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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781596297371 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Arcadia Publishing SC |
| Publication date: | 09/21/2009 |
| Series: | Haunted America |
| Pages: | 128 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d) |
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CHAPTER 1
A FEW WORDS ABOUT LANGUAGE AND PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION
Like any other field, the paranormal has its own terms to describe various types of experiences or apparitions. The most important ones that I have used in this book may need a little explanation. In addition, it may be appropriate to explain a little about paranormal investigation in general, as it plays its part in this book.
There are generally considered to be three types of ghosts: residual, intelligent and demonic. You will not find demonic spirits in this book because I personally do not believe in demons (although I do believe in angry and possibly malevolent spirits: if a person was bad in life, he may well be bad, though much less powerful, in death). Indeed, I have not encountered any stories in Marietta that would be considered demonic, even by true believers.
"Residual" ghosts are those that do not represent a spirit or any sort of lingering intelligence. They are merely "movies," or a sort of holographic image that is stamped on the air by great emotion or some traumatic happening. These are the ghosts that are always seen in the same place, doing the same thing, time after time. They are usually the ones that walk through walls, seem to float in the air or go through doorways that are no longer there. Because they are merely reenactments, changes in the location do not affect them. When visitors to battlefields see entire reenactments of scenes, these are residual hauntings. Also, when people see manifestations from the knees up, or only see legs and not whole bodies, these are generally residual. If the floor is higher than it used to be or the ground is not at the same height as it was, the scene will still replay, unchanged, but we will no longer see all of it. In some haunted places, such as the Theatre in the Square in Marietta, whole scenes from the past, including the former look of the location, materialize.
Paranormal investigators are people with a serious interest in trying to discover the truth behind ghost sightings and paranormal activity by capturing evidence on film or tape or by using other instruments to document such data as electromagnetic fields (EMF), which some people believe may indicate ghost activity if there seems to be no scientific reason for higher than normal EMF readings, and temperature drops and spikes. "Cold spots," in particular, are sometimes believed to indicate spirit activity. There is a theory that spirits can use electromagnetic energy, energy from batteries and energy from the atmosphere to manifest, and that is the reason we take EMF readings and temperature readings and look for cold spots. It also explains why brand-new batteries are prone to drain in some places. The so-called Witch's Graveyard in Marietta is a good example of a place that has both unexplained temperature drops and a tendency to drain batteries.
Some people make a distinction between "paranormal investigators" and "ghost hunters" in one of two ways. Some claim that ghost hunters are less interested in explaining paranormal phenomena than they are in just experiencing it. Others say that ghost hunters tend to investigate places that are already known to be haunted, while paranormal investigators tend to investigate less well-known places, where people are experiencing activity or sightings and have asked for help. Most people in the field probably do a little of both, and the terms are often used interchangeably.
There is a theory that some weather conditions may be more conducive to observing ghostly activity, such as during and immediately after a storm, probably because of the electricity in the air. Solar flares and full moons also may affect paranormal activity, due to the effect on gravitational pull and geomagnetic fields.
Investigators have noticed that certain times of the year seem to be more active than others in Marietta, and most believe this has to do with dramatic events in the town's history, particularly the Civil War. May, June, September and the winter months seem to be very, very active times for ghost sightings and paranormal activity in Marietta.
"Sensitives" are people who seem to have abilities to tune into psychic energies. Some sensitives are mediums and can seemingly speak to spirits, and some can sense when spirits are present or read the past of a place without prior knowledge of it. Others, like me, are very sensitive to emotions, both past and present, and can sometimes pick up feelings connected to people and places. Good investigators do not accept the experiences of sensitives as evidence because these experiences often cannot be documented, but sensitives can provide helpful clues about good places to take pictures or do EVP sessions, and they can often provide names and background information that can be researched later.
When an investigator or observer speaks of an entity as "intelligent," that means that the spirit seems to be capable of corresponding or interacting in some way with the living persons involved or with the environment. EVPs (electronic voice phenomenon) are considered by many people, including myself, to be some of the most convincing evidence, especially when the message seems to be a direct answer to a question. Another example of what may be a sign of an intelligent entity is poltergeist activity, where things are moved around or mechanical items like clocks or radios are affected, such as the activity we will discuss at the 1848 House.
