As an active enthusiast in spiritual matters, particularly those related to mysterious or otherwise highly undocumented hauntings, I am not one to let my curiosity for a peculiar haunt end with a single video or article, most of which are biased or largely misinformed. I do large amounts of casual research on these topics because I’d prefer to know the truth of the matter, and I’d also like to believe I carry a healthy amount of sympathy for those who are incapable of telling their own stories.

I recently came across a YouTube persona whose channel largely consists of her exploring the myths and legends that follow some of these alleged hauntings, and while I appreciated her material the first few times I tuned in, I felt there was something almost shallow about the way she chose to follow-up on the information she was given; I almost got the impression that her research consisted of one article per legend. I would have understood if the purpose of her channel was to simply retell the legends as they were, though from what I’ve gathered the channel is dedicated to the paranormal in general, and knowing the history behind a ghost is paramount to the overall investigation.

One such video records her visiting the grave of Corinne Elliott Lawton, located in Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia. Miss Lawton’s grave, which was designed and sculpted by Benedetto Civiletti at the behest of her father, depicts her sitting almost invitingly next to a cross, the epitaph reading, “Allured to brighter worlds, and led the way.” Rumors suggest that the statue itself is haunted and that Miss Lawton will smile at the occasional passerby (if she likes them). The young lady investigating these rumors also informed viewers of Miss Lawton’s supposed history, namely that she had fallen in love with a man from a lower class and drowned herself out of grief when her parents promised her to another -- such is the legend that attracts tourists to her grave.

However, out of respect to Miss Lawton, who should be remembered as a real person and not simply a legend, I feel it would have been appropriate for the lady to have revealed the actual history behind Miss Lawton’s death in addition to the legend.

I didn’t quite buy the legend myself and decided to do some casual research, as I often do, and it didn’t take me more than five minutes to find evidence that proved the legend false. I ran across an investigative blog written by J’aime Rubio who posted the transcript to a letter written by a Reverend Stuart Robinson to Sarah Hillhouse Alexander, Corinne Lawton’s mother, shortly after her rumored suicide. In Robinson’s letter, and in numerous diary entries analyzed by historian Ruth Rawls, there is no talk of any arranged marriage (which would have been a major event for the family) or of Corinne’s distress. In fact, Rev. Stuart Robinson referred to Corinne as a “sweet, noble, Christian girl” who with “simple and childish confidence … reposed in [Robinson] the plans and prospects of her future life.” From this letter we are provided the image of a very religious and very happy individual with the utmost faith in God and His plan. This image does not correlate with the one put forth by the legend. Furthermore, Robinson claims in his letter that Corinne passed due to a “short illness,” one which apparently had stricken much of the household according to Rawls’ findings.

I can’t say for certain if I will stop watching that YouTube channel because it is still fairly entertaining, and I suppose I cannot blame the girl for appealing to her viewers with mysteries and rumors. That being said, I sincerely wish more people cared about the history behind the stories themselves. People like Miss Corinne Lawton, people who are now deceased and almost completely lost to time, deserve to have their stories told and shared. Everyone wants to be immortalized in some way, though personally I hope I will be immortalized because of my own accomplishments and my own stories and not by the stories of another.

People want to be remembered after they pass on, so that's the least we can do for them.