Hello my little horror fans. Thank you for staying with me during this 31 Days of Spook. Today, let’s talk about haunted houses.
When I think about the most haunted house here in the United States, the first one that always comes to mind is the Myrtles Plantation in St Francisville, Louisiana. Today, it’s a quaint little bed and breakfast. But before, there was an ugly past that took place that made it the spook fest that it is today.
Back in the day of plantations, there was a despicable thing that southern plantation owners did and that was called having slaves. It was a horrible act to ‘own’ another person just because of the color of your skin. Thank goodness that those days are long behind us and we have progressed to the point of not ‘owning’ someone ever again.
But back in the day of the Myrtles when Mark and Sara Woodruff owned the plantation, they had many slaves, one in particular was Chloe. Chloe was caught eavesdropping on a conversation of the Woodruffs. For punishment, one of Chloe’s ears was cut off and she wore a green turban to hide it. Chloe, to say the least, was very upset over having one of her ears cut off.
In order to get even, Chloe baked a birthday cake containing the extract of boiled and reduced oleander leaves, which are extremely poisonous. Her plan was to make Mr. Woodruff sick but it backfired. Only Sara Woodruff and her two daughters ate the cake and all three of them died from the poison. All of the other slaves were very upset over Chloe doing this and supposedly they hung Chloe and then threw her body into the Mississippi River.
To this day when the circumstances are just right, you can see Chloe wearing her green turban walking through the Myrtles Plantation or the grounds. And, if you look closer, you can see the Woodruff children playing on the front porch just like they did when they were alive.
And there are rumors about a mirror in the plantation. Shivers. This one had my fur standing straight up on edge. Back in the day, when there was a death in the family, people covered all of the mirrors in the home. Perhaps with everything going on with Chloe and the three deaths, a mirror that hangs in the foyer got forgotten. It’s rumored that this mirror holds the spirits of Sara Woodruff and her two children. So if you are visiting the plantation and primping in this mirror, give it a close look. You might see some little hand marks on the glass.
But let’s now stop here with Chloe. There are still others that haunt the plantation. The house itself is reported to be built over an Indian burial ground. Legend is there is a ghost of a young Indian woman that can be seen around the grounds.
And during the Civil War, the house was overtaken by Union soldiers. It’s claimed that there were three soldiers killed in the house in the doorway. There in the doorway is a blood stain where the three soldiers were killed roughly the size of a human body that will not come clean. Legend states that people that try to use a mop or broom on that one particular area are unable to push the mop or broom in that one spot.
Have you had enough of this plantation yet? Is your fur standing on edge? Let me end with one more story of the Myrtles Plantation.
There is also the ghost of William Winter. He was shot on the front porch of the plantation. He came back inside and crawled up the stairs to the 17th step where he collapsed dead in his wife’s arms. Often, you can see a ghost walking or crawling up the stairs and disappearing on the 17th step. Doesn’t this make you want to go ghost hunting now?
Today, I’m going to focus on one close to home – the historic Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia. Oakland Cemetery was bought in 1850 and was originally named Atlanta Graveyard or City Burial Place. It was renamed to Oakland Cemetery in 1972.
Oakland Cemetery offers twilight tours of the cemetery – how scary huh? And around this time of the year, the cemetery even offers what they call “Capturing the Spirit of Oakland Halloween Tours”. What a way to catch some things that go bump in the night. There are over 70,000 residents in over 40 acres that are just dying to meet you whether you have a guided tour or walk the cemetery by yourself… if you’re brave enough.
A lot of the history of this wonderful cemetery centers around the Civil War. There have been stories in the Confederate portion of the cemetery of hearing names being called as if in a roll call. But to look around, there is no one living there, just the statue of a lion guarding the unknown Confederate dead and he’s not talking.
Often the guides at the cemetery will tell you that people actually die three times. Once on their last breath, once when they are laid to rest and once when they are no longer remembered. Sounds just like a situation for a few people to come out and be remembered, doesn’t it? So the next time you’re in the area, drop by for a visit. I’ve heard they’re alway looking for a good soul to fright.
Today, I want to concentrate on something close to our hearts here at the Hotel Thompson – the St. Augustine Lighthouse. We’ve watched television shows highlighting the paranormal activity here – have you seen any?
