Tennessee is best known for its country music scene, college basketball tournaments and scenic landscapes; however, its Volunteer State also houses several haunted locations that will give you goosebumps.
Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Tennessee has long been considered to be an eerie location. Many have reported hearing screams and seeing ghostly figures around it.
Rotherwood Mansion
Rotherwood Mansion, situated on Kingsport’s west side and overlooking where two forks of Holston River meet, served as an important location where business decisions for Kingsport were made as well as providing an oasis for prominent figures passing through town.
Fredrick Ross designed his home to impress, including lavish features like an infinity pool on the roof and exotic flower garden. As it became a hub of social activity in their community, Rowena Ross found herself courted by many men from prestigious families, but her heart belonged to one from another town who tragically drowned on their wedding day in Holston River.
Rowena took her life soon thereafter, believing that her first love had reached out from beyond the grave. Witnesses have reported seeing Rowena appear wearing her wedding gown searching for him while others report hearing an inexplicable laugh and the unnerving howls of The Hound of Hell on stormy nights.
Greenwood Cemetery
Nashville is best-known as the birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll music, yet it remains home to numerous haunted locations that attract ghost hunters from all across Tennessee. Carnton Mansion, Polk Ancestral Home and Greenwood Cemetery have all been reported as places filled with restless spirits that attract ghost hunters each year.
Greenwood Cemetery slowly fell into disrepair as time and vandals took their toll, with tombstones becoming weather-beaten and damaged from rain, time, and vandalism – eventually it was forgotten altogether as more attractive cemeteries sprouted nearby.
Ghostly Slave Posse Reports! : A ghostly slave has been seen roaming cemetery and church grounds at night in search of her lost child, having been brutally murdered by her cruel owner after discovering they had an unborn one of their own. There have also been reports of rattled chains and unexplained knocking sounds being heard at nighttime.
Sensabaugh Tunnel
Sensabaugh Tunnel is a haunted location, the subject of many legends. Constructed on land owned by Edward Sensabaugh in the 1920s, stories began surfacing soon thereafter that suggested its presence was haunted; legend suggests he murdered his family (including newborn baby) and dumped their bodies into this tunnel before abandoning them there.
Visitors of the tunnel have reported hearing footsteps, crying babies and harsh whispers urging them to “get out”. Some have even claimed their car won’t start when turning it off inside due to Ed Sensabaugh’s ghost approaching it.
One ghostly encounter included a claim by an individual that disembodied voices twice warned him of danger, saving his life from being hit by a train. Additionally, tunnels have become popular places for paranormal investigators to gather evidence – but could all the recorded activity simply be confirmation bias?
Wheatlands Plantation
Wheatlands Plantation in Sevierville is one of the most haunted places in Tennessee. Dating back to 1820, this Federal-style home has witnessed over 70 murders and deaths inside its walls since 1820. Furthermore, it served as a site of battle in both the Revolutionary War and Civil War; additionally its grounds contain 28 Cherokee who were massacred at Boyd’s Creek during Revolutionary War battles; guests have reported feeling touched, shoved or growled at by ghostly figures while witnessing one who sweeps floors at dusk!
Whoever’s interested in exploring Tennessee’s supernatural should book an app-guided ghost tour with Let’s Roam in Chattanooga. Their tour will bring them to some of Tennessee’s most haunted spots like Read House Hotel, Bell Witch Cave, and Carnton Plantation – but be mindful to always obtain permission or obtain a permit prior to visiting any private property; otherwise trespassing can result in fines.
