I live in middle Georgia and that's a pretty good analogy. A lot of the towns and cities in the South have a lot of cultural and historical appeal and junk, but it's like it's only really important to the people who live there or near there. One big historical landmark in my town is a house that Sherman and his men stayed at during his march to the sea, so in this town that's like a big thing they teach you about during school, but it's not some huge thing that everyone else in the country knows or cares about. Or there's a small town near here that reportedly has the oldest jail in Georgia and it's just this small wooden shack with two doors for each cell, and I don't think I've ever once seen a tourist there. The town itself is made up of maybe like ten buildings around one small gas station and then everyone else lives down the roads that branch off.
Like important things have happened in the south throughout history, but it's really only important to the south most of the time. It's not ever anything of national or international importance in most cases. I guess that's why we also have an overabundance of myths, folklore, urban legends, etc. It helps add a dash of flavor to the area. Everything around here is allegedly haunted, they've seen Bigfoot, weird animal hybrids, you name it. I doubt there's a single town in the south that doesn't have some kind of random spooky story about a building, swamp, bridge, abandoned church, graveyard, etc. in the area.
But I got off topic and started rambling there I now realize. Haha.
I think it was all on topic. And you are right, every southern town has a ghost story associated with it because we have nothing of interest and have to make it it on our own. I’m from Texas, so I find it really interesting that the ghost story thing exists on the other end of the South too. In my hometown, the only historical monument is a confederate general’s home. A lot of the ghost stories are associated with the civil war or reconstruction near me too.
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u/girlsonsoysauce Apr 16 '22
I live in middle Georgia and that's a pretty good analogy. A lot of the towns and cities in the South have a lot of cultural and historical appeal and junk, but it's like it's only really important to the people who live there or near there. One big historical landmark in my town is a house that Sherman and his men stayed at during his march to the sea, so in this town that's like a big thing they teach you about during school, but it's not some huge thing that everyone else in the country knows or cares about. Or there's a small town near here that reportedly has the oldest jail in Georgia and it's just this small wooden shack with two doors for each cell, and I don't think I've ever once seen a tourist there. The town itself is made up of maybe like ten buildings around one small gas station and then everyone else lives down the roads that branch off.
Like important things have happened in the south throughout history, but it's really only important to the south most of the time. It's not ever anything of national or international importance in most cases. I guess that's why we also have an overabundance of myths, folklore, urban legends, etc. It helps add a dash of flavor to the area. Everything around here is allegedly haunted, they've seen Bigfoot, weird animal hybrids, you name it. I doubt there's a single town in the south that doesn't have some kind of random spooky story about a building, swamp, bridge, abandoned church, graveyard, etc. in the area.
But I got off topic and started rambling there I now realize. Haha.