. Her husband began a tradition of leaving a candle on her grave at night and even after his death, the candle still appeared. For years, island locals and visitors would see a light within the cemetery at night. Some versions of the tale tell of a young woman tormented by stories that had been told her by her Caribbean-born (hence a possible voudou connection) nurse. She was so afraid of the dark that she became adept at candle-making and some versions blame her early death on an infected wax burn. Regardless, this beautiful legend of undying love comes down to us to explain the mysterious light.
Alas, the march of progress has obliterated views of the light. A brick wall was built along Frederica Road some time ago. At night, large spotlights shine on the church and there are no modern reports that I can find of the light. Though, it’s not hard to imagine other spirits having the desire to return to this Eden, even in the moss-shrouded velvet darkness of night.
Katherines (with a “K”), and I suppose Catherines, figure heavily in the Roswell, Georgia Ghost Tour. I recall at least three stories, among many, where the name came up. A friend of mine set up a private tour and our group of thirteen set out on what would become a three hour tour, a three hour tour. The weather did not start getting rough and was absolutely lovely; a cool, autumn evening with the slightest of nips in the air. As a private tour, our guide, Jonathan Crooks, departed from the usual script and provided us with literally masses of information including personal experiences he has had.
Ranked among the top ghost tours in the nation, it’s not difficult to see why. This tour departs from the usual ghost stories and historic lectures regurgitated by bored guides in dreadful costumes with spooky voices. The guides here provide just enough history and tell only stories when they are related to documented paranormal activity at each location. The guide did not attempt to scare the group with gimmicks; the tales of activity did enough by themselves and a few times I had chills up my spine. Even more haunting, at each location, much of the discussed activity was fairly recent and included much that had taken place on previous tours.
The facade of Bulloch Hall. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
The well behind Bulloch Hall that is a center for paranormal activity. According to the tour, a young slave girl may have died here. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
The tour met on the square and traveled first down Bulloch Avenue towards the fabled Bulloch Hall, a home that is both important historically and paranormally. The tour walked around the house with the guide pointing out a window where a number of odd photographs had been taken. Behind the house he pointed out a reconstructed slaves quarters and a well which both had paranormal activity connected with them. The tour continued up the street stopping in front of Mimosa Hall where phantom smells were discussed.
The park on Sloan Street where swings sometime swing on their own accord. The tour also pointed out that psychics have seen an African-American man join the tour at this point. One psychic claimed he said, “You white people are crazy!” Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
We crossed over the square again heading for the “other side of town.” Historically, the other side of the square consisted of the mill village. We walked along Sloan Street all the way to the Founders Cemetery which we visited in the dark. All along Sloan Street there were many reports of activity ranging from swings swinging by themselves in the park to the doors of mailboxes opening one by one up and down the street as a tour group passed by. Houses along the street, particularly the line of brick townhouses, known as The Old Bricks, are known for activity as well as the homes surrounding the cemetery which are most likely built on graves.
Looking towards the grave of Roswell King in the Founders Cemetery. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
As we crossed over the square and were waiting to cross busy Atlanta Street, three in our group saw a man standing on the corner opposite us across Sloan Street. One group member described him as a large man, possibly African-American, standing in front of the building with his back to the group. He was hunched over and standing very still. Interestingly, no one else noticed him. I’m sure I looked in the man’s direction and most likely would have noted someone standing there. The guide also saw the guy and said that he thought the man was wearing a blue Union Army-style jacket, though this immediate jump to a Civil War connection bothered me.
The back of the “Creepy House,” a location known for intense energy. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
The tour wound past a law office haunted by a woman who was upset by “the fire in the walls,” known in modern terms as electricity. We were guided into the backyard of the “Creepy House,” an old home with a ghoulish reputation. According to our guide, psychic members of tour groups always sense a number of spirits here including a certain negative energy. It was also here that participants on previous tours have been attacked with one young girl feeling like she had been punched in the stomach and a woman being scratched on her back. Frankly, the house is very creepy, particularly at night. The tour ended at the square with a rundown of the hauntings of many of the buildings there.
Overall, the tour was astounding and incredibly informative. My one complaint was that it was too long, but then again, we had a private tour. The regular tour lasts two hours. The concentration on paranormal activity rather than history and stories, made the tour particularly interesting and his knowledge of and passion for the paranormal was particularly refreshing.
My thanks to my friend Chris who set this up and with his partner was a marvelous host for the evening. Also thanks to Ben who first suggested the tour and all the tour participants who made for a wonderful weekend.
N.B. This is an edit and repost of the very first location I wrote about for this blog, back in August of last year. I’ve combined what was originally two separate entries, updated some information and added pictures.
