A Night At Spooky Royal Palm Cafe
by Ryan Deter
A team of paranormal
investigators visited the
Royal Palm Cafe and Inn
in Forysth to check out
some spirited guests.
Ten members of Research and Investigation of the Paranormal, or RIP, spent Saturday night and Sunday morning setting up equipment, recording audio and video and searching for evidence of ghostly activity in the 100-year-old building on West Main Street in Forysth, Georgia.
Image: Local residents have suspected for years that the cafe on West Main Street is haunted
“It’s just what we love to do,” said Olivia Newton, the organizer of the Gwinnett County-based paranormal investigation group.
“It’s a hobby, we don’t get paid for it but when someone is excited, or scared enough to let us come down, then we definitely do it.”
That someone, Sue Fowler, manages the Royal Palm. Fowler says since she and her husband Jim started renting the property two years ago, they’ve witnessed strange occurrences all over the building.
“Doors opening, then closing, then opening again, lights going on and off, blinds going up and down, we’ve seen a lot,” said Fowler. “At first we were skeptical, or figured other people were in the building, but too many times when I was alone or just with my husband, we’ felt like we weren’t alone. Guests have experienced it, too.”
One of those guests, Betty Mock, used to live in the building before the Fowlers turned it into the Royal Palm. She says she remembers similar phenomena happening to her at night.
“Pictures would fall down, or objects would move,” said Mock. “At first I thought I was going crazy and I would keep asking myself ‘Did I put that there, did I leave the door open, is anyone else in here besides me?’ but after awhile I was convinced there were ghosts.”
Ghosts or no ghosts, Newton says she and her team aren’t out to convince anyone of life beyond death, or absolute proof of paranormal activity.
“We’re here to have fun and if we can, find an explanation of what’s going on,” she said. “And if things can’t be explained, so be it.”
Fowler says she’s OK as well if it turns out her building isn’t officially haunted. But she says don’t expect her or her guests to ignore what they see and hear.
“We’ll be on the lookout as always,” she said with a smile. “I never thought it would come to having paranormal investigators stay over so I’m just enjoying the experience.”
An experience that she says the people of the Royal Palm, “both alive and dead,” won’t soon forget.
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