Reeceburg Road in the small community of Lindale, in Northwest Georgia, may be one of the most haunted locations in the state. Beth Youngblood recounts several stories that occurred at the railroad tracks near the old cemetery in her book, Haunted Northwest Georgia.
One story dates to the 1940s when a young preacher with six female passengers drove to a local textile mill for an evening shift. As the vehicle approached the train tracks, the young man turned off his car lights to make sure an oncoming train wasn’t coming. The light rain gave way to a thick fog on that night. In the distance, he and his passengers could see a large bonfire in the middle of the road. He thought his mind was playing tricks, so he turned the lights off a few more times, and each time, the fire burned brightly into the sky, but when he turned the lights on, the fire was gone, except the last time.
The preacher was ready to dash for safety, but was unable. He exited the vehicle and felt the warmth from the fire as he approached. He moved around it, finally standing on the old road to the cemetery when he heard a galloping horse from the other side of the fire approaching him, but nothing was there as he felt the wind as it passed. The young man and his six passengers left the scene.
The next morning, after their mill shift ended, they passed back through the area and noticed no signs of a fire or horse markings in the dirt.
Through the years, many have witnessed this mysterious, ghostly fire and the beast said to haunt these parts. Some even say that late at night, you can hear a ghost train here. This stretch of rural road is so strange that another preacher reported encountering it on July 16, 1914, in the Weekly Times Recorder.
If you happen to travel this way, make sure you venture over to Reeceburg Road. The spirits may decide to come out to play and show you a little Southern ghostly hospitality.
Written By: John G. Clark Jr.
Source: Beth Youngblood, Haunted Northwest Georgia.