In this book, I may mention ghosts as being "grounded," "in visitation" or "visiting." "Grounded" means that they seem tied to a place, unable for some reason to move on, while "in visitation" means that they can and have moved on, but they occasionally come back to visit, perhaps to check on a place they have loved or to try to tend to some unfinished business. Most of the ghosts that are spotted in windows around Marietta may be "in visitation."
"Active" means that a place seems to have a lot of paranormal activity of some sort going on, such as ghost sightings, EVPs, unexplained sounds, doors opening on their own, etc. Often, investigators are willing to call a place "active" even if they are not yet ready to say that it is haunted. It means that something is definitely going on, but no one is sure just what.
EVPs are voices that are caught on tape that were not heard at the time and do not belong to anyone living who was present. Sometimes they are whispers; sometimes cries, moans or very clearly stated words are captured and not heard until the tape is reviewed. EVPs are most convincing when they seem to reflect something about the location or the situation at hand, such as the EVP from the Kennesaw House that mentions General Sherman.
CHAPTER 2A LITTLE BACKGROUND HISTORY OF MARIETTA
In 1824, four houses were all that existed on the site of what was to become Marietta, the homes of intrepid settlers who had claimed land near the Native American town of Kennesaw. That same year, the first ferry across the Chattahoochee was established at Shallow Ford for the use of wagon trains heading from Georgia's coast or from North Carolina to Alabama. A man or horse could use the ferry for five cents, while a fully loaded wagon, horse and driver cost one dollar. Before long, James Powers and Johnson Garwood started two more ferries, Powers Ferry and Johnson's Ferry. Shallowford, Powers Ferry and Johnson's Ferry are well-known names today in Marietta because of the roads that memorialize them. The ability to get across the river made the area a much more attractive place to settle.
Many more settlers were drawn to the site by the Second Land Lottery in 1832. At that time, the Cherokees were being removed from Georgia by force because of the discovery of gold and the subsequent Georgia Gold Rush. Marietta did not participate in the gold rush to any great extent, but the land was available for lottery due to the removal of the Cherokees on the infamous Trail of Tears. The cruel fate of so many of the Cherokees who were forced to leave their land and their sacred places is the probable cause of many of the spectral drums and war whoops, and the occasional sightings of ghostly Cherokee braves in full Native American dress, around the area.
In 1833, the first Marietta plat, with the square and the courthouse in traditional southern style, was laid. The state legislature recognized the town in 1834, and in 1837, the Georgia Gazetteer announced the name of the city: Marietta, in Cobb County, named for the wife of Supreme Court judge and U.S. senator Thomas Willis Cobb, for whom the county had been named. Another, more colorful theory, however, holds that the city was named for two local young ladies who so charmed the Marietta gentlemen that they combined their names, Mary and Etta, to form the name of the town. The first buildings were made of log, and the streets were dirt when it was dry and mud when it was wet. Among the earliest establishments were two taverns and four churches.
Before long, Marietta was selected as the location for the Western and Atlanta Railroad. Construction of the railroad began in 1838, but political wrangling slowed the progress, and it was not until 1850 that the railroad became operational.
With the railroad came prosperity. Stagecoaches ferried rail passengers from remote areas to the railroad, stopping at the stagecoach depot owned by Dix Fletcher and his wife. When it burned down in the mid-1850s, the Fletchers purchased a cotton warehouse from John Glover, which became the Fletcher House and then the Kennesaw House.
Now that Marietta was a settled town with a purpose, it was time to incorporate. This was done in 1852. John Glover, a businessman with political ambitions who had arrived in town in 1848, was elected the first mayor. Glover was the builder of Bushy Park, which would in time become the famously haunted 1848 House.
In 1840, Dr. Carey Cox promoted a "water cure," one of the most popular "medical" treatments in the 1800s, and established a spa, hotel and sanitarium in Marietta that attracted visitors from all around. People came from everywhere, but especially from the Lowcountry of South Carolina and the Georgia coast during the summertime, to escape the dangers of malaria, which was rampant and deadly there, and for relief from the oppressive heat of the coast.
This, with the establishment of the Georgia Military Institute in 1851, added to Marietta's prestige in the area. The institute began with 7 students. At the end of the first year, there were 28 students. By 1853, there were six instructors and 180 cadets. The number of cadets remained between 150 and 200 every year until the outbreak of the Civil War.
