Top 10 Haunted Places in Atlanta
From its role in the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, Atlanta is steeped in history. The architecture is as rife with Southern charm as it is with stories of the past, many of them stories of Atlanta ghosts who still linger among the living. Think you’re brave enough to tour the fantastic frights and bumps in the night Atlanta has to offer? Read on to find out!
10. Bulloch Hall
The beauty of Atlanta’s architecture often reflects its long, complicated past. Bulloch Hall is a prime example of this. This Antebellum plantation was constructed by slave labor in 1839 and owned by Major James Stephen Bulloch. The house is tall and white, with its massive Grecian columns seeming to represent the timeworn ideology of the Old South.
Legend has it that a piece of this history still remains. According to locals, the ghost of a teenage slave whose body was uncovered from a well on the property haunts the property. Though she has since been laid to rest, her spirit lingers, flickering the lights in the main house on and off and laughing at unsuspecting tourists. Joining this teenaged ghoul are the spirits of Confederate soldiers, whom visitors and volunteers of Bulloch Hall report peering from the upstairs windows of the house. Perhaps they are still unaware the war they fought in has long since ended.
9. Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park
As the site of an important Civil War battle, the next location houses some of the oldest Atlanta ghosts. The park features rolling hills and lush green trees, and looking at it today, one would never guess its bloody history.
From June 19th, 1864 to July 2nd, 1864, cries of war ravaged the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. When the dust settled, over 5,000 soldiers lay dead. And it seems many of them never left. Hikers in the area report spotting Confederate soldiers in the park, their clothing torn and bloody. Assuming the soldiers are part of a Civil War reenactment, some of these hikers try and get a closer look, only to find they have vanished.
Residents of the surrounding neighborhood also report instances of young men in confederate uniforms materializing in their homes. The soldiers seem to come and go in the neighborhood as they please, looking for a place to rest.
8. The Fox Theatre
The Fox Theatre is a lavish event and performance venue the size of a cavern. Constructed in 1928, it was originally intended as headquarters for the Atlanta Shriners organization, and its mosque-like structure and ornate design reflect this. The theatre was later leased to movie mogul William Fox, who converted it into a movie palace. Today, it houses events, live performances, and ghosts from all eras of its history.
Among these is an old organist whose ashes were scattered in the theatre, and is said to linger behind. The staff has reported hearing him play his favorite tunes after hours. Another is the ghost of a former employee’s girlfriend whose spirit possesses the elevator. Guests report pressing the button for the second or third floor, only to wind up on the fourth where she supposedly died. Staff also report hearing the sound of footsteps in the audience when the theatre is empty or catching a glimpse of a ghostly face watching them from the dark.
Read more about “Mighty Mo,” the haunted organ.
7. Six Flags Over Georgia
The Atlanta location of one of the most popular theme parks in the country may be one of the weirder entries on our list, but that’s no reason to take it lightly. According to visitors of the park, the place is seriously haunted. They claim that in the 1970s, a little girl was killed by a car near the park. Ever since, visitors report a confused, sometimes bloody young girl asking them for help. But when the guests try and direct her, she vanishes into the crowd.
Another visitor who sticks around long after Halloween is the spirit of an actor who once worked at the Crystal Pistol, the park’s music hall. According to legend, the man died on his way to work, but that doesn’t stop him from hanging around, and members of the staff report mysteriously slamming doors and footsteps running up and down the halls. Apparently, no one told him his shift was covered.
6. Former Village Inn Bed and Breakfast
As the oldest remaining building in Stone Mountain, the former Village Inn (now Stillwell House) is also among the most haunted. Built in 1820, the Inn was briefly converted to a hospital during the Civil War, but the ghosts of its Confederate past still linger. Though the building no longer operates as a bed and breakfast, it remains a historical Atlanta landmark and an essential stop on any haunted tour of the city.
The building’s original owner, Reverend Jacob Stillwell, was said to be a tall, imposing figure rarely seen without a cigar in hand. Former guests of the Village Inn report sensing a strong male presence in the house, believed to be that of the Reverend. Lights turn on and off on their own, pictures fall off the walls, and ghostly faces peer out from photographs. Visitors always know the reverend is present when the odor of cigar smoke mysteriously permeates the air.
