In Statesboro, Georgia there is an old and abandoned, but historical building called the Packing House. The four story structure itself is daunting to look at and will send chills up your spine. To enter this building is trespassing, but that does not stop several individuals from visiting. During the Great Depression, the owner of the Packing House boarded up all the doors and windows, trapping his workers inside with him. He then lit the building on fire, and committed suicide by a single gunshot to the head. Twenty-three people are said to have died in this tragedy. Their souls are said to still remain there, haunting those who enter and even those who walk by. Shadows have been seen running to the exits, however they will not go further than the doorway. Outside of the building, on the far right window located on the third floor, a woman having a look of terror across her face has been allegedly seen by individuals who have visited. Moreover, on nights with a full moon, a gunshot can be heard along with the screams of the victims and temperature changes are frequent when walking through the building which occurs when spirits are present.
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An interview was administered to an individual of the 18-22 age group in order to further confirm the amount of people who believe in this particular demographic. Jessica Lynn is a student at Georgia Southern University. She is 19 years old and did not believe in ghosts until she had an experience at the Packing House that changed her views. She and five of her sorority sisters experienced an encounter with the paranormal. I was able to ask her about what she encountered and how it associates with the belief in ghosts among the students of Georgia Southern’s campus..
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Jessica told her story of her and her sisters' experience. .
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“Around 2 o’clock, me and my friends decided to go the the packing house. We started looking around and walking through the building. We went upstairs to the fourth floor and in the middle of the room we felt like something like a presence was there. Then, when we were getting ready to leave, we found a baby snake about 3 inches long. We put the snake on the stick in order to take a picture with it. All of the sudden we felt a cool breeze and chills even though it was hot outside. One of the girls got out her camera to take a picture of me and another girl with the snake. After she took the picture, she locked her phone and then put it back into her pocket. Once we walked back to where we were parked, and pulled out the phone to see the picture, there was another picture on her phone that she didn't take. The iphone has an option called HDR. It takes one picture and then copies it, but enhances the second picture. Her HDR was turned off; however, 2 pictures were still taken. The first picture was a regular picture, and then the second one was enhanced with a guy standing in the background. We did not bring any guy with us, but the picture clearly displays a male figure. We got scared and left.” (Lynn).
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I questioned how she was affected by this experience, and she explained that it had made her more aware of the fact the ghosts really do exist. Attached is the enhanced picture that was found on her sorority sister’s cell phone. In the bottom left corner of the picture you can see Jessica’s leg. As mentioned, the ghosts do not go past the entranceway. In this photo, the man is standing at the edge of the exit. You can clearly see work boots and what seems to be long blue jean shorts. Also attached is the picture of the building.
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the packing house.jpg 410.39K
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I was skeptical about believing in ghosts, but after this experience, I'm persuaded that they do indeed exist. If you are looking for a place to go that is haunted and guaranteed to send chills up your spine, i recommend visiting the Statesboro Packing House. Stories are told all around Georgia Southern University's campus about visits from this place.
