Haunted places are often historical places although some may be local history and others on a larger scale. If you’re in the Nashville area consider looking at some haunted places in the area your next trip – here’s a few haunted locations to start with!
1.The Ryman Auditorium opened in 1892 as the Union Gospel Tabernacle. It was used as a church and then later as the Grand Ol’ Opry site from June 5, 1943 to March 1974 as a radio location. The Johnny Cash Show was hosted from here from 1969-1971. Legends have performed within the walls of the Ryman. Neil Diamond. James Brown. The Byrds. Garth, Reba, Elvis, Loretta, Hank – people so recognized the first name said it all for fans. President Teddy Roosevelt, Bob Hope, Rudolph Valentino, Katherine Hepburn and scores of others have graced the building and it’s said some never left. Many stories surround the ghosts said to be in and around the building, steeped in music. One is the preacher while others say Hank Williams Sr. haunts the building as well as the alley between the Ryman and Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge as well as Tootsie’s itself. There is also what some call “the Opry Curse.” The untimely deaths of notable Opry connections such as Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves and Stringbean Akeman – 35-37 people over the years – point towards the legend.
The downtown Nashville area has ghost tours available also that include the Ryman, Capitol and Printer’s Alley.
2. The Hermitage Hotel downtown has several ghosts said to make themselves known, from an infant in room 912 to the “lady in white” who has visited room 813. She returned from a shopping trip to find her husband in bed with another woman, and later her body was found hanging in the room. The “Southern Belle” is another said to be stunningly beautiful woman, confined to the lower two floors. Historically a home stood on the property and when it was destroyed by fire it’s believed the ghost returned to her home – thus the lower floors only.
3. Carnton Plantation is home to what has been called “the most haunted building in Tennessee” and is a short drive from Nashville in historic Franklin. Carnton was build I 1826 by a former Nashville mayor, Randal McGavock. Many national historical figures passed through the home in it’s heyday including President Andrew Jackson and it was one of the elite farms in its day. A family farm for generations it also became home, uninvited perhaps, to American history. On November 30, 1864 war came to the farm at 4 p.m. and by the next day 9,500 soldiers were killed, wounded captured or missing, with 7,000 of those Confederate troops. Carnton became a massive field hospital, with the blood of the soldiers staining the floors and the fields.
Four Confederate Generals were among the dead here, and the family maintained a two acre cemetery for nearly 1,500 Confederate soldiers who breathed their last breaths here. It remains today the largest privately owned military cemetery in the US. Fallen to disrepair in the 1900s it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and donations have allowed renovations of the property.
Of interest to those looking for haunted happenings is the ghost tours. Over 7 years of age only and reservations are required.
These are just a few places to start – with many more spooktacular places in the area! Come to Nashville for more than just music!
