June
2004 - Antebellum Plantation - Stone Mountain, Georgia
Legend:
Several Buildings in
there are haunted: Thornton House: Workers have reported
feeling a spirit at the top of the stairs, between the children's
rooms. Dickey House: Confederate re-enactors have reported
seeing a woman in top floor windows when he camp out on
lawn. Slave Quarters: Reported feeling spirits.
History:
Antebellum Plantation is
a representation of an actually pre-Civil War Georgia plantation.
It consists of a collection of authentic buildings built
between 1790 and 1845. These buildings were moved from their
original sites all across Georgia to Stone Mountain Park,
and then carefully restored to their historical beauty.
There are more than fifteen buildings that
make up the plantation. The legend mentions 3 of them. The
Thornton House, The Dickey House, and the Slave Quarters.
The Thornton house
is the oldest of the three, and believed to be the
oldest restored house in the state of Georgia. It
came from Union Point in Green County and was built
in 1790. The second floor consists of two bedrooms,
both allegedly were children rooms.
Having 14 rooms and
covering 6,250 square feet is the Dickey House. This
house is by far the largest building on the plantation.
It was built in 1840 in Dickey Georgia, and relocated
to the park in 1961. Unlike the Thornton house, descendents
of the original owners continued to occupy the house
until the move to Stone Mountain.
The Slave Quarters
came from the Graves Plantation in Covington. They
are actually two small cabins built in 1830. The interesting
yet somber fact about these cabins is almost everything
that furnishes the inside was either made by the slaves
themselves or were throw aways from the main house
on the plantation.
There is definitely a lot of history here,
but is there just as much haunting as history? Do ghost
travel with the buildings once they've been relocated and
refurbished? That's what we plan on finding out.
Or,
Join the discussion about this hunt by
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Thursday
June 10, 2004:
We
arrived at the Stone Mountain Park on the evening of the
10th. We took time to watch the laser show on the side of
the mountain, then after the traffic had cleared out, we
went on over to the Plantation. Upon entering the Plantation,
it became clear that I had not done enough research. Although
I had the legend in hand, with descriptions of the haunts
and in which building the haunts took place in, I did not
have anything distinguishing which building is which. I
was hoping there would be a plaque or a map or something
that said what each building was, but we didn't find anything.
So we ended up just walking around snapping photos and filming.
Outside of one building (one we found out
later not previously thought to be haunted) as Damon was
filming, he saw what appears to be a moving orb. He makes
reference to it on the video below, and you can actually
see it. Although I would love to say that it was a ghost,
I must point out there were tons of bugs flying around.
We even saw some lightning bugs. I feel safe in saying that
this is all it was. Take a look at the video below and decide
for yourself.
Outside of another building (again, not
thought to be haunted) near the time we had decided to leave
and come back in the day time, a light started to flicker
on and off. Since I have been pursuing these legends of
the supernatural, I have learned that a lot of people seem
to think this is a ghost's way of communicating to us. The
video below shows as we walk by the light, it becomes brighter.
We pause to take some photos and then start to leave and
it goes out.
Or,
Join the discussion about this hunt by
Clicking
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Friday
June 11, 2004:
After a disappointing night of wandering
around hopelessly taking pictures of bugs and cats, we decided
to return in the daytime. We were able to get a detailed
map, and interview some of the staff who worked at the Antebellum
Plantation inside some of the allegedly haunted structures.
One staff member, the Caretaker, was able to answer almost
all of our questions. The Caretaker's real name is Tim,
and you can learn more about him by visiting
his personal website.
The Slave Cabins seemed to be the weakest
part of this legend. No one we talked to had experienced
or heard of anyone else experiencing anything there. However,
we took some pictures and video for documentation purposes.
Take a look and see if you see anything 'strange'.
Or,
Join the discussion about this hunt by
Clicking
Here!
However, the Dickey House is another story.
Tim let us know that people, not him personally, have seen
a woman in the windows and in a small dressing area. You
can see a good shot of the windows at night in the video
above from the night before. During the day we took some
more pictures, video, and sound recordings. however nothing
showed up on them.
Now the Thornton House is the one that
gets everyone's hearts beating a little faster. Apparently
a little girl by the name of Sarah crawled into the attack
space and was never seen again. Her room is the one at the
top of the stairs to the left. Tim was definitely passionate
about this house. Although he had never personally experienced
anything, he had heard enough of others who had had experiences,
that he says good morning and good night to Sarah every
day. While we were there, alone much of the time, Sarah
decided not to make herself known. I will say this, when
we stood at the top of the stairs and were quiet and just
waited, you do get a little freaky feeling. However, from
observing other tourists that were not privy to the story
of Sarah, it didn't seem like they had any troubled feelings
what so ever.
Do I think Antebellum Plantation is haunted?
I seriously doubt it. I find the fact that these houses
and structures were moved from other parts of the state
then underwent major renovations, suggests that the hauntings
are nothing more than over active imaginations. I won't
dismiss the possibility away for sure, but until some more
proof comes to light I'm gonna say this is a clever way
to attract a few more tourists.
Be sure to check out the
Antebellum Plantation website! Stop by the next time
you're traveling through the east side of Atlanta!
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