Tennessee isn't unfamiliar with haunted tourist attractions. The ominous Bell Witch Cave in Adams has attracted visitors from far and wide for 200 years now.
hotels & inns restaurants roads & bridges taverns theaters tourist spots
Manchester -
Historic Tower House Inn
This bed and breakfast boasts the ghost of a former owner, who has been spotted
in the small Civil War museum they have, and also the parlor. The man's wife is
heard crying during storms. A toddler aged boy is seen in the upstairs room he
used to occupy.
Ooltewah - Super
8 Motel
A terrified looking young woman has been seen undressing on a bed, then fades
away. 5111 Hunter Rd
Wartrace -
Walking Horse Hotel & Restaurant
This town was where the malnourished and sickly confederate war prisoners were
set free after the civil war - many died in the hotel shortly after release.
This building also bore witness to a Vietnam vet who went on a killing spree
during an acid flashback in the late 70's. The sounds of running and gunfire are
sometimes heard. Room 11 is especially eerie. 101 Spring St
Nashville -
Opryland USA
The phantom of Hank Williams was seen by a worker. When a cover band was
playing a Hank Williams song, the electricity went out. Also a woman's ghost has
been seen in the hallways at night
Gatlinburg -
Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort
A former cook is said to haunt the kitchens here, throwing dishes and turning
faucets on and off. A man who killed himself in a guest room in the late 1990's
haunts the pool area. The 7th floor is supposedly haunted by the screams of some
boy scouts who were murdered there in the 1980's. Room 413 is haunted by 2
teenage girls who were murdered there in the 1970's - maids repost objects
moving themselves.
Jefferson City
(near Dandridge)- Tennessee Mountain Inn
a little girl's ghost wanders the balconies. 531 Patriot Dr
Dover - The
Riverfront Plantation Inn
A Civil War field hospital, this was once called the Crow Home - hauntings
include doors that open and shut themselves and cries and moans
Gatlinburg -
Rocky Top Village Inn
Two employees were brutally murdered in a back office here, and their spirits
are sometimes seen in the parking lot and by the fountain. Unexplained screams
are heard as well. 311 Historic Nature Trail/Airport Road
Knoxville -
The Andrew Johnson Motel
One account sent to
Linda Linn's website claimed that Country songwriter and performer
extraordinaire Hank Williams (senior) stayed here the night of his accidental
death at the age of 29. The drug and alcohol addled Williams was officially
found in the back seat of his car, and had asphyxiated after over-medicating
himself. Rumors have circulated, according to this source, that Williams
actually died in his room at the hotel, and the chauffer moved his body to the
car and drove it to West Virginia, where it was found by police. (why? don't ask
me...) Anyway, the mournful singing of old Hank is said to be heard on lonely
Tennessee nights in the vicinity of the hotel. It's unclear whether this
building still has lodging - it appears to house offices for the most part
912 S. Gay St
Nashville -
Congress Inn
One visitor in the 1980's awoke to find that their legs were being "held down"
by an unknown force. The building was used as an army hospital... well, I think
you know where I'm going with this one by now. 2914 Dickerson
Pike
Bell
Witch Cave/ John Bell Farm Tours (Adams)
Shiloh - Shiloh
National Military Park 
A pond that was called "The Bloody Pond" after the historic battle at Shiloh
appears to flow red again at times. A benevolent lady in white appears to women
and children who are lost are upset. Phantom soldiers replay the battle late at
night.
Memphis - The
National Ornamental Metal Museum
Occupying the grounds of an Army hospital where a huge yellow fever epidemic
claimed thousands, the museum hold spirits who haunt the old morgue and doctor's
quarters.
Nashville -
Capitol Records Building
Haunted by two reclusive sisters whose home sat on the site.
Oliver Springs
-Harvey's Furniture & Appliance Co.
A white woman was murdered on the site this store is built; a young black child
was blamed but suspicion was high that a longstanding dispute with another white
family had resulted in her murder. The child "committed suicide", also
suspiciously. Later the boy's name was cleared. Vague stories of "apparitions"
seen at the site. 200 Main St
Jellico - Post
Office 
Dead but still disgruntled postal employees are heard talking upstairs at night
and footsteps are heard if you are in the building at night.
Jellico is north of Knoxville near the Kentucky border.