Ezekiel Harris House 1822 Broad Street Augusta, Georgia
One of the very first books of ghost I read was the late Kathryn Tucker Windham’s 13 Georgia Ghosts and Jeffrey. Windham’s books covering various Southern states broke ground as some of the first books on the folklore of many of these areas. These books create an important foundation for writing about Southern ghosts. Being among the first stories I read a child, I figured this would be a good location to start with. We’ll start with the history books.
Sign on the back gate of the Ezekiel Harris House, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
The city of Augusta was laid out on the orders of the founder of Georgia, General James Oglethorpe, in 1736, three years after the establishment of the Georgia colony. Named for Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, wife of the Prince of Wales, the city was one of the first inland cities founded in the colony. It is located roughly 127 miles northwest of Savannah at the end of the navigable portion of the Savannah River. The city briefly became the capital of Georgia in 1779 after the fall of Savannah during the American Revolution, but the city also soon fell to British forces. The British held the city briefly and then recaptured and held it from May 1780 to June 1781.
Just before the outbreak of hostilities, the Augusta region was placed under the purview of Thomas Brown by Royal Governor James Wright. Brown was a wealthy Englishman who, with a boatload of indentured servants, created the settlement of Brownsborough, north of Augusta. Anti-British sympathy had begun to smolder in the area and Brown worked hard to stamp out the rebellious feelings of groups like the Sons of Liberty. As an example to other Loyalists, the group captured Brown and subjected to tarring and feathering, a horrifically painful and sometimes fatal ordeal. Escaping the city, Brown travelled to South Carolina where, upon recovery, he began to gather Loyalists about him to fight the revolutionary threat. Brown returned to the city with troops in tow in May of 1780 quite possibly hell-bent on revenge.
Upon entering Augusta again, Brown began quickly exacting measures against its patriot inhabitants, stripping those families of their possessions and expelling them from the colony. Others were arrested and put to death. These actions soon spread beyond the limits of Augusta and throughout British-controlled Georgia and South Carolina. Under Brown’s orders, a contingent of soldiers travelled north of the city to what is now Lincoln County, Georgia and murdered revolutionary leader Colonel John Dooley in his home.
On September 14th, 1780, Colonel Elijah Clarke, commander of the revolutionary forces that had been dogging the British in the area for some time, attacked an Indian village near Augusta, this putting Brown in notice that they were in the area. American forces pushed towards Mackay’s Trading Post, also called the White House, situated outside the city of Augusta near the Savannah River. Brown reinforced his forces which held the trading post with British regulars and allied Native Americans. The Americans laid siege to the trading post and the surrounding area, a siege that would last nearly four days.
The American forces retreated in the morning of the 18th having sustained nearly sixty casualties, but it’s the proceeding events that really concern us. Charles C. Jones, Jr. spells the story out quite grotesquely in his 1890 Memorial History of Augusta, Georgia:
Thus did Captain Ashby, an officer noted for his bravery and humanity, and twenty-eight soldiers fell into the hands of the enemy. He and twelve of the wounded prisoners were forthwith hung upon the staircase of the White House, where Brown was lying wounded, that he might enjoy the demonical pleasure of gloating over their expiring agonies. Their bodies were then delivered to the Indians, who, after scalping and mutilating them, threw them into the river. Henry Duke, John Burgamy, Scott Reeden, Jordan Ricketson, Darling, and the two brothers Glass, youths seventeen and fifteen years of age, were choked to death under a hastily constructed gibbet. Their fate, however, was mild when contrasted with that reserved for the other prisoners who were delivered into the hands of the Indians that they might be avenged of the losses which they had sustained during the siege.
Back of the house. The staircase is behind the horizontal beams. Photo 2011, by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
This event was noted in a letter by Governor Wright to King George III: “Thirteen of the Prisoners who broke their Paroles & came against Augusta have been hang’d, which I hope will have a very good effect.” Windham notes that the number thirteen represented each of the rebellious American colonies. Though the Americans were repelled after this first siege and Thomas Brown was able to construct a small fortress closer to town, named Fort Cornwallis, British controlled Augusta was eventually broken following a siege in May of 1781.
Ezekiel Harris House, 1934 before it was purchased and restored. Photo by Branan Sanders for the Historic American Building Survey (HABS), courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
Fast forwarding ahead 165 years to 1946, the Richmond County Historical Society purchased an 18th century house near the river believing it to be the infamous Mackay Trading Post. According to Cherie Pickett, an associate with Historic Augusta in a 1999 article in The Augusta Chronicle (notably one of the oldest American newspapers still in print), historians clung steadfastly to the idea that this building was the Mackay Trading Post for many years, with architectural historians and archaeologists possibly skewing their results to lend credence. Even more importantly to our cause, the Writers’ Project of the WPA recorded stories about the “White House” haunting in 1938 among many other noted Georgia ghost stories.
