Kennesaw State University DigitalCommons@Kennesaw State University Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects 7-1-2012 Ghosts Among the Kudzu Melissa Davis Kennesaw State University Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/etd Part of the Creative Writing Commons Recommended Citation Davis, Melissa, "Ghosts Among the Kudzu" (2012). Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects. Paper 514. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@Kennesaw State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Kennesaw State University. Ghosts Among the Kudzu By Melissa Davis A capstone project submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Professional Writing in the Department of English In the College of Humanities and Social Sciences of Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, Georgia 2012 Melissa Davis Ghosts Among the Kudzu Website Contents 1. The Path to My Capstone Introduction Essay 2. Theoretical Analysis of my Capstone Project 3. Website Pages a. Ghosts, ghouls, and things that go bump in the night b. Why are we so fascinated with these apparitions? Article c. North Georgia Ghosts by County I. Bartow County a. Barnsley Gardens’ Ghosts Article II. Carroll County III. Catoosa County IV. Cherokee County a. New Hightower Baptist Church Article V. Clark County a. Town and Gown: Ghosts of Athens and the University of Georgia Article VI. Cobb County a. 3 Bears Café Article b. Kennesaw House Article c. Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield Article d. Kolb Ridge Tatum House Article e. Marietta Square Article f. MacKracken’s Article VII. Coweta County VIII. Dawson County IX. Dekalb County X. Douglas County XI. Fannin County XII. Fayette County XIII. Floyd County a. The Green Lady of Berry College Article XIV. Forsyth County XV. Franklin County XVI. Fulton County a. Roll Call at Oakland Cemetery Article b. Runaway Bride Article c. Spirits Star at the Shakespeare Tavern Article d. The Ghost Warning at Masquerade Article e. Transporting Ghosts at Anthony’s Article XVII. Gilmer County XVIII. Gwinnett County XIX. Habersham County XX. Hall County XXI. Heard County XXII. Henry County XXIII. Lumpkin County a. Bethy’s Ghost at the Hall Building Article b. Criminals at Corkscrew Café Article c. Dahlonega Gold Museum Article d. Doing time at the Oyster Bar Article e. Haunted House for sale Article XXIV. Morgan County XXV. Pickens County XXVI. Polk County XXVII. Spaulding County XXVIII. Towns County XXIX. Union County XXX. Walker County XXXI. Whitfield County XXXII. Article Works Cited Page d. Why are we so fascinated with the paranormal? Article e. How long have we been hunting? Article f. How do you hunt for ghosts? Article g. What are the tools of the trade? Article h. Links to Paranormal Hunting Groups i. Discussion Forum j. How do you choose the right ghost tour? Article k. Links to Local Ghost Tours l. Fiction I. Sarah’s Ghosts Excerpt II. Ghost Hunters, Inc. Excerpt III. The Gate House m. Young Adult Book Reviews n. Non-Fiction Book Reviews 4. Resume Ghosts among the Kudzu: Georgia Ghosts and Legends A MAPW Capstone Project Melissa Davis 2012 M. Davis Capstone 2 The Path to My Capstone My mother read to me as a child. I have always found comfort and solace in the written word. My childhood was an average one. While we were not abundantly wealthy, my parents and I were happy. I was surrounded by family and friends and knew my place in the world. I found books to be the gateway to worlds and new friends (Winnie the Pooh, Laura Ingalls, Raggedy Ann and Andy) I did not have in my reality. Being an only child and having to constantly entertain myself led me to develop a large imagination. I have always had stories running around in my head. During my teenage years, my life was far from perfect. There was a move to the other side of the state, financial hardships, and a completely different feel to our family unit. There was anger and frustration. Again the stories interceded and helped me stay afloat. I turned to more sinister stories however; Greek myths and Stephen King filled my bookshelf along with a healthy dose of the Young Love from Silhouette series. It was during this time that I truly began to create worlds of my own. I floundered in college, unsure of which direction my life should or would take. I vacillated between science and literature classes, but finally settled on a degree in English literature, and I continued to write. I developed a love of classic literature – Shakespeare, Hemmingway, the Bronte sisters, Tolkien, and Dickens joined the books on my shelves. When I graduated, I found myself to be well-read, but with very little job prospects or any idea of what to do next . I was still writing, but like my life, it was M. Davis Capstone 3 wavering too. My stories had little focus, and I found I had great beginnings but the story lines never went anywhere. I wanted to work in “the book business” so I found myself working for Barnes and Noble opening a new store. I can still remember the first day we began stocking shelves for the store opening. I was surrounded by boxes and boxes of these tomes of various authors. There were booksellers in every area except the children’s department. It stood empty except for the books and sparkling new shelves. I wandered back there, opened a few boxes and rediscovered some old friends. I began to work. No one joined me, and I found I liked it. I had already staked my claim. This was my area, my department. I worked for days back in the children’s section developing my own system and laying out the areas according to my ideas. After a few days, the store manager approached me and asked if I would manage the department. I realized that I had been the only bookseller brave enough to venture back to this department. Children’s books were apparently intimidating. It was a strange concept to me. I understood the different categories and loved the variety of formats and topics. I felt comforted and was for the first time in a while, at home again. I eagerly accepted the job. I relished this new-found direction. I loved children’s books. I loved the feel, the smell, and the bright souls these books had. They were the beginning; these books were a reader’s gateway drug to a life-long love of reading. As I rediscovered old friends from my childhood and found new ones, I realized that here was my direction. I wanted to write these books. I wanted to see my name on the picture book wall. I wanted to walk down the young reader’s section and see my name on a series. I wanted to be a children’s author, but that wasn’t all. In managing the children’s department, I worked hand in hand with the public M. Davis Capstone 4 relations person at our store. She let me control the children’s events, help schedule the author signings, and completely develop Storytime, where we showcased different authors, topics, or characters twice a week. Storytime also include monthly “story character” visits and celebration parties with book signings. This public relations job was almost as fascinating to me as becoming a writer was. I enjoyed the organization and developing the events, as well as, the creative ideas behind drawing customers in and developing a following for our weekly Storytime. I came to understand that my direction was two-fold. I wanted to write, yes, but I also wanted to plan. I wanted to have a hand in developing a company’s relationship with the public. After four years in the children’s department, I moved into the position of community relations manager. I was able to begin using my talent for writing to promote authors, store events, and children’s activities. I was also able to improve customer relations and encourage more consumer sales through the numerous flyers, calendars, mail-outs, and signage I created. I stayed there for another three years. When the book business began to change, I did too. I found I wanted to teach writing. I wanted to inspire others to become writers. I got my teaching certificate and began teaching language arts in middle school. I carried over that love of promoting and organizing into my teaching position. I created new and improved programs like our celebration to reward the students who met and exceeded the 25 Book Campaign Georgia Standard, which requires all students to read a minimum of 25 books in a school year. I also created a brochure for our media center to encourage and help students become familiar with the layout and various opportunities and activities available to them. I constantly used my gift of words to create engaging lesson plans, M. Davis Capstone 5 department activities, as well as grade-level informational and promotional materials to send to parents. After eight years of teaching I decided to pursue my master’s degree. Since my bachelor’s degree was not in education, I decided to get my master’s degree in writing. I wanted to write and explore other opportunities for writers. I chose the Kennesaw State University Master’s in Professional Writing program. With a major in Applied Writing, I would be able to fulfill my goal of writing promotional material for a public relations company or a non-profit organization. With a minor in Creative Writing, I would be able to fulfill my desire to write and publish children’s and teen fiction to encourage and promote higher order thinking skills and imagination.