During the 1870’s construction began on the lighthouse tower. The superintendent, Hezekiah Pittee, had two daughters drown in an accident. The girls liked to get in a work trolley and roll down to the waterfront. One day, the trolley didn’t stop and capsized into the water drowning the two girls. Since then, reports have been made of seeing two little girls standing on the catwalk.
There have also been reports of moving shadows, voices and unexplained sounds. Other people have reported seeing a dark figure on the stairway inside of the lighthouse. On one show of Ghost Hunters, Grant Wilson and Jason Hawes caught a dark figure on the steps moving and a woman’s voice asking for help. It was haunting to say the least.
Reports have also been made of the smell of cigar smoke and a man in the basement area of the keepers house. This man is believed to be a Civil War hero and a former lighthouse keeper, William Ham.
The lighthouse is now open to the public. The St. Augustine lighthouse even offers what they call a Dark of the Moon Tour that allows access into the lighthouse and keepers house at night. During this time, you are given a glow stick to light your way so that you may investigate on your own. Any takers? I’m game.
I thought it was time to walk through a cemetery with you once again. Today, I’m going to focus on one close to home – the historic Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia. Oakland Cemetery was bought in 1850 and was originally named Atlanta Graveyard or City Burial Place. It was renamed to Oakland Cemetery in 1972.
Oakland Cemetery offers twilight tours of the cemetery – how scary huh? And around this time of the year, the cemetery even offers what they call “Capturing the Spirit of Oakland Halloween Tours”. What a way to catch some things that go bump in the night. There are over 70,000 residents in over 40 acres that are just dying to meet you whether you have a guided tour or walk the cemetery by yourself… if you’re brave enough.
A lot of the history of this wonderful cemetery centers around the Civil War. There have been stories in the Confederate portion of the cemetery of hearing names being called as if in a roll call. But to look around, there is no one living there, just the statue of a lion guarding the unknown Confederate dead and he’s not talking.
Often the guides at the cemetery will tell you that people actually die three times. Once on their last breath, once when they are laid to rest and once when they are no longer remembered. Sounds just like a situation for a few people to come out and be remembered, doesn’t it? So the next time you’re in the area, drop by for a visit. I’ve heard they’re always looking for a good soul to fright.
There are lots of famous people buried here in Oakland. Mom took this photograph not too long ago. Do you recognize the name?
Shivers – today’s post brings me shivers just thinking about it.
Today, I want to concentrate on something close to our hearts here at the Hotel Thompson – the St. Augustine Lighthouse. We’ve watched television shows highlighting the paranormal activity here – have you seen any?
During the 1870’s construction began on the lighthouse tower. The superintendent, Hezekiah Pittee, had two daughters drown in an accident. The girls liked to get in a work trolley and roll down to the waterfront. One day, the trolley didn’t stop and capsized into the water drowning the two girls. Since then, reports have been made of seeing two little girls standing on the catwalk.
There have also been reports of moving shadows, voices and unexplained sounds. Other people have reported seeing a dark figure on the stairway inside of the lighthouse. On one show of Ghost Hunters, Grant Wilson and Jason Hawes caught a dark figure on the steps moving and a woman’s voice asking for help. It was haunting to say the least.
Reports have also been made of the smell of cigar smoke and a man in the basement area of the keepers house. This man is believed to be a Civil War hero and a former lighthouse keeper, William Ham.
The lighthouse is now open to the public. The St. Augustine lighthouse even offers what they call a Dark of the Moon Tour that allows access into the lighthouse and keepers house at night. During this time, you are given a glow stick to light your way so that you may investigate on your own. Any takers? I’m game.
Mom and dad take a vacation usually every year in historic Savannah, Georgia, I thought today I would focus on a wonderful cemetery in Savannah. Mom/dad have been here often and walked among the graves and tombstones… and perhaps some living and unliving. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
The cemetery I’m focusing on today is the Colonial Park Cemetery. It was established in 1750 and has been restored. It is located at the corner of Abercorn and Oglethorpe Streets in Savannah, Georgia. What an amazing archway they have to enter into the cemetery. This cemetery is amazing – so mom/dad says – snorts. I wouldn’t know first hoove but mom/dad did give me a lot of information by phone last night.
