Sometimes, we learn lessons as we write, this was one of those cases

There’s not many legends that we come across where we simply can’t confirm the history one way or the other, during the investigation into this one, we actually had to back track after our followers sent in tips and corrected us.  Middle Georgia Haunted History is proud to have a following of people who interact with us (our readers) and help us confirm it.  As always, we must first cover the history; here’s what we know:

This Dodge County tale has been written by three different people in three different books (including Mr. Jim Miles himself) as well as a few locals we spoke with.  Some had answers, and some did not.  We’ve chosen to present this “haunted” topic with the consistencies shared by these authors.

Our subject today begins with a woman dating back to the 1920’s.  Some called her “Sammy” King, while others called her “Ethel” King.  We found no written historical record on either.

According to the folklore we’ve read, she enjoyed storms when they came through on any given Eastman night.  She lived by herself as well but would always leave the shutters open to enjoy the southern sky, lighting up with every burst of thunder. 

One night, however, something terrible happened.  The first story we read claimed that she began to get scared and went to close her shutters out of fear.  Another explained it as if she was just getting ready to retire for the night and was ready to close them.  Either way, they all agree on one thing:  the minute she went close to her window, lightning struck her, and she passed away.

As mentioned before, we couldn’t find any record of her death, but this county didn’t begin to keep exact death records until around the time she would have passed away passed.  Either way, all versions of this story line up with the Kight family purchasing the home after it had been demolished and rebuilt it.  Specifically, Bob and Betty Kight. 

According to the authors, they purchased the home and began raising their family in it in the early 1960s.  By the 1970s, the ghostly happenings and frequent visits from Ms. King herself caused them to build another home just 200 yards away, leaving the original to her ghost.

We did indeed confirm there are Kights matching the names mentioned in the written stories via tax records. However, from what we found, the years were not exact.  We also found what we think is the home and property.  The roads used in the written lore either didn’t exist or no longer exist (maybe its local nicknames for the roads).   Because of the age of the people we found, we decided not to reach out to them and let it continue to be a local legend.

It’s said that Ms. King still roams the area near where the garden once was.  Her story is one of the most profound and even defined ones we’ve ever come across.  According to the legends, there were quite a few detailed encounters between King and Mrs. Kight.

Due to this being a private residence in a small town, we’ve decided to leave out some names and roads.  We feel like it’s up to the locals to tell their own part of what is true and what is not about Ms. Ethel, or Sammy King.  Pictured below is close to the location we believe to be behind it all.

Because we are history oriented and not paranormal investigators, we invite you to look into the story and choose for yourself, but we simply couldn’t leave this one alone because it was so fascinating.

(After sharing this story to our Facebook Page, we obtained more resources and people reached out to us.  The Following is the update to our discoveries)

Middle Georgia Haunted History is and always will be dedicated to bringing you the most factual information as we possibly can when we explore a local legend, “haunted” locations, or “ghost” story.  We, as a team, feel an obligation to the community we serve in our quest to get everyone interested in the history of their areas.  We never said we were perfect, but our promise to you is to always be diligent.

With that said, we chose to revisit the Kight case in Dodge County with some new information we obtained.  Before we do that, we want to explain a few things to the community we feel are extremely important.

The first is that we have a mission.  Preservation, not desecration.  To get everyone involved in keeping history sacred.  To spark an interest so magnificent in the younger generation that it inspires them to want to take care of their community.  It will never be for the purpose to cause harm.  If we ever feel that we are hurting Middle Georgia, we will cease our efforts.

Secondly, we never dispute a “haunting.”  We will only dispute historical facts if they don’t line up.  Keeping that in mind, we never doubted the happenings that the Kight family (specifically Mrs. Kight) experienced.  It was only the fact that we couldn’t find a record of a “King” having lived and died in that manner, in that time frame.  We found this story in several books, news articles, magazines, and even online posts before we investigated it.  We certainly weren’t the first to present it.

Lastly, we are so appreciative of all the support we’ve gotten over the last month.  We use that as “fuel” to continue to bring you the very best stories we can.  The more support we have, the easier it is for someone to let us interview them or tour their property.  You, our followers, and supporters help us convey the message that we have carried from the start.  We invite everyone to view our pinned post for more information about us and what we hope to achieve.

Having said all of that, as mentioned above, we were not the first to present this story.  Crazy enough, we think we may be the first ones to confirm it’s history.

Once we finished that local tale, we received several tips from Dodge County locals.  Some who had heard these encounters firsthand.  We decided to “reopen” the case.  We indeed found new information.

We decided to open census records and death records.  We found a slew of “Kings” during the 1900-1930s timeframe in Dodge County.

Specifically, we found a Flodie King who passed away as a widow in September of 1928.  One year off from the original folklore.  This is common.

Now, we do not know exactly how she passed away or where, but we do know she existed, and she fits the description almost perfectly.  Below is her death certificate (we’ve blurred out some information to protect her resting place).  As far as we are concerned, this historical update confirms this legend.  It may, in fact, not be her but it is proof that Kings lived in the area and makes the claims more factual.

I owe the great people of Dodge County a huge thank you for their hospitality and their quick response to what we wrote.  I also appreciate you being interested in my work and promise to always help the best we can when we are in your area.  As I’ve always said, you are Middle Georgia Haunted History, just as much as I am!

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