Front door, 1934. Photo by Branan Sanders, for HABS, courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.Front door, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Mrs. Windham’s 1973 book gave wings to the story, enshrining it in the Southern folklore tradition. Windham recounts the legends that had grown up about the house. These legends state that visitors standing in the stairwell and slowly counting to thirteen would sometimes hear the thud of the thirteen men as they are hung or moaning of the dying men. Additionally, a female spirit has been seen wandering the second story as if searching for someone. Many have identified this spirit as Mrs. Glass, the mother of the two executed brothers. Windham adds wistfully that this spirit is said to hold her hands out in supplication, perhaps begging the spirit of Colonel Brown for a reprise for her sons.
But, there’s a problem. There had been questions for many years about the history of the building preserved and identified as the Mackay Trading Post. Mary Mackay, mother-in-law to the post’s owner, Andrew McLean, remarked upon seeing the damaged structure after the battle, “I have never seen such destruction.” The building identified as the trading post, however, showed no evidence of damage. A 1975 study by the state of Georgia confirmed that the house was not the Mackay Trading Post and that the misidentified house was likely built almost two decades later. As a result, the house was renamed the Ezekiel Harris House after the first known owner and the possible builder. Interestingly, some have said that the house, which was called by the Smithsonian Institute’s Guide to Historic America, “the finest 18th Century house in the state of Georgia,” would likely have never been purchased and restored had it not been mistakenly identified as the scene for such the bloody events of the American Revolution.
The Harris House today. Photo 2011, by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.Another view of the front. Photo 2011, by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
So, if the Ezekiel Harris House is not the Mackay Trading Post, are there still ghosts? Well, historians researching this first siege of Augusta have noted that the trading post was located somewhere in the vicinity of the Harris house, though the exact spot is unknown. We do know, however, that Ezekiel Harris, a tobacco merchant, built this house around 1797, though the exact date is unknown. Scott A. Johnson, author of The Mayor’s Guide to the Stately Ghosts of Augusta, posits that the ghosts may simply have taken up in the house after its construction. According to him, visitors still report odd occurrences on the staircase that includes the feeling of having a rope about your neck. He also reports that the female ghost is commonly seen as well.
It’s not uncommon for spirits to take up in a nearby structure if their regular haunt has been destroyed, but some remained unconvinced that this is the case here. Ben Baughman, manager of the house for the Augusta Museum, which has controlled the property since 2004, stated that he has had no experiences in the house. In 2006, two videos appeared on YouTube showing an investigation of the house. The first part of the video shows part of the usual tour of the house being led by Mr. Baughman as well as his docent’s spiel about the house’s history. The second video shows the beginning of a night investigation involving a Ouija board. The video ends just as the Ouija board is produced and there is no part II. So there is no indication that anything was discovered.
Interestingly, one of the females on the video states that the female apparition is probably not Mrs. Glass, but more likely Mrs. Ezekiel Harris. History may back her up on that assumption. While there are few records relating to either Mr. or Mrs. Harris, those that remain on Mr. Harris reveal that he was an ambitious businessman with some legal problems including an accusation of murder. In one surviving letter from 1805, Mr. Harris describes his wife as having breast cancer. She died the following year, quite possibly in the house. This does leave open the possibility that the spirit may be her still worrying over her husband’s troubles or the cancer in her breast.
The remainder of the home’s history may be relatively free of violence. The house was owned by two other families before being bought by the company constructing the Sibley Mill. The house was turned into a boarding house and the porch of the upper story was enclosed. Of course, as a boarding house, there may have been some violence and some tenants may not have left.
Mill in view of the house. Photo 2011, by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
As for the question of whether this house is haunted, I cannot say. I would be interested in seeing the results of any paranormal investigations on the location. Certainly, with its age and history ghosts are likely, but I have not seen a single, identifiable report of paranormal activity. In other words, the descriptions of activity are always general and cannot be linked to any specific individual.
Postscript
Back in July, I finally visited the Ezekiel Harris House for the first time. Presumably, due to budget cuts, tours of the house are now by appointment only and I only had time to take a few pictures and ponder the forlorn house from outside the white picket fence surrounding it. The house is a bit unkempt with grass needing mowing, a dead kitchen garden and a falling chimney. Even in that state, the house is a commanding presence, situated on a high hill with a vista of the grand Sibley Mill in the distance. I wonder if the spirits enjoy the solitude.
