Panola Hall Eatonton Georgia

 

Sylvia, the ghost of Panola Hall

There are several stories about the ghost here – the most popular:  A daughter of the first owners, who was unhappy about an arranged marriage fell into a large trunk the day of her wedding.  Her parents entered the room, and finding a window open figured she had run away and immediately had the room sealed up and never opened again.

Another story is that a friend of one of the Trippe daughters (original owners of the house) jumped off the front balcony to her death upon hearing her fiancé had been killed in the Civil War.

Sylvia made her first appearance to the home’s second owners, Dr. and Mrs. Hunt shortly after they moved in. Sylvia is said to be wearing a white, hoop-skirt dress and a rose placed neatly in her brown hair. It is also said that Sylvia brings an intense aroma of roses to the rooms and people that she encounters. Mrs. Hunt wrote a brief poem about Sylvia

Sylvia’s coming down the stair—

Pretty Sylvia, young and fair.

Oft and oft I meet her there,

Smile on lip and rose in hair.

Stand aside and let her pass—

Little room she takes, alas!

Sylvia died, they tell me so,

Died a hundred years ago.

 ~ By Louisa Prudden Hunt

Mrs. Hunt named the ghost “Sylvia”, most likely after a popular song of the period.  She usually appears on the stairwell, in a white hoopskirt dress, with a rose in her hair.  People who have seen her mention the intense small of roses.

A guest of the Hunts encountered Sylvia on the stairs, and moved out of the way to let her pass.  Looking forward to meeting her, he was disappointed to see there was not an additional place setting at dinner.  When he mentioned encountering Sylvia, the Hunts had to tell him that he had seen a ghost.

There are many stories the float around about how Sylvia died. The one that I have heard the most is that she fell in love with a man that was lower in social status than her. Her family had already arranged a marriage for her to a man that was “more her type” and that would fit in with her family. One the day of the wedding, Sylvia was planning to run away. While standing by the window to climb out, she fell into a trunk or some piece of large furniture that was next to the window. When her parents came to her room and saw what looked like she had escaped, they grieved and boarded up her room and it was never opened again.

When Sylvia appears, she is gay, her voice is sweet, she is dressed in white, a red rose typically adorns her dark upswept hair, and her appearance is often accompanied by the fragrance of roses.

Its said that Sylvia only makes herself known to people of the best character - encounters are brief and generally pleasant.

The home has been featured prominently in books on Southern living - due to its classic architecture and its storied history. The Antebellum Greek Revival home boasts 12 fireplaces, 20ft square rooms with full length heart pine floorboards, and soaring ceilings – 12ft on the main and 14ft upstairs - with three stories including a raised English style basement that once housed the household staff.