Small Georgia Newspaper Has a Spooky Situation in the Restroom

There's nothing scary about wood paneling.

Stucco isn't too frightening either.

Which is probably why you don't see much stucco or wood paneling in haunted houses.

If multiple visits to Disney World have taught me anything, I know that a true haunted mansion is supposed to be a dilapidated old building full of spinning, waltzing spirits, right?

Wrong.

Because then how would you explain The Haunted Bathroom of The Dahlonega Nugget office?

That's right. Our office is a small and squat stucco covered building. If you've ever walked inside you know that wood paneling surrounds us from all sides. And yet, there have been happenings. In the bathroom.

For example, late working employees will often hear a ghostly flush of the toilet when no one else is around.

Sure that could be the result of faulty plumbing. But then one of these very employees once saw a roll of paper towels spinning on a wooden holder as though it was being spun by a pair of invisible, yet apparently hygienic, ghost hands.

And then a few weeks ago Leslie our office manager said she could have sworn someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and was met with nothing. Nothing but a toilet.

As for myself, I've never seen or heard anything too mystical in the office. No floating candlesticks or creepy looking ghost kids. Though occasionally it would appear that the spirits have slipped hastily written typos into some my stories, such as the misplacement of “there” and “their,” for example.

Well how else can you explain it?

These thoughts entered my head earlier this summer as I was writing a feature on the DPI. That would be the Dahlonega Paranormal Investigators to you and me.

These local ghost enthusiasts spend their weekends inspecting supposedly haunted sites as though they are ghostly home appraisers. They takes pictures, make recordings, research the history of each building and then determine just what kind of spirit, if any, you have.

So after I finished interviewing their friendly founder, Holly Prince, I invited her to come by for a meet-and-greet with our toilet ghost.

They arrived last Wednesday afternoon with notepads and digital cameras in hand.

“Don't worry about us,” said Holly. “Just go about your business.”

And we did. Meanwhile they went about theirs.

Now a ghost hunt doesn't look as exciting as it sounds. The DPI members don't carry proton packs and, disappointingly, no one was slimed. Mostly they just observe.

And after an extended period of observing, Holly informed me that there are most likely no spirits residing in The Dahlonega Nugget office.

I have to say I was a little disappointed to hear the news.

“Are the undead are too good for our tiny office?” I thought.

However, our ghostly bathroom encounters may still have some validity.

The DPI's official physic received no ghostly vibes while in the walls of our building but still felt a strange presence outside. Then further DPI research confirmed that two widows died in a nearby residence long ago. Now, they tell me, that it's possible that the women walk their old property lines, unaware that they are wandering through our walls, our copy machines and our toilet.

Now I know what you skeptics are thinking. This is all a bunch of haunted hogwash, right? And maybe so, perhaps there really is no such thing as ghosts.

But then again, maybe there is.

Just maybe there is.

Small Georgia Newspaper Has a Spooky Situation in the Restroom
Small Georgia Newspaper Has a Spooky Situation in the Restroom