Episode 360 - Lake Lanier’s Deadly Waters & Drowned History

Summary

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Two Girls One Ghost – Episode 360: Lake Lanier’s Deadly Waters & Drowned History

Release Date: February 15, 2026
Hosts: Corinne Vien & Sabrina Deana-Roga

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Episode Overview

In this haunting and heavily-researched episode, Corinne and Sabrina return to the fabled Lake Lanier, shifting from their previous coverage of just hauntings to now deeply exploring the submerged, silenced, and tragic Black history beneath its waters. Originally known for ghostly legends, Lake Lanier's greater story is rooted in racial violence, forced displacement, and a legacy that physically and spiritually haunts its deadly waters. The hosts aim to honor Black History Month by giving voice to the erased town of Oscarville, the stories of those lost, and the chilling curses said to linger.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Revisiting Lake Lanier: More Than Just Ghost Stories

• Context & Motivation
  • Five years prior, the podcast covered Lake Lanier mostly as a site of paranormal activity. (02:15–03:28)
  • The hosts admit that the story’s true, drowned history, especially the violent expulsion of Black residents, was omitted—an erasure mirrored in much of American media and local lore.

“The stories of Lake Lanier are not just campfire stories because they are very much warnings. Beneath the calm surface lies a graveyard of people. Of a town. Of a Black community who was violently displaced and erased.” – Corinne (05:12)

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2. The Surface Allure vs. Lethal Reputation

• Dual Nature:
  • Lake Lanier appears idyllic, with thousands flocking annually for recreation. Yet, beneath the surface lies death, loss, and frequent, often inexplicable accidents. (06:00–07:54)
• Statistics:
  • Over 700 deaths since its creation, with stories of car accidents, unexplained drownings, and recurrent bodies resurfacing.
  • “Since Lake Lanier’s creation, over 700 people have died here. Cars drive off bridges with no skid marks. Experienced swimmers sink like stones. Boats catch fire. And every time the water levels drop... the lake spits something or someone back out.” – Corinne (07:25)

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3. The Violent Cleansing of Oscarville

A. Oscarville’s Promise

• Early 1900s: Oscarville, Forsyth County, GA, was a thriving Black community soon after emancipation—land-owning, with vibrant businesses and strong communal ties. (13:45–14:44)

B. Racial Terror & The 1912 Lynchings

• A series of accusations against Black men following attacks on two white women triggers racial terror:
  • Revered Grant Smith, a Black preacher, is publicly beaten by mobs.
  • Three Black men (Rob Edwards, Ernest Knox, Oscar Daniel) are accused, with scant or dubious evidence, and face racist “trials.” (17:10–21:18)
  • Edwards is brutally lynched; the two teenagers executed after farcical trials; crowds gather in a festival-like atmosphere.

“Bands of white vigilantes formed what they called the Knight Riders ... used arson, dynamite, and notes on doors or just went up, beat up, roughed up, and threatened families... said, if you don’t leave within 24 hours, you die.” – Corinne (21:55)

• In one year, over 1,000 Black residents flee under threat—property lost, graves abandoned, and an entire thriving community erased. (22:00–24:51)

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4. The Manipulation of Memory: Lake Lanier’s Creation

• Post-Oscarville: By the 1950s, white families possess the land, only to lose it by eminent domain for a federal reservoir project. They are compensated, unlike their Black predecessors. (28:49–29:14)
• The Flooding:
  • Lake Lanier (named for Confederate poet Sidney Lanier) is created by flooding towns, roads, cemeteries (many undiscovered or unrelocated), and farmlands.
  • Entire structures, bridges, and even a racetrack remain submerged. Remnants like petrified trees and foundation ruins create a literal and metaphoric ghost town beneath the surface. (31:46–36:07)

“They just flooded on top of some of the buildings. And divers will go down... and report seeing like super creepy, surreal things... some structures are still perfectly preserved.” – Corinne (32:55)

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5. Hauntings, Curses, and The Unrest Below

A. The Lady of the Lake

• Origin Story:
  • In 1958, two women, Susie Roberts and Delia Mae Parker Young, vanish after driving off a bridge. Delia’s decomposed, handless body surfaces 18 months later; decades later, Susie’s car (and corpse) is found. (37:19–44:49)
• Haunting:
  • Sightings of a woman in a blue dress (matching Delia’s) with no hands, wandering the bridge—sometimes beckoning or staring into the water. Seen less often after both women are finally interred together.

“People driving across the Lanier Bridge at night begin to report seeing a woman walking alongside the road… realized that this woman had no hands.” – Corinne (41:11)

B. The Grabbing Hands

• Numerous survivor reports of invisible, human-like hands (sometimes described as skeletal) pulling swimmers under; many escape, but others vanish with no rational explanation. (45:16–46:42)

C. The Shadowy Raft

• Fishermen and others recount a mysterious raft with a shadowy figure propelling it by pole at impossible depths and speeds; in one tale, it leaps into the water and vanishes completely when illuminated (52:41–55:08).

D. The Catfish Legends & Underwater Anomalies

• Mythical catfish “the size of a car” and eerie feelings among divers.
• Persistent sense of being watched, and reports of “seeing people underwater.”

E. The Curse: Accidents and Statistics

• Deaths occur under mysteriously benign conditions—calm water, strong swimmers, no apparent cause.
• Bodies recovered far from entry points; boats capsize or are hit by rogue waves without explanation. (57:48–59:24)

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6. Natural vs. Supernatural Explanations

• Some explanations for deaths: submerged petrified trees and debris, drastic temperature drops, murky waters, and alcohol/partying. Still, these do not account for the heightened level of accidents, which surpasses similar lakes despite comparable traffic. (61:43–63:51)
• Reminders: If visiting, prioritize safety and respect—never forget the erased history beneath your feet.

“Lake Lanier is proof that you cannot wash away history. You can flood it. You can rename it. You can drive a boat over it. But the memory of what happened is still there.” – Corinne (63:51)

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Listener Stories & Memorable Moments

1. The Tugging Hands (67:26)

• Listener S. describes swimming at Lake Lanier, feeling her leg grabbed and tugged unexpectedly, and scrambling to safety. She concludes: “It really felt like something was grabbing my ankle.” (67:36)

2. The Raft Figure Saying “The End Is Near” (69:14)

• 11-year-old listener Brody sees a raft with a shadowy, unnaturally fast figure repeating “The end is near.” Only Brody can see and hear it; her parents see nothing, and she escapes as the raft nearly boards their boat. (69:47)

“It was getting closer and closer at a rate of speed that a human pushing a raft could definitely not go at... [it] got so close that it was basically almost climbing onto our boat. But luckily we got to shore just then and I ran screaming out of the boat.” – Brody (70:24)

• Corinne and Sabrina agree: the hand is preferable over being the raft’s target!

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Notable Quotes

• “It is actively haunted and seeking vengeance—with good reason.” – Sabrina (07:54)
• “Following the lynchings... bands of white vigilantes formed... [and] used arson, dynamite, fired guns into homes, and posted notes on doors: if you don't leave within 24 hours, you die.” – Corinne (21:55)
• “‘Lake Lanier is universally known by locals to be cursed. The reputation of the lake is so bad that there are people in Georgia who refuse to ever dip a toe in there.” – Corinne (09:08)
• “Water is a conduit to spirits, right? ...the energy is still there and can manifest in this deadly way.” – Corinne (12:16)
• “You cannot wash away history. ... The memory of what happened is still there." – Corinne (63:51)

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Content | |-------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:25–03:28 | Episode introduction, context, and shift in coverage focus | | 05:10–07:54 | The deadly reputation & hidden graveyard of Lake Lanier | | 13:45–24:51 | The Rise and Fall of Oscarville, 1912 Lynchings, Mass Displacement | | 28:49–36:07 | Lake Construction, Submersion, Cemeteries, & Underwater Ruins | | 37:01–45:07 | Lady of the Lake—Story, Sightings, Identification, Haunting | | 45:16–46:42 | The grabbing hands and underwater terror | | 52:41–55:08 | The shadowy raft encounters and chilling fisherman tale | | 57:48–59:24 | The “curse”—accidents, survivor testimony, and statistics | | 67:26–68:18 | Listener S.’s “grabbing hands” personal account | | 69:14–71:01 | Listener Brody’s “raft figure” experience: chilling, prophetic menace|

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Tone and Takeaways

• The episode’s tone is somber, angry, and reverent toward the victims of Oscarville and Lake Lanier’s legacy, with the hosts oscillating between outrage, sorrow, and awe at both the human and supernatural stories.
• The hosts encourage listeners to respect the history, spread awareness of Oscarville’s erasure, and exercise caution if visiting the lake—reminding all that some spirits, and their stories, remain restless until justice and remembrance are served.