Crumbling chimney. Photo 2011, by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.Dying kitchen garden. Photo 2011, by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Root House Museum 145 Denmead Street Marietta, Georgia
The internet has made mounds of information available for mining. Among these mounds of information are content sites like Examiner.com, Associated Content and Suite101. Sometimes denigrated as “content farms,” these sites provide a platform for writers on all levels and can also provide some financial income as well. Certainly these sites may be mined for information on haunted places and they can produce junk but also occasional gems, like this article from Rhetta Akamatsu.
Akamatsu, the author of the recent Haunted Marietta, has provided a well-researched and informative article on The Root House Museum. Built around 1845, this middle class residence has been moved twice in the name of progress and has finally been preserved by the Cobb Landmarks and Historical Society some two blocks away from its original location. The house is now open as a house museum with costumed docents guiding visitors through the home filled with period furnishings and gardens planted with plants appropriate to the period.
The house was the home to William Root, the town’s first druggist and a merchant. While residing here, Root was a founder of St. James Episcopal Church and served as its Sunday School Superintendant for many years. He also served as the county coroner for two terms. His family did experience a loss in the house, one of his sons died at a young age which was sadly a common occurrence at the time.
According to Akamatsu there has been paranormal activity experienced in the main bedroom of the house. Some have claimed to see the spirit of a woman, quite possibly that of Mrs. Root. Both the article and the book report that Mrs. Root’s spirit has been seen by passersby peering from the bedrooms windows. The book goes on to explain that the room contains an antique rope bed that is sometimes appears to have been slept in when the house is opened in the mornings. The bed, it is noted, is tightened every night before the house is closed. Sleep well, Mrs. Root!
Sources
Akamatsu, Rhetta. Haunted Marietta. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2009.
Akamatsu, Rhetta. “The Root House Museum, Marietta, GA.” com. 30 June 2011.
Oakland Cemetery 248 Oakland Avenue, SE Atlanta, Georgia
On March 14, 2008, Oakland Cemetery was awakened from its eternal slumber. A tremendous tornado bore down on downtown Atlanta damaging landmarks such as CNN Center and the Peachtree Plaza Hotel. After ripping its way through downtown, the twister ripped through peacefully dreaming Oakland Cemetery, one of Atlanta’s oldest and certainly its grandest burial ground. The winds toppled many majestic namesake oaks which toppled and broke fragile marble monuments. The Archangel Gabriel, trumpet in hand to summon forth the sleeping masses for Judgment Day, atop the monument for Governor Joseph E. Brown, was thrown to the ground along with obelisks and columns throughout the cemetery.
Hundreds of monuments were damaged, but the Historic Oakland Foundation immediately went to work repairing and restoring the cemetery. Since the cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Place in 1979, the foundation has worked to maintain Oakland’s peaceful slumber. In fact, they have worked to improve the beauty of that slumber.
Lush plantings at Oakland, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
An attractive gravesite at Oakland, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
I knew nothing of this when I visited today to photograph this haunted cemetery and I was very pleasantly surprised. It’s been a very hot summer in the South and I expected to find an ancient, baking cemetery with dry patches of grass in the plots. To my relief, the cemetery is being transformed into a garden with lush plantings surrounding the ancient monuments. The effect is quite lovely. Lush magnolias and oaks (those not completely taken out by the tornado) shade lovingly restored memorials with rose bushes, juniper and flowers covering and in between the graves. Birds fill the trees and peer from perches atop statues and mausoleums. While only part of the cemetery has been restored to its garden-like setting, the work continues.
Oakland, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
One of the many mausoleums, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
A MARTA train passes by Oakland, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Founded in 1850 as the Atlanta Graveyard or City Burial Place, the cemetery began on just 6 acres and over time it expanded to the current 48 acres. Much of the expansion took place during the Civil War when the city’s military hospitals required a place to bury the dead. Following the fierce fighting around the city, space was needed as bodies were recovered from the battlefields. Confederate dead, both known and unknown found their final repose in the cemetery’s garden-like grounds. Near the south-east corner of the cemetery, the seven Union operatives who participated in the famous Great Locomotive Chase were hung before they were buried on the cemetery grounds.
