Hats off to Savannah for being the most haunted city in Georgia. But where do you go for screams and gasps after visiting The Pirates’ House, where local drunk citizens were once smuggled through a tunnel onto a waiting pirate ship? Well, serious Halloween fans come to Eatonton.
Georgia Writers Museum’s annual Haunted Eatonton is the scariest way to celebrate Halloween. The spooky 90-minute tours will be held Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, Oct. 24, 25, and 26, starting at 7 p.m. when the otherworldly residents come alive.
This year’s tour will include Eatonton’s Abandoned Jail, Union Church Cemetery, and the Adele Theater, among other haunted sites. This chilling experience has been choreographed with Arts Barn and co-sponsored by the Eatonton Putnam Chamber.
The Southeastern Institute of Paranormal Research has thoroughly investigated each site. If you want to investigate during your tour, SIPR suggests downloading its free app (for Apple or Android): Ghost Hunting Tools. (Please remember to turn the sound off on the app to avoid disturbing others on the tour.)
Will I see ghosts? If you think you see a ghost and want to take a photo, take at least three photos of the same space. Often, ghosts are shy and will not appear in the first photo. And don’t forget to turn off your flash! It spooks the ghosts.
What will I see? One of the best examples on the tour is Sylvia, Eatonton’s most famous apparitional resident. She roams the rooms and stairs of the elegant Panola Hall, a mansion on North Madison Avenue.
In 1891, after marrying Louise Prudden, Dr. Benjamin Hunt purchased Panola Hall. Rumors around town suggest Sylvia fell down the stairs or jumped to her death from her upper-story window upon hearing of her fiancé’s untimely death. The house even features an eerie tunnel under the front porch that leads to … well, no one actually knows ...
Can kids come? Well, we always say that you know your child best as the parent/guardian. This tour is intended to be spooky. While we consider the tour PG-13 for frights (no inappropriate language or mature content), we have hosted children as young as nine.
Doors open each night at 6:30 p.m., and tickets are $40 each or $35 each when purchasing two or more. If you feel brave enough, register by visiting Georgia Writers Museum online at georgiawritersmuseum.org.