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“If you decide to go to Lake Lanier, please wear a life jacket... Be hypervigilant... And if you ever see the lady of Lake Lanier, you better be emailing us this story.” – Corinne (63:51)

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For further reading or to share your own encounters and family histories connected to Lake Lanier, listeners are encouraged to email the hosts.

End of Summary

Transcript

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Kids, they grow up so fast. One day they're taking their first steps and the next they don't fit into the tiny sneakers they took them in. You blink your eyes and their princess dress is two sizes too small. And their dinosaur backpack isn't cool anymore. But don't cry because they're growing up. Smile because you can profit off of it for real. There are a bunch of parents on depop looking for the stuff your kid just grew out of. Download depop to start selling. Very spooky. Hello.

[B]

Hello.

[A]

Welcome everyone.

[B]

This is two girls, one ghost.

[A]

Two girls, one ghost. And we are your ghostesses. That is Corinne and I'm Sabrina. And we've approached that time of year where sickness comes in and always be sick. We try not to get each other sick.

[B]

So we report a point.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Sabrina is quarantined from May, Although there's a chance I still get sick because we were together yesterday as your sickness hit. That's you're like mid recording and all of a sudden you were really nasally and I was like, wait, are you sick? I was like, I guess so. Whoopsie.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Any who we're gonna try to not get sick. And this is a great episode for you to be sick for Sabrina, because you don't have to do much talking in this one.

[A]

I thought you were gonna talk about how it's gonna make me even more sick because it's so sad.

[B]

It is extremely sad. Okay, well, so to preface, five years ago there was an episode of Two Girls one Ghost where I covered Lake Lanier. And our. The title for that episode was what are these ghosts up To? Just like.

[A]

Oh my God.

[B]

That was when we were naming everything, like trying to make it all ends. Yeah. Anyway, in my coverage of Lake Lanier, it focused pretty much primarily on the idea of the paranormal and the curse and very little on the back history of the town that was flooded to create Lake Lanier.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And so we're gonna Correct that today. And I really wanted to do it for years, but what better timing to do it than for our first episode that comes out during Black History Month.

[A]

Woo. Also, I mean, it is wild to think that that was five years ago and how far the Internet has come and how far, like, our knowledge has come. Because, yeah, when we first did that episode, when you looked it up, I mean, it also, I think, speaks volumes to our society, but it only focused on the hauntings, the curse, and the history. The real history that you're about to share with us was kind of erased and not ever mentioned.

[B]

Yeah. So today we're gonna talk about Lake Lanier's deadly waters and drowned history. Yes. Resurrecting. Okay, we're gonna paint a picture. Ready?

[A]

Yes, I'm ready.

[B]

It's a sweltering day in Georgia.

[A]

Ugh.

[B]

I'm already actually. That sounds really nice right now. It's so freaking cold up here, I want to be sweating. The sun is beating down on you. The humid air grips to your skin as beads of sweat sit steady around your neck. You make your way down to the water's edge, squinting as the sunlight glitters off the surface of the water. Your feet touch the water. Instant relief. You make your way past the squealing children and the koozie hugging adults, deeper and deeper until you can tread. The sweat around your neck now lapped away by the cooler water. You look out towards the hundreds of miles of shoreline and take a long, deep breath. Lake Lanier is beautiful. It's the weekend playground for millions of people. And you have been here plenty of times before. It's a welcomed respite, a way to survive the hot summer days in Georgia. You tread water, letting your mind wander as you face away from the shoreline. Your toes brush against a pocket of icy cold. And then there's a sensation. A grip. Firm, distinct. Human. You continue to tread as you feel every finger wrap around your ankle. And then suddenly, vroom. You're pulled under. So today we are revisiting the stories of Lake Lanier, a topic that we did cover in episode 129. But we are going to dive a lot deeper into the drowned history today.

[A]

No pun intended.

[B]

Pun was very intended there. The stories of Lake Lanier are not just campfire stories because they are very much warnings. Beneath the calm surface lies a graveyard of people. Of a town of. Of a black community who was violently displaced and erased. Of homes with dinner plates still stacked in the cupboards of a racetrack where the grand sands still loom. And of Petrified trees turned into jagged spears just below the surface.

[A]

It's absolutely wild.

[B]

I know. And it's also. It's like when you look at pictures, and if you're watching on YouTube, I'm gonna have, like, pictures intermittently throughout this episode. But it's so beautiful. So, like, I would look and I'd be like, oh, my gosh, I wanna, like, jump off the boat into the lake. I want to go tubing. I want to float with a beer in my hand, you know, like, that is the vibe that it gives.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I think so many people do that. But it's also one of the deadliest waters in America, and it dulls us and maybe the world. And we'll talk about that.

[A]

It's also just so surreal to think about this idea that so many people do go there and vacation and are just, like, drinking beers, having a laugh, but all the time, beneath their boat and beneath their feet, there's like, an entire civilization that's just, like, literally washed, like, covered up and erased.

[B]

Well, and too, I feel like most places that are, like, said to be haunted or cursed or something like Lake Lanier is, when you do a Google image search, there's always, like, edits or whatever to make the place look really creepy and scary. That does not exist here. Like, it is like, people grilling, like, the beach set up. It looks so lovely. And even I was like, okay, Lake Lanier at night. Because I was like, maybe it's creepier then.

[A]

Trying to find creepy photos.

[B]

I was trying to find creepy photos. And you can't even find that because lake. And I referenced it in the original coverage of Lake Lanier five years ago, but they have the world's largest light show for, like, part of the year. So even when you look up like, Lake Lanier at night, it's just like, it looks like a Christmas village. There's beautiful lights everywhere, strung up. And so, yeah, it does not give the appearance of a scary place with a terrible, bloody history.

[A]

Geez.

[B]

Yet it is. Since Lake lanier's creation, over 700 people have died here. Cars drive off bridges with no skid marks. Experienced swimmers sink like stones. Boats catch fire. And every time the water levels drop, well, it seems like the lake seems spits something or someone back out.

[A]

Geez.

[B]

A reminder of the past and why this lake is not just bad luck. It is actively haunted and seeking vengeance.

[A]

With good reason.

[B]

Yes. All right, so now we're going to get into kind of like, the heavier, heavier part, the history. Okay, so we've Talked about a lot of heavy places on this podcast, but there is something about Lake Lanier in its current state that feels very predatory. And it's almost. I feel like it almost mirrors what happened to the black community here, where they were basically, like, preyed upon. So this feeling is very active. It feels very hungry. And when you and I first discussed this, Sabrina, we were like, we will never step foot in Lake Lanier ever. But there's some. I think originally, when I had covered this five years ago, it was something like 8 million visitors every year. And I think now it's closer to 11 million.

[A]

Oh, my gosh.

[B]

Visitors every year.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

So there are tons of people who go. And it is massive, with 692 miles of beautiful shorelines, many public parks and beaches.

[A]

692 miles?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's massive.

[B]

I mean, it's massive. It's very, like, squiggly. Sure.

[A]

But that's still big.

[B]

Like, it's not just, like, a circular pool.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Or something. But, yeah, no, it's. It is massive. Especially when you think about, like, the fact that it was a town that was flooded.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's wild to think of just how large this lake is. And this lake is also universally known by locals to be cursed. The reputation of the lake is so bad that there are people in Georgia who refuse to ever dip a toe in there. They won't boat out. They won't drive over bridges, because the death toll is staggering. So we're talking about hundreds of lives.

[A]

Lost, but that's, like, such a small fraction. I mean, if you're saying 11 million people visit there annually, like, true. How many people have no idea what's beneath them?

[B]

Yes. And we made this argument five years ago, too, being like, okay, well, think about how many visitors go. And, like, is that number really surprising? It is, because you can compare it to other lakes, and there are not nearly as many deaths and just as many visitors, if not more.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Just from 1994 to today, there have been more than 200 deaths on this lake.

[A]

Geez.

[B]

And the way people die here is not always just like, okay, they drank too much. They weren't wearing a life jacket. A freak accident. Like, someone had a heart attack while they were swimming.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Yes, that does happen in this body of water. It happens everywhere. But there are also reports of some freak things happening, like boats exploding, people jumping in and just never resurfacing, or their bodies found in places that seem to defy physics. There are also survivors, people who claim that they were pulled under by Human hands.

[A]

We have a listener story. People have seen very similar to that.

