This is the cursed lake of Georgia… Lying in the northern part of the U.S. state of Georgia, sprawled out among the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains for 26 miles, 75 meters (258 feet) deep at its deepest point and with an area of 150 km2 (59 square miles) of water and 1,114 km (692 miles) of shoreline, is Lake Sidney Lanier, And we all know what supposedly happens when an eternal rest is interrupted.
A year after her crash, her passenger’s body was found…but Susie Roberts’s remains have never been located.
Especially strange are many of the tragic stories of drownings. Their homes left to be overtaken by water. All of our rustic campsites accommodate both RVs and tents. As waters rose to engulf everything in its path, the Georgia landscape changed and entire towns were lost. But these races stopped in the 1950s, as the backwaters of Lake Lanier creeped closer forcing the community’s beloved Speedway to close for good, lost only to memory until 2001, when a drought severe enough to drop the lake 15 feet below full capacity, allowed the top rows of Looper Speedway’s old concrete grandstand to briefly be exposed once again, an eerie reminder of a fading memory. Lake Lanier is also fed by the Chestatee River. Lake Lanier is also fed by the Chestatee River. https://www.exploregeorgia.org/gainesville/outdoors-nature/lakes-rivers/lake-lanier, https://www.cbs46.com/news/is-lake-lanier-haunted-cbs46-takes-a-look/article_a02240a0-4360-5115-9e8f-be833f7f3867.amp.html, https://gwinnettcitizen.com/46-secrets-and-legend-all-a-part-of-the-lake-lanier-folklore, https://travelnoire.com/amp/georgia-lake-lanier-haunted-twitter-chimes-in, https://www.newsweek.com/lake-lanier-really-haunted-missing-boaters-spark-conversation-lakes-eerie-1422352?amp=1, https://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/badge-bar/60-year-old-man-found-floating-lake-lanier/, https://www.11alive.com/amp/article/news/local/dangers-lurk-in-the-waters-of-lake-lanier/85-3ad13f9f-fa17-435f-80d8-18c5daedb5ba, https://accesswdun.com/print/2015/7/323392/life-under-lake-lanier, https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/georgia/sinister-story-ga-lake/amp/, https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/blog/2019/1/21/episode-026-lake-lanier, https://casimclean.com/mystery-and-strange-phenomenon/, https://m.ranker.com/list/creepy-georgia-stories-legends/isadora-teich, https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2015/12/mysteries-and-death-at-georgias-cursed-lake/, https://thestoddardfirm.com/lake-lanier-unsafe/, https://www.ajc.com/news/local/just-how-deadly-lake-lanier/UvRlc6bib6ufTuQzav5XEK/. The track was owned by Max Looper, and his nephew, Edwin Looper worked there in high-school. So – is this curse likely to be real? Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Yet as the years go by, some believe that the destruction wrought in order to create Lake Lanier has cursed it. In April of 1958, Delia Mae Parker Young was purportedly traveling with Susie Roberts to The Three Gables, a local roadhouse, in Dawsonville, Georgia. This led to the water swallowing whatever was in its path – including businesses and towns. The rusted remains of ferries, once used to transport residents across the Chattahoochee River and back again were even left to sit decaying along the lake’s bottom and on it’s shoreline. Buford Dam, Lake Lanier Buford Dam Lake Lanier Underwater Ghost Towns of North Georgia by Lisa M. Russell. Since it’s completion there have only been three major flood events, with the most severe in 2009 and the most recent in 2013. However, before any work could commence on the project, the United States government had to purchase the land that would in only a few years time, become the bottom of the new lake. Then, a year later, in 1959, a fisherman discovered human remains that had floated to the surface of the lake. I’m going to have to go with no. The Lake Lake Lanier is a manmade lake in Georgia. One such sighting was reported by two fisherman who claimed to have seen it at about 1am on a cold autumn night. Change ). But by this time, most of the signs of past human habitation had been drowned by the water long before. During severe droughts, the water level drops, occasionally revealing remnants of the area’s former life. Families and communities were uprooted, human developments destroyed, and an incredibly high number of deaths have occurred in this man-made reservoir feeding into the mysterious legend that Lake Sidney Lanier may in fact be cursed. Deaths, maiming, disappearances – there are numerous accounts of misfortune on Lake Lanier, leading some to posit that it’s been cursed. This led to the water swallowing whatever was in its path – including businesses and towns. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. With each passing week...month...year...the water creeping closer and closer to what had become abandoned towns and homesteads, filling to such an immense proportion that the new Lake Lanier took between three to five years to reach its quote “full capacity” at 1071 feet above sea level.
