Posted on 01/23/2011 2:22:55 PM PST by Hotlanta Mike
The Syfy TV channel wants to shoot an epsiode in a Savannah cemetery, but city officials won't approve the idea.
Producers want to film an episode of "Fact or Faked," which would examine a tourist's 2008 claim that he filmed a ghostly image of a boy running through the cemetery.
Acting City Manager Rochelle Small-Toney and Jerry Flemming, director of cemeteries, say they're following city policy on the use of cemeteries.
"The municipal cemeteries are not for sensational or entertainment purposes. Any tours or events marketed as haunted, paranormal, or involving ghosts, spiritualists or mediums are strictly prohibited from any of the municipal cemeteries," the policy states.
Aldermen Tony Thomas, Mary Ellen Sprague, Clifton Jones and Larry Stuber agreed the sanctity of the cemetery and the respect owed to the deceased and their families has to be considered.
"I have to think if it were my relatives that were buried there, would I want a film crew crashing about on the graves of my relatives," Sprague said.
Alderman Van Johnson said such requests should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Mayor Pro Tem Edna Jackson, like Johnson, also expressed concern for the sanctity of the cemetery, but also wanted to consult with city staff before giving an opinion.
Michael Shortt, a local producer and casting director involved in the TV project, said the proposed shoot would generate up to $30,000 a day.
He said the rejection also could jeopardize future film projects in Savannah.
"Sending a no message to them will reverberate throughout the entertainment industry and give Savannah a great big black eye," Shortt said.
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Information from: Savannah Morning News, http://www.savannahnow.com
The brains at our Historical Society wanted to hold a Halloween stint at one of our cemeteries....All kinds of ways to descecrate a cemetery.
Savannah, Georgia America's most haunted city.Why don't these people let them shoot in the cemetery after all they have ghost tour at night I think it cost 27.00...
Our family loves Savannah. Neat City...love the waterfront river walk of shops and food.
They should be forced to get the okay from every single family who has a loved one buried there. Short of that, no, mix, nein. Build your own fake cemetery with headstones made of Styrofoam.
mix => nix
devils often go where the attention is. there wouldn’t be any percentage for hell in haunting, say, a supermarket
I love Savannah, but don’t fool yourself into thinking it is safe.
“... wanted to hold a Halloween stint....”
I was just raised way differently. You acted respectful in any cemetery period. The idea of family members or just plain citizen’s graves being run over, headstones pushed... horrible. IMHO
At first I thought it was simply cheap, commercial sensationalism, but it did seem to draw a lot of people to the area who would not have come otherwise. The tours do not go onto National Park Service land or the National Cemetary, and the few tours I've gone on when back visiting were guided by young locals who tended to be very sympathetic to, and respectful of the fighting men of both sides, and in fact, pretty knoweldgable of the different phases of the battle.
FWIW, I had a couple of "ghostly" experiences myself at G-burg.
I’m of the opinion that if they don’t desecrate or damage the cemetary in any way, why not?
I’ve attended a few of the Confederate Ghost Walks in Charleston, S.C. held during the Halloween season at Magnolia Cemetery. They’re sponsored by the Confederate Heritage Trust, and the money raised is used to provide care for the Confederate burials there. Historical vignettes are presented by candlelight and bring to life some of the people who are buried there and the events surrounding their lives. It is all tastefully done for a good cause.
What is wrong with video taping or taking pictures? People get irritated about the smallest things, yet allow the big issues of the day to slide.
We uncovered about 50 stones, most seriously damaged/broken. We matched pieces, created a data base and, after 5 years in the field, left it to others to continue.
With today’s high quality handheld cameras, perhaps it would be possible to do daytime videoing. If nighttime footage is wanted, that’s where the junk would have to be dragged into the cemetery, over marked graves, etc.
I was vacationing in Savannah when they were filming “Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil.” They had a whole square closed to traffic while shooting at the Mercer House.
I know they also do nature and historical walks through Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Mass. It’s a beautiful cemetery, full of foliage from all over the world.
I think there’s a big difference between a historical event and a ghoul event. We also have a small historic cemetery here; it was closed for years, but now that the preservation group has it open on certain days, the ghost tour people are circling like sharks. But they’re not being permitted in.
The cemetery has centuries’ worth of local history on its headstones and is of great interest in general, and of course it also has the ancestors of local families buried there. So we do give tours of it once a month, with trained docents, and we also open it for other occasions where we tell its history and a little about the significant people buried there. And it’s a Catholic cemetery, so we have occasional memorial masses and services there, even though it is closed to new burials.
These ghost tours and events like that are horrible, though; not only do they tell tall tales, but sometimes they make crude jokes about the people buried in the cemetery and do anything they think will get a laugh. Fortunately, they can only look in through the fence when they’re walking by or being driven by in the black train or hearse they use, and we have no intention of letting them get inside!
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