[B]

Oh my God. Okay, I'm so ready for that. People have seen the lady of the lake who is a spectral woman wandering a bridge without hands. And some underwater people too. Apparently divers see some really weird strange things under, under the water and it's very spooky. Wow. But to understand why this lake is so angry and to understand potentially like what it's covering up, what's below the surface, we have to look at the history. Because Lake Lanier is, is a cover up in a way 100%. It is a man made reservoir created in the 1950s by the US Army Corps of Engineers. And when they built it, they didn't just dig a hole and fill the hole with water. They flooded an entire valley. They flooded communities, they flooded history. Specifically, they flooded a place called Oscarville. And the story of Oscar Ville is one of the most heartbreaking and violent and just like infuriating chapters in American history. And it's like, you know, again, we've researched this or I researched this five years ago and it didn't come up. And actually, you know what? No, both of us researched this because when I was listening back to that episode, I was saying that you had originally started all the research on Lake Linear and then I wanted to do it and we like shared our resources and neither of us had come up with information on Oscarville.

[A]

That is so funny because I was trying to figure it out because in my mind I'm like, why do I feel like I wrote research on Lake Linear? But okay, that makes sense if I.

[B]

If we, yeah, you had started and.

[A]

Then I hinted, handed the baton.

[B]

So this is a story of racial cleansing and organized massacre.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

The energy, the trauma, the things that happen to these poor people is believed to still be trapped under the billions of gallons of water. Water which like we've talked about it, water is a conduit to spirits. Right. So like it makes sense that the energy is still there and that it can manifest in this kind of like deadly way, literally in death.

[A]

And also they didn't relocate the town, they didn't re. You know, it's, it's like the energy of the people, the like history, the lives that they lived is 100% still there. In combination with the fact that water is a conduit.

[B]

Yes. I wish like we could talk to someone whose family was, I know had experienced this. It's so sad.

[A]

Well, if you're listening and you are said person, please email us. We want to hear Your story?

[B]

Yes. Okay. In a very public speaking format, I wrote my like three things I'm going to talk about. Love it. So I'm going to talk about the lynchings of 1912, the engineering of the lake, and then of course the spirits and hauntings of the lake. Because this is a paranormal podcast. Before there was a man made lake, there was land. And on that land was the community of Oscarville, a small farming community in. Okay, I had to like go on Reddit to. I. Cause the county is called Forsyth, but on Reddit apparently locals say Forsyth. So I'm gonna say Forsyth and then maybe I won't get yelled at.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

But Oscarville was a small farming community in Forsyth County, Georgia. And contrary to what you might expect for the deep south in this time in the early 1900s, it was not the normal place of struggle that you would think of. It was actually a beautiful symbol of Black resilience. By 1910, about a quarter of black households in Forsyth county owned their own land, which is incredible. Yeah. And we are talking about families who like less than 50 years ago, were, for many of them, had family members or themselves were enslaved. And now they had built lives. They were owning land, they were building community businesses, they were carpenters, blacksmiths, teachers, clergy. They owned hundreds of acres in this area and just like built this world for themselves and were really on the up and up.

[A]

Which makes this story even more infuriating. It's like it feels very targeted, 100%. It's like society couldn't handle black people having success so they ripped it away from them.

[B]

It's like you had to choose this area specifically. In 1912, that world was basically burned to the ground. It started as many of these things did in this era, with a pointed finger and an accusation. September of 1912, two separate white women were attacked. On September 5th, a woman was at home alone while her husband was away for work. And she claimed that a black man had entered her home at night and assaulted her. 22 year old Tony Howell, a black man was accused alongside four others, Isaiah Purkle, Joe Rogers, Fate Chester and Johnny Bates, claiming that all of these other men were accomplices. I don't know what their involvement was, but apparently that is who was taken to the jail in Cumming, which is like the, the like downtown area where the courthouse was. A mob of angry white people formed outside of the jail. And a local black preacher, Reverend Grant Smith, he went to the scene of the mob. He made some like remarks that were not viewed as favorable. I guess like from the white mob. And so they turn on him, they attack him, they whip him. Police have to like, save him from this mob. They actually stay with the reverend locked in the church overnight to protect him from the angry mob of people. And if you're watching on YouTube, there's actually an article clipping that I included that references this event and basically like, how the mobs of white people would continue to basically like, harass both the accused men who like, likely were innocent. Yeah. And also just like anyone who was black, like, they were just like showing up to barbecues and like breaking bars.

[A]

Cause it's literally just racism. Yeah.

[B]

Yep. It was so bad the National Guard had to be deployed.

[A]

Geez.

[B]

Then a few days later, on September 8, 1912, 18 year old May Crow, who was a white teenager, she was found in the woods near Oscarville. She hadn't returned home after visiting with her aunt, and this triggered a search party. And right outside of her home, in the back of the woods, Mae was discovered. She had been brutally beaten, sexually assaulted, and left unconscious in the woods. She was taken to the hospital, still unconscious, and I believe she did die from her injuries. I'm not sure that she ever woke up again.

[A]

Geez.

[B]

The white community in Forsyth county immediately turned on their black neighbors. And very quickly, Sheriff Bill Reed arrested three black men for the crime against May Crow. Rob Edwards, who was 24, and two teenagers, Ernest Knox and Oscar Daniel. They were just 16 and 17 years old.

[A]

My gosh.

[B]

Rob Edwards was connected to the crime. It's kind of weird. Okay. So I found like, two differing, like, reasons why he was picked up. One of them said that he was found in the woods, like somewhere in that same woods.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

But it didn't say, like, how close, like he could have been miles away. I'm not sure. So one said that he was in the woods when they had discovered Mae somewhere.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Another report had said that he was connected to the crime because a small pocket mirror had been found in the woods somewhere nearby. Again, the proximity wasn't disclosed. And it was believed or like, said that that small pocket mirror was connected to Rob. That like, he had recently purchased it and so they knew it belong to him.

[A]

Which obviously this crime is horrible and no woman, no one should be attacked. Right. But I feel like they were just. They wanted to accuse the black people of these crimes. Well, it's like whether or not none.

[B]

Of the aspects are white.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

And I don't know how the teenagers were tied to the crime, but I will give you this statistic. Which is just more proof to what you were saying. In this specific area of the county, only 37 of the 513 residents were black. So that means three of the 37 black residents were accused for this crime. Right. And I want to be very clear about what I'm going to say next because we're going to get into some of the like, very gruesome things. But we do have to witness the history in order to kind of understand the hauntings and also just to do this story in this community, in this area, justice and telling the story, it wouldn't be fair to, to glaze over it.

[A]

And also, like, I just feel like generally today in our society, it's important that we acknowledge our history. Our history is not always pleasant and beautiful, sunshine and rainbows, but it's a part of our history and we can't just ignore it and erase it.

[B]

At this time in the south, quote, whites regularly used lynchings to control the black population. I hate that is a direct quote, a sentence I took from the AtlantaHistoryCenter.com I'm speechless. Rob Edwards, one of the accused who was the, he was the only adult. Right. He's the 24 year old. He was taken to the jail in downtown Cumming, but he never made it to trial. And this is where I give a huge content warning because this specific section is going to discuss racial violence, lynchings, and very graphic and like brutal acts against black men.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

On September 10, 1912, a mob of white men, some estimated to be a thousand men. And then other sites said that it was at least 2,000 men. Anyway, a thousand plus men stormed the jail. They dragged Rob Edwards out of his cell, they beat him with crowbars, they dragged his body through the streets of town. One report said he was naked.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

And then in the town square, they lynched him from a telephone pole. And he had just been brutally beaten without fair trial. Very much could have been an innocent man, but that was not enough for the angry mob. So they, they hung his body, lynched him, and then fired thousands of rounds into his body. So he's, he's dead and they're still shooting his corpse.

[A]

It feels so archaic, but it's not that long ago.

[B]

No, not at all.

[A]

It's disgusting.

[B]

Yeah. This happened on the land that now borders this lake. The other two boys, Ernest Knox and Oscar Daniel, the teenagers, they were given a quote, unquote trial. But it was definitely not a fair trial because the entire jury, it was white. So they were white.

[A]

So it was probably white men too, right?

[B]

Like, yeah, that was not at all fair.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So they were both convicted by an all white jury in a single day and sentenced to death. On October 25, 1912, they were hanged and a crowd of 5,000 people, while Pretty much all white people came to watch and treated it like a festival, like a celebration.

[A]

Literally archaic.

[B]

It feels like the Hunger Games in a way. I'm like.

[A]

And just like medieval times.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like when Anne Boleyn and, you know, the kings were killing all these people. Like, it just feels like it should have been. It's something that should have taken place centuries and centuries ago. But it's one century ago.

