From the Georgia State Signal
It’s hard to be original on Halloween.
Eventually, the old haunts just don’t seem as haunted as they did before. You’re over running from a teenager in a costume at Six Flag’s Fright Fest or waiting in line for hours at Netherworld in the cold.
This guide is for those people: the ones that want a real fright, and aren’t afraid to get a little dirty in the process. But take heed; these haunted destinations off of the beaten path are not for the lighthearted …
The Crypt of Civilization
Oglethorpe University is hiding a piece of history- or should I say pieces?
In the 1940s, the then university president Dr. Thornwell Jacobs, had a vision to preserve and isolate a piece of history for the future; what we today call time capsules. Dubbed “the father of the modern time capsule”, Jacobs was both a professor who taught cosmic time and a student of time himself. According to crypt.oglethorpe.edu. Jacobs was convinced that this “archeological duty” was his generation’s responsibility.
But until the time capsule is opened in 8113, all that is visible of the time capsule is the door: a mammoth stainless steel contraption that had to welded shut and bolted in. But the vault itself is the true scientific feat of Jacobs’ venture. Described as a “massive subterranean chamber” by Oglethorpe’s online records,crypt.oglethorpe.edu, the chamber weighs in at 20 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 10 feet high. The vault was designed to be impervious to aging; its granite walls, stone floors, and sealed receptacles filled with nitrogen render oxidation impossible.
Now, the basement where the vault is housed is home to a primary school. Visits are encouraged, but limited due to schooling.
With the vault’s inception, Jacobs accomplished the impossible: a vacuum where time truly does not exist.
THE HISTORY
Sealed on May 28, 1940, the crypt is a museum exhibit of 30s pop culture and contemporary technology up until that point. The artifacts within span centuries, and range from various cultures and time periods.
The crypt may be a stationary capsule located in the basement of Oglethorpe’s Phoebe Hearst Hall, but it has been featured in several publications. From The Guinness Book of World Records to the homegrown Atlanta Journal-Constitution, people around the world are eagerly awaiting the opening of those stainless steel doors.
“The crypt is testament to Oglethorpe’s history and personality, and it’s a legacy for President Jacobs who really helped to put Oglethorpe on the map,” Director of University Communications Renee Vary Keele said. “President Jacobs was a master at public relations, and the crypt not only helped put Oglethorpe on the map, but showed his passion for history and examining our place in time. Jacobs was a man before his time, literally.”
So this year, instead of getting lost in yet another corn maze, get lost in a creepy trail made of baby dolls, trespass on abandoned prison grounds and visit the crypt of Father Time. It will be a Halloween you won’t soon forget.
