Spirits of the Sinyard House - Hawkinsville, Georgia

In the small Georgia town of Hawkinsville, located halfway between Atlanta and Savannah, there is a home that for a while seemed most ordinary.  That is until work some work was done on it and extensive changes were made.  The changes in the house seemed to awaken something... spirits who dwelled within.

Spirits from the post Civil War era haunt the Sinyard House in Hawkinsville, Georgia - Image courtesy of Photostock freedigitalphotos.net

After the Sinyard home was remodeled, strange things started to happen with in the home.  A huge amount of poltergeist activity accompanied by sightings of the paranormal kind.  It is believed that this poltergeist has moved things around, pulled items out of kitchen cabinets and slammed the doors shut.  Folks have been taking showers and the curtain would suddenly open by an unseen hand. Also the sounds of a child playing upstairs, laughing and giggling has been heard by some witnesses who claim that no child was present in the home. Poltergeist activities have been long thought to be caused by the spirits of dead children, the life taken away from them in their youth, so they like to play in the afterlife.

Other things happen in the house that would suggest that this poltergeist is not alone.  Heavy footsteps have been heard going up the stairs when no one was there.  Clothing left in rumpled piles have been found neatly folded and placed in a stack on the foot of the bed.  Occasionally the smell of perfume can be detected with in certain areas of the house.  A kind not worn by any occupant.  There has been instances where a woman's voice has been heard singing upstairs as if singing a lullaby to a child.  And on a rare occasion the actually full bodied apparition of an unrecognized woman has been seen in the windows of the upper floors by people passing by.

The ghostly image of a woman has been seen in the upper floors of The Sinyard House in Hawkinsville, Georgia - Image courtesy of thephotoholic freedigitalphotos.net

After the owners did some research on the property, it was discovered that sometime shortly after the Civil War, a live-in maid stayed in the household and she had a child.  The reason that is known is because records indicated that one day the woman and her child were found dead.  The life needlessly taken away from them.

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Ghost of Gracie Watkins - Bonaventure Cemetery and The Savannah College of Art and Design - Savannah, Georgia

Little Gracie Watson was born in 1883.  She lived in Savannah, Georgia with her parents who owned a prestigious hotel named he Pulaski Hotel.  Gracie helped entertain the guests at the socials that were held there and she became quite popular among the guests.  She would spend her days running and playing throughout the hotel with one of her favorite play spots being underneath the back stairs.

Statue of little Gracie Watkins

In April of 1889 Gracie Watson became very ill with pneumonia.  A couple of days before Easter, little Gracie succumbed to the illness and died.  Her parents were devastated.  After Gracie's passing, Mrs. Watson and other hotel workers claimed to have heard laughing and singing through out the hotel.  Her favorite haunt was the place she enjoyed the most in life, the area under the back stairs.  In their mourning, the Watsons lapsed in their responsibilities of managing the hotel and eventually sold it.  They later became managers of a different hotel, The Desoto in 1890.  They then eventually moved on to another city.  Before leaving Savannah however, Gracie's father approached local fledgling artist John Walz and simply gave him a photo of his daughter and commissioned him to create a memorial to Gracie.

The Pulaski House in Savannah, Georgia 1906

Eventually, the standard tombstone that marked Gracie Watson's grave in Bonaventure Cemetery was replaced by a life sized sculpture carved by John Waltz that many said resembled little Gracie in every way.  After a while, visitors to the grave site began leave trinkets and money as a tribute.  It is said that if someone removes any of the trinkets, the statue would cry tears of blood.  There are other haunts in Bonaventure Cemetery that will stir the soul as well.

The grave site of little Gracie Watkins at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia

The Pulaski Hotel that served as Gracie's only home was torn down long ago and replaced by a cafe named Morrison's which is now a bank.  However, some say that they can still hear the voice of a little girl laughing and playing but she cannot be seen.  Others claim to have actually seen a young girl in late 1880s dress wandering around.  However, others claim that Gracie haunts other places in Savannah now that her home is gone.  Pulaski House which is now part of the Savannah College of Art and Design, is rumored to play host to Gracie's hauntings.  Sounds of a young child laughing and playing.  Perhaps returning to the namesake where she grew up.  Some residents of Oglethorpe House claim that Gracie shares her presence in that structure which was a former hotel.  A apparition of a young girl has been spotted wandering the halls of Oglethorpe House at night.  Some they they have awakened to see the young girl kneeling by their bed or standing near their wardrobe.  Many claim this is the ghost of Gracie Watkins because they say the apparition looks exactly like the statue in Bonaventure Cemetery that marks Gracie Watkin's grave.

The Green Eyed Phantom of Chickamauga - Chickamauga, Georgia

Long before the Civil War ever came about the Cherokee Indians labeled the small creek that winds its way towards the Tennessee border and what is now Chattanooga, the Chickamauga or "River of Death". It is possible they named it that because it is the area where they were first hit with the small pox epidemic that wiped out many Cherokee. Hence the name "River of Death". It became exactly that in September of 1863 when Confederate and Union forces collided in the area just north of the creek.  The battle would produce over 32,500 casualties, including nearly 4,000 dead lying on the battlefield and West Chickamauga Creek after the two day engagement was over.  Many of the dead lay on the battlefield for months until they were hastily buried where they had fallen. Graves are all over the park and some are still accidentally unearthed to this day.

Artist rendition of The Battle of Chickamauga

People who have visited the park say that a strange fog rolls into the park in the evenings when there is no other fog in any other area.  Although there are many ghosts that haunt Chickamauga Battlefield, the most famous apparition or "creature" as some call it, because it is not entirely human looking.  They say a spectre can be seen with glowing green or greenish orange eyes, waist long hair, and fangs can be seen roaming through the fog. The most common place for the creature to be spotted is Snodgrass Hill.  They say that if you get close enough it will stare you down until you leave.

Chickamauga Battlefield

There are some who believe this spectre is a confederate soldier who killed his brother, a Union soldier.  He then in turn, was killed at the battlefield.  Now he roams the battlefield in eternal misery.  Perhaps twisted and transformed into a beast by the personal horrors of the war he experienced.