America's underwater ghost towns: Tales from the deep of bizarre deaths, ... trends now
Deep in the waters of US lakes lie forgotten towns lost to the waves of time - and some are rumored to carry more than just memories.
Several are said to be haunted - a theory supported by an abundance of fatalities at one lake constructed atop an abandoned burial ground.
Photos show some of what's been lost over the years - to make way for dams and hydroelectric power stations.
But like most things, there is more to these lakes than meets the eye - so let's dive in.
Lake Lanier (Georgia)
The supposedly haunted Lake Lanier, notorious for an outsized amount of bizarre drownings and electrocution deaths over the years, is one of several manmade lakes found in the state of Georgia.
Making it stand out though, is the fact that it was constructed atop burial grounds in the 1950s, and has seen more than 70 fatalities involving boats and 140 drowning deaths since. In 2019, a fisherman came across a body in a minivan floating in the lake's waters.
It's little wonder there is now uproar over plans to build a 30mph 'waterslide coaster' atop this chilling spot.
Beneath the lake lies rooftops, home foundations, cemeteries, and a thoroughfare that once comprised the town of Oscarville.
According to historians, many of the towns structures were never removed, because officials thought it was too expensive of an undertaking at the time.
More than 200 bodies have been pulled from Georgia's Lake Lanier since 1994. The manmade lake was built on top of black communities in the early 20th century
In 2019, a fisherman came across a body in a minivan floating in the lake's waters.
Beneath the lake lies rooftops, home foundations, cemeteries, and a thoroughfare that once comprised the town of Oscarville
It was created by the completion of Buford Dam on the Chattahoochee River in 1956, and is fed by the waters of the Chestatee River. Rumored to be lost was several unmarked graves, an occurrence many theorized could be contributing to some of the lake's unexplained dangers.
According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division, 216 people have died at the lake between 1994 and 2022.
In just one week in September last year, three people lost their lives in Lake Lanier, adding to the death toll which does not even include suicides or medical emergencies.
The lake, build in 1956 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has more than 38,000 acres of water and hosts several million visitors a year.
Located around an hour's drive from Atlanta, the lake covers 60 square miles with depths of up to 160 feet.
The lake provides drinking water for about 5 million people, according to the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper conservation group.
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One explanation for the shocking death toll of Lake Lanier could be the treacherous underwater traps, according to a 2023 Washington Post article
Buford Dam at the lake's southern end generates hydroelectric power for the metro Atlanta area.
Before the 1950s, the current location of the lake was home to a small Black community in the town of Oscarville, notorious for being the site of a lynching in 1912.
To build the lake, the town was emptied, and in 1947, most residents were driven away. The remnants of the town, including graves located within the town's burial grounds, were subsequently flooded during the construction in 1950.
One explanation for the shocking death toll of Lake Lenier could be the treacherous underwater traps, according to a 2023 Washington Post article.
'When the lake was constructed, they didn't remove every single structure from the area before flooding it,' Dee Gillespie, a professor of U.S. history at the University of North Georgia, said.
'That means if you are swimming, you are more likely to get caught up in something.'
Last year, Lake Lanier made national headlines when Usher's ex-wife Tameka Foster, 52, collected more than 2,500 signatures for a petition imploring official to drain the lake.
It comes after her 11-year-old son Kile Glover was struck and killed on the lake 12 years ago by Jeffrey Hubbard, a close friend of Kile's father Ryan Glover, as he was driving a jet ski in a 'reckless' way with no hands.
Foster said: 'Draining, cleaning, and restoring Lake Lanier is not only necessary but also an opportunity to honor the memory of those who have lost their lives and prevent further tragedies.'
Fontana Lake (North Carolina)
These entries - yes, entries - takes us to one of the most remote regions of The Smoky Mountains.
The area, nestled along the Western edge of North Carolina, sports not one, but two forgotten locales - both lost to the sands of time.
The first is the ghost town of Judson, now underwater, deep below the clear waters of Fontana Lake.
The second is the abandoned ghost town of Proctor, which is also partially submerged, and hidden deep within the woods of the well-known range.
Judson had a population of around 600 people in the first part of the past century, as well as a simple array of shops, a sawmill and a post office.
