Did Greensboro, Georgia, really have its own mummy?
Yes. In the early 1930s an unidentified stranger died in Greensboro, and his embalmed body stayed at a local funeral parlor for about 25 years. Locals called him “Oscar.”
Every small Southern town has a ghost story, but Greensboro has a mummy. This isn’t a campfire tale someone made up. It’s a real piece of Greene County history that people here still tell every October, and some swear it isn’t over yet.
If you’ve driven through downtown Greensboro on your way to Lake Oconee, you’ve passed the setting of one of the strangest stories in Georgia’s Lake Country. Here’s the legend of Oscar, what really happened, and why he’s still part of Halloween here.
A stranger gets off the train
In the early 1930s, a man nobody knew arrived in Greensboro by train. Not long after he got to town, he suffered a massive stroke.
A local nurse took him in and tried to care for him, but he died within about two weeks. In all that time, no one learned his name, where he came from or why he had come to Greensboro.
With nothing else to go on, the coroner gave him a name: Oscar.
Waiting for a family that never came
Oscar’s body went to the local funeral parlor, where it was embalmed. Bill McCommons, the town’s coroner and funeral director, was in charge of him.
McCommons placed newspaper ads hoping someone would recognize the description and come for him. People did come, but only to look. Visitors filed through to see the mysterious man, and not one of them could say who he was. Nobody ever claimed him.
So Oscar stayed.
25 years upstairs
For about 25 years, Oscar was kept in an upstairs room at the funeral parlor. Later he was moved to the basement. Over those decades he went from an unidentified stranger to something close to a local celebrity.
Oscar’s Halloween tradition
According to local historian Joel McRae, Oscar became a town character and a tradition. On Halloween, Bill McCommons would open up, and townspeople, children included, came by to see Oscar for themselves.
Bill’s son, Steve McCommons, has described his own first visit. A group of people leaned over the coffin, someone shined a flashlight on Oscar’s face, and everyone ran.
It’s hard to imagine a more Southern Gothic Halloween than that.
Oscar is finally laid to rest
Oscar’s long stay ended when the state health department found out about him. The state required a proper burial, and after decades above ground the stranger from the train was finally laid to rest.
We still don’t know his real name. Nearly a century later, the man who came to Greensboro by train is just as much a mystery as the day he arrived.
Does Oscar’s ghost still haunt Greensboro?
That depends on who you ask. Plenty of locals say Oscar never really left. Over the years, strange happenings around the old McCommons building have often been blamed on him: a noise nobody can explain, a door that won’t stay shut.
Whether you believe it or not, the story has become part of what makes Greensboro Greensboro: a small town that took in a stranger, gave him a name, and has been telling his story ever since.
Why stories like Oscar’s matter in Lake Country
When people think about moving to Lake Oconee or Greene County, they usually start with the water: the docks, the golf, the sunsets. But what makes people fall in love with living here is often the towns themselves.
Greensboro, Madison, Eatonton and the communities around the lake are full of history that you only learn by being here. There’s the courthouse square, the old storefronts, and the stories people tell over coffee downtown. Oscar is one of the quirkiest, but he’s far from the only one.
If you’re thinking about a lake home, spend some time in the towns too. Visit downtown Greensboro, learn its history, and talk to the people who live here. You’ll understand why so many folks come for a weekend and end up staying for good.
For more local history and things to do, the Greene County Convention & Visitors Bureau is a great place to start. You can also read more about the history of Greensboro, Georgia.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Oscar the Mummy?
Oscar was an unidentified man who arrived in Greensboro, Georgia, by train in the early 1930s and died about two weeks later after a stroke. No one ever learned his real name, so the local coroner named him Oscar.
How long was Oscar kept at the funeral home?
Oscar’s embalmed body stayed at the funeral parlor in Greensboro for about 25 years, first in an upstairs room and later in the basement. He was buried after the state health department required a proper burial.
Is Oscar the Mummy a real story?
Yes. The story is part of documented Greensboro history and has been shared by local historians and by the family of Bill McCommons, the funeral director who cared for Oscar. The ghost stories are up to you to believe.
Love Lake Country history?
I’ve lived in Georgia’s Lake Country my whole life, and stories like Oscar’s are part of why I love it here. If you’re thinking about a home on Lake Oconee, Lake Sinclair or in one of our historic towns like Greensboro and Madison, I’d love to show you around and share a few more local legends along the way.
Call or text Traci Nelson at 706-818-4168, or browse homes at tracinelsonre.com.
Traci Nelson, REALTOR® | Ansley Christie’s International Real Estate | Serving Lake Oconee, Lake Sinclair, Greensboro, Madison, Eatonton, Milledgeville and Buckhead
Thanks!