A pigeon peers down from atop a statue pointing towards heaven, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.Monument to the Confederate Dead, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Rows of Confederate dead, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
In 1872, the name of the cemetery was changed to Oakland to recognize the majestic oaks that shaded the grounds. Statesmen, governors, businessmen, generals, clergy and their families found their final rest here side by side with unknown military dead and the indigent that were laid in the potter’s field. African-Americans and Jews also found their place within the walls of Oakland. But with the arrival of the mid-20th century, vandals and neglect began to take a toll. Now in the loving hands of the Historic Oakland Foundation, the cemetery has passed into its third century and its beautiful and peaceful slumber continues.
Grave of Confederate General John B. Gordon, Oakland, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
In such a grand cemetery, a place with some 70,000 interments, it’s no surprise that spiritual activity has been reported. Most of the stories seem to revolve around the Civil War. The most famous story is that of the roll call of the dead. A young man visiting the Confederate portion of the cemetery on a December day reported hearing soldiers’ names being called with faint voices answering “heah” and “present.” According to William Bender, the young man even heard his own name called. Alan Brown reports that one visitor witnessed the blue-clad figure of a soldier hanging in a tree, possibly one of the Union conspirators in the Great Locomotive Chase, while another witnessed a bleeding Confederate lying atop a grave.
Mausoleum of Confederate Vice President, Alexander Stephens, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
The lion guarding the unknown Confederate dead, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Bender also relates a legend of the spirit of Jasper Newton Smith, a real estate investor whose likeness now sits in a chair atop his mausoleum. Legend tells that his spirit climbs out of his chair at night and walks the grounds, though Bender found no eyewitness accounts of this activity. Reese Christian does report a shadowy figure that was seen in the cemetery by a cemetery staff member at night.
The Brown Monument, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
In October of 2008, the statue of the Archangel Gabriel was restored to its perch atop the Brown monument. He stands, trumpet in hand, to call the dreaming citizens forth. Until that moment, he silently watches over the gardens of Oakland.
Statue atop a child’s grave, 2011. Photo by Lewis O. Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Sources
Bender, William N. Haunted Atlanta and Beyond. Toccoa, GA: Currahee Books, 2005.
This article is a part of an occasional blog series highlighting Southern hauntings or high strangeness associated with specific days. For a complete listing, see “A Haunted Southern Book of Days.”
The roots of both Athens and the University of Georgia are inextricably linked. Land for the university was purchased in 1801 by John Milledge who would later serve the state as governor. The land, on a hill overlooking Cedar Shoals on the Oconee River, was to house the state-supported university and parcels of land adjacent to the campus were sold to private interests. The town was incorporated as “Athens” in 1806 with a handful of residents, faculty and students. Athens grew quickly into a regional center for trade and education as well as a social center.
After the Civil War and the emancipation of slaves, Athens became a regional center for the African-America community. A school, The Knox School, was created and a prosperous African-American middle class emerged towards the end of the 19th century. The entire city saw rapid growth throughout the 20th century, some of it tied with the growth of the university. The city continues to expand with the university which has brought a world-class cultural experience to the region.
Alpha Gamma Delta House (Thomas-Carithers House) 530 South Milledge Avenue
Alpha Gamma Delta House, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Alpha Gamma Delta House showing the bas-relief that gives the house its wedding cake appearance, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Built as a private home in 1896 and used as a sorority house since 1939, this exuberant wedding-cake like house is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. William Winstead Thomas, a local engineer, built the house which was later bought by James Yancey Carithers as a wedding gift for his daughter, Susie. As legend tells, when Susie’s groom failed to show up for the ceremony on time, the distraught woman hung herself in the attic. The groom finally did show, having been delayed on the way to the nuptials, but Susie was dead. Her spirit has been seen throughout the house while girls living in her old room often become engaged, thus the suite’s name, “The Engagement Suite.”
Classic Center 300 North Thomas Street
Firehouse No. 1, now the Classic Center, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
When it was decided to build a performing arts center in Athens, the original plans called for the demolition of the warehouses and the old 1912 Firehouse Number 1 which were standing on the site. However, local citizens fought to have the firehouse incorporated in the design. The firehouse was remodeled and now serves as a box office for the performing arts center that stands around it. Captain Hiram Peeler had had a distinguished career as head of the Athens Fire Department when he plunged to his death in an elevator shaft in 1928. It is believed to be his spirit that remains in the firehouse. Reports of activity were reported in the building while it still served as a firehouse. The activity continued through the building’s use as the Chamber of Commerce and has continued while it serves as the Classic Center.
Morton Theatre, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Actors in the dressing room of this restored theatre have reported odd activity in the dressing room. Sadly, that’s all the information I can find in terms of the paranormal. The Morton Theatre was built by African-American businessman Monroe Bowers “Pink” Morton starting in 1909. The theatre was one of the main anchors of “Hot Corner,” the intersection of Washington and Hull Streets, that was the center of African-American life in Athens. It opened as a vaudeville house for the black community and such names as Butterbeans and Susie, Louie Armstrong and Cab Calloway appeared there. The building has since been restored as a performing arts center for the community and is one of the few remaining black vaudeville houses in the nation.
