HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
An 1850 Gothic Revival villa in Holly Springs—ransacked by Union soldiers in 1862 and later the primary filming location for Robert Altman's 'Cookie's Fortune.'
Holly Springs, Holly Springs, MS 38635
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Accessed via Haunted Holly Springs walking tour; see hauntedhollysprings.com for current pricing
Access
Limited Access
Private residence viewed from exterior; walking tour requires reasonable mobility
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1850 · Antebellum Architecture · Civil War · Gothic Revival · Film History
The Magnolias was constructed in 1850 by William F. Mason, one of Holly Springs' founding fathers, as a wedding gift for his daughter Elizabeth. The house is a Gothic Revival villa distinguished by its intricate cast-iron veranda, produced at the Jones, McElwain Foundry in Holly Springs—the same local ironworks that supplied the railings at Hillcrest Cemetery.
In December 1862, during the Union Army's occupation of Holly Springs, Federal soldiers ransacked the property. According to documented accounts, they cut paintings from their frames, tore the draperies from the windows, and stripped the carpets from the floors. The raid was part of the broader pattern of Union foraging and destruction that accompanied General Grant's Mississippi campaigns. Holly Springs was raided repeatedly during the war, and The Magnolias was among the civilian properties that bore the cost.
The house retained some original furnishings through subsequent ownership and eventually came to the attention of the film industry. Director Robert Altman selected The Magnolias as the primary filming location for his 1999 film 'Cookie's Fortune,' which starred Glenn Close, Julianne Moore, Liv Tyler, and Chris O'Donnell. The production required extensive exterior and interior use of the property.
The Magnolias is privately owned and not open for interior tours. It serves as the finale stop on the Haunted Holly Springs walking tour, where guides present the Civil War history and the paranormal claims associated with the property.
Sources
The paranormal claims at The Magnolias are presented through the Haunted Holly Springs tour framework rather than independently published paranormal investigations. The house's tour designation as a 'haunted antebellum home with ghost activity' draws on the property's layered Civil War history—the 1862 ransacking, the disruption of household possessions, and the decades of private occupancy that followed.
Specific phenomena reported at the property are not detailed in available published sources beyond the tour's marketing of the house as its finale haunted stop. The Haunted Holly Springs tour uses The Magnolias as its closing attraction, suggesting the guides present the most substantial paranormal narrative at this location.
The combination of documented violent disruption during the war, the home's Gothic Revival architecture, and its private-residence status—rarely accessed by the public—contributes to its reputation in local dark tourism.
Media Appearances
The Magnolias serves as the finale stop on the Haunted Holly Springs walking tour. The guide covers the property's 1850 construction as a wedding gift from Holly Springs co-founder William F. Mason, the 1862 Union ransacking in which paintings were cut from frames and draperies stripped, and the paranormal activity reported by subsequent occupants.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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