There are over 10,000 people buried here; however, there are only around 1,000 grave markers. Many people were buried in mass graves, others have had their grave markers knocked over and/or destroyed. The cemetery was actually closed for new burials before the Civil War and there are no confederate soldiers buried; however, the war did leave a mark. Federal troops took over the cemetery grounds during their occupation in Savannah. Many of the graves were looted and desecrated. It’s said that a lot of the union soldiers changed the dates on many of the headstones. Some dates look like the persons died before they were even born! Can you imagine with a lot of this information why some people are not having their final rest in peace? I’m sure some are still looking for their grave markers wanting to be remembered. Others are perhaps upset over the desecration of their headstones. It makes you wonder really who is walking beside you that you can’t see while you are visiting.
This cemetery closes at dark and there’s a good reason. Savannah has many Voodoo practitioners still living in and around the area. Before the cemetery started closing at night, it wasn’t uncommon for early morning visitors to find remnants of Voodoo rituals from the night before. Sometimes the soil from the graves was used in rituals and sometimes graves were raided in order to obtain human bones.
And, we can’t forget the story of Rene Asche Rondolier. He’s one of the most famous ghosts of Colonial Park Cemetery. Rondolier was a disfigured orphan who was said to call Colonial Park Cemetery his home in the early 1800’s. He was accused of murdering two young girls and their bodies were found in the cemetery. Rondolier was dragged to a nearby swamp, lynched and left for dead. More dead bodies turned up in the cemetery in the days that followed. The people in the town were convinced it was Rondolier’s ghost. Some even say that the cemetery is Rondolier’s playground.
Shivers! If that’s not enough to make you jump at things that go bump in the night! I’ll leave this cemetery for mom/dad to explore.
Oh, and before I go. I want to share something I found on YouTube on the Colonial Park Cemetery. A family was actually on vacation and caught something on camera. Their video made it on the news and is kind of intriguing. Here is the news clip from what they caught. Do you believe? What do you think now?
Today, let’s talk about haunted houses. When I think about the most haunted house here in the United States, the first one that always comes to mind is the Myrtles Plantation in St Francisville, Louisiana. Today, it’s a quaint little bed and breakfast. But before, there was an ugly past that took place that made it the spook fest that it is today.
Back in the day of plantations, there was a despicable thing that southern plantation owners did and that was called having slaves. It was a horrible act to ‘own’ another person just because of the color of your skin. Thank goodness that those days are long behind us and we have progressed to the point of not ‘owning’ someone ever again.
But back in the day of the Myrtles when Mark and Sara Woodruff owned the plantation, they had many slaves, one in particular was Chloe. Chloe was caught eavesdropping on a conversation of the Woodruffs. For punishment, one of Chloe’s ears was cut off and she wore a green turban to hide it. Chloe, to say the least, was very upset over having one of her ears cut off.
In order to get even, Chloe baked a birthday cake containing the extract of boiled and reduced oleander leaves, which are extremely poisonous. Her plan was to make Mr. Woodruff sick but it backfired. Only Sara Woodruff and her two daughters ate the cake and all three of them died from the poison. All of the other slaves were very upset over Chloe doing this and supposedly they hung Chloe and then threw her body into the Mississippi River.
To this day when the circumstances are just right, you can see Chloe wearing her green turban walking through the Myrtles Plantation or the grounds. And, if you look closer, you can see the Woodruff children playing on the front porch just like they did when they were alive.
And there are rumors about a mirror in the plantation. Shivers. This one had my fur standing straight up on edge. Back in the day, when there was a death in the family, people covered all of the mirrors in the home. Perhaps with everything going on with Chloe and the three deaths, a mirror that hangs in the foyer got forgotten. It’s rumored that this mirror holds the spirits of Sara Woodruff and her two children. So if you are visiting the plantation and primping in this mirror, give it a close look. You might see some little hand marks on the glass.
But let’s now stop here with Chloe. There are still others that haunt the plantation. The house itself is reported to be built over an Indian burial ground. Legend is there is a ghost of a young Indian woman that can be seen around the grounds.
And during the Civil War, the house was overtaken by Union soldiers. It’s claimed that there were three soldiers killed in the house in the doorway. There in the doorway is a blood stain where the three soldiers were killed roughly the size of a human body that will not come clean. Legend states that people that try to use a mop or broom on that one particular area are unable to push the mop or broom in that one spot.
Have you had enough of this plantation yet? Is your fur standing on edge? Let me end with one more story of the Myrtles Plantation.
