Marietta Georgia

Kolb Ridge Court

This exclusive housing development was built on a Civil War Battlefield – uh oh!

Spirits of Civl War Soldiers casually take strolls through these homes.

One fun-loving spirit decided to stay!

kolb-ridge-paranormal

DESCRIPTION

The Kolb Ridge Court development is an exclusive subdivision of houses, built on beautiful rolling hills and among wooded areas. These property lots didn’t make it into the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park.

Jim and Kay Tatum bought a property lot, and built their retirement home, not worried about its infamous location. The Tatum’s house has two stories, including an attic with pull down stairs. The first floor probably has a powder room or full bathroom. The upstairs has a master bedroom with an on suite bathroom. Several guest rooms are also on the second floor.

HISTORY

The Kolb Creek Farm was the sight of a Civil War skirmish where soldiers died, near Kennesaw Mountain, known as The Battle of Kolb’s Farm, on June 22, 1864.

The clash lrg an estimated 1350 casualties: 1350 (Union: 350, Confederates: 1,000). It happened around the time of the major battle at Kennesaw Mountain, when General Sherman and his troops tried to defeat Confederate General Joe Johnson’s troops, who had dug in around the mountain.

Johnson’s troops held their position for awhile, costing the union troops the loss of several thousand lives. The Union side did eventually manage to take land from the Confederates on Kennesaw Mountain, and pushed the Confederates out of the Kolb farmland as well. The Union forces made the headquarters for Union General Joseph Hooker in the Kolb farmhouse. Later, the farmhouse was turned into a temporary field hospital.

After the Civil War ended, the Kolb family moved back to their very damaged home, and fields. They eventually were able to remove all the elements of war and farm again for several generations.

Unlike other battlegrounds like Gettysburg and Mannassas that have all of their battle areas protected in their own national parks, much of the Kolb Farm battlefield area has been altered and fragmented, broken up and sold in parcels.

“Residential subdivisions have hemmed in the park land and overwhelmed the battlefield landscape beyond the park boundary, including the heights from which the Confederates began their assault.”

(https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Tatum_House)

However, the Kolb Farmhouse and the Kolb Family Cemetery were included in the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, preserving it for posterity.

At some point, in the 1980s, a section of the Kolb Farm property was sold to developers who were attracted to the area as a possible great spot for an upscale housing development, called Kolb Ridge Court, not thinking about the fact that a thousand Confederate soldiers died here, plus those who died of their wounds in the Kolb farmhouse field hospital.

Soon, the development company began to sell lots to interested buyers, who would then let the company know what they wanted in their new houses.

The homes were built here in 1986, much to the joy of both the new owners, and the spirits who had died here. Uh Oh!

HISTORY OF MANIFESTATIONS

When structures are built or exist beforehand on Civil War battle sites, spirits attached to the land can move into them.

Gettysburg Battlefield National Park, PA (Spirits who died at the mini treatment centers in existing buildings near the battlefield, like to stay and visit where they died).

Manassas National Battlefield Park Visitor’s Center, VA (The Visitor’s Center building and its parking lot were built on land found on top of Henry Hill where fierce bloody battles took place between the Union and Confederate soldiers. The spirits of the men killed there like to wander into the center and see all the exhibits as well as get some chuckles at the expense of the staff).

The Little Bighorn National Monument, MT (Buildings that were built on the battleground area, like the Visitor’s Center and houses for the staff, have been favorite places for some of the spirits of the soldiers).

Kolb Ridge Court, GA (Spirits of soldiers who died fighting in the Kolb Farm area, like to walk through the houses built there. One such home was Jim and Kay Tatum’s new house, which was just down the road from the Historic Kolb Farm House).

Spirits of soldiers who often left their bodies quickly, or suffered until they died of their wounds, miss their lives and decide to continue as best they can, being in touch with the living, and finding ways to amuse themselves as young men like to do.

General Wayne’s Inn, PA (Spirits of Hessian soldiers liked to hang out in the bar area of the restaurant that once was here, as this building was a favorite place for them while alive. They liked to tease the living for chuckles, and drink the restaurant’s tea).

Cashtown Inn, PA (The spirit of a soldier who died inside from his wounds, likes to tease the living by making bedside checks).

Inn At Herr Ridge, PA (The good-natured spirits of wounded soldiers who died here, love to play with modern devices, and find ways to startle the living, both staff and guests).

