10 of Atlanta’s most haunted places

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Atlanta has its fair share of sordid and haunted history. From Civil War soldiers to one of the deadliest lakes in the United States, the City in a Forest is a prime location for those looking to get spooked.

Here are 10 of the most haunted places in metro Atlanta.

Fox Theatre

The former movie palace has inspired stories of ghosts walking around the building, figures on the walls and the ghosts of former employees. It’s said that a ghostly organist can be heard playing tunes after hours to the sound of a clapping audience and that a former employee’s girlfriend possesses the elevator. The theatre offers ghost tours in October that expand on its haunted history.

Lake Lanier

Lake Lanier is one of the deadliest lakes in the United States. More than 700 people have died in the lake since its creation in 1956. The lake was created by flooding the prosperous Black community of Oscarville; it’s claimed that the spirits of those buried in the town’s cemeteries haunt the lake, causing drownings and disappearances. Browns Bridge is another hotspot for supernatural sightings.

Oakland Cemetery

Oakland Cemetery is one of Atlanta’s oldest public parks and the resting place of many famous Atlantans. “The Lion of the South” once watched over 3,000 unnamed Confederate dead, but that doesn’t stop one ghostly soldier from conducting roll call...and getting answers! Another spirit is a young woman searching for her lost love.

Ellis Hotel

An unidentified woman leaps from an upper story to escape the burning Winecoff Hotel in... — An unidentified woman leaps from an upper story to escape the burning Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, Ga., on Dec. 7, 1946. Seconds later the woman crashed to her death on the hotel marquee. Altogether 119 persons of the 280 residents lost their lives in the fire of the hotel that had been billed as fireproof. This photo is made by Arnold Hardy, a Georgia Tech student. (AP Photo)(ARNOLD HARDY | AP)

The Ellis Hotel is best known for the Dec. 7, 1946 fire that claimed 119 lives. The building was claimed to be fireproof, which earned it the nickname “Titanic on Peachtree.” Guests report waking up to the smell of smoke and hearing screams. The hotel’s fire alarm sometimes goes off at exactly 2:48 a.m., the same time the fire occurred.

Georgia Tech student Arnold Hardy took the photo seen above and became the first amateur photographer to win a Pulitzer Prize for his work.

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park

A Civil War battlefield is bound to have its fair share of spirits. Confederate soldiers seem to come and go from the homes around the battlefield and hikers have reported seeing battered and bloody ghosts wandering the fields. Over 5,000 men died in the battle; it seems many of them are still looking for a place to rest.

Bulloch Hall

Bulloch Hall may be best known as the childhood home of President Theodore Roosevelt’s mother, but don’t expect to see her wandering the grounds. Instead, the spirits at Bulloch Hall reach further back in the building’s history. Visitors have reported seeing the ghost of Confederate soldiers and a teenage slave who died on the grounds.

The Wren’s Nest

The Wren’s Nest doesn’t have a dark past, but visitors claim it is haunted nonetheless. There are reports of loud ringing noises, women disappearing into a closet and a man’s face in a mirror. It’s believed that the house is haunted by the original owner, writer Joel Chandler Harris, and his family.

Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse

The performances at this facsimile of the Globe in Midtown must be rather convincing! There are reports of a boy in a blue suit, a woman in Elizabethan dress is reported to move things around in the women’s dressing room and one upstairs room gives off such bad vibes staff members refuse to enter.

Six Flags Over Georgia

The theme park hosts more than Fright Fest. Two ghosts rumored to appear are a young girl who was killed in the 1970s and an actor who was killed on his way to work at the park.

Kennesaw House

The Kennesaw House has seen many occupants over its life. It’s been a cotton mill, hotel, Civil War hospital, and morgue and now houses the Marietta Museum of History. That long history has earned it quite a few ghostly residents and the nickname “The House of 1,000 Ghosts.” Visitors have reported stepping into a gruesome hospital triage in the basement or seeing the figure of a lady in a pink dress known as Mrs. Fletcher.

For ways to celebrate Halloween all over Atlanta, click here.