Oconee Hill Cemetery 297 Cemetery Street
Oconee Hill Cemetery, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
When the main city cemetery (now known as the Old Athens Cemetery) began sprawling close to the campus and the homes of the university president and professors, steps were taken to create a new cemetery nearby. Since it’s opening in 1855, the university has sprawled close to the cemetery with massive Sanford Stadium now looming across the street. The cemetery now hosts a number of prominent Georgians including two governors, eight university presidents and at least one ghost. The legend exists of a ghostly carriage appearing on the bridge between the old and newer portions of the cemetery.
View from Oconee Hill Cemetery towards Sanford Stadium, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Old Athens Cemetery Jackson Street
Old Athens Cemetery, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
The original city cemetery before Oconee Hill Cemetery was created; the cemetery was created around 1810. The last burial occurred in 1898, not long after the university first tried to reclaim the land. This would be a struggle that would continue through the 1980s. The cemetery was deeded back to school in 2004 and in 2006 a preservation program was instituted under the university’s grounds department. Kathleen Wall mentions that the ghost of a young girl has been seen in the cemetery. The location was investigated by the Georgia Haunt Hunters team in 1998 and the team discovered some temperature fluctuations.
Grave at the Old Athens Cemetery, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Phi Kappa Psi House 398 South Milledge Avenue
Phi Kappa Psi House, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
In researching Athens, I keep coming across locations that are mentioned as being haunted, but there are few specifics given. This is one location that is briefly mentioned. Daniel Barefoot mentions that the brothers in this house have heard the crying of a baby. This Queen Anne style home was built in 1890.
Phi Mu House (Hamilton-Phinizy-Segrest House) 250 South Milledge Avenue
Phi Mu House, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
The legend of the Phi Mu House, according to the sorority, concerns a young woman named Anna Powell. Her husband shot himself, either purposefully or accidentally at the bottom of the stairs. At times, it is said, a cross will appear on the floor where this horrific incident took place. Anna’s spirit has been encountered frequently by sisters in the house. Knocking and sobbing have been heard in the house and one young woman had the door unlocked for her late one night by unseen hands. The house was constructed by Colonel Thomas Hamilton, reportedly Georgia’s first millionaire, and finished in 1858 by his widow, Sarah. It has served as a sorority house since 1964.
Taylor-Grady House 634 Prince Avenue
Taylor-Grady House, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Built by Irish immigrant turned cotton merchant and planter, Robert Taylor, in 1844, the Taylor-Grady House was purchased by Major William S. Grady in 1863, at the height of the Civil War which he was fighting in. Major Grady was killed in the Battle of Petersburg and his spirit is said to have returned to his family’s home. Henry Grady, the major’s son, was a staunch advocate for the “New South” as managing editor for the Atlanta Constitution and a famed orator. As the only existing of Grady’s homes, the Taylor-Grady House was named a National Historic Landmark in 1976.
T. R. R. Cobb House 175 Hill Street
T. R. R. Cobb House, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
This noteworthy home with octagonal wings took the scenic route in its move from nearby Prince Avenue. It faced the wrecking ball in 1985, and was moved to Stone Mountain Park, just outside of Atlanta, to be restored as a part of the living history village there (which also has some notable haunted structures). After languishing 20 years, the home was returned to Athens and restored. A ghost story from this house was collected as part of the WPA Writers’ Project and recalls the spirit of “a gentleman wearing a gay dressing gown” who is seen descending the stairs and sitting in front of the fire in the drawing room. For further information, see my in-depth entry on this home, “A firebrand phantom.”
University of Georgia Campus
Joe E. Brown Hall
Joe E. Brown Hall, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
This 1932 building, built as a dormitory is home to a staircase to nowhere. Legend states that not long after the building was built, a student hung himself during Christmas break. His decomposing body was found when students returned. Though the mess was cleaned up, the blood stains were said to return. According to Daniel Barefoot, when the building was remodeled for office space, the room was sealed and the staircase leading to it blocked. In an article in the university newspaper, The Red and Black, a photograph of the staircase to nowhere was published in an article on campus legends. Supposedly knocking still issues from the sealed room.
