Halloween, time for a story.........

What are the chances a house built on a burial site will be forever cursed?  I'm guessing a very high percentage and would recommend not doing so but that is exactly what Civil War Veteran, Benjamin Wilson did in 1868.  At 432 Abercorn Street in Savannah, Georgia, Mr. Wilson and his family constructed a house on a land which was used to bury slaves at the time.

Seems building on burial grounds was a common place in Savannah as many of the structures still standing today are built on forgotten burial grounds of Native Americans and slaves.  Many people believe that Savannah (established in 1733) is a cursed city.  A city haunted by the numerous bloody battles during the American Revolution and the War of 1812, as well as the Civil War, not to mention cholera and Yellow Fever were running rampant at the time.  So many deaths, so many lost lingering souls.

Now back to the Wilson family.  Wilson wanted to gain a high social status so he spared no expense on his family's new home spending over $20,000, which at the time, was one of the most expensive houses in Savannah.  Sadly, Mrs. Wilson died reportedly from Yellow Fever shortly after moving in.  Mr. Wilson fell into a deep depression after his wife died and allegedly, he made his daughter suffer the consequences soon after for being disobedient. 

Image from the Massie School 1889

A quick retelling of Mr. Wilson's alleged disciplining techniques.  After the Civil War, hatred and racial tension were still in full swing.  Mr. Wilson saw his daughter outside playing with children from a local school (Massie School), a school she did not attend herself.  The students at this school were poor, orphans, and/or African-American.  Mr. Wilson warned his daughter on multiple occasions not to play with those children.  She apparently did not listen so she would get a lesson she would not forget. 

Sending the child to her room did not work and when isolating her from everyone did not work, he resorted to drastic measures.

He took a chair and placed it in front of her bedroom window which overlooked the Massie School's play area and proceeded to tie her wrists and ankles to the chair so she could not leave.  He left her there for days, she subsequently died from dehydration. 

Alleged window the child
looked out and if you
enlarge this pic and look closely
at the bottom, you can see
what many are calling a
child looking out the
window.  I could not find one
picture without the image of
the child in it. 

Since Mr. Wilson was a socialite at the time, no charges were filed.

Mr. Wilson did feel remorseful for what he had done, and it is alleged that his daughter was haunting him causing him to slip into a further depression and a week later, he went to his daughter's room, sat in the same chair, watched the kids play down below, and shot himself in the head. 

Maybe these tragedies were some sort of payback for building a house on burial ground but it would appear that this house definitely had a curse on it and everyone who lived there and maybe anyone who had the misfortune to rent the house years later. 

One story goes............a family of six from Pompano Beach, Florida visited the house.  The adults went out for the night leaving their four daughters home alone in the house.  When they returned, two of their daughters were dead inside the house and one was found dead on the porch.  The only survivor was their 4-year-old daughter.  To this day, the murder of these girls has not been solved.

Fast forward to 1990 when a few college students rented the house.  They reportedly heard heavy foot steps and pounding noises.  They also reportedly heard crying and giggling. 

At some point after this, a woman lived at 432 Abercorn and literally disappeared and was never seen again.  Paranormal activity?  No clue but it all makes for a good story but an awfully sad story if any of these are true.

It is easy to see why the house at 432 Abercorn Street is the most famous haunted house in all of Savannah.  We might have to head to Savannah and check it out for ourselves. 

Happy Halloween