There is also the ghost of William Winter. He was shot on the front porch of the plantation. He came back inside and crawled up the stairs to the 17th step where he collapsed dead in his wife’s arms. Often, you can see a ghost walking or crawling up the stairs and disappearing on the 17th step. Doesn’t this make you want to go ghost hunting now?
Hello sweet friends. Today we continue our Travels in the South series with our friends Fozziemom and Fozziedad who visited all the way from Australia. Now this little piggy is jealous over today’s adventure. I think I could have had a ball roaming the grounds with everyone exploring the way they did. You see, on this day everyone visited Ft. Pulaski National Monument which is a national park near Tybee Island in Chatham County.
This is an aerial view of Ft. Pulaski National Monument courtesy of Ft. Pulaski 🙂 Thank you Ft Pulaski! Ft. Pulaski was going strong in the days of the American Civil War. It is over 5,000 acres consisting of tidal marshes and mud flats. There are canon and musket reenactments throughout the day. The park is open daily from 9AM to 5PM.
You can go throughout the yards either on a guided tour or you can venture around by yourself.
Your tour really starts when you park your car. The grounds are absolutely beautiful! You start down paths walking to the entrance and you also see the moat. Now, go ahead and raise your hands my friends.
How many of you want a moat around your house? I’m raising my piggy hoof. I think it would be kind of cool for sure. I bet back in the day they didn’t have solicitors knocking on their drawbridges – snorts with piggy laughter!
Now when everyone first got there, they heard loud noises that sounded like cannon shots. But, upon further investigation, mom/dad found out that actually it was from muskets being fired at a kind of show and tell. Even the guy shooting the musket, was dressed in attire from the Civil War days. Cool huh?
But after the shots of the musket, things were silent. Mom said that you could close your eyes, smell the musket from when it was fired, you could feel the wind blowing around you, the water hitting the moat and you could almost visualize life as it was in the fort. Mom might have said a moan from a soldier could also be heard. Was the place haunted?
The fort was built in 1861 and is still in remarkable condition. You do see some of the stonework falling inside of the casemates as you can see in the picture with the fireplace. But overall, it is still an overwhelming fort.
Some people – like Fozziemom and Fozziedad – climbed onto of the fort to get a better view and to take some amazing pictures over the wall looking out over the water. If you look closely at the picture with the cannon, those two specks at the top – that would be Fozziemom and Fozziedad the adventurers.
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♦
And as Fozziemom was taking pictures, mom captured her in a picture of her own. This is Fozziemom in her glory, aimed and ready to shoot something fantastic.
So the question remains. Is Fort Pulaski haunted? Is it spooky – yes. Do you pick up “feelings” of days gone – yes. Mom said they could close their eyes and hear and picture in their minds the activity that happened once upon a time.
Since mom/dad have been back home, I’ve done a lot of research on Fort Pulaski. To my amazement, there have been many encounters with the unknown at the Fort over the years. There was a story about a mother and son visiting the fort that were crossing over the draw bridge to enter into the fort. They met a Confederate sentry dressed in uniform with his sword. They spoke to him about his outfit and the fort. The mother then inquired about a restroom and he advised that he could not leave his position to show her. She thanked the man and with her son she continued into the fort to ask about the restrooms. There she was advised that the restrooms were at the entrance. She became upset and told the man about the soldier she spoke to at the drawbridge. The man advised her that they had no soldiers dressed in Confederate uniforms at the fort.
Then there was a time that a group of Confederate reenactors placed a wreath at the graves in 1994. They then settled down for the night and camped out. During the night, a young 12 year old boy couldn’t sleep and was walking around the fort. Nearing the graves, he saw a figure of a Confederate soldier in uniform on his knees near the grave they had put the wreath. The soldier had his hat in his hand, then stood and faded away into the air.
Then during further research, I learned that an actor that you might have heard of did a movie at Fort Pulaski back in 2009. The movie was called The Conspirator and the actor was Robert Redford.
It’s up to you to decide if it’s haunted or not. Maybe someone needs to let the worker at the shop know that there has been some cases of mysterious sightings. It was definitely an adventure!
Today we are going to start sharing another tour that we went on that was called Gone With the Wind Tour. The funny thing is that this tour has been in downtown historical Jonesboro for as long as I can remember and mom/dad have never went on it. Now, they have been to some of the places that the tour visits but never the ‘official’ tour that shares all kinds of information. And well Jean is such a fan of Gone With the Wind that everyone *had* to take this tour. This posting will definitely have to be in several postings to share all of the highlights that we saw and the pictures we took. So are you ready? Here we go.