Kolb Ridge Court, GA (One couple, Mr. and Kayatum, not only had a spirit walking through their house, but the spirit decided to move in with them, after taking a liking to one of their guest rooms. Then, he started to amuse himself by teasing them both for attention, in mischievous, creative ways).

MANIFESTATIONS

This male spirit proved to be a fun-loving handful!

His first Personal Appearance

After a year of living in their house, an apparition decided to move in with them.

One night, both Kay and Jim got up to use the bathroom. Jim went into the bedroom bathroom, while Kay went to the hallway bathroom.

Suddenly she saw a shadowy solid figure of a man silently walk by her open bathroom door. He had a hat on and was wearing a long overcoat, like those worn by soldiers of the Civil War.

He was swinging his arm, like he had a destination in mind, and went down the dark stairs, disappearing suddenly from sight.

She thought that her husband had gone downstairs, but was surprised to find him back in bed!

Playtime with a Drill

About a month later, Kay was reading on her bed after dinner.

During that day, Jame was using an electric drill to fasten a board to the hallway floor, so the pull-down stairs would not gouge the floor.

Suddenly, she heard someone playing with the drill, turning it on and off.

When she could no longer stand it, she ran out in the hallway, to find no one there, and the drill was cold to her touch.

“You can’t see me, but I’m here!”

Another evening, she was upstairs watching a television program.

She started to hear a popping sound, like static electricity coming from the middle of the room.

She walked around the room, trying to find its source.

She then found the popping noise following her around the room, coming closer and closer, backing her into a corner, and finally coming right up to her face.

She quickly ducked down and ran downstairs to find her husband.

Jim came up to investigate, but found nothing.

Being Touched for Attention

While putting her casserole in the microwave, Kay felt two tugs on her blouse.

She turned around and no one was there.

Her husband was puttering around outside.

Feeling His Unseen Presence

Kay often feels a cold spot in the upstairs hallway, and in one of the upstairs guest rooms.

In this guest room, she feels uncomfortable, like she was in someone’s private room.

In a sense, she is, as the ghost had moved in as their guest!

Teasing with the Angel Bell

The couple had a little angel bell in a guest bedroom, which Kay was to ring when she needed her husband for something, because the family room is so far away.

Their ghostly guest started to ring the bell. Jim would come up the stairs, and the ringing would stop when he got to the top.

His wife hadn’t been the one ringing it. When he started back down the stairs, it started ringing again.

The couple decided to try to outsmart the ghost and came up with a pre-planned signal; if Kay would ring it only 3 times, then Jim would know that it was her.

It didn’t work. The bell rang 3 times, and once again Jim was fooled.

In exasperation, he announced that he wouldn’t be answering any more bells. The bell stopped ringing.

Realizing His Need for Attention

After having no incidents for 4 months, the teasing started up again.

Kay Tatum was reading in bed late at night. She started to hear the change coins that Jim kept in a wooden bowl on top of his dresser, methodically being dropped one by one into the wooden bowl.

She ran down the stairs to find her husband, who once again came up to the bedroom and found nothing going on.

It was at this point, that Kay began to understand that this teasing by their resident ghost guest was happening when either of them were busy with something else, and not thinking about what ghostly occurrence is going to happen next.

House Swap Guests’ Experiences

After doing a house swap with their friends for a mini-vacation, their friends had their first encounter.

Just three days into their stay, the alarm clock in the master bedroom went off and jarred them awake.

PARANORMAL FINDINGS

Besides the personal experiences of the Tatums and their friends, they asked experts for an opinion. Experts believe that the couple were the victims of poltergeist activity, from either a spirit or by psychokinesis, “a hidden psychic power in a person’s mind that unconsciously moves objects through space.” (https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Tatum_House)

On the October 26, 1988 Halloween episode of Unsolved Mysteries, The Tatum house was one of the places featured. While the show didn’t film the outside of the home because the Tatums were trying to sell it, they did film inside where all the incidents happened.

Jim and Kay asked parapsychologist Dr. William Roll to investigate. His findings were inconclusive. He said that it could either be a ghost or psychokinesis.

STILL HAUNTED?

Probably so, unless the new owners had a medium move the spirit on, or the spirit decided to find another house to reside in.

The Tatums decided to sell their home as they felt it wasn’t their home anymore. In 1993, Jim and Kay moved to Winter Springs, Florida, after finally selling their home