[B]

I'll bite my tongue about everything happening today, but yeah. Yeah. So this is basically the start of the end for this area. Following the lynchings and the executions, bands of white vigilantes formed what they called the Knight Riders. So they had like this club that they called themselves the Knight Riders. And they began this campaign of terror to drive, like every black person out of the county. They used arson, they used dynamite, they fired guns into homes at night, and they posted notes on doors or just like, literally went up and like, beat up and roughed up and threatened families, black people, and said, if you don't leave within 24 hours, you die. So of course they're gonna flee. Right. They're terrified. And this actually, as I was reading about this, I was like, God, this reminds me so much of what happened to people after Hurricane Katrina. So it's like we're talking about things that happened 100 years ago. Guess what, a decade ago, this happened too. Or a couple decades ago. Like a version of it. Yeah. So for the black residents, this intimidation, this violence and murder, it did drive them out of their homes. In 1912, there were 1098 black residents in the county by 1913. So one year later, there were almost none. It was total racial cleansing. A forced exile. That's over a thousand people forced to leave everything that they had built. Their homes, their farms, their friends, the graves of their ancestors, their hope, all of their resources, everything they built. And like you're saying their finances are tied to this area. It's not like they're being paid to leave.

[A]

Right. And like you're saying, they're being threatened, that their whole entire families are going to be murdered. So they are not taking their sweet time packing up their things, being able to sell their home, relocate.

[B]

No.

[A]

They're literally picking up their home.

[B]

They're running for their lives.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Their clothes on their back. That's what they're doing. Who took the land? Well, the white people, the neighbors, of course. So the land was seized or sold for pennies on the dollar under duress. And it was basically just like the theft of the black community on this massive, massive scale.

[A]

Jeez.

[B]

And it didn't matter who it was. Plenty of black people in this community had held positions of power, and it didn't matter, like whoever they were, if they were black, they were targeted, they were forced out. They were given basically zero rights or zero say. And there are quite a few stories, actually about some specific people and families who fled and what happened to them. And I mean, people can read about it online, there's plenty. But I did want to say that there's one that I was like, oh, I. I do think that this is kind of like a lovely turn of events, given the horrors that happened. But one family, the Merritt family, they had been forced to leave their town violently. And this inspired their son, George Ed Merritt, to grow up to be a civil rights leader. And he was the first black member of the school board in Beaufort, which is in that county.

[A]

Oh, wow.

[B]

So even though citizens were forced out, their anger, their search for justice, their motivation to make the world right and fair, it did stay with them. And certain generations to come after did a lot of work to help kind of like bring that back. So all of this happens and people are trying really hard to cover up what happened here. So a thousand plus people screaming and chased out of their homes, the blood of their friends and neighbors soaking into the soil in the town square after being lynched and shot. Oh, that didn't happen, right? The land is simply used to create a reservoir. Everyone left willingly. Everything is legal. This is the good place, right? No. As a woman, every miracle product has been directed at me to fix this and fix that. And I feel like I had a million products saved for my hair over the years. And one thing that has certainly helped my hair grow back after having a child and having a lot of postpartum hair loss has been Nutrafol. Nutrafol is the number one dermatologist recommended hair growth supplement brand. And it's the number one hair growth supplement brand personally used by dermatologists. Nutrafol Hair growth supplements are peer reviewed, NSF certified for sport and clinically tested to measure improvements in hair growth quality and strength. I give them credit for regrowing my hairline around my face. And I think one of the things that's great is you don't need a prescription. You can order online and they have different formulas too. So they have women's formula, A women's vegan, women's balance, they have postpartum, they have menopause, they have men's. So they really have a ton of options because they know that one formula doesn't fit all. Let your hair be one less thing to worry about. See visibly thicker, stronger, faster. Growing hair in three to six months with Neutrful for a limited time. Neutrophil is offering our listeners $10 off your first month subscription and free shipping when you visit neutrophil.com and enter promo code TGOG. That's nutrafol.com spelled N U T R A F O L.com promo code T G O G. Revolve has been on my eye for a while now because I feel like every time myself or anyone else asks Sabrina, oh my God, I love what you're wearing. Where did you get that? She's always like, oh, I got it from Revolves. I'm like oh man, this place just really has everything. And they really do. They have over 1200 brands and 100,000 styles across fashion, beauty and home, from high end to emerging and exclusive labels. And they also have some new sought after trends from top brands like Helsa Lovers and Friends Free People. They have inclusive sizing with options from extra extra small to 4x. And I love that they have personalized product recommendations based on your favorites and purchase history. I definitely have started using that a lot. And they also have curated edits so you can shop styles that fit your vibe without the endless scrolling. With a few weddings coming up, I realized I don't have like a small purse or a clutch to bring to those events. So I actually just bought one on Revolve and I'm really excited about it. Whether it's a weekend getaway, a big night out or just a much needed wardrobe refresh, your dream wardrobe is just one click away. Head to Revolve.com forward/tgog. Shop MyEdit and take 15 off your first order with code TGOG. Fast two day shipping, easy returns. It's literally the only place you need to shop from. That's Revolve.com forward/tgog to shop my favorites and get 15% off your first order with code TGOG. Offer ends February 22nd. So happy shopping. Fast forward 40 years. It's the late 1940s and the land is now owned mostly entirely by white families who had taken it. But soon they are going to be asked to leave too because the US Army Corps of Engineers comes in. They have a $100 billion project proposal to provide hydroelectricity, navigation, and control the flooding of the Chattahoochee River. It was, like, help flooding, create power and water for the growing city of Atlanta nearby. And, like, that's the whole plan.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So I guess, like, location did somewhat.

[A]

Matter, but also, like, kind of good karma that the white people are also now kicked out of these houses.

[B]

Like, yeah, but they get paid. Oh, that pisses me to leave.

[A]

Of course they do.

[B]

They get paid. They get time. They get a lot of opportunity in that move. So the army decided to create a massive reservoir, which lake Sidney Lanier, named after a Confederate poet.

[A]

I did not know that.

[B]

Yeah, neither should I. I didn't say it in the first coverage of this either. So in order to build the lake, the government used eminent domain to seize 58,000 acres of land. And this is where the drowned town myth gets a little complicated, because there's popular legend that basically says the government flooded Oscarville while black people were still living there, and that they just, like, opened the floodgates and, like, people were running and, you know, everything had to be abandoned really quickly, and, like, people were drowning or whatever. That's not true. In reality, the black community, which, thank.

[A]

Goodness, that's not true. But, yes.

[B]

Yeah, they were run out of town and had no time to grab anything. But they had already been chased out in 1912.

[A]

Right.

[B]

By the 1950s, the land was occupied by white families, and it was primarily farmland. However, the ruins of the black community were still there. So while a lot of land was taken, there were still a lot of, like, businesses and homes that people had to abandon that weren't ever.

[A]

What about cemeteries?

[B]

Oh, we're gonna get there. Okay. So the Army Corps of Engineers, they displaced about 700 families to build the lake. It is said that landowners were offered $30 per acre, and many of the residents did accept this payment. Some of them, actually. So this is, like, where it becomes unfair because they're paid. And then also, they had enough time in preparation where quite a few of them had their physical homes picked up and moved. So they, like, had time to, like, find a new plot of land, pick up their actual home, and go have it driven to this new plot of land somewhere else and placed down. Yeah, some people didn't do that. Some people probably didn't have the money or resources, or it just didn't work for them. So there were plenty of structures that were left. Some businesses abandoned, some structures and roads and Just infrastructure that people moved on from. But plenty of people did get to move their stuff. So what happened to all the structures that were left? Well, rather than demolish all of them, Lake Lanier was simply filled in on top of the town. If a building was over 35ft high, it was removed because then it would extend above the depth of the water in many parts of the lake. Because the lake, I guess, like, compared to other lakes, it's relatively shallow. There are plenty of pockets that are like 100, 200ft deep, but a lot of it is shallow. Okay. So plenty of the buildings and structures were kept because they were lower than 35ft, so they wouldn't peek out above the water. And it gave enough clearance above the water, essentially creating an underwater ghost town.

[A]

Damn.

[B]

Apparently you can see some, like, 160 little tiny islands every once in a while, like, across the lake. And these exist because this area was quite hilly and. And a lot of the hills were used in farming and stuff. And so when it was flooded, these, like, little tiny hilltops created these little islands. All about. Records show that in preparation for filling Lake Lanier, they relocated about 20 cemeteries. Okay, but the thing about relocating this is 20 cemeteries that they relocated, and they certainly missed quite a few. Right, because people had private cemeteries on their properties. There were a lot of. We're talking about, like, a marginalized community. We're talking about land that has seen a lot of blood in the past. And so there were a lot of unmarked graves. There were slave burial grounds, private cemeteries. And so while, yeah, 20 cemeteries were moved, there were plenty that were not countless bodies left behind. And the spirits of those unclaimed bodies did not move on. And then also there's the infrastructure. So again, they just, like, flooded on top of some of the buildings. And divers will go down into Lake Linear today and report seeing, like, super creepy, surreal things. So they can see bridges that just apparently, like, end in darkness, though I couldn't find any photos. So it's like sometimes it's hard to know what's real and what's still lore of, like, what's underneath. But there's foundations of houses. There's some structures that are, like, still perfectly preserved where, like, you can look in the windows, you can probably go inside of the house.

