Lake Lanier, a sprawling reservoir located in Georgia, has become synonymous with tragedy and mystery since its creation in 1956. The extensive lake was first constructed in 1956, at a cost of $750,000 in tandem with the Buford Dam. It offers indispensable flood management and acts as an important primary freshwater supply for metro Atlanta. That makes sense, considering it stretches across five counties and draws nearly 14 million visitors annually. …which would make that visitor count ahead of even Niagara Falls! Yet under its beautiful surface rests a more sinister past tainted by tragedy and bloodshed.
The lake’s namesake, Henry Woolsey Lanier, was known for celebrating the natural beauty of the Chattahoochee and Chestatee river valleys. The development of Lake Lanier was made at a devastating public cost to the area’s Native American community. Before the lake could form, Native Americans were forcibly removed by white settlers from their homelands in the region. They forced them further west into Alabama, the Arkansas territory, and what would become Oklahoma.
Perhaps the most heartbreaking tale tied to Lake Lanier is that of Oscarville. Oscarville at the time was a prosperous community with a Black population over 1,100. Unfortunately for the utility, it was mostly underwater when the lake was formed. Within only two months of the lake’s creation, Oscarville’s Black residents disappeared.
The uncomfortable racial tensions that have historically haunted the tri-state area are most clearly depicted by the events that occurred during January of 1987. Civil rights activist Reverend Hosea Williams initiated a series of marches to challenge the county’s longstanding racist legacy. These protests against police brutality were responded to with violence from white supremacist militias, exposing the deep-seated racial tension present in the community.
Lake Lanier is a place filled with tragedy. On Christmas Day in 1964, a horrible accident occurred when a station wagon went off the end of a burnt bridge into the water below. This catastrophic incident resulted in seven deaths. Over the past 70 years, Lake Lanier has become known for its controversial and deadly past. It is nicknamed the Deadliest Lake in America, with an estimated 700 deaths due to boating accidents, drownings, and other causes.
Recent events still stoke fear every time they step onto the lake. In 2023, a killing spree began. A 24-year-old man sustained electrocution injuries after jumping from a crowded dock into the water. His mother spoke of her heartbreak in the interview. I kept reading articles that would say ‘a man is electrocuted.’ No, it wasn’t a man. It was a kid. It was my kid,” she said. She maintained that he never acted in ways she hadn’t seen hundreds of others behave before.
“I wanted people to know that it was not his fault in any way,” – Milner
The Supernatural and Unexplained
The ghost stories around Lake Lanier go beyond fatal drownings. The lake has since turned into an epicenter for ghost stories, supernatural happenings, and urban legends. Dave Kahn, a local resident and operator of pleasure cruises on the lake, spoke to the horrific truths connected with the lake’s legacy.
“How deep do you wanna go? Because there’s a lot of uncomfortable racial truths to this story,” – Kahn
Kahn further warned that a lot of visitors go boating to drink—sometimes not understanding the risks they take when consuming alcohol on the water. “It’s always alcohol-related,” he explained. They don’t think of it as the equivalent of drunk-driving. It’s just what they’re used to.”
As part of the local exploration effort, physical geographer David W. Smith commented on the scary aspects of Lake Powell. Many claim to meet the ghosts who hide underneath her waves. If only folks actually understood what was under the water too still,” Kahn continued.
Aside from these frightening tales, Kahn told us what he thinks about ghostly experiences. “They grab on to ankles, realize they don’t taste good, let them go – and then people say: ‘A spirit just grabbed me!’”
Droughts and Hidden Realities
Lake Lanier’s deadly reputation is further shrouded by its landscape and shifting nature. During severe droughts, water levels drop drastically, exposing the submerged landscape and its artifacts that unveil untold stories of the past. Underwater relics such as faded road signs, brick building facades, and remnants of an auto racetrack emerge from their watery graves during these dry spells.
Longtime residents and curious visitors both cannot help but be fascinated with, and possibly fearful of, what lies beneath the surface of this unusual lake. One TikTok user recounted a personal experience: “All I can tell you is somebody picked me up out the water and walks me to the shore. A Black man. That’s my story, and it’s the truth.
Some people are convinced of the supernatural phenomenon that envelops Lake Lanier. The latter contend that human agency is largely to blame for its sinister past. Local resident Bert Goss shared his fond memories of the lake. He’d argue that lakes aren’t evil—they’re really not, he says—so much as people just make bad choices because they already have a set idea of what lakes should be.
Buchanan offered insight into how individuals navigate their emotions regarding tragic events at Lake Lanier: “You learn to leave your emotions at the surface.”