Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Are Ghosts from the Titanic Haunting Atlanta's Aquarium?

There is a wonderful exhibit at the Georgia Aquarium right now. It is the famous Titanic exhibit that has been touring the nation as of late. A few years ago, the exhibit was at the Atlanta Civic Center. I went to the exhibit there, and I highly recommend it. Not only can you touch a real piece of the ill-fated liner, but you can see items retrieved from the wreck including dishes, deck chairs, utensils, and other items. It is worth a trip to the Georgia Aquarium to see this. But there may be something else at the aquarium that will fascinate you, and it is not the fish. It may be ghosts from the Titanic itself.

I ran across this story while searching our college's databases for news articles on an historical topic I was pursuing. On Newsbank, an article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution from October 27, 2008 appeared with this story. According to article, there are spooky things going on at the aquarium, and most of it stems from the Titanic exhibit. Aquarium volunteer Margarit Mourino reported that she ". . . could feel like this hand moving over [her] head and through [her] hair." Aquarium spokeswoman Meghann Gibbons said, "We've had a number of volunteers report strange encounters when they were working the Titanic exhibit."

Aquarium officials called in investigators from Roswell Paranormal Investigations. While there they were able to record ethereal voices, saw shadowy figures roaming darkened corridors, and saw a few things that could not be explained. The team uses scientific methods and equipment to conduct their research including meters to detect electromagnetic changes and thermometers to detect drops in temperature. Diana Aveno, founder of Georgia Paranormal and director of the Roswell Paranormal Investigations, helped lead the investigation at the aquarium. While there, one recording device operated by Claudia Lee picked up an eerie response to an innocent equipment related question she asked. She asked a team member in reference to an electromagnetic meter, "Where do you want me to put it?" From nearby, a whispered voice responded, "Down," The voice did not belong to Lee or anyone verifiable.

Avena commented that because of Titanic's tragic history, it made sense that the exhibit would experience residual energy. Avena also reported that an elderly woman haunted the first class cabin replica and a young worker was spotted in a room housing dishes and clothing from the wreckage. In addition, eerie discoveries were made at the aquarium that did not relate to the exhibit itself. One investigator experienced the apparition of a Native American man in a corridor behind what is called the Cold Water Quest area.

So does the traveling Titanic exhibit include ghosts in addition to the hundreds of artifacts, pictures and replicas? Why is there an appartion of a Native American in the halls of the Georgia Aquarium? Was this the result of the Aquarium being built on sacred Native American ground? Or was this just the product of an overactive imagination? I highly recommend the exhibit to my readers, and who knows, visitors to the exhibit may get to see a really neat artifact-a lost soul from the disaster. It is worth the trip nonetheless.

2 comments:

Meg said...

What is the official name of the 'traveling' exhibit? I have researched several sites online but want to make sure I have the right one. Do you know the official website or where the exhibit is currently? I am a big Titanic fan as well and would love to travel to see the exhibit.

The Professor said...

The exhibit is called the Titanic Aquatic, and is currently at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. The link is below:
http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/visitus/titanicaquatic.aspx