Lavergne/Smyrna -
Fate Sanders Recreation Area
A little boy told two fishermen he was lost, and one of them went with him to
look for his father. Awhile later, the fisherman who stayed with the truck heard
the boy laughing, and assumed they had found his dad. The little boy came up to
his truck after quite a long wait, still laughing, and tried to get the second
fisherman to come see "something neat" his dad wanted to show him. The guy
freaked at this point and peeled out - and the other guy was never seen again.
He could still hear him laugh as he pulled away. It is said that the little
boy's laughter can be heard at night. Take Murfreesboro Road
and travel west from Nashville approximately 12 miles to Sam Ridley Parkway.
Turn left on Sam Ridley Parkway and travel approximately 3 miles to Weakley
Road. Turn left on Weakley Road and travel approximately 5 miles, crossing over
J. Percy Priest Lake. Recreation area entrance will be approximately 1 mile past
bridge crossing on your right.
Hendersonville
- Trinity Broadcasting Theatre
Formerly
Conway Twitty's "Twitty City", it is now the base for the giant pink and purple
haired televangelist lady and her husband (Jan and Paul Crouch) who broadcast
their Christian programming from here. A ghost of a man in black whose
description sounds vaguely like Johnny Cash or Roy Orbison (take your pick)
wanders the halls listening to the gospel get fired out to the nation from their
5000 watt mega tower. 44 Music Village Blvd
Adams - The
John Bell Farm
The
Bell Witch is a story that goes back many generations, and is one of the oldest
and most well known in the United States. Outside of the tiny burg of Adams is a
cave, formerly owned by John Bell, which some feel is to this day haunted by a
restless and vindictive female spirit.
John Bell and his family owned a large plantation in the early 1800's. In 1817,
a number of strange poltergeist like occurrences happened in the Bell home,
including voices and whispers that were uttered by otherworldly mouths and the
brutal mental and physical battering of Bell's teenage daughter. The haunting
continued for four years, and attracted such attention that people from all over
came to the plantation to bear witness to the phenomena. The poltergeist, which
had somehow acquired the name "Kate", was blamed for John Bell Sr.'s untimely
and abrupt death of poisoning. It was said that
this ghost, unlike any other ghost folklore before or since, spoke in plain
English in a conversational manner to the people it tormented, and itself
predicted that it would indeed kill Bell.
The cave is supposedly marked by a marker (a common sight in the south along the
path of civil war battles are concrete historical markers of all sizes and
shapes), but when I looked for the cave, admittedly at night, my sister and I
drove and drove and saw no marker. A girl at the gas station in Adams was nice
enough and told us exactly how to find it, but alas - it was not to be. I did
get a nifty photo of the Adams sign though...
I don't know for sure, but I recently saw a TV show that toured the cave, and it hinted at the possibility that the current owner offers tours (but like I said, I don't know this for sure). Adams can be reached easily from I-24 in northwest TN, on hwy 41. It is under an hour northwest of Nashville. You'll have to ask for directions to the farm, 'cause I didn't find it! There was a sign post at the turn off we were given from which the sign had been removed, maybe because it was winter and they were trying to discourage visitors in the 'off season'. I know, I know - what a crappy 'editorial'...
Hurricane Mills -
Loretta And Mooney Lynn's Dude Ranch
Loretta Lynn makes no bones about the fact that she thinks her antebellum
plantation house is haunted. If you catch her hour long special every October on
the History channel, you'll see that she is a firm believer in several ghosts,
including a lady in white who haunts the family graveyard that sits on the
property, a confederate soldier (19 are supposedly buried around the property),
rattling chain noises that come from an area that was once used for punishing
slaves, and the violent spirit of the home's former owner. Lynn, who owns the
entire village of Hurricane Mills, offers tours of the big house, and has a
campground near it as well. After taking Exit 143 off
Interstate-40, travel eight miles north along the scenic Loretta Lynn Parkway.
Look for entrance to Loretta Lynn Family Campground on left, marked by many
directional signs. Open April - Oct
(931)296-7700
Franklin
- Carnton Plantation
The
town of Franklin was the site of a horrific Civil War battle, and the scars of
it are still seen all over the town. Everywhere you look are historical markers,
carefully cared for period homes, and rows of headstones bearing the names of
young men who died on November 30th, 1864.
As is par for the course when you visit plantation homes, especially near
battlefields, the Carnton Plantation served as a field hospital after the bloody
battle, which fed the nearby largest privately owned confederate cemetery.
Ghosts that have been spotted in the stately home include a black woman in
antebellum styled clothing that disappeared before the witnesses' eyes. Moans,
cries, drums beating, and the sound of running have been unexplained so
far.
