Ep 47 - Lake Lanier: Oscarville and the Lady of the Lake

Haunted Hospitality

Georgia's man-made Lake Lanier is a summer vacation hotspot with an abundance of beaches, trails, and islands — and an inordinate amount of deaths. Theories about the drownings range from practical (murky water + leftover debris at the bottom of the lake) to supernatural (hands of the dead pulling swimmers deeper under the water). The ghostly lore of Lake Lanier is well known, with the Lady of the Lake said to be seen walking along a nearby bridge in a blue dress and without hands.

But if this lake is haunted by spirit, it's certainly also haunted by its past. In 1912, a white woman named Mae Crow was found beaten and left for dead by the Chattahoochee River. Locals blamed a group of four Black people simply because they lived close by, and proceeded to suddenly and violently force all Black people in the community of Oscarville — as well as the rest of Forsyth County — to leave behind their belongings and get out of town. Today, much of Oscarville is under Lake Lanier, and the events of 1912 have undeniably left their mark on the area.

In this episode, we dive into the legends and history of Lake Lanier. But first, Zoey tells us some notable final meals of death row inmates in her Something Spooky.

CW: sexual assault and racial violence.
Sources: https://hauntedhospitality.wordpress.com/2022/02/15/lake-lanier-oscarville-and-the-lady-of-the-lake

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