Legend has it that Halloween night is when the veil between the physical world and the spiritual realm is at its thinnest, allowing all sorts of ghouls to be made visible. However, if you live in the metro Atlanta area, you can see ghost towns year round.

Just what is a ghost town? No, not a city whose residents are all ghouls! A ghost town is generally described as a former settlement that has been abandoned due to economic failure or natural disaster. A settlement may also become a ghost town if it is annexed by other municipalities or engulfed by urbanization and loses its identity in the process. Some ghost towns are completely barren and lack any sign of habitation, while others still may have a few (living) inhabitants.

Check out a map of nine of the ghost towns found in the 11-county metro Atlanta region below:

 

  1. Constitution, DeKalb County (Google Maps) – A pre-Civil War community annexed into the City of Atlanta circa 1952.
  2. Egan, Fulton County (Google Maps) – A mill community split in half, with College Park and East Point annexing one part each.
  3. Campbellton, Fulton County (Google Maps) – Served as the seat of Campbell County until Campbell County was absorbed by Fulton County.
  4. Oscarville, Forsyth County (Google Maps) – Intentionally flooded in 1950 to allow for the formation of Lake Lanier, after Black residents were displaced by violence.
  5. Woodstown, Henry County (Google Maps) – Became extinct when post office ceased operations in 1901.
  6. Wynns Mill, Henry County (Google Maps) – A mill community that declined after the mill closed in 1895.
  7. Orange, Cherokee County (Google Maps) – Another mill community, now largely absorbed by urban sprawl.
  8. Creighton, Cherokee County (Google Maps) – Once a mining community, now part of Gold & Grass Farms today.
  9. Digby, Fayette County (Google Maps) – Community no longer exists, but its church still stands.

 

Happy Halloween!