Lustrat House
Lustrat House, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
Like many of the oldest campus buildings, the Lustrat House has served a variety of functions. Currently the office of Legal Affairs, the building initially served as a residence for professors. Towards the end of the 19th century, it was home to Dr. Charles Morris, chair of the English Department. When the university decided to relocate the house in 1903, Dr. Morris attempted to assuage officials away from that plan. He refused to move with the home. After his death, the family of Professor Joseph Lustrat began to see Dr. Morris has surprisingly taken up residence, sitting in his favorite chair by the fire.
Waddel Hall
Waddel Hall, 2011. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
The oldest building on campus still in its complete form according to Daniel Barefoot, Waddel Hall was built in 1821 as Philosophical Hall. The sounds of a tragic lovers quarrel are still heard in this building that now houses the university special events office. During World War I, a young man left his female love who fell for another in his absence. When he returned, he confronted his beloved and the quarrel ended in a murder-suicide.
Barefoot, Daniel W. Haunted Halls of Ivy: Ghosts of Southern Colleges and Universities. Winston-Salem, NC: John F. Blair, 2004.
Bender, William N. Haunted Atlanta and Beyond. Toccoa, GA: Currahee Books, 2005.
Beynon, Valerie. “Morton Theatre.” The New Georgia Encyclopedia. 26 March 2005.
Burnett, Daniel. “Mythbusters UGA.” The Red and Black. 28 January 2009.
Hendricks, Bill. “Ghost trackers look for proof of afterlife: Athens haunt club checks Georgia sites.” The Atlanta Journal and Constitution. 1 December 1998.
“History.” The Classic Center. Accessed 17 June 2011.
“History.” Oconee Hill Cemetery. Accessed 17 June 2011.
“History.” The Taylor-Grady House. Accessed 21 June 2011.
Demosthenian Hall University of Georgia Athens, Georgia
One of the oldest organizations on the UGA campus, the Demosthenian Literary Society, a debating society, was founded in 1803. Among its alumni roster are many who would help shape the state of Georgia as well as the nation including Robert Toombs. Known for his fiery disposition and oration, Toombs represented Georgia in the United States House of Representatives, the Senate in the turbulent years leading up to the Civil War and served as the first Secretary of State for the Confederacy.
Robert Toombs, c. 1870-80. Photo by Matthew Brady or Levin Handy. Courtesy of the Brady-Handy Photograph Collection, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
Toombs entered the university at the ripe age of 14. Under the firm rule of University President Moses Waddell, who was later described as having been “a born educator and strict disciplinarian,” Toombs was more than once on the receiving end of Waddell’s discipline. One evening, only a year or so into his schooling, a proctor caught Toombs and a group of other students playing cards—a vice worthy of expulsion. Instead of awaiting a dishonorable dismissal from the school, Toombs sought out Waddell and received an honorable dismissal before the proctor’s report arrived. Encountering Toombs later that day on campus, Waddell harangued him for this deception to which Toombs replied that he was no longer a student and simply a free-born American citizen.
Demosthenian Hall, 1934. Photo by Branan Sanders for the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
However, the legend does not end there. During graduation exercises, Toombs took a position outside the university chapel (located just next door to Demosthenian Hall) next to an oak. He launched into a compelling oration and soon the students emptied out of the chapel to hear him speak. That oak was later named the “Toombs Oak” and remained for many decades. Legend says that the oak was later struck by lightning at the same time that Toombs died in 1885, however records show that the oak was dying, but still alive into the 1890s. According to Barbara Duffey, the oak was struck by lightning at the moment of Toombs’ death, but lived on and was finally taken down in 1908. Regardless, upon the tree’s death the stump was removed to Demosthenian Hall where it remains to this day.
Starting in the Georgia legislature in 1837, Toombs record of service to the state is lengthy. He entered the U.S. House of Representatives in 1844 and there forged a lifelong relationship with another Georgia representative, Alexander Stephens, who would later serve as vice president of the Confederacy. Toombs entered the Senate in 1853 and served until his resignation in 1861 when Georgia seceded from the Union. Jefferson Davis asked him to serve as the first Secretary of State, but Toombs became increasingly frustrated with the Confederacy and stepped aside to become a military commander for Georgia. He escaped the South as the Confederacy fell in 1865 and returned two years later as an “unreconstructed” Southerner.
Just as he returned to his beloved Georgia after the fall of the Confederacy, perhaps Toombs’ spirit has returned to his beloved Demosthenian Hall after his death. Students studying in the quiet of Demosthenian Hall have reported hearing pacing footsteps in the empty chamber above. Other students have felt a presence urging them to get out, but when they exclaim, “Bob, no!” the feeling dissipates. A hazy grey figure has also been spotted and other sources claim that the figure is outfitted as a Confederate soldier.