Franklin
- Carter House
If you're in Franklin, stop by the Carter House , which is a cool little tour of a house caught directly in the middle of the gunfire. The son of this plantation owner was sent to fight literally in his own back yard during the battle, and died there. He has been seen in one of the bedrooms. Also a toddler, said to be one of the original owner's children who died after a fall, haunts. 1140 Columbia Ave
Knoxville - The
Bijou Theatre
The ghost of Union general Sanders died miserably of a gut wound in this former
hotel. The news of his death was kept mum, and his body was buried in secret in
order to keep morale up among the soldiers. No one knows where he was buried.
His moans and cries are heard in the theater by patrons. 803 S
Gay St
Knoxville - Gay
Street
Whether the bars along this street are adorned with rainbow banners, I do not
know - but the legend says that the spirit of the loser of a politically fueled
duel walks the street every September 27th.
In a much more animated legend, a psychotic young gal named Fanny Igo was so pissed that she couldn't see the circus parade going by on Gay street in 1882, that she started pelting the people in front of her with pebbles. When the police came, her behavior escalated. Embarrassed by his obviously off-kilter daughter's behavior, Mr. Igo (her dad, not her husband...) gave her a beating. Fanny, her last little thread of sanity slipping away, cut her dad's throat as he slept. If you get hit by a pebble on Gay street, it's Fanny serving her penance. Lol... Fanny on Gay Street.
Memphis - The
Orpheum Theater
The spirit of a 12 year old girl named "Mary" has been seen by many of the
actors and visitors to the theater - including, by one account, Yul Brenner. She
was killed in an accident outside the theater decades ago. Also, doors have been
known to fling themselves open and shut.
Gallatin - Loco
Lupe's
Formerly a jail, this old building boasts a ghost who walks
about, mumbles, knocks on the walls, slams doors, turns faucets off and on and
flushes the toilets. 122 W. Franklin Street
Gatlinburg -
Greenbrier Restaurant
The ghost of a woman who committed suicide on premises is said to haunt this
restaurant
Knoxville - Baker
Peters Jazz Club 
The ghost of a pissed off confederate who used to live here has been
reportedly caught on film by the proprietors of this former antebellum home of a
doctor. The doctor's son, Abner, was killed in avenging his father's death - and
has thrown objects and given chills to patrons and staff.
Between Wartburg
and Lancing - Ye Olde Tavern
I couldn't find a website for this place, so I have no idea if it's still there.
(If anybody knows, throw me a line and I'll update it) Located near the
Montgomery Bridge, this tavern was a tavern in the old sense, that travelers
could stay the night. Some were robbed, and their bodies tossed into the nearby
river - hence the ghost stories.
Mountain City -
Doe Mountain
This area boasts some spook lights, or as locals here call them "the Doe Mountain Fireballs"
Kingsport -
Netherland Inn Road
A man killed along this road in the 1920's stumbles about in a trench coat, and
is seen by unwitting passersby.
Near Knoxville -
Clinton Highway
If traveling on this highway in the wee hours of the morning, you can hear the
whispers of "I'm innocent", from a man who was unjustly hung along the roadway
in 1875.
Johnson City -
Okolona road exit
This one sounds like my favorite: a "Gravity Hill"! As the story goes, a guy was
pushing his stalled car on this road, with his girlfriend steering for him. A
car came speeding out of nowhere and smashed into them, killing them both. Now,
if you put your car in neutral, it rolls uphill - and supposedly your windows
will develop phantom handprints.
Caryville - Red
Ash Cemetery
The road
along this cemetery is home to an 8 foot tall, half-Goat who has a pentagram
carved in his forehead. Also, a blue spook light has been spotted here.
(Disclaimer: it is upon the reader of this site to use good judgment in frequenting the places listed herein; it is not the responsibility of the proprietor of ghosttraveller.com if a reader commits an illegal act, such as trespassing, based upon what he or she reads here. It is the reader's responsibility to research the given areas discussed in this forum prior to visiting, and to ensure that it is not illegal to visit said place prior to visiting, or to obtain permission from the owner prior to visiting)
Bibliography
The Shadowlands : an invaluable resource on the net for ghost hunters !!
Weird Travels, The Travel Channel
Travel Channel Secrets, The Travel Channel
http://www.ghosts.org/bell/jackcook.html
http://members.tripod.com/~lindaluelinn/index-61.html