[A]

It kind of reminds me of Mary King's close and like, the closes in Edinburgh and how they kind of, like, built on top of them and they still exist. And you can kind of see, like, the houses and everything.

[B]

Although I feel like the close is, like, hidden Layers of buildings. Whereas this is just like, water. Like diving in a sunken ship, basically. Yeah. Yeah. So there was also. It was called the Looper Speedway. I think now they call it the Gainesville Speedway. But, like, basically, there was a racetrack that had a bunch of, like, bleachers and, like, stands for the crowds, but that was all flooded, too. So you can also, when you're diving, see the racetrack. And if the lake goes through prolonged periods of drought, there's, like, quite a few steps that you can visibly see from where the crowd used to sit. That will appear, which is another thing. It's like when the water levels go down, because they were. They had this, like, threshold of what I say, like, 35ft or something. When the water levels go down, sometimes, like, structures or little bits that were left underneath become visible again. You get, like, peaks of the town.

[A]

Part of me really wants to get my scuba diving certification for things like this. I just think things that are underwater in the ocean, too, just, it's. There's so much that you don't know what's underneath there, but it's also very eerie.

[B]

Well, the visibility is not very great for most of it either, so I don't think I'd want to go down there. Like, most of the time, you don't actually know what's five feet in front of you.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So when they flooded the town, there was also plants. Right. Like, people had bushes and trees and grass and vegetation.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Most of that just died underwater. Right. But there are trees still left standing because the bottom of the lake is so cold, and, like, basically, well, it lacks oxygen. So a lot of these trees just petrified. Ooh. It's basically like this whole town tree, like, spooky trees. Everything is just frozen in place. Oh, Leia. Oh, my gosh. We haven't gotten to see her so long. I know.

[A]

That's true.

[B]

She's been. That almost felt like a haunting. I was like, leia, are you with us?

[A]

She's been sitting by the radiator, staying warm, but now she's joining us. Thanks for joining us.

[B]

So cute.

[A]

Do you have anything to say? People have wanted to hear from you. She talks when she wants to talk.

[B]

Wonderful input. We love that. Okay, so now you have this body of water that basically is frozen with things in a certain time period. The stolen land of Oscarville, the bodies of the unrelocated dead. And you have the physical remnants of the civilization. So you have roads, bridge, racetracks. It's all sitting there.

[A]

I also think about pets. Like, the pets that were buried in backyards and stuff, you know?

[B]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Pet cemeteries, Totally. So all of that is beneath this, like, reservoir, but on the surface, There are people boating, tubing, swimming, fishing, Cooling off to beat the heat. Peace on earth, Right. Until the dead want you to take a little vacation, too. So the restless spirits of lake lanier have moved across the bottom of the lake, along the abandoned roads and the crumbling structures, Continuing life As they had before the lake. But they don't always mind their own business. Sometimes they come to the surface. There is one spirit Whose presence Sort of, like, dominates the lore of lake lanier, and that is the lady of the lake. And I guess we could call her the blue lady, because she's wearing a blue dress.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

But contrary to a lot of other spirits Haunting areas and, like, lakes or, like, land or whatever, we know exactly who she is, and it's a very tragic story, and it actually happened after the lake had already existed.

[A]

We know who she is.

[B]

We do. So it was April 1958, which I think is about two years after the lake had been filled, Whatever the terminology. Two women, Susie roberts and delia mae parker young, Were heading out for a fun night of dancing in dawsonville. They took Susie's 1954 Ford sedan, and they never returned. In search for these two women, who just seemed to disappear without a trace. In the night, Police discovered that they had actually visited a gas station, Seemingly left the gas station without paying. And then further along the road, There was a set of skid marks that went across the lane and. And off of the bridge, Heading directly down into the water. And the direction of the skid marks Also indicated that the car was traveling in the direction of dawsonville highway, which was the direction that they believed the girls would have been traveling to go home. Okay, well, this is where it's confusing, because, like, some reports say that they were on their way to the dance, and others say that they came. It was after a night of dancing, and then they, like, stopped at the gas station on the way home, and then they went off the bridge.

[A]

Gotcha.

[B]

So I don't know if it was to or from, because the reports vary. But anyway, whatever it was, Police were like, oh, we suspect that that is what happened. Like, the girls drove off of the bridge.

[A]

Geez.

[B]

So they're like, okay, this is possible. Susie may have lost control in some way. The car careened off to the right of the bridge, Plunged into the water, and the girls in the car have now disappeared into the dark water below. So we need to Go look for them. They sent divers down into the water in search for the car and for the girls. And while the lake isn't very deep in most parts, it is extremely murky, like what I was saying before. So visibility is so poor that divers, I think, like you can barely see your hand and some parts in front of you. And when they went down there to search, they basically turned up empty handed. They didn't find a single thing. So the investigation continued, the search for these girls continued, but basically they were like, we can't find anything. So we don't really have any more leads.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Until 18 months later when the first real clue linking the girls to this site where a car clearly went off the bridge is basically like discovered. Approved.

[A]

18 months.

[B]

18 months. And this is like not just a clue. This is, this is proof.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

A fisherman named C.A. simpson witnessed a body float up from under the water. He's like, like picture that he's fishing. I don't know if he was on a boat or if he was like on the bridge, fishing off the bridge, but he's there. And then suddenly a body submerges.

[A]

That's not the day he thought he was going to have.

[B]

So this body was badly decomposed. It was missing two toes from the left foot and both hands. They were unable to identify the body, but it was suspected that this must be one of the girls who had disappeared 18 months earlier. So Susie, Ordelia. They ended up burying the Jane Doe in an unmarked grave in Altavista Cemetery, leading everyone to wonder, is this one of the girls? And if it is, which one?

[A]

Also, how could they not identify her? Because they knew the two girls that had gone missing.

[B]

She was just so badly decomposed.

[A]

But isn't there still DNA and like.

[B]

Not at this point in time. This is the 50s.

[A]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

Okay. And then sightings start happening. The body floats up and now people are seeing a spirit. People driving across the Linear Bridge at night begin to report seeing a woman walking alongside the road. She's wearing a blue dress, which happened to be the same color dress that Delia was wearing that night. So it's believed that this person was Delia. Yeah. And the woman looked lost. When drivers slowed down to ask if this woman needed help, they realized that this woman had no hands.

[A]

Oh, this is so sad.

[B]

Yeah, but exactly like the body. Yeah. That was just found.

[A]

Which also just breaks my heart thinking about the afterlife. Like a spirit being so confused and showing up. Not because like there's also encounters where someone shows up, like their childlike form, even though they passed away when they were much older. But this is a spirit who's appearing in the way her body was found. Like she is that she's so confused.

[B]

It almost makes me think that, like, she was somehow frozen in the lake. Like her consciousness and her spirit, her soul, just was awoken when she was found.

[A]

Right, Right.

[B]

So some people said that when they saw her, she was trying to flag their car down. Some people said that they saw her staring over the railing, down, over, like, over the bridge, into the water. And some versions, and I don't believe this version of the legend, but some versions of this legend says that she tries to lure people to the edge and pull them over.

[A]

I don't believe that either. She just seems very confused and maybe her presence is intriguing. And people approach her towards the edge.

[B]

Right. They're. Yeah, they're pulling over, they're walking, they're willing. So these sightings go on for decades. And she has the nickname the lady of the Lake now. And lady of the Lake became the most famous ghost in Georgia, apparently.

[A]

Interesting.

[B]

Or I guess at least at Lake Lanier.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

32 years later, 32 years later, Lanier Bridge was under construction. To widen the roadway, construction crews start digging at the bottom of the lake to set a new pillar. When they hit metal, they pull up a rusted, mud shocked hook of metal. And it is a 1954 Ford sedan which Susie had been driving that night.

[A]

Oh, my gosh.

[B]

Inside of the car were remains of a human body, presumably Susie, because the body still had a purse, rings, and other belongings that all were linked to Susie Roberts.

[A]

And just one body. So, like, indicating that just one body. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

It would indicate the other body was Delia May Parker Young.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

For over 30 years, Susie had been sitting in that car 90ft underwater, trapped in the dark, while people drove over her on the bridge every single day. Her friend Delia was walking the bridge above, waiting for her friend to be found.

[A]

Did Delia's ghost stop coming or do people still see her?