Soon after hearing the news, shocked Internet users took to Twitter to warn people against going to Lake Lanier calling it “haunted”. (Actually, it's on the south end of the lake, even if you've lived here all your life.). because in the mid-twentieth century, the Chattahoochee River was dammed and in its place Georgia’s largest lake was created… a body of water named for one of the state’s greatest poets...Sidney Lanier.
CBS46 is taking you out on a body of water so deadly, some say it's cursed.
The second theory also has to do with the upheaval, but in a more sinister way. First, there are reports of spirits bound to the Lake. As waters rose to engulf everything in its path, the Georgia landscape changed and entire towns were lost. Lake Lanier is a manmade lake in Georgia. The second specter is oftentimes referred to as a Ghost Raft – an unmanned and often-disappearing craft seen by many. But now she could finally be properly laid to rest. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Many assumed that these were the remains of either Delia or Susie, but at the time it was impossible to know for sure. While one user wrote, “PLEASE, for the love … Edwin Looper once described his time there: “We watered down the track before each race [...] you couldn’t race on Sundays in Gainseville back then, so they ran races on Saturdays. A year after her crash, her passenger’s body was found…but Susie Roberts’s remains have never been located. To me, the negative effects seem to be the result of it being a gathering place for people. Yet all of this beauty and prosperity has come at a cost. The Department of Natural Resources have reported that over 160 people have died on the lake since 1994. As the story goes, the lake expanded beyond expectations and the spread of the water could not be controlled. She is often seen without hands, though no one is sure why. This lake would also serve as a water supply for nearby Atlanta. The two fisherman watched as the figure traveled along, before suddenly shouted and jumping from the raft into the freezing water. Today, there is no doubt that Lake Sidney Lanier is an economic boon to the state of Georgia. There have also reportedly been a number of disappearances on the lake, though I was unable to find any specific cases. It was created as a result of the Buford Dam, which sits on the Chattahoochee River. Further examination yielded no obvious cause of death and the individual could not be positively identified, although the body was noted for missing both hands and several toes. If you're new to the area, Buford Dam is at the south end of Lake Lanier. Those who have made claims to have seen this nautical apparition say it seems to appear and disappear from out of nowhere. Construction of the Buford Dam finally began on March 1, 1950. As the story goes, the lake expanded beyond expectations and the spread of the water could not be controlled. It is unknown how many families were bought out and relocated during this process, but estimates range from 250 -700, with additional reports that those who refused to sell had their land seized and were forcibly removed. As stated earlier in the post, there have been a concerning amount of deaths on and in Lake Lanier.
Today it is nearly impossible to determine and identify every single thing lost. Given how many number of deaths associated are with Lake Lanier in its 63 year history, typically estimating between 10 and 20 a year, it seems as though this lake has caused more death and destruction than you would expect. The water is clear and the ghost town at the bottom of the lake is a huge attraction. She is often seen without hands, though no one is sure why. Or so the story goes. Enjoy the serenity and natural beauty of Lake Lanier at one of our rustic campsites at the beautiful foothills of the North Georgia Mountains: The Blue Ridge Campgrounds at Lake Lanier Islands Resort®, Chestnut Ridge Campgrounds and Shoal Creek Campgrounds. The Department of Natural Resources have reported that over 160 people have died on the lake since 1994. Lanier skillfully describes the river in human-like motivations: it has a mission to achieve, to water the fields of Georgia and to provide power to the mills that line the river. The skeletons of these buildings still rest beneath the water to this day. As the story goes, the lake expanded beyond expectations and the spread of the water could not be controlled.
For three decades Susie Roberts was trapped in her car, hidden under 90-plus feet of water, having come to a rest on a steep slope, stuck within the tree trunks, mud, and other detritus that make up the bed of Lake Lanier….
Additionally, the dam has successfully served as flood control for the region. The first of these many transactions was in 1948 when Henry Shadburn, an 81-year old ferryman for Forsyth County, Georgia, sold his 100 acre farm, known as Shadburn’s Ferry, to the United States for $4,100. Individuals who met their fate on the water are often found miles away from where they supposedly drowned, inexplicably. As stated earlier in the post, there have been a concerning amount of deaths on and in Lake Lanier.
The first theory is that the upheaval of so many lives, caused by the rapid and unplanned growth of the Lake, cursed the land.
A study conducted in 2000 by the Marine Trade Association of Metropolitan Atlanta estimated the economic impact of the Lake exceeded $5.5 billion annually; and since 1957, the powerhouse generators located at Buford Dam have alone produced more than $96 million in hydroelectricity. Individuals who met their fate on the water are often found miles away from where they supposedly drowned, inexplicably. In 1946 the United States Army Corps of Engineers was charged with the task to dam the Chattahoochee River in order to create a reservoir, or man made lake, capable of providing hydroelectricity, navigation, and flood control of the River.