Demosthenian Hall, 2017. Photo by Lewis Powell IV, all rights reserved.
William N. Bender, in his Haunted Atlanta and Beyond, states that Toombs’ spirit has also been seen at his home in Washington, Georgia. He asks whether it is possible for a spirit to travel. In my opinion, it seems there is nothing to actually indicate that the Demosthenian Hall spirit is actually Robert Toombs. I have observed that in historic locations—especially those associated with famous people—there is a tendency to identify any spiritual activity with those famous people, even in cases where is unlikely. While it’s not unimaginable that Toombs might haunt his home, it appears that the activity within Demosthenian Hall is simply residual energy associated with the many students that have passed through the hall’s portals.
Henry Ford Building Complex Berry College Mount Berry, Georgia
Located on part of the largest college campus in the world (at more than 26,000 acres), the Gothic-style Henry Ford Building Complex now is mostly used for administration. The complex was built through a gift from automobile manufacturer, Henry Ford, one of many prominent philanthropists to aid this institution built on philanthropy. Martha Berry, the daughter of a local planter, was shocked by the ignorance of the children in this city at the foot of the Appalachians. She built a series of school to educate these impoverished children and of them, Berry College has survived as a symbol of her kind work.
Henry Ford Building Complex, 2008. Photo by TheCustomofLife, courtesy of Wikipedia.
According to Daniel Barefoot’s Haunted Halls of Ivy, Berry College’s two campuses, the Main and Mountain Campuses, are practically crawling with spirits. From the spirit of Frances Berry, Martha’s sister, at Berry’s home, Oak Hill to the female wraith haunting Stretch Road, the road between the campuses, to the ghost of the House o’ Dreams, a mountain retreat cottage. In the Henry Ford Building Complex, the spirit of a female student who hung herself after her boyfriend was killed in World War II, is said to still roam the building. Of course, with the beauty of Berry’s enormous campus, who wouldn’t want to return?
Pearce Auditorium Brenau University Gainesville, Georgia
Two sensitives associated with the Southeastern Institute of Paranormal Research in Pearce Auditorium encountered a wet female. Working independently, the sensitives discovered this sad form wearing a white dress with dark, matted hair. Perhaps this was Agnes, the auditorium’s resident spirit. Legend speaks of a young woman who hung herself in the building at some point during the 1920s. She’s been roaming the halls ever since.
Old postcard of the Brenau Campus. Pearce Auditorium is the building just right of center. Published by the Asheville Post Card Company, courtesy of the Georgia State Archives, Historic Postcard Collection.
Opened as a private women’s school in 1878, Brenau gained its unusual name when the school was acquired by H. J. Pearce (for whom the auditorium is named) in 1900. The name is an amalgam of the German “brennen,” “to burn” and Latin “aurum,” “gold;” reflecting the school’s motto, “as gold refined by fire.” The school has continued as a force for education in the region and opened its doors to men in the 1960s while retaining its historical Women’s College and acquiring a few ghosts along the way.
Pearce Auditorium, dedicated in 1897, was built to serve the needs of the campus as well as Gainesville. Over the years, the auditorium has seen names ranging from noted American dancers Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn to the Vienna Boys Choir and, if legend holds true, a slight dark haired young woman named Agnes. Since Agnes passed through the doors of the auditorium, numerous stories have been told about this dark-haired waif.
As with most legends, there are numerous versions and sources do vary. The basic story tells of a young music student who fell in love with a rakish music professor. He kissed her during a lesson and when he married another woman, the distraught student committed suicide by hanging herself in the building. All of this took place around 1926.
Investigators interested in Agnes’ legend have thoroughly searched school records and discovered one young lady who may be the real Agnes: Agnes Galloway, whose picture appears in the 1926 yearbook. Records indicate that Ms. Galloway, from Mount Airy, North Carolina, died young, though in 1929 and the reason given for her death was tuberculosis. While suicide was often covered up by image-conscious families, the year of her death obviously doesn’t agree with the legend. Nancy Roberts in her Georgia Ghosts published an interview that adds some fuel to the legend’s fire.
Roberts interviewed a student whose grandmother had attended Brenau and who had known Agnes. The interview includes the story of the music professor and has Agnes hanging herself in her room in Pearce. The student coincidently was assigned to the very room where Agnes’ life had ended. The student was awakened one evening and saw the ghostly image of Agnes hanging from the light fixture. But, what would account for the sensitives seeing a young woman who was wet?
Another investigation in 2005 by the Ghost Hounds did capture an EVP during an investigation, but who or what is actually haunting Pearce Auditorium may never be known.
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