5. Foster House
Next up is the Main Street staple Foster House, said to be inhabited by spirits struck with typhoid fever. Originally constructed in 1887, the building was restored in 2003 and now operates as a popular breakfast and lunch spot. If you choose to dine at this historic Atlanta eatery, be on the lookout for the sickly souls of Henry Foster and his son. Employees of Foster House claim to have spotted the apparition of a young boy holding a music box, which plays an eerie tune before slamming shut. Other accounts of paranormal activity include silverware levitating in the air, and broomsticks standing up on their own.
4. Beverly Hills Inn Apartments
Built in 1929, the Beverly Hills Inn Apartments was once a home for aging widows but has since been converted to an apartment building. And according to the tenets, the boundaries between worlds are as thin as the walls. Reports include drinking glasses smashing on their own, and ghostly whispers warning visitors to get out. The spirits are believed to be those of three elderly women who do not take too kindly to visitors.
Others report seeing strange glowing orbs floating from room to room, particularly on the third floor of the building. Older residents of the building claim that the trio of ghosts lookout for more long-term residents, and mostly pick on newer, rowdier tenets. So if you ever find yourself visiting the Beverly, try to keep it down.
3. Rhodes Hall
In 1904, millionaire furniture tycoon Amos Giles Rhodes built the mansion where he and his wife Amanda would live out their final days. Carved in a Romanesque Revival style out of granite from Georiga’s Stone Mountain, the Peachtree Street estate resembles more of a fortress or castle than a home. But Amos and his wife were enamored with it, and referred to it only as “the dream.” The Hall’s interior stands as a testament to Atlanta history just as much as the exterior, with all of the original furnishings remaining, including a stained-glass mural depicting the rise of the confederacy.
Evidently, Amos and Amanda Rhodes loved their home so much they decided never to leave. Visitors report sensing an evil presence permeating the fortress-like mansion and have heard slow, heavy footsteps creeping up the stairs. Other accounts report paintings flying off the walls, and the apparition of an old woman appearing in the mirror.
2. The Ellis Hotel
Before it was the Ellis, this downtown Atlanta hotel was known as the Winecoff, the famed “fireproof” structure of its day. But just like the Titanic, the Ellis met an ironic fate. In 1946, the hotel caught ablaze, resulting in the deaths of 119 people and earning it the unfortunate nickname “The Titanic on Peachtree.” To this day it remains the deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history.
Ever since that awful night, guests and employees of the hotel report unexplained happenings. Guests often wake up to the acrid smell of smoke, though the smell never leads to a fire. Other guests report hearing blood-curdling screams in the night. Weirdest of all, the hotel’s fire alarm sometimes goes off at exactly 2:48 in the morning, the same time the deadly fire occurred over 70 years ago.
To learn more about Atlanta’s dark history, click here.
1. Oakland Cemetery
As the largest and oldest cemetery in Atlanta, Oakland Cemetary is a grand, sprawling memorial to the Old South. The historic Atlanta landmark takes inspiration from the grandiose graveyards of the Northeast, but with a distinctly southern twist, featuring an enormous stone “Lion of the Confederacy” watching over 3,000 unnamed Confederate soldiers.
But some say the massive stone beast guards more than just bodies. Many believe Oakland cemetery to be rife with paranormal activity. Visitors have reported spotting Confederate soldiers wandering about after dark, perhaps unable to pass on from their unmarked graves.
Eerier still, one report claims to have seen the body of a Union soldier hanging from a tree. But the most unsettling story comes from a young male visitor who reports hearing a Confederate roll call that ended with his own name!
Sources:
https://atlanta.curbed.com/maps/atlanta-haunted-house-ghost-stories-locations
https://atlanta.eater.com/maps/haunted-restaurants-bar-hotels-atlanta
https://friendsofbulloch.org/bulloch-family-history/
https://www.foxtheatre.org/about
http://sites.gsu.edu/bcandebat1/blog-posts/a-haunted-night-inside-the-fox-theater/
https://the-line-up.com/rhodes-hall-atlanta-haunted
https://www.historynet.com/explore-the-haunting-remains-of-civil-war-prisons.htm