[B]

Some people say that they do, but I think the sightings definitely went down. So I'm not really. I'm not really sure, basically. So the two girls, so remember, Delia had been buried in that, like, unmarked. Well, it wasn't unmarked, but like unidentified, like Django. Right. So when Susie was discovered, they then buried her right next to Delia and they changed the headstone so that Delia was identified. So, like, the two girls got to be buried together. Oh, so like part of the reason why they weren't found and the car wasn't found initially when divers went down, aside from the visibility, was that the. Where the car was found, it was, like, on a hillside, like an embankment that was, like, pretty steep. And specifically in that area, it was a very difficult place to explore and to dive into. And the visibility, again, was in that specific area, 6 inches in front of you. So the likelihood of a diver, like, literally one foot away from the car, swimming by and not seeing it existed.

[A]

No, it would have to be very.

[B]

Well, it would have been right there.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You have to basically bump into the.

[A]

Car to find it. To find it, which is how they found it. They literally bumped into it.

[B]

Yes, literally. So while the sightings of lady in the Lake, the Lady in blue Delia, have definitely not been as frequent, some people still say the lady of the Lake exists over here. Yeah.

[A]

I hope she's no longer confused. Like, that part makes me really sad.

[B]

I know. I hope it's a residual haunting.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

If it is one, like, she's not actively there at all.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So, obviously, yeah, lady of the Lake is very sad, but there's something kind of terrifying underneath the water. It's the hands that people feel wrapping around them as they swim and pulling them forcefully down. And it seems like everyone who's reported this says that it seems like there's one goal, and it's basically to drown them.

[A]

To pull you down under. Yeah.

[B]

Yes. And it, like, makes people wonder about all those strong swimmers who never returned above the surface, who seemingly just, like, floated down underneath the surface and never came back up. It was like, was it because they were being dragged under? Were they just victims? Like. Cause, you know, we're only getting the reports of the people that survived.

[A]

Right. And they're saying that they felt something grabbing them.

[B]

Yes. Some people say that it feels like just a fully formed human hand. Other people said it feels like a skeleton. It feels like the bones of a hand wrapping around you. And when they look down, if they're, like, still on the surface and they look down, they don't see anything. Like, the sensation is there, and they feel themselves being tugged, but you can't physically see a hand or anything.

[A]

Damn. Well. But also the visibility in the water, like, would you even be able to.

[B]

True. So some people connect this type of haunting back to Oscar ville and that it's the spirits of the unmarked graves that never got to move on, never got to be acknowledged that are reaching up from the bottom, looking for justice or maybe looking for company.

[A]

Or even, like, let's not put it on these people who were so wrongly treated in life. Like, what if it's just the amalgamation of the toxic, horrible energy of everything that happened there and it's like, not even human anymore.

[B]

Well, and also, I don't know. Who was in the graves, too.

[A]

Right.

[B]

How many people are down there? Who were they? What happened to them in their lives? We have no idea.

[A]

That's true.

[B]

I referenced this on the last episode, too, that we had covered a bits of Lake Linear. There are giant catfish. So there are catfish that have been caught that are like 50 pounds, but catfish that have not been caught but have supposedly been seen by divers are the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. So, like, the size of a car. Huge. Massive.

[A]

When Meredith and I were in Chattanooga, we went to the aquarium, which blew our minds. Like, a couple people had messaged me, like, oh, you should go to our aquarium. It's not that big, but were mighty proud of it. The river aquarium truly blew my mind. And they had massive catfish in there.

[B]

How big were they?

[A]

Not. Not fully the size of a car, but massive.

[B]

Okay. Because I was looking. Cause I was like, wait, how big do catfish get? And apparently they're kind of like turtles in a way where if they have unlimited space to grow, they just keep growing.

[A]

Keeping. Damn. No, they were big.

[B]

So. Local fishermen and divers have reported seeing catfish up to seven feet long. And it's rumored that some have swallowed dogs and attacked swimmers in Lake Lanier. Imagine being attacked by a giant catfish. I couldn't.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

No.

[A]

I would for sure feel like that was, like, a lake monster.

[B]

Right. Totally. And so the divers, like, there's plenty of people who dive and see weird things. And, you know, like, Reddit has a lot of stories. People have their own blogs. And I think a lot of people report just, like, how creepy of a feeling it is down there. Which makes sense because you're, like, going through these ruins, like, you don't know what's going to pop up, like, right in front of you. There's literally cemeteries. Like, there's a lot of creepiness down there. But apparently some people have reported, like, suddenly seeing people.

[A]

Oh.

[B]

Underwater. Like, catching, like, thinking they see someone.

[A]

Like, a town is still living.

[B]

Yeah. Or like they're being watched.

[A]

Ooh, creepy.

[B]

So we have the lady of the lake. We have hands pulling swimmers down. We have strange things below the surface. And now we have the supposed curse of Lake Lanier, because it's not just haunted, it is cursed. Yeah. I have been dealing with OCD I guess a lot of my life, but officially went and got seen about it when I was 14 and I feel like there's a lot of misconceptions about what OCD is. And I will say, while I thought I had it under control, having a child and being postpartum is totally shaken all of that up. And suddenly like the anxiety, the OCD triggers have been a little bit all consuming, I guess to put it. So that's where no CD comes in. And it's something that I think is super important and we should definitely talk about. OCD is a serious and highly misunderstood condition. But with the right kind of help from a specialized therapist who truly understands what you're experiencing and is trained to treat it, OCD is extremely manageable at no cd. That's no C D. Every therapist deeply understands ocd and what's great is the therapists like truly deeply understand OCD and and how it attacks the things that you care about most and how to help you get back to living the life that you want. And NOCD accepts most major insurance plans and is covered for over 155 million Americans. And NOCD makes sure that you're supported between sessions. So they have these powerful in app tools as well, such as therapist messaging, peer communities, which I found really helpful, and also life support. If you're ready to start getting help from a therapist who truly understands OCD, visit nocd.com to book a free call. That's N O C d Com. This episode is brought to you by IQ Bar, our exclusive snack, hydration and coffee sponsor. IQ Bar Protein Bars, IQ Mix Hydration Mixes and IQ Joe mushroom coffees are the delicious low sugar brain and body fuel you need to win your day.

[A]

Consider K and I winners.

[B]

I literally was just drinking the the IQ Mix hydration mix, the lemonade iced tea one earlier and you were like what are you drinking? And I was like, oh, so good. It's lion's mane and magnesium. It's so good for you.

[A]

I'm gonna say again, I've been loving the IQ Joe mushroom coffees. I cause I'm trying to drink less acidic coffee in the morning, but the IQ Joe mushroom coffees give me that like perfect, nice start to my morning.

[B]

Yes. Also their IQ bars, they have plenty of plant protein, they have tons of fiber, no added sugar. The go to to keep in your bag, your car. I just honestly eat them as snacks in my own house.

[A]

I mean all of IQ Bar products are clean, label certified and entirely free from gluten, dairy, soy, GMOs and artificial ingredients. So the new year gives us all a chance to reset and you can maximize your brain and body's potential with IQ Bars, protein bars, Hydra Hydration mixes, and mushroom coffees. And their Ultimate Sampler Pack includes all three.

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And right now, IQ Bar is offering our special podcast listeners 20% off all IQ bar products, including the Ultimate Sampler Pack, plus free shipping. To get your 20% off, text TGOG to 64,000. Text TGOG to 64,000. That's TGOG to 64,000. Message and data rates may apply. See terms for details. Some people have reported seeing some strange things on the lake at night. A few reports have been made of a mysterious raft that appears and is driven by a shadowy figure that uses a pole to push the raft along. So it's like, there's a big pole. There's not like an oar or paddle or anything at the bottom. The oar or the pole is being used to touch the bottom of the lake and, like, drag the raft along.

[A]

Wait.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I'm excited for the listener story. I have.

[B]

Ooh, Ooh. Okay, so this figure, it's very shadowy. You never truly see any discernible features. And there's a lantern attached to the pole, so you just see, like, the shadow of a person.

[A]

So creepy.

[B]

A raft on the surface, a pole being used with a lantern on top. So, like, there's a light that's just moving, and that is how you're able to see it. So it is so dark, people only see it at night. It appears very, very quickly. And just as quickly as it appears, it can also disappear. But sometimes the sightings are a lot longer. And I have an example of one that is so, so scary.

[A]

And I think I have an example of one, too.

[B]

Okay. So while many people spot this mysterious raft from the shoreline, there are two fishermen who happen to have spotted it from the water when they were on a boat themselves. It was an autumn night, cooler on the water, about 1am and these two guys are out fishing, and they spot about a half mile away, this raft. And it's in an area of the LAKE that's about 45ft deep. So they, like, see the raft, and then immediately, once they realize that the raft is being propelled by just, like, a stick, they're confused, right, because there's no bottom of the lake to touch and, like, push along. It is 45ft deep here, so the pool cannot touch anything. So they're like, this is weird. And they start observing this raft, and it's also 1am so they're floating there, watching this thing, when the figure on the raft suddenly seemed to notice that it was being watched. And it calls out to them, like, it says something.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

But the words, they can't make it out. It's too far away. So they're looking at this thing that, like, someone just tried to talk to them from the raft. Like, does this person need help? Like, what. What did they say? And suddenly, as they're looking in the direction of this figure on the raft, they. The figure leaps off of the raft into the freezing cold water and begins to swim towards them.