The institute was built on 110 acres off Powder Springs Road and included eighteen buildings, among which were four dormitories, a main school building and Brumby Hall, the beautiful home of the first superintendent of the institute, Colonel Arnuldus V. Brumby. Here, before the war, cadets received not only military training but also instruction in engineering, science, mathematics, history, grammar and religion: the well-rounded education that every southern gentleman was expected to have.
During the war, the institute was used by Confederate and then Union troops through the battles in Marietta, during which time it remained open, although by 1864 all of the students had gone to war. It was burned by Sherman's troops in November 1864 and never reestablished. Only Brumby Hall survived, and it is said that it was spared because Colonel Brumby and General Sherman had been friends at West Point before the country was so cruelly divided. The house fared poorly after the war, until it was bought and restored in 1926, and the beautiful, extensive gardens that exist today were created. It was bought by the City of Marietta in 1996.
But back to the 1850s. Despite three disastrous fires that nearly destroyed the city in just a few years, Marietta was, by the time the Civil War arrived, a prosperous city with a booming tourist industry created by the railroad. It continued to grow and prosper until it was nearly destroyed by the storm of war.
In April 1862, Marietta took its place in Civil War history for the first time.
One night, a civilian, James Andrews, arrived at the Fletcher House hotel, which later became the Kennesaw House. The Fletcher House was conveniently located right next to the railroad tracks, and Dix Fletcher was known to have Union sympathies. Once he arrived, Andrews was joined by twenty-two other men, who became known to history as Andrews' Raiders. They had a daring plan to bring an early end to the War Between the States.
In Stealing the General, Russell S. Bonds reports a conversation between James Andrews and his men. "Now my lads," Andrews is reported to have said, "you have been chosen by your officers to perform a most important service, which, if successful, will change the whole aspect of the war and aid materially in bringing an early peace to our distracted country."
What was this "most important service"?
They were going to steal a train. The plan was that they would then take the train to Chattanooga to meet up with the Union army, in the meantime doing as much damage to the tracks and the railroad equipment as they could manage along the way, disrupting and making the Western and Atlanta Railroad unusable. This, had it succeeded, would have been a tremendous blow to the Confederate army.
No one noticed anything out of the ordinary when Andrews and his men boarded the train, known as the General, in the early hours of April 12, 1862. But when the train stopped at Big Shanty (now known as Kennesaw) for the passengers to have breakfast, Andrews and his men made their move: they stole the engine and the fuel car and began the incident that would later be known to generations as the Great Locomotive Chase.
The conductor of the General and two other men chased after the raiders on foot, by handcar and on foot again, all the way to Adairsville, where they commandeered a train known as the Texas. The Texas was a southbound train, and now the Texas was chasing the General in reverse. The chase continued all the way to Ringgold, Georgia. The raiders were able to do some damage to the track, but not nearly as much as they had planned. In Ringgold, the General ran out of fuel. Andrews's men abandoned their prize and scattered but were soon captured. James Andrews and seven of his men were hanged. The other fourteen were sent to prison camps, where eight of them subsequently managed to escape. The other six were eventually exchanged and achieved their freedom.
And it all began in Marietta, Georgia.
After the war, the General was almost destroyed. In 1891, it was discovered in Vinings, Georgia, not far from Marietta and Kennesaw, on the scrap line and was destined to be turned into scrap metal by the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway. It was rescued, rebuilt and used for Civil War reunions and promotional purposes, finally ending up housed in a Chattanooga depot until 1962, when the Louisville and Nashville Railroad sent it for a centennial run. Today, you can see the General in its restored glory at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Haunted Marietta"
by .
Copyright © 2009 Rhetta Akamatsu.
Excerpted by permission of The History Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements,
Introduction,
A Few Words about Language and Paranormal Investigation,
A Little Background History of Marietta,
About the Nature of Ghosts,
A Historical Marietta Ghost Story,
Shades of the Civil War,
Cemetery Shades,
Haunted Bridges,
Shades of the Square,
Haunted Houses and Buildings,
A Contemporary Marietta Ghost Story,
Conclusion,
Appendix. Visit Some of these Places and Learn More about Marietta,
Bibliography,
About the Author,