By Annie Piekarczyk / STAFF

While Beth Dolgner was a full-time editor at a motorcycle magazine, she never imagined she would experience paranormal activity leading her to become a believer, let alone that she would author a book of local ghost stories. 

It’s been a little less than two years since Dolgner first began writing her book on the paranormal, “Georgia Spirits and Specters” – a collection of ghost stories from around Georgia, including a chapter on Roswell – and all of her research and hard work finally paid off with the debut of her first book on June 2.

Dolgner, a short-time resident of Atlanta, had always been interested in local ghost stories. After a friend found a Schiffer Publishing flyer looking for people interested in writing about local ghost lore, Dolgner immediately sent a letter to the publishing company, and soon after she began collecting ghost stories for her book. 

Dolgner even admitted to having an entire bookshelf at her home dedicated to paranormal lore from over the years. “I wanted to add my own book to that collection,” she said. “Ghost stories say so much about the culture and history of a place and I’ve always loved them for their historical value.”

As a child, she collected books about local supernatural tales and paranormal folklore everywhere she went, a habit that hasn’t died down since, and one that was also beneficial in researching her new book. 

She began writing “Georgia Spirits and Specters” in September of 2007 and most of her stories came to her through homeowners, paranormal investigators, tour guides and even some from her mom and her mom’s friends in Savannah – a town she feels is more inclined than others in acknowledging paranormal activity. Her book includes over 50 local ghost stories from counties across the state, two of which are from Roswell and four from Marietta. Each of the ghost stories is also filled with historical facts and how they contribute to the unexplainable.  

Dolgner said that when she began writing her book, she wasn’t a disbeliever in the paranormal – but that didn’t necessarily make her a believer either. That was, until she went on her first paranormal investigation with Ghost Riders Investigation Team, a group of five paranormal women investigators; a very positive and exciting experience which she also included in her book. 

GRIT took Dolgner to Banning Mill, near Whitesburg, GA, in June 2008. The mill was built in 1842 and however decayed and deteriorating the building might be, Dolgner said the poor shape of the building hadn’t been “slowing the ghosts down any,” especially the night she was there.

Over the years, Dolgner said the mill saw its fair share of distress and paranormal activity, as did she that first night with the paranormal investigation team. In her book, she goes into detail about her possible first encounter with a ghost, and about how the most prominent ghost at Banning Mill, a little boy called Thomas, communicated with the group through one of the investigator’s radios and Dolgner’s own camera. That was the night Dolgner became a believer. 

“There was one moment during the night that really solidified it for me,” said Dolgner.

What might easily frighten some, only fascinates and excites Dolgner. She is intrigued by each town’s history and how that played into its paranormal activity; a sentiment depicted in her book. 

The Roswell Connection

In her Roswell chapter, Dolgner wrote about the numerous souls that were never reunited with their families after General Sherman’s March to the Seas. The restless spirits that remain in Roswell today, particularly around the houses surrounding the Roswell Mill, Dolgner said are possibly still searching for their loved ones. Included in the chapter are stories about the Old Bricks and the Roswell Mill, which are also locations that you can visit on the local Roswell Ghost Tour, a two-hour trek around historic Roswell.

Dianna Avena, owner of the Roswell Ghost Tour and director of Roswell Georgia Paranormal Investigations, said that while on the tours, “Unexplainable activity happens often.” She described that full-body apparitions have been seen on numerous occasions, and that the guides try to rule out all explanations before really validating paranormal activity. 

Avena also said many people who are skeptical non-believers when they begin the tour, leave the tour with a different mind-set.

Dolgner, an avid fan of ghost tours, explained that’s it difficult in today’s day and age to be a believer, especially when some stories are embellished, some ghost tours are dramatized, and many people create fake evidence of paranormal activity. She said all of those things make it even harder for those with valid paranormal evidence to be taken seriously. 

“The tours are supposed to be enjoyable,” said Dolgner.

Roswell Ghost Tours, on the other hand, prides itself on not using fake lighting, fake actors or gimmicks and Avena said that each historical location included in the tour is included for a reason – because not one, but many people, have experienced unexplainable paranormal activity at each.

“I can understand people who want to see proof, because I was kind of the same way,” said Dolgner. “You have to keep an open mind to things, because there is a lot going on in this world than we can’t see and it’s unfair to limit ourselves [that way].”

When it comes to determining whether something is really paranormal or just circumstantial – something that can easily be explained – Dolgner said, “You have to use your discretion. You have to be objective and try to discount other possibilities before you say something is paranormal.” Avena agreed.

Dolgner believes there’s a grain of truth in everything and in her book, she leaves it up to the reader to decide and interpret whether some of the stories are valid or over-embellished. She recommends that anyone who is interested should go on a ghost tour, discover and see for themselves.

“The scariest thing is the unknown,” said Dolgner.

For a ghost tour in Roswell, visit www.roswellghosttour.com. For a copy of Beth Dolgner’s “Georgia Spirits and Specters,” you can order it on www.Amazon.com or on the Schiffer Publishing website, www.schifferbooks.com. It will also be available in stores within the next few weeks.

Bound to be Read Books in East Atlanta is also hosting a debut party for the book, beginning at 9 p.m. Dolgner said all are welcome, and there might be a team of paranormal investigators there to demonstrate how their equipment works and to share paranormal stories.