The tour picks up at the Road to Tara Museum which is a 1867 Train Depot. Back in the day at the peak of railroad travel, both passengers and freight passed through downtown Jonesboro day and night.
It was once made of wood and stood near the Confederate Cemetery (which we will get to soon). But that building burned down in 1864 during the Civil War’s Battle of Jonesboro. After the building burned down, they built this building of granite and placed it more in the center of the town. You bought the tickets for the tour in this museum and also could shop for all kinds of gifts and trinkets.
In fact inside of the museum, they had all kinds of items for Gone with the Wind including this picture, paintings, books, pens, bells – you name it and they had it. I can assure you that mom and Jean walked out with more than the hub units wanted – snorts with piggy laughter.
Mom said she could have spent hours inside of the store just looking at everything – it was like walking on a movie set.
This beautiful house is called The Warren House and it was built in 1860 by Guy Warren. Guy Warren was an agent for the Macon & Western Railroad and one of Jonesboro’s first town commissioners. On the tour, you go by the house but currently it has new owners so you can’t go in to explore. It was on and around this house where the majority of the Battle of Jonesboro took place. The house at that time was used as a field hospital and was headquarters to the Confederate Troops until the Union Army took possession of the house for the same use. The tour guide told us that in some of the walls in the downstairs parlor, you can still see signatures of the soldiers that were recuperating at the house during the war. They left messages and signed the wall for all to see in the years to come. Cool huh?
The next stop on our tour was the Patrick Cleburne Memorial Cemetery. Now there are some graves that are marked with the names. But this cemetery also holds the remains of over 1,000 soldiers that died during the Battle of Jonesboro who were buried in unmarked graves. The unmarked headstones are laid out in the shape of a Confederate battle flag that can be seen from the air when you are overlooking the cemetery.
AND, in all the years mom has grown up in the area she has heard plenty of stories about this cemetery. Mom knew of a friend that grew up in a house across the street. One night her parents had gone out and she stayed home alone. It was dark and rainy with a heavy fog in the area. She looked out her front door and saw the image of a Confederate soldier walking down the street. Just the thought of that makes my hair stand up on end – shivers.
Well friends, I hope you enjoyed the first installment of the tour of Gone With the Wind. Come back next week for more in the Travels of the South with my mom/dad and Bill and Jean from Canada 🙂 ❤
Shivers – today’s post brings me shivers just thinking about it.
Today, I want to concentrate on something close to our hearts here at the Hotel Thompson – the St. Augustine Lighthouse. We’ve watched television shows highlighting the paranormal activity here – have you seen any?
During the 1870’s construction began on the lighthouse tower. The superintendent, Hezekiah Pittee, had two daughters drown in an accident. The girls liked to get in a work trolley and roll down to the waterfront. One day, the trolley didn’t stop and capsized into the water drowning the two girls. Since then, reports have been made of seeing two little girls standing on the catwalk.
There have also been reports of moving shadows, voices and unexplained sounds. Other people have reported seeing a dark figure on the stairway inside of the lighthouse. On one show of Ghost Hunters, Grant Wilson and Jason Hawes caught a dark figure on the steps moving and a woman’s voice asking for help. It was haunting to say the least.
Reports have also been made of the smell of cigar smoke and a man in the basement area of the keepers house. This man is believed to be a Civil War hero and a former lighthouse keeper, William Ham.
The lighthouse is now open to the public. The St. Augustine lighthouse even offers what they call a Dark of the Moon Tour that allows access into the lighthouse and keepers house at night. During this time, you are given a glow stick to light your way so that you may investigate on your own. Any takers? I’m game.
Miniature pot bellied pig and friends - Bacon, Houdini, Hemi and all of the Rock Clan with Journalist Rocky the Squirrel all out looking for adventures from the Hotel Thompson.
en everyone first got there, they heard loud noises that sounded like cannon shots. But, upon further investigation, mom/dad found out that actually it was from muskets being fired at a kind of show and tell. Even the guy shooting the musket, was dressed in attire from the Civil War days. Cool huh? 
t the tickets for the tour in this museum and also could shop for all kinds of gifts and trinkets.
Piglove 