Barnsley Gardens Resort

English cotton baron Godfrey Barnsley purchased 8,000 acres of former Cherokee land in the 1840s to build an estate for his wife Julia. Despite warnings from Cherokee natives about the sacred ground, construction began in 1844.

Barnsley Gardens Resort was built on 8,000 acres of former Cherokee land in the 1840s by English cotton baron Godfrey Barnsley. He intended to create a magnificent estate for his beloved wife Julia, but an old Cherokee man warned him the land was sacred - if he built there, he would be cursed. Barnsley ignored the warning.

Julia died of tuberculosis in 1845 before the manor was completed. Heartbroken, Godfrey halted construction for a time before finishing the estate in 1848. This was only the beginning of the Barnsley family's misfortunes.

The Civil War brought devastation when the Battle of Adairsville raged across the grounds. A friend rode to warn Godfrey of the approaching troops but was shot and killed before he could deliver the message. Godfrey buried him behind the mansion. After the war, Godfrey died in 1873 with little money to his name. On his deathbed, he begged a minister to rid the evil curse from his property. In 1906, a tornado blew the roof off the home. In 1935, one of Godfrey's great-grandsons murdered his brother in a dispute over control of the property - bloodstains remain visible on the floor today.

Julia is known as "The Guardian of the Gardens," her ghostly figure often seen walking among the flowers in front of the ruined manor house. Godfrey's spirit shuffles through the mansion's study, where he often worked in life. The most heartwarming sighting is of the couple strolling through the gardens together at dusk - finally reunited in death.

A playful child haunts the Adair House, with laughter, footsteps, and moving toys reported regularly. A man in a suit and top hat watches from near the Rice House. The estate was revived in 1988 by Prince Hubertus Fugger of Bavaria and now operates as a luxury resort - with ghosts included.