Ghosts of Macon Past
Now, I’m not saying I believe in ghosts per se – but I stand by the statement that Macon has more spirits than a Savannah cocktail party.
Here in Macon, our past seems always to be in step with our present, and call it what you will, but that feeling is as oddly comforting as a chenille blanket on a chilly night.
![Rose Hill Cemetery reenactment](https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/DSC_0853_5d8832c8-03d3-451a-9dba-b34fe4eb2fb8.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=320&q=80&w=320&s=a208df42a49cf4904abdcea4d3a2298d 320w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/DSC_0853_5d8832c8-03d3-451a-9dba-b34fe4eb2fb8.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=540&q=80&w=540&s=f6320c8cac8e3aacab413022ca617f85 540w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/DSC_0853_5d8832c8-03d3-451a-9dba-b34fe4eb2fb8.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=768&q=80&w=768&s=0366661e6fca110fe706b5decdcb41c7 768w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/DSC_0853_5d8832c8-03d3-451a-9dba-b34fe4eb2fb8.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1024&q=80&w=1024&s=b613a2d752ca955515df98db9bb9ed65 1024w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/DSC_0853_5d8832c8-03d3-451a-9dba-b34fe4eb2fb8.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1200&q=80&w=1200&s=501bde121a2308965ea06d50eee56af6 1080w)
![](https://macon.imgix.net/images/Icons/record-purple.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=320&q=80&w=320&s=adb041108a0bdfda120c45315522828f 320w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/Icons/record-purple.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=540&q=80&w=540&s=f13bc7ca130067ef843d3fa03e3d3eb8 540w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/Icons/record-purple.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=768&q=80&w=768&s=d97e043c2948a8d8f7ec948c348d6ce0 768w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/Icons/record-purple.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1024&q=80&w=1024&s=5e4395051f0910381bcb03a37373f39a 791w)
I never truly feel alone anywhere in Macon – even when I am. I’m not saying I’m like that kid in The Sixth Sense. I don’t see grumpy dead people hiding under beds or behind doors. But I do feel something here in this beautiful city that I’ve never felt anywhere else.
What I can say for sure is ever since I’ve moved to the most darling little nest on College Street, one of the bathroom lights in my apartment inexplicably flickers at the oddest times - and stops when I ask it to. And then there’s my dogs. There’s a spot on the perimeter of nearby Daisy Park that completely wigs Margaret Thatcher out. No amount of tugging on her leash, pleading, or tempting her with treats will make her cross whatever ghostly threshold or apparition resides there. And Miss Oda Mae Brown seems to have made new friends here … that only she can see. Never in her life has that dog taken to standing in a corner of the room for extended periods of time while staring intently at the wall like an extra in The Blair Witch Project. Until now. Gives me the absolute shivers every time she does it.
Lately, I’ve become convinced all this uber-ghostliness is at least, in part, a result of our current close proximity to Macon’s two most historic cemeteries, Riverside and Rose Hill So naturally, I was curious and a little excited to go and see for myself when the opportunity popped up to take the Spirits in October: Spirits Through the Centuries tour. The hour-or-soish walking tour, presented by the Historic Riverside Cemetery Conservancy, was entertaining, educational, a little spooky and fun. Especially so close to Halloween!
![Two people dressed up in old fashioned clothes at Rose Hill Cemetery](https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/4ebc82b2_04a3_4caa_9d06_f12c6634aca2_f01f4660-5744-4534-bd24-0278c82d0e35.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=c4b64b3b61ee9e6c8b370abe78ae106c 320w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/4ebc82b2_04a3_4caa_9d06_f12c6634aca2_f01f4660-5744-4534-bd24-0278c82d0e35.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=c8d91a16d585a7a8b9fbd63fb9fcf3c0 540w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/4ebc82b2_04a3_4caa_9d06_f12c6634aca2_f01f4660-5744-4534-bd24-0278c82d0e35.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=5ff15660eff1e201a49b10d18c57e576 768w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/4ebc82b2_04a3_4caa_9d06_f12c6634aca2_f01f4660-5744-4534-bd24-0278c82d0e35.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=26aae299b3821b2975db7ff273995c61 1024w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/4ebc82b2_04a3_4caa_9d06_f12c6634aca2_f01f4660-5744-4534-bd24-0278c82d0e35.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1200&s=4aa46bfb860ebf140a8673a56a9637af 1080w)
Guided by a talkative, friendly volunteer, our little tour group set out just as the sun was setting. By the end of the tour, of course, we were guided only by the stars, the moon, and the rows of luminaries placed intermittently along the footpath of the tour’s route.
Along the way, we all got the opportunity to meet and learn from almost a dozen of the 19,000 Maconites buried on these hallowed, exquisitely manicured grounds. Depicted by talented costumed actors, these ghosts of Macon past include a mix of pace-setters, politicians, entrepreneurs, social activists, and socialites. It was a perfect cross-section from across the centuries of the men and women who have played a role in “making Macon the place that it is today,” as the program says. I don’t want to spoil the surprises, but I can report the ghostly mix included the only man in the cemetery to be buried standing up, a history-making female architect, a children’s advocate, a former slave, and the city’s first pedestrian casualty from an auto accident.
![Photo of Rose Hill Cemetery Obelisk](https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/bdf2c234_9f44_4367_b015_59675aae2902_9f4b56a7-9c3a-4712-bf92-261a8b8d83c8.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=320&q=80&w=320&s=730d23e6e34267ec081f27177f59ea54 320w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/bdf2c234_9f44_4367_b015_59675aae2902_9f4b56a7-9c3a-4712-bf92-261a8b8d83c8.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=540&q=80&w=540&s=d2e0228c986b163ab6988ea677973ee8 540w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/bdf2c234_9f44_4367_b015_59675aae2902_9f4b56a7-9c3a-4712-bf92-261a8b8d83c8.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=768&q=80&w=768&s=d52f3467d492a1e254be5917ce320fb9 768w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/bdf2c234_9f44_4367_b015_59675aae2902_9f4b56a7-9c3a-4712-bf92-261a8b8d83c8.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1024&q=80&w=1024&s=e21ed22ebd8d0314d39fe7d1c7080a9d 1024w, https://macon.imgix.net/images/blogs/bdf2c234_9f44_4367_b015_59675aae2902_9f4b56a7-9c3a-4712-bf92-261a8b8d83c8.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1200&q=80&w=1200&s=5a00276069bf672420fece633178ea85 1080w)
Dates for this year's event will be announced soon!. Just be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes - and skip dinner beforehand. A tasty reception in the public mausoleum at tour’s end is part of the package.
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