[A]

No. This is horrifying.

[B]

Yeah. They're freaking the fuck out, right? They're like, hell, no, we gotta get out of here. But that person's a half mile away. So they're like, okay, we're not in imminent danger. We definitely have time just to, like, get our boat up so they can pull away. Yeah. So then they look back to the raft and the lantern that was hanging from the pole just, bloop, bloop, bloop, bloop. Goes out. So now they're in conflict.

[A]

This is a horror movie.

[B]

The fishermen grab their spotlight and they shine it in the direction of the raft, like, in the water, to try to see, like, oh, my God, where is that guy that's, like, swimming at us? What happened to the raft? Like, what's going on? Nothing. No raft, no lantern, no pole, no shadowy figure, no one in the water. Not the slightest bit of, like, rippling in the water either to indicate any movement of, like, someone swimming or. Or just a craft being in the water. Nothing. It was like it had never existed. So what that is, what sort of haunting that is? Or if that's, like, part of this, like, curse and, like, just this being and presence that is now controlling the lake. And, like, who dies? No one really knows. But Lake Lanier is statistically one of the deadliest lakes in the US since it was built. I said this earlier, but, like, over 700 people have died since it was.

[A]

Built, so very high number.

[B]

Yes. And so this is kind of like, again, where the idea of the curse existing comes from. People who have survived some of the accidents on the lake seem to report similar and odd details. So not only is the number of accidents and deaths staggeringly high in comparison to other lakes that have the same sort of activity, same number of visitors, but the actual events that occur all have these weird details. The swimmers who are suddenly disappearing below the water are strong swimmers swimming in very calm Conditions. So it's most of the time, there's no weather incidents, no odd currents, nothing that should warrant that accident at that.

[A]

Time, which accidents do happen. Like, strong swimmers drown all the time. But, like, to the extent that it is happening at Lake Lanier is why it's suspicious.

[B]

Yes. So from the people who have survived, we've heard that they feel like someone is dragging them, like holding their legs and dragging them down. But those same survivors also have said that the air in their lungs suddenly seems to dissipate, making them feel lightheaded and disoriented during this sort of event. And what's more odd is, unfortunately for those who have drowned and the bodies that have been recovered, because, again, there's plenty of people who have died and gone missing in Lake Linear who have not been found either. Bodies that are not recovered. But those who have been, it's said that they are found much further away than expected from their initial entry point. So, yes, the lake is large. There are definitely currents that happen in the lake. But, like, the knowledge of, like, the currents and where people should be, they're much further from that point. So people are saying that basically, like, it's as if they were dragged underwater. Much further.

[A]

Interesting. I wonder if there's, like, a common place where bodies are dragged to.

[B]

Oh, yeah, interesting. Like a certain cove or like.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Boaters who have survived boating accidents have reported strange things. They report that their boat hit something in the water, and when they've circled back, there's nothing there. There's no debris, no logs, no visible obstruction anywhere. And there have also been reports of boats capsizing for no apparent reason at all. They just suddenly flip over. And plenty of people have also reported rogue waves coming out of nowhere, rushing towards them, whether they be in boats, kayaks, paddleboards. It's like a sudden wave that just exists and comes up and tries to knock them overboard into the water. Geez. Just a few Years ago, in 2023 alone, there were 13 deaths. That's more than one death a month. A lot of the accidents that you do read about, they appear like tragic accidents, right? It's like someone falling overboard, not coming back up. Someone, like, slipping off the dock, or like some sort of accident when jumping off of the dock. There's examples of being electrocuted in the water, which, like, you know, I grew up on, like, champagne. And there were examples of that too, where it's like, you know, there's some, like, freak thing with, like, electricity or something at a marina. Someone jumps in right at the marina. And suddenly they're being electrocuted in the water. So it does happen. Also being struck by another watercraft. Like there's a lot of things that when you read it, you're like, oh my God, that's just like, you know, that's a freak accident. That's a terrible thing. But it makes sense on a lake.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So yeah, I think like on the surface level, a lot of these things do appear to just be freak accidents. And it's like what's going on at Lake Lanier that it just seems to happen more frequently than other places. But there's all of those examples of people who have survived or just like the added lore of the paranormal that makes people question whether this lake is cursed and if the spirits have anything to do with the high number of deaths on the lake?

[A]

Well, especially with like this number has been climbing in years. Like it's not like, oh, the one year a lot of people unfortunately passed away in tragic accidents. It's like continuously. So you would also think people who are going to the lake are a little bit more aware and like there's some type of caution. People go into or have going into the lake, but it's still happening.

[B]

It's still happening. Yeah, well. And yeah, it's just weird. But okay, so here's some non paranormal things that could be contributing to the high number of deaths. So remember we were talking about those underwater petrified trees. The water's very murky, visibility is very poor. So if you jump off of a boat, you may land, depending on where you are, on a tree limb just below the surface. That's like basically like landing on like a knife that you can't see. Right. Like you didn't know it was there. So people have wondered if like maybe that's something. Or when people are swimming, if they get tangled in like a petrified tree or just like some sort of like debris that has like snagged and build up. People were like, okay, these trees exist. Could there be fishing lines and stuff that are like almost creating like a net that people's legs get caught in and then they're fighting and then they're like being dragged under.

[A]

Which is horrifying to think of. And I almost feel like if that's a concern, I don't know who oversees the lake and like the activities that happen there. But doesn't that feel like it's someone's responsibility to make sure that there's not dangerous things that people could be jumping into?

[B]

I don't know. It's hard because it also just, like, kind of goes with, like, lake safety.

[A]

Yeah, true.

[B]

And just, like, the way that you behave in a lake. But yeah, you'd think, like, if you're in the middle of the lake, that.

[A]

You can just, like, jump off your boat.

[B]

Jump off?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Which you can. If you go to the areas that are 100 or 200ft deep.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

But if you're in an area that's, like, you know, 45ft deep, I guess there's still risk in jumping off.

[A]

Scary.

[B]

Yeah. The temperature is also thought to play a part. In many areas. The water surface can be, like, 80 degrees, which probably feels so good. Right. Like, it's still warm enough to feel good, but, like, cool enough to feel refreshing. So on the shoreline and the beach, like, that is great. But if you fall in and sink just 10ft below. So, like, if you were, like, cliff jumping or, like, jumping off of a boat or something, and you go 10ft under, the temperature can drop 30 to 40 degrees, which can send you into a cold shock and make your body gasp involuntarily. And if you're 10ft underwater and you go suck in all the water. There you go.

[A]

And the panic.

[B]

Good chance you panic and drown. Yeah, that. To me, when I heard that, I was like, oh, that makes sense, because actually, one of the scariest moments I've had on a lake, which I've had, like, plenty growing up on on lakes like Lake Winnipesaukee and Lake Champlain, was actually at my wedding on the Sunday when we were, like, all on the lake, and there's the trampoline, and everyone was hanging out there. It was freezing cold because it was May, but, like, a freakishly hot day in May, but the water is still really cold. And I jumped off a little, like, too aggressively from the trampoline to swim to the dock, and I went down a bit far.

[A]

Oh.

[B]

And I, like, my body, like, kind of seized for a minute, and I was like, oh, my God, I'm gonna have a heart attack. And I, like, really kind of struggled to get my limbs to, like, swim to the dock.

[A]

And it's such a scary moment.

[B]

And I had a lot of alcohol in my system, so, like, my blood sugar.

[A]

I was just gonna say I wasn't gonna out you, but I feel like. And that's a no.

[B]

But, like, in my mind, I was like, well, I almost thought, like, it would. It would help me, you know? Like, there's all just, like, examples of people who, you know, someone had enough alcohol in Their system that when they were, like, outside in the freezing cold for far too long, it, like, kept their body alive.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So, like, in that moment, I remember being so shocked.

[A]

But then there's the other side of it. And, like, you know, people do go to lakes and, like, have a couple drinks and enjoy themselves. Like, there's the other side where, unfortunately, alcohol makes it difficult for you to drink, do all the normal functions. And if you're swallowing water and you're drunk. Yeah. Maybe that adds to the number of deaths, too.

