The Bell House near downtown Valdosta has had ghost stories told about it while being used as a bed and breakfast and two restaurants . Photo by Sarah Warrender
“ It walked through the dining room , around the bar area and disappeared . It was like 2 a . m ., and I had to ask someone else if they saw it too . They did ,” he said .
Collecting a story from every county for his series of “ Haunted Georgia ” books , Miles said some stand out from the rest . The Bell House stories stood out from others because of the longevity of the tales .
“ It ’ s a long-term story . We know the family lived there . And three businesses with owners and workers have experienced activity . That brings authenticity to it .”
In “ Haunted South Georgia ,” Miles notes that Southern Ghost Hunters Paranormal Investigations of Georgia investigated the home in 2004 .
Danice Brault , formerly part of Southern Ghost Hunters for roughly 13 years , had experiences
while investigating the Bell House when it was still open and operating as Vito ’ s Pizzeria and Lounge . The team investigated many locations in Valdosta and the surrounding counties . While conducting the investigations , Brault and the SGH team said they encountered two types of haunts : residual and intelligent .
“ Intelligent haunts are the fun ones . They ’ re interacting with you ,” Brault said .
During intelligent haunts , some of Brault ’ s equipment is said to help make communication between the living and unseen easier . Using a “ GB ,” or ghost box , entities can communicate in real time using radio channels , she said . Brault said her most compelling incident using a ghost box occurred when asking how many beings there were in one location ; the number eight was said eight times in eight different voices .
October 2024 | Valdosta Scene 15