Haunted hotel guide · Macon, Georgia
The 1842 Inn, Macon: Judge Gresham's Ghost and a Greek Revival B&B
A white-columned Greek Revival mansion on College Street, now a 19-room bed and breakfast, where guests say the man who built it still walks the halls.
The 1842 Inn is one of the grand houses of Macon’s College Street, a Greek Revival mansion with a deep, columned portico, built by Judge John Jones Gresham and listed on the National Register as part of the Macon Historic District. It is now a 19-room bed and breakfast with AAA four-diamond status, a short walk from downtown and a short drive from Mercer University.
It is also one of the places Visit Macon chose for its Macon Beyond paranormal series, in which investigators brought equipment into the inn to try to make contact. The stories guests tell are quiet ones: a figure who looks like Gresham, a tall blonde woman, a little girl, calls to the front desk from rooms nobody is staying in, and dreams vivid enough to wake people up.
1842 Inn at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 353 College Street, Macon, GA 31201
- Built 1842, by John Jones Gresham; enlarged by the Adams family after 1900
- Most haunted spots Guest rooms and halls in the main house
- Best-known ghosts Judge John Gresham, a tall blonde woman, a little girl
- Booking the haunted room No room is marketed as haunted. Ask for a room in the main house rather than the cottage.
- Good to know Breakfast included, parking behind the house, front door locked at night (ring the bell)
The ghosts of 1842 Inn
Judge John Gresham
The figure guests most often describe is a man who resembles John Gresham, the lawyer, judge and mayor who built the house and raised his family here. Only In Your State lists Mr. Gresham first among the inn’s ghosts. It is the classic Southern house story: the owner who loved the place too much to leave it.
The tall blonde woman and the little girl
Guests have also described a tall blonde woman and a little girl. Nobody has tied either to a named person, and the house has had more than one family and a long life as an inn, so we would be wary of anyone who claims to know who they are.
Calls from empty rooms
Visit Macon mentions phone calls to the front desk from rooms that are vacant, along with ghostly apparitions and strange dreams that disturb guests’ sleep. The Macon Beyond episode filmed at the inn shows investigators trying to communicate with whatever is responsible, though the tourism office does not publish specific findings.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- Main house rooms: The rooms in the original 1842 mansion are where the stories are set. Ask for one of these when you book.
- Named rooms: Each room is named for a part of Macon life, such as Mercer, Sidney Lanier and Ocmulgee.
- The parlors and grand staircase: Breakfast can be taken in the parlors, and the staircase is the heart of the old house.
History of 1842 Inn
John Jones Gresham (1812 to 1891) was an attorney, Superior Court judge, cotton merchant and twice mayor of Macon. He was president of the Bibb Manufacturing Company, a champion of public education and a charter member of the Bibb County Board of Education. Gresham High School was named for him in 1898.
He built this Greek Revival house on College Street in 1842, and the Gresham family kept it until 1900. That year Benjamin Terry Adams bought it and made major changes: the Adams family extended the front porch, added columns so the portico wrapped further around the house, laid parquet floors and fitted Victorian tile insets to the fireplaces. Much of what you see from the street today is their work.
The house is known to historians as the Gresham-Adams House and stands within the Macon Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. It is now the 1842 Inn, a bed and breakfast and event venue with 19 rooms, whose past guests are said to include Oprah Winfrey and Gregg Allman.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Ask for a room in the main house if you want to sleep where the stories are set.
- Ask the staff about the Macon Beyond episode filmed at the inn, and watch it on Visit Macon before you go.
- Walk to Rose Hill Cemetery on the edge of downtown, where members of the Allman Brothers Band are buried.
- The front door is locked at night, so carry your key and use the bell.
- Breakfast is included and can be taken in the parlors, the courtyard or your room.
Want to investigate, not just sleep?
Sleeping in a haunted hotel is one thing. Investigating one after dark is another. On a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt our team takes you through the building with professional ghost hunting equipment, runs EVP sessions and lets you explore on your own during free roam.
- Thomas House Hotel Ghost Hunt & Sleepover, Red Boiling Springs TN: Investigate, then sleep in a haunted 1890 hotel.
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- USS Battleship North Carolina Ghost Hunt & Tour, Wilmington NC: Investigate the WWII battleship on the Cape Fear River, about five hours up the coast.
More haunted hotels nearby
- The Partridge Inn, Augusta: a haunted 1836 hotel on Walton Way
- The Marshall House, Savannah: Savannah’s oldest hotel, a Civil War and yellow fever hospital
- All haunted hotels in Georgia: every haunted place to stay in the state, from Savannah to the mountains
- Haunted hotels in Georgia
Stayed in one of these hotels? Tell us what happened
We collect first-hand accounts from guests and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your stay. We read every story before it’s published.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 1842 Inn in Macon haunted?
Guests report apparitions, phone calls from empty rooms and vivid dreams, and Visit Macon filmed paranormal investigators there for its Macon Beyond series.
Who haunts the 1842 Inn?
The best-known figure is said to resemble Judge John Gresham, who built the house. Guests also describe a tall blonde woman and a little girl.
Who built the 1842 Inn?
John Jones Gresham, a lawyer, judge, cotton merchant and twice mayor of Macon, built it in 1842. The Adams family bought it in 1900 and enlarged the portico.
How many rooms does the 1842 Inn have?
Nineteen guest rooms, each named after part of Macon’s history.
Is breakfast included at the 1842 Inn?
Yes, breakfast is included and can be eaten in the parlors, the courtyard or your room.
Sources
Facts on this page are checked against the hotel’s own website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. Read how we rate haunted hotels.
- Visit Macon: Macon Beyond, exploring the 1842 Inn
- HMdb: Gresham-Adams House
- Vanishing Georgia: Gresham-Adams House, circa 1842
- This Is My South: Southern stays, 1842 Inn
- Only In Your State: Haunted hotels in Georgia
- 1842 Inn: official website
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About the authors
The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every hotel in our guides using hotel histories, local archives, news coverage and the accounts of guests and staff, and we review each guide regularly so you are not booking a hotel that has closed or changed its name. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
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