[B]

Yes. I definitely think that that probably is a. Is a big thing. Yeah. But regardless of what it is and what is happening, the result is the same. This lake is swallowing people. It is taking lives. And if you believe in ghost stories like we do, Lake Lanier is proof that you cannot wash away history. You can flood it. You can rename it. You can drive a boat over it. But the memory of what happened is still there 100%. If you decide to go to Lake Lanier, please wear a life jacket. Do not drink and drive on the boat or drink and jump into the water from your boat. Be hypervigilant when driving near the lake at night. Put safety first. And if you ever see the lady of Lake Lanier, you better be emailing us this story.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

And that is the real history and hauntings of Lake Lanier and the drowned history of Oscarville and the black community there. Wow.

[A]

Good job, Corinne. Thanks for that.

[B]

Can you believe, like, none of that was included in our first story? That's crazy. I was like, that's most of the.

[A]

Story, but it also makes. It proves to me that there's so many topics that we covered in the past that we could go back and revisit and have the same experience where there's so much more information. Yeah. You did a good job.

[B]

I should shout out the listener, but I feel like there's no way I'm gonna find the email now, because it was, like, not long after we did that initial coverage of, like, linear, and someone was like, oh, you didn't cover any of the black emails.

[A]

You'll probably find it.

[B]

The displacement there.

[A]

Aren't there? Surprisingly, aren't that many, like, linear emails.

[B]

Oh, really?

[A]

Yes, if you want.

[B]

Okay, let me see if I can find it. Oh, okay. So shout out to Christina. She had emailed and, like, basically brought more attention to the fact that it was the town of Oscarville and just, like, the things that happen there. And I think a few other people emailed, too, so shout out to you guys. Yeah, for bringing this to my attention.

[A]

Well, also thank you to the couple of people who have sent us emails, because there are two things that you talked about in this episode, Corinne, that people have experienced and have emailed us.

[B]

Ooh.

[A]

Okay, so the first one is super short, and it's from our listener s. And it is about the hands. Okay. Hey, girls. I love you both so much. This is a short one, but I grew up in the suburbs of Georgia, Meaning Lake Lanier was the lake we grew up around. I remember going there from when I was a child. I've gone camping there. Yes. I've literally slept in the woods of this lake. I've gone on boats and even skinny dipped here. So one summer day, I was invited to a boat party on the haunted lake. So, see, I know this looks like the worst idea ever, But I was having a hot girl summer and going on a boat sounded like fun. I was definitely not gonna go in the water. I promised myself before the party I would not go in the water. So we get there, vibes are good. I end up meeting this boy called B. We hit it off, we're hanging the whole time. Drakes are flowing. Of course, a DD is driving the boat, but I find myself having to go to the bathroom. But the thing is, there was no bathroom on this boat. So I came to the conclusion that I either have to go into this haunted lake to pee or pee my pants in front of everyone. I decided to take a quick jump into the lake with a life jacket. And as soon as I jumped in, I got the eeriest feeling. Something did not feel right. I peed very quickly and I started paddling back to the boat. And that is when I felt a tug at my leg. Sure, it could have been a fish or a plant or maybe it was a lake demon.

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

But I wasn't gonna stick around to find out. I swam for my life and flopped back on the boat. But it was truly one of the scariest moments of my life. It really felt like something was grabbing my ankle.

[B]

Yeah, I bet.

[A]

But the one upside of the story is I did meet my future boyfriend. Bea ended up becoming my boyfriend on this boat. So maybe it's brought me love.

[B]

Maybe you survived. That is huge.

[A]

Yeah. But it makes me wonder, too. Like, the idea of going to the bathroom and the lake. I am a body of water, peer. I confess. So, like, people have their opinions about it, but, like, I wonder if the spirits are like, no, no, no, we don't like that.

[B]

Well, I don't Pee in a pool. But like if you're in a lake or an ocean, oh, I'm peeing.

[A]

Yeah, for sure.

[B]

I pee.

[A]

Yeah. But maybe the spirits are like, we don't like that here.

[B]

Yeah, could be. Okay, but like they continue to go back. Right? Like this is their.

[A]

It sounds like it.

[B]

This is their spot. This is their lake.

[A]

But I, I too would, especially at night, be very hesitant to go into that lake like that. I mean, going into bodies of waters at. At night in general scares me.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay, now this one. Remember back to the ominous figure in the boat. This is from our listener, Brody. And this was set in 2020. Hi Ghosties. My name is Brody. I'm an 11 year old girl from Georgia and I've been in love with your podcast since March of this year. I do a lot of artwork for my own YouTube channel and I have three ghost stories that I want to share with you. But I'm just going to read the one from Lake Lanier. So as you know, Lake Lanier is a lake in northern Georgia and I actually have my own experience from there. Me and my parents went there without my brothers since they were too young. And we went fishing in the lake just for a small day trip. It was around 6pm and it was getting dark. So we start rowing the boat back.

[B]

To shore and I look over to.

[A]

The other side of the lake and I see a raft. And there's a very tall, lanky shadow standing on it and rowing towards us. It was getting closer and closer at a rate of speed that a human pushing a raft could definitely not go at. And I heard something.

[B]

Oh, this just makes me think of the fisherman with the. It can move the raft that fast. Imagine swimming.

[A]

And in that story you shared, they heard the thing muttering something, but they couldn't understand what Brody heard, what it was saying.

[B]

They were saying chills already.

[A]

Something like, the end is near. The end is near. The end is near. Getting louder and more aggressive as each word was being said. I told my parents, oh my God, this gets crazier. I told my parents and pointed at them in sheer terror. My parents turn to look and they don't see anything. What they thought I was just tired from being out in the hot summer July sun all day. But this raft and this person got so close that it was basically almost climbing onto our boat. But luckily we got to shore just then and I ran screaming out of the boat.

[B]

Oh my God. So Brody could see it the entire.

[A]

Time, but her parents could not. To this day, my parents still Deny this experience and say there was no one there. Saying it was just the heat that got to me. See you on the other side, Brody.

[B]

Nope. Nope.

[A]

Unreal.

[B]

Nope. That's so scary.

[A]

Horrifying.

[B]

Oh, my God. I choose the hand.

[A]

100%.

[B]

Oh, my God. Like, being so close to almost boarding the boat. Like, what happens if it gets you?

[A]

I don't want to know.

[B]

I don't think people will ever find out.

[A]

Because if it gets you, it gets you. And you don't get to survive to tell the tale.

[B]

Yeah, horrifying.

[A]

The end is near.

[B]

The end is near.

[A]

It does feel very like grim reaper, but like evil grim reaper.

[B]

Yeah. I assume that's definitely what it was trying to say to the fishermen.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But dang. Brody has experienced, like, two of the big things on Lake Lanier.

[A]

Well, the first story is from S. And then the second story is from.

[B]

Yeah, so there definitely are more people who've experienced stuff on Lake Lanier. It's not just S. And Brody and these fishermen.

[A]

Like, yes, people, please email us. I mean, if millions of people are going here every year, there are probably countless people who have stories who either don't want to believe what they experienced or are keeping it to themselves or telling their friends. Get them to email us. We want to hear these stories, please.

[B]

Oh, it's like lakely near. The pictures are so beautiful. So even though I know all of this, I'm like, I might go in by the beach, but I'm not going to go in past my waist.

[A]

And I think it's just a lot of respect.

[B]

But then if there was an inner tube, I'd also be like, well, that's a float. See, this is what happens. I know you get lured in by a summer day and the sweet relief of a beautiful lake.

[A]

Yeah. And I don't think you necessarily need to boycott Lake Lanier, but I think it's important just to, like, share the story. If you go sit around the boat and tell everyone the story of Oscarville and this entire society that was displaced and respect. Respect it.

[B]

And then revisit some of the safety when it comes to swimming and boating and being on a lake, Wear a.

[A]

Life jacket and maybe don't pee. Maybe don't pee in the lake. Save peeing in bodies of waters for the ocean. Yeah, I say that, but I literally can't control it. I get into a body of water and I'm like, well, I have to pee.

[B]

Cause you just gotta pee.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Anyway, do you pee in lakes? Let us know and come back next.

[B]

Week for another story that Sabrina has picked out to celebrate Black History Month that is a little bit less pressing.

[A]

It definitely has its depressing elements, but it has such an uplifting message that.

[B]

You'Ll leave it feeling empowered.

[A]

Yes Please email us all of your ghost stories, any paranormal encounters you've had, or just like really cool things you want to share with us. To2girls1ghost podcastmail.com you can join us on Patreon for episodes one week early and ad free, plus bonus content and book club and live campfire stories where you can share your ghost stories with us live on Zoom and so much more.

[B]

Shout out to Jamie Ryan and Emma La Venter for producing our podcast and thank you to all of you. We love you and we will see you on the other side.

[A]

It's very hard to whisper when you have a cold. Very spooky.

[B]

Thanks for listening.

[A]

We love to hear your stories and your feedback, so we have a little survey for you. Please visit two GOG Fans to Take our Listener Survey. That's the number two, the letter GOG Fans to take our Listener Survey.