Chapter 1885 Moser Mansion

There is no doubt that such a small town with a long history and full of legends will be written about again and again. For example, in "Treasure Island", Captain Fortlin died drunk in Savannah. Before he died, he wrote Give the treasure map to Billibons.

In "Gone with the Wind", Margaret Mitchell placed Scarlett's hometown in Savannah, a "polite coastal city" that "stands aloof on the Georgia coast, dignified, calm, and... Educated and scornful of Atlanta, a small border town 300 miles inland."

The fluttering feathers in "Forrest Gump" and the street garden where Forrest Gump tells stories were shot in Savannah.

If you want to take a closer look at this city through images, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" directed by Clint Eastwood is the most suitable. It tells the story of Savannah and was filmed in Savannah.

However, Yang Cheng has never read either the text or the image, but at this moment, he is immersed in this new book that still exudes the fragrance of ink.

In 1994, New York writer John Berlant published his nonfiction work "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil."

Some people describe John Berlant as having a yuppie temperament, broad tastes, unique style, and exquisite narration. Yang Cheng thinks it is very accurate. He also wrote a book about Venice-"The City Where Angels Fall", which is also a heavy hit in bookstores. recommend.

But his masterpiece is "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," and the version sold today is his later revised edition. In the foreword, John Berlant said, "Savannah people have a high tolerance for eccentric behavior, and they favor and even encourage eccentric behavior.

Savannah is a closed and introverted town, where rumors are prevalent, and the main topic of gossip is naturally the behavior of others. Therefore, the more bizarre the behavior, the more energetic the gossip.

In Savannah, therefore, people appreciate heretics, if only because they provide people with something to talk about. People who behave eccentrically understand this, which encourages them to become even more eccentric. "

Berlant said that this city has an almost pathological fascination with rumors, and he also used a unique frame structure and narrative method to tell a true story he heard from the rumors.

The story takes place in Mercer House in Savannah. Jim Williams, the owner of Mercer House, was born in Gordon Town, Georgia. His father was a barber and his mother worked as a secretary in the mining area. He was a child born in an ordinary family in a small place.

His Mercer Mansion is considered one of the most aristocratic private residences in the United States, and he himself is often mistaken for a nobleman by unidentified guests.

At this time, Jim Williams would tell others with grace and grace,

He is actually a nouveau riche, and he tells others about his family background in detail, which makes the listeners a little confused, but he himself enjoys it.

Jim Williams made his fortune from the restoration and rescue plan of the historic district in the center of Savannah in 1950. He was originally engaged in the antique business, but he sensed business opportunities in this plan.

He bought some old houses, renovated them and then sold them. After buying and selling dozens of old houses in this way, the media and people from all walks of life began to praise his contribution to the restoration of ancient houses in Savannah. As a result, social honor and huge wealth All of them hit him on the head.

However, he did not stop his antique business. He traveled back and forth between Europe and the United States, shipping back boxes of oil paintings and high-quality antique furniture and home decorations.

Many ladies from the upper class, regardless of whether this person was a nouveau riche or not, came to buy it one after another, making Jim Williams' momentum as strong as his wallet.

In the end, he actually bought Mercer House.

Savannah has a considerable number of European-style mansions, the most important of which is the Mercer House.

This house was built in 1860 by General Samuel Mercer of the Confederacy. After the Civil War, General Mercer was imprisoned for killing two deserters. After being imprisoned, he sold the unfinished house. The new owner completed the house.

It was not General Mercer who made this house famous, but his great-grandson Johnny Mercer, a famous composer whose masterpiece "Moon River" was sung all over the world.

Johnny Mercer actually never lived in the Mercer House, but he would often visit here when he returned to Savannah after becoming famous.

Jacqueline, the widow of the most storied and unlucky president in American history and later married to the shipping magnate Onassis, once visited the Mercer House and offered $2 million to buy this huge mansion. , was declined politely but quite arrogantly by Jim Williams.

The core story of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" takes place at Mercer House.

Late at night on May 2, 1981, in the study of Mercer House, Jim Williams and the male prostitute Danny Humphries he supported had a fierce conflict. Both parties had guns. In the end, Jim Williams shot and killed the 21-year-old. Danny Humphries.

Since then, there have been four court sessions and repeated trials over whether the case was "self-defense" or "deliberate murder."

Eight years later, Jim Williams, who had spent a lot of money, was found guilty of self-defense and the case was cleared.

It was because of listening to this story that John Berlant conducted interviews in Savannah for almost ten years. Savannah's upper class centered on the Mercer House's annual Christmas party, about various weirdos and all kinds of rumors. There’s no stopping, this is all John Berlant material.

The ending of the character Jim Williams was more than a year after the case was closed. One day in January 1990, 59-year-old Jim Williams suddenly fell to the ground and died.

Doctors could not find a specific cause of death, so they could only say that it was a sudden death from a heart attack. However, another theory was quite popular in the local area, saying that the ghost of Danny Humphries had not let go of Jim Williams and finally killed him. The evidence The thing is, the place where Jim Williams died was in his study, which is where Danny Humphers would have fallen down and died if he had shot Jim Williams.

As a city where rumors are prevalent and people like to spread rumors, there is no doubt that this kind of statement occupies a larger market. No one cares about what happened in the first place. Just be happy and entertainment comes first.

In this atmosphere, Yang Cheng and the others came to Mercer House. After this mansion was described in books and movies, it became a history museum and opened to the public in 2004, 14 years after Jim Williams' death.

You can go inside by buying a ticket for $12.50, but visitors can only look at the living room and living room downstairs and cannot go upstairs because Jim Williams' family still lives in the house.

Jim Williams was never married and had no children. He lived with his mother at that time, but he also had a sister. His mother had passed away long ago. His sister and his nieces and nephews still live in the house. .

Coincidentally, Charles and Jim Williams' nephew are friends and have a good relationship. Otherwise, he would come to the door so rashly and want to find out the secrets of the family. It would be nice not to be kicked out.

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