Devil’s Kitchen
photo taken from georgia.org
The area known as Devil’s Kitchen in Tallapoosa, Georgia is one mile off U.S. Highway 78 on Old Ridgeway Road. It was thought to get its name from the moonshine that was made in the creek valley. There are also supposed tales of Satanic worship and witchcraft that has been performed in the area that have most likely added to the name, although nothing has ever been proven. The area is beautiful and secluded; a great place to visit for people who love nature.
Key’s Castle was a grape vineyard that existed in the late 1800s. Since that time, it has always been known as a place of haunting. Many different ghost stories have been told about the castle, but most of them don’t reveal the true history behind the legend. One of these stories consists of a lady who was killed because she was a crime witness, but this isn’t true. The real story is one of tragedy.
The legend of the ghosts begins in 1962, when a woman named Mary Moore Newman was taken behind Key’s castle and strangled to death. She was strangled due to an affair that wasn’t going as planned. Two men watched Mary as she went to the grocery store, and went into her house during this time. When she did return, the two men took her into their car, brought her to Devil’s Kitchen, and killed her. Following this, they dumped off her body in a well near Friendship Church in Muscadine, Alabama.
The legend says that you can hear Mary screaming for help from the well while walking past it. Teenagers played a prank on one of their friends a few years after this. They left him at Walker Creek Bridge, where he fell into the creek and drowned. Legend has it that you can see the figure of the young boy in and around the Walter Creek Bridge, awaiting his abandoned friends. Years later in the 1980s, an enormous flood hit Devil’s Kitchen. There was a mother with her two young children who were caught up in the raging waters. She was able to put her children on the roof of the car while she went for help, but when she came back the waters had taken the car far down and way out of reach for anyone to rescue. These examples are just few of many that cast a shadow over this region, seemingly for eternity.
(Source: Belanger, Jeff. Encyclopedia of Haunted Places. 2005.)
I’m a member of West Ga. Paranormal Investigations. It was suggested we investigate Key’s Castle. Do you know how we could ge in touch with anyone so we could do this? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
the women with two kids was my granpas sister
I run Happy Hauntings Paranormal Group and we have also been told to investigate Key’s Castle, but just like West. GA Paranormal, we cannot find out who to contact for permission. If anyone knows who we can get in contact with then please email me at HappyHauntingsGa@aol.com
I know that the Key Foundation on Golf Course Road was the last known owners for the Key Castle. I also know that the story behind Mary Moore Newman is true. Her husband at the time just recently passed and her story was brought to light again. I’ve driven past the castle many, many times, and have failed to go past without my skin crawling…even before knowing the history of the area.
The castle was home to Father Janishek, the Hungarian Priest responsible in part for organizing the Hungarian Colonies back in the 1800′s. His spirit is said to still wander the house.
Actually my mom and dad, Kevin and Rhonda are both members of the West Georgia Paranormal Investigation team and if you know them i’m sure they could give you information on how to investigate there. I have been to Key’s Castle and felt things there before.
My mom and dad, Kevin and Rhonda Clark are on the same team too. (WGPI).
I’ve been there before and i definately think you guys should investigate there.
I was just at the Castle recently and I didnt feel anything. No spirits exist. It is a beautiful home and i would love to purchase it and fix it.
My fiance and I just recently moved to the Tallapoosa area and a cousin of mine told us we should check out the castle. I love “ghost hunting” and she thought I would find it interesting. We waited until night to walk up to the house and I must say I felt a great deal of presence there. It gave me a very bad feeling and I did not want to go any closer. Before I left I snapped a photo with my digital camera and when I viewed the picture when i got home there looked to be a couple of orbs in it. My fiance is a nonbeliever but I know the difference between dust and orbs. I always have felt like I feel things that others don’t. If anyone would like to view the pic for further investigation please email me and I will send it to you. GHOSTGIRL12988@hotmail.com
I have a picture taken just a couple of days ago. Drove by and stopped.
Snapped the picture and left. If you would like to see it. Just email me simon1981@walla.com. I wished there was a way to post it.
@Kate Gardner
Just to let you know your info about who last owned the Key home is very wrong. Mrs. Newman was not killed at the Key home either. It is just an old house that because of wrong info and people sight seeing has almost been destroyed. There are no ghost or spirits to investigate. This place is POSTED and anyone caught trespassing may face charges.
I dont know about ownership of this house… but Mary Moore Newman was murdered out behind it…she is a relative…and the family history is in tact thank you Mrs. Wanda
Im a former member WGP and have I visited the castle on several different occasions and have found no evidence of a haunting. Not to there isn’t cuz I know the stories behind the castle are true about mary being murdered. But I have no conclusive info that would leave me to believe that its haunted..
But the bridge at devils kitchen where the boy drown and the two kids got swept away we did have some strange things going on down there.. We seen this bright greenish looking orb appearing and disappearing very frequently as if it was walking up and down the edge of the creek right close to the bridge. This we found real interesting. We snapped alot of pics and got nothing. But we all seen it appear and disappear for at least 5mins. Really awesome thing to of witnessed
For all of you who would investigate ‘on your own,’ you should remember you are trespassing on private property. I have noticed that does not matter to amateur ghost hunters who have no sense of responsibility and think nothing of breaking into a locked building.
Just because a rumor is attached does not make a site public property.