Out of respect for the owners,
we will not give the actual location of this particular site due to
a history of vandalism and trespassing. Quite frankly, given
the location’s history (more detailed below), we would not want to
be responsible for and would not recommend the amateur or the curious
to explore the area, particularly without prior consent of the owner. We, as of yet, have not been able to obtain permission to officially
investigate the area. All of our visits have been simple drive
through’s and trips of no more than the 3 feet allowed by law from
the main road to take photographs, video, EVP’s and EMF fluctuation
readings. As an additional note, I will say that the only physical
evidence of any type of paranormal activity was a natural EMF reading
spike of 25 on one particular occasion. I have never seen nor
heard of any group getting this type of extreme fluctuation anywhere
else, including our group. We are currently in the process of
attempting to obtain official permission to explore the site, but
have had no word as of yet. Hopefully, we will have more to
present to you at a later date.
Although we will refer to the
location as “Payne Road”, the actual road name was changed sometime
in the 1980’s and is no longer called that. Those who in live
in this area are no doubt familiar with the stories/legends and we
invite you to e-mail us here at admin@eerieinvestigations.org with
your individual experiences. We would love to post each and
every one, no matter how numerous. Maybe together we can make
sense of what is going on there and why this area is so “special”.
This road has been something of an urban legend for
several generations to the local citizens. However, as with
most urban legends there is some truth to many of the stories. First, a description of the location. The road itself remains
fairly straight for quite a distance and is obviously still inhabited
until you reach the Forsyth/Stokes county line. After that,
the road becomes considerably less well cared for and extremely curvy. This area is so spooky that even at this point in the road- still
quite a distance from the actual site of the paranormal activity-you
can feel the tension and dread in the air. Upon our team member
Stacy’s first visit to the area, she “felt” the uneasiness seconds
before I announced that we had reached the spot where the atmosphere
seems to palpably change. This was uncanny in that Stacy was
a complete skeptic about the road after hearing the numerous stories
over the years. These things do not bother her typically. She is very level headed and it takes a lot to disturb her as Payne
Road did. Some of our other investigators have been so bothered
that they refuse to go back to the road to this day.
As you drive
through numerous very sharp twists and turns, there are a number of
shacks along side the road, now overgrown with weeds. According
to one particular legend of the area these were once slave shacks;
however that has not been confirmed. In addition, there are
a few houses with rusted cars out front that appear to have been abandoned
suddenly. It was as if the tenants just got up and left one
day without worry of their material possessions. Finally, a
mile or so down you reach the final almost 90-degree turn. To
your left is the foundation of an old farmhouse, which burned years
ago supposedly due to the misconduct of teenagers who chose this as
a party site. This, however, has also not been confirmed. To the right are numerous barns, typical farm buildings, etc. After you pass the foundation and follow the road around you will
pass over what was once a bridge over a creek, which runs behind the
ruins of the original house. It is now just a paved over pass
and you can barely tell there was ever a need for an actual bridge
here.
We have on one occasion spoken to the local sheriff who
confirmed at least one murder – that of a woman which occurred in
the house, followed by the suicide elsewhere of her killer. In addition, from other sources we have learned that 16 suicides were
committed in or near the vicinity of the house, as well as at least
5 other murders, drownings and hangings.
Also, another odd thing
to mention is that virtually every time a team member has visited
the area, they seem to be almost chased out by mysterious cars and
trucks that seem to come out of nowhere. These vehicles quickly
advance on you from behind and follow you all the way out of the area,
disappearing again before you reach the end of the road in a more
populated area. I would think this was a coincidence, but it
has happened every single time either I or other team members have
visited the area. The last time I was there, when a truck began
tailing us we stopped at a public cemetery just to get off of the
road since he/she was following so closely. After we parked,
I looked behind us just a few moments later to discover two gentlemen
parked in a completely different car some feet away staring at us. We promptly started the engine and left the area quickly.
** Note—DISCLAIMER-- these are only stories and hearsay. None of the accounts have been proven or in any way documented to
prove their validity with the exception of the actual mass murder
mentioned below that occurred several miles away.
The first story
that I heard about this area was that the farmer, who had numerous
slaves, went crazy and murdered his slaves for no apparent reason. Other versions state that he killed his whole family (however this
story is probably a displacement of an actual mass family murder committed
only a few miles away as the crow flies in the early nineteen hundreds). Still other versions say that he was cruel and the slaves murdered
him and his entire family.
In addition, there are rumors of satanic
groups gathering in the area to conduct rituals and sacrifices. I did speak to one eyewitness who, as a teenager, came across a barn
deep in the woods, inside of which the walls were splattered with
blood and there were parts of animal carcasses inside. I can
neither confirm nor deny her reliability as a witness, as I do not
know her well, I only know the story she told.
Also, supposedly
a slave was hung from a particular tree near where the bridge used
to be. If you stopped your car on it, turned off the engine,
got out and whistled the song, “Dixie”, your car would refuse to start
up again. **Side note: in this case a co-worker of mine
actually tried this as a teenager more than 15 years ago and swears
it to be true. He’s a very truthful, reliable person and I tend
to believe him.
Why have so many things occurred
in such a small area? I’m sure the truth will never be known,
but our team members do have a theory. We believe the site is
located directly upon a major “ley” line. The area near the
house fits all of the qualifications—there is a water source surrounding
it (the creek) and there is a steep hill with massive rock formations. Very simply put, it is an “energy point”, although I have to say that
energy is clearly negative. This would explain the mental instability
of those who lived in the area for any length of time as well as the
palpable “charged” feeling in the air. Our absurdly high EMF
reading further supports this—and yes our equipment was working properly
that day as it was double-checked to be sure our reading was correct.
At the end of the day it is up to you to decide. Those
who are familiar with the area or those who may have theories just
based on what you’ve read here are eagerly invited to give your thoughts
and musings on the subject at admin@eerieinvestigations.org .
Again
we would love to post your thoughts and stories here!