That changed in the 1930s, when Swain County sold the town and surrounding lands to the federal government, who planned to flood the ancestral lands to held build the Atom Bomb.
Judson had a population of around 600 people in the first part of the past century, as well as a simple array of shops, a sawmill and a post office
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The bid saw both Fontana Lake and Great Smoky Mountains National Park created, as well as a dam built to produce hydroelectric power.
The dam - used to power the nearby station that also produced ships, aircraft, and munitions for the American World War II effort - still stands today, a landmark indelibly linked to the past.
That said, what was gained by the war effort came at the cost of the people, whose town was sadly submerged.
The highest points of the sunken town can still be seen today, when the lake is at extremely low levels. Foundations, graves, and other remnants can be spotted by those who venture onto the water by boat - otherwise, snapshots are all that remain.
If submerged ruins are not you're thing, venture to the other side of the lake to find what remains of Proctor, some of which can still be found hidden in the woods of the government-owned park.
A hike along the lake's north shore while yield some of structures - foundations, the odd fireplace, and parts of a town cemetery.
The parts that are not underwater can be accessed via the park's backcountry trails, while the rest of the sunken city, like Judson, remains underwater.
The area, nestled along the Western edge of North Carolina, sports not one, but two forgotten locales - both lost to the sands of time
A road was built, but due to various issues - like short funding after the war - only 6 miles were ever finished
Proctor was flooded shortly after the dam's construction in 1944, during which time the land seized by the government,
Prior to it being flooded, the town's residents needed to be relocated, and were thus were promised a 30-mile road along the lake's northern rim - a promise that never came to fruition.
A road was built, but due to various issues - like short funding after the war - only 6 miles were ever finished.
The road had been meant to provide a link to former town cemeteries only accessible by trails, but now leads nowhere.
Access to these cemeteries were obstructed by the newly-flooded lake - then only accessible by ferry, now by boat.
On a map, the road is known as Lakeview Drive, but locally, it has a different name - The Road To Nowhere, or, A Broken Promise.
One can catch a glimpse of the gravestones and the rest of the ghost town if the water is clear enough, with the rest absorbed by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Proctor was flooded shortly after the dam's construction in 1944, during which time the land seized by the government
The dam - used to power the nearby station that also produced ships, aircraft, and munitions for the American World War II effort - still stands today, a landmark indelibly linked to the past
On a map, the road meant to help people leave the town that was later flooded is known as Lakeview Drive
However, locally, it has a different name - The Road To Nowhere, or, A Broken Promise
Lake Burton (Georgia)
Another underwater ghost town in Georgia, Burton was once a farm town of some 200 people.
It was founded in the early 1800s as one of the state's first gold rush towns, but when the gold dried up, the land was wettened and transformed into a lake.
Now a summer hotspot for families in the north part of the state, the resultant lake is one of four yielded by damming sections of the Tallulah River - another government-minded operation to produce hydroelectric power, this time for Atlanta.
The effort, finished in 1917, saw the largest town in Rabun County suffer the same fate as those above.
First, though, the town founded by Scotch-Irish settlers in the early 1800s was bought by the Georgia Railway and Electric Company - who made the call to have it sunk.
Another underwater ghost town in Georgia, Burton was once a farm town of some 200 people
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During the relocation of residents, graves were raised and moved beyond the shoreline, and small cemeteries are still a common sight today along the roads surrounding the lake.
However, for those who still reside in the area, countless stories have been told of cemeteries that still lie beneath, and haunting from those interned in the watery graves.
As for the rest of the tow, it is no more - washed away as the rivers rose to form the sprawling reservoir.
The city had been located on an old road that ran from Clayton to the Nachoochee Valley, and had a railroad that brought lumber in from the nearby mountains for construction and kindling..
The dam was built on December 22, 1919, after which the flooding began.
Lake Jocassee (South Carolina)
Lake Jocassee is located in South Carolina - and holds a few interesting secrets.
The main one is Mt. Carmel Cemetery - one of several portions of the Keowee Village sent to the bottom of the lake in 1973.
Like other entries, the valley was flooded to create a reservoir for a new nuclear power plant, leaving the waters of Whitewater rive to envelop the city.
Today, the cemetery - once featured in the infamous movie Deliverance - as well as Whitewater Bridge, Camp
