As the spooky season approaches (aka Halloween), I want to share with you some of the hauntingly places I have been able to visit. I am not here to convince you that ghosts or spirits remain here on this earth, but even if you do not believe, learning about haunted history is just as thrilling! Our first adventure into the paranormal brings us to Bonaventure Cemetery outside of Savannah, Georgia.
Many people know about the famous film, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, whether it was the original movie made in 1994 or Clint Eastwood's adaptation in 1997. Both movies feature the Bonaventure Cemetery. The cemetery sits on a bluff next to the Wilmington River. It is what remains of the Bonaventure Plantation, containing about 160 acres of land. The stoic and tall live oak trees around the property that are cloaked in Spanish moss play up the haunting allure of the elaborate monuments and graves throughout.
I have ventured to the cemetery many times in the three years I lived in Savannah. The cemetery was a quiet and beautiful place to sit and read or even to relax without having the city noise. I have always been a bit drawn to the dark and eeriness of the paranormal. That is what put Bonaventure Cemetery on my radar. Over time, I treated the cemetery as a place to go and think without being bothered or to explore the different pathways and visit someone new each time.
With each visit, I learned a new ghost story based on the inhabitants that remain in the cemetery. The most famous one being the story of Little Gracie...
Gracie Watson has a bit of a sad tale to her name. Affectionately known as Little Gracie, the 6-year-old died of pneumonia only two days before celebrating Easter with her family. Devastated by her death, her family hired the sculptor, John Walz, to construct a life-size, picture-perfect monument of Gracie to put on their family plot in Bonaventure Cemetery. Unfortunately for Gracie, she rests all alone in Savannah since her family moved up to New England, where they lived their life, died, and then buried. Many visitors visit her grave to make sure Gracie does not feel all alone. They want to show Gracie that there are many people out there who still care for her.
There have been many sightings of her ghostly figure playing in Johnson Square, which is the square where her father used to manage the Pulaski Hotel, where many locals came to know and love Little Gracie when she was alive. The witnesses to seeing the figure say that they thought she was a real little girl on her own and when they went to approach her, she would vanish before their eyes. Many have said that while visiting her monumental statue, that the sound of a child crying can be heard, and that sometimes some read residue (that many insinuate is blood) can be seen dripping from the eyes of the monument. Many visitors want Little Gracie to feel more at peace with her death and will bring and leave toys for her to play with. These toys line the entrance of her plot, and many say that around Easter and Christmas, the toys tend to pile up high.
The book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil also has been linked to some ghost stories...
One of those being the story of the "Bird Girl," or also known as Little Wendy. The famous photo of Little Wendy that everyone recognizes is the photo on the cover of the distinguished book. The girl wears a long dress and a contemplative expression while holding a bowl in each outstretched hand. After the book's success, many locals claim the when the statute was in the cemetery, the paranormal activity around it escalated. People believe that the ghost that haunts the statue is of Lorraine Greenman, the girl who posed for the artist, Sylvia Shaw Judson. This monument no longer stands in Bonaventure. It was such a tourist attraction that the owners donated the statue to Savannah's Telfair Museum of Art to avoid any destruction that might become of her.
Now I have had some personal experiences as well...
I don't know about my readers, but I am a believer in the paranormal. For the skeptics out there, I have heard it all from you. That is all is science and how everything can be explained logically. I am not saying you're wrong, but I, myself, have experienced too many things I cannot explain. Therefore, here is what I have experienced at Bonaventure Cemetery.
Like I said before, I have been to this cemetery countless amounts of times. I even would be able to direct you, from memory, how to get there from downtown Savannah. Many times I have not experienced anything. It has been just an average day in a beautiful place. A few times, I have been on edge and even have left because I had become shaken to the core.
The first thing I experienced that I cannot explain was that one time I went to the far corner of the cemetery where there is a single tree in a field stands and sat by the bluff with my favorite book at the time. About an hour passed when I heard my name get called out. My head shot up, and I swiveled my head around so fast that I thought I had gotten whiplash. None of my friends knew I frequently ventured to the cemetery, so no one should have known I was there. Also, I was in a very secluded part of the grounds, so if there were anyone to approach me, I would have either seen them or heard their footsteps, but I had heard none. I shut my book and got off the bench. I walked around the area to see if I could spot a distant person exploring or around me. There was no one. I checked for about 30 minutes because I knew I had heard my name, but my search ended with me chilled to the bone and jumping in my car to zoom away.
The next few times after the first encounter, nothing had happened, so I started to relax in the area again and not be so on edge. That was until I felt something touch me on my shoulder when I was walking a side path near the front entrance. It wasn't a bug. It wasn't my hair. It felt as if someone placed a hand on my shoulder, gave a loving squeeze then released. When this happened, I froze instantly. My mind was trying to debunk what my body had just felt. I looked around for bugs, my hair was tied up, and I even looked for close-by animals or snakes that could have fallen from one of the trees, but none of those scenarios made sense to me. No humans were around me close enough to touch me like that, and none of the people who were around me even took a second glance in my direction. I had no way to explain what had just happened other than something or someone was around me and wanted to let me know.
I am not the only person who will visit and have personal experiences. Many locals who visit frequently say that it is expected for them now and that they are open and comforted by the fact that someone is trying to communicate with them. All personal experiences differ based on the person you are and who you talk to, but if you want to see if you believe yourself, I suggest making a trip to Bonaventure and getting the first-hand experience.
Bonaventure Cemetery has a special near and dear place within my heart. The beauty and the silence you encounter there is unlike any other resting place in the United States. Enjoy a long stroll through the oaks and Spanish moss while maybe witnessing your own paranormal experience along the way. If you do, make sure to email me! I want to hear all about it! If you aren't so brave to go on your own, there are countless amounts of tours based out of Savannah that bring you through the grounds.
Comments