For those seeking a little adventure to mix in with their Halloween fun, nearby Columbus has its share of haunted treasures to visit. Columbus was founded in 1821 when it was a little stop off on the Jackson Military Road that ran between Nashville and New Orleans. During the Civil War, the town pulled duty as a hospital city, hosting thousands of wounded Confederate soldiers within its boundaries. Since then, the town has seen its share of lies and legends. A few of these storied places are open to the public to take part in the hauntings that are rumored to take place.
Friendship Cemetery
When established May 30, 1849 by the local Independent Order of Odd Fellows the cemetery was a simple affair of five acres located near the growing city of Columbus. Four senators, veterans of every American war since the Revolutionary War, the first president of MSU Stephen D. Lee and a World War I flying ace are just a few of the residents of this city of the dead. Also, Confederate Decoration Day, a tradition started by Columbus women in Friendship Cemetery, has evolved into what we now call Memorial Day.
More than 2,000 Confederate and Union soldiers are also buried in Friendship. It is from the Civil War dead that one of Friendship Cemetery’s legends arises. Supposedly, near the back of the cemetery a Confederate soldier still paces woefully back and forth with rifle in hand, guarding his fallen brethren.
Another story about Friendship Cemetery isn’t so much about a person that died, but what is left behind.
The grave of Reverend Thomas Teasdale is an often-visited marker in the graveyard. Reverend Teasdale’s headstone has the visage of an angel weeping over his headstone. Reverend Teasdale was so well-loved by his flock that they had the weeping angel added to his headstone to show the great loss they felt.
Today you can visit the headstone and the weeping angel. Legend has it that if you grasp the angel’s outstretched hand it feels like a person’s hand. Also, the angel is said to cross its arms differently at midnight.
“Whenever we have visitors my wife drives them around town and takes them to Friendship to let them hold the angel’s hand. The hand always feels warm and soft like a person’s. It’s really strange,” said James Tsismanakis, executive director of the Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Waverly Mansion
Waverly mansion was built in 1852 by Colonel George Hampton Young and situated upon his 2,000 acre plantation. The remarkable structure sits just of Highway 50 between Columbus and West Point. Waverly is the epitome of classic antebellum architecture. The Snow family purchased the house in the early ’60s and refurbished it after being abandoned for 50 years. After moving in the Snows started noticing some unsettling characteristics of the historic home.
“When the Snows first moved in they complained of sounds like the roof was caving in. It finally got so bad they called the police, but the police didn’t find anything wrong,” said Jimmy Denning, a tour guide at Waverly.
In addition to the Snows living in Waverly, there is another resident. The ghost of a small girl haunts the stairwell leading to the third floor and a nearby bedroom called the Red Room.
“The Snows would frequently hear a girl’s voice calling ‘momma.’ The girl would also climb on the newly made bed and would leave an imprint like where a child would have lain on the bed. One day, Mrs. Snow challenged the little girl and said ‘What are you doing darling?’ The little girl lowered her head like a child that had been scolded and disappeared,” Denning said.
The people at Waverly aren’t very sure who the little girl is or how she died. Although recently it has came to light that a Dr. John Hampton who was staying at Waverly while serving as a physician in Columbus during the Civil War had a daughter that died at Waverly. From historical accounts Hampton’s daughter caught the flu and died in the home.
Another account of a young girl’s death that could offer an answer to the little girl’s identity is a little more unsettling. While playing in one of the stairwells at Waverly a young girl put her head between the banisters of the stair rail. The young girl’s head got stuck and began to cry. Her overzealous mother, trying to help her daughter, pulled and pulled to free her head. Unfortunately, the mother pulled too hard on the girl and strangled her in the banister.
The Princess Theater
The Princess Theater, located in downtown Columbus, was constructed in 1924 and opened as a theater for vaudeville acts. With the advent of motion pictures the Princess converted into a movie theater.
The massive theater is now a live music venue hosting local and regional bands. Of all the haunted sites in Columbus, the Princess is one of the most active.
Different groups of paranormal researchers have conducted investigations and discovered some unnerving results.
Employees have reported locked doors opening themselves, windows shattering and strange noises.Also people have reported seeing orbs of light flying from the stage and the sounds of footsteps coming up the stage stairs when no one is around.
Most paranormal researchers agree that theaters are more often haunted than other buildings. Some attribute it to the score of emotions shown in theaters or the sheer volume of people that pass through the doors.

Gallery • 2 Photos

Bud Sorey

The bed in the Red Room of Waverly Mansion sometimes has the imprint of where a small child has laid.