Posted in Uncategorized, tagged 1930's, 2, a, able, about, adults, after, afternoon, All, almost, am, an, and, are, around, arrived, as, at, awhile, back, be, beach, bed, been, being, below, bit, boat, breathe, Bridge, broke, Built, but, by, called, came, camper, camping, canyon, climb, clipping, completely, couldn't, damage, daughter, day, decided, did, dug, eat, Elmo, evening, Fall, family, feeling, find, for, Friday, friend, friends, from, frustrating, get, getting, ghost, Go, going, gone, good, got, had, Hagy's, hail, have, head, headed, heard, hiking, his, home, hot, hour, how, I, idea, in, intend, interesting, is, It, it's, just, kids, late, later, left, life, like, little, long, look, losing, made, me, Military, Mississippi, Monday, more, morning, my, National, nearly, neck, newspaper, next, nice, night, no, not, now, obvious, of, off, offered, ok, on, one, our, ours, out, over, pack, packs, park, parts, people, philosophy, Pickwick, picture, place, planned, play, pontoon, posted, pretty, protect, pull, quiet, reached, rest, return, returned, rock, rough, Saturday, scary, scratching, screaming, see, Selmer, shared, she, Shiloh, sick, side, since, sleeping, slept, so, Some, start, starting, state, still, story, Sunday, sure, swim, swinging, take, talk, tent, that, the, them, then, There, they, this, Thursday, Tishomingo, TN, to, took, travel, trekking, trip, truck, turned, unable, under, Unfortunately, up, us, very, voice, walking, was, We, week, well, were, what, When, where, which, while, whisper, whistle, with, without, woke, worn, wrap, You on May 29, 2008|
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Ok, so it’s not a ghost story but parts of it are scary….well to me they are.
We arrived on Thursday night and had a nice quiet evening. On Friday morning, we took the kids over to the park to play for awhile. Friday afternoon, some of our family and friends arrived.
By late Friday, it was obvious that I was losing my voice. I was feeling pretty rough and worn out by 2 AM, so I headed in to bed and left the rest of them up. About an hour later, I heard my daughter screaming and nearly broke my neck getting out of the camper to see what was going on. The adults had been been scratching on the side of the tent she was sleeping in.
After a very late night, I was off to a rough start on Saturday. Still, we made the trip to Shiloh National Military Park and did some walking. I took one interesting picture, which is posted below. After trekking around Shiloh, we took the kids to the beach at Pickwick to swim for a while. More friends arrived while we were there. I’m sure you can tell we like to travel in “packs”. My philosophy is, what good is life if not shared with friends?
Sunday morning, we slept in a little bit and then made the trip to Tishomingo State Park in Mississippi. There is a swinging bridge built in the 1930’s and a rock canyon where people rock climb. Since we were going to be hiking a bit and my voice was almost completely gone, I dug out my whistle and took it with me. Unfortunately, it turned off hot and as sick as I was I was unable to breathe. We have planned a return trip for the Fall. We left and returned to Shiloh, TN to eat at Hagy’s. There was an interesting newspaper clipping about a ghost called “Elmo” which I intend to look up.
Sunday evening, a friend of ours came by and offered to take us out on his pontoon boat the next day. Unfortunately, when I woke up Monday I couldn’t talk over a whisper. We decided to pack up the camper and head back home. When we reached Selmer, TN, we had to find a place to pull the truck and camper under to protect it from hail damage.
To wrap this up, we got home and it’s Thursday and I am just now starting to get my voice back after almost a week. You have no idea how frustrating it is to go that long without being able to talk.
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Posted in photos, Purdy, TN, tagged 1888, a, about, access, across, actually, added, adding, after, All, also, and, any, are, around, as, assume, attic, attics, away, back, backyard, barn, bathroom, be, bedroom, behind, Bell, belonged, BEWARE, building, bullet, but, by, can, chimney, collected, cooked, could, course, covers, dark, dates, daytime, did, do, Dodds, don't, door, email, face, fell, few, Fielding, found, from, front, get, gives, got, grazed, grounds, grown, guy, happened, have, Here, house, how, Hurst, Hurst's, I, if, in, information, Inside, intends, internet, is, It, June, killed, kitchen, known, large, later, leaking, located, M., Mansion, may, meals, multitude, new, no, not, of, old, on, one, only, original, out, over, owned, owner, peeking, peeled, person, photo, photographs, photos, piano, pics, pictures, pot, prepared, property, quarters, R., rainwater, really, records, restore, roof, say, see, seen, shotgun, showed, shrubbery, signatures, slave, slaves, small, snakes, Some, speculate, staircase, street, T., take, tarp, that, That's, the, There, these, they, this, through, to, took, tree, trespass, true, truly, under, underneath, us, vines, wall, wallpaper, was, We, well, what, When, where, which, who, will, window, with, wood, years, You on May 19, 2008|
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Here are some pictures of Hurst House in the daytime. I DID NOT trespass to take these photographs. The owner showed us the house. DO NOT trespass on this property.
I will also be adding pictures I took of the house after dark.
This photo is of the back wall in Fielding Hurst’s bedroom. The small door gives access to one of the attics.
This is the bathroom. It, of course, was added in later years by the Dodds.
This is the original kitchen in the backyard, where the slaves prepared the meals.
This is the grounds behind the house.
This is the front of the house. The tarp covers the leaking roof. The window peeking out from under it is the one you may have seen around the internet with a face in it. That’s Hurst’s bedroom.
This is the front of the house.
This is a close up of Hurst’s bedroom window. Make of it what you will.
This is where a bullet grazed the staircase. Some say this was where Hurst was killed, but this is not true. It is not known how this truly got there and one can only speculate about it as there are no records of what really happened here.
This is the new kitchen which was added on to the back of the house by the Dodds.
This is the chimney and pot from the old kitchen where the slaves cooked. A tree fell on the kitchen a few years back. The new owner intends to restore the building.
This is the back of the house. You can see all the vines and shrubbery that have actually grown to the house over the years.
This is the old barn across the street.
This is the piano inside the house. We assume it belonged to the Dodds.
This is the attic through the small door in Hurst’s bedroom.
This is the side of the house. The top window is Hurst’s bedroom.
This is the slave quarters located across the street from the house. BEWARE! This property is also owned by the owner of Hurst Mansion. DO NOT trespass! If the snakes don’t get you, the guy with the shotgun will.
This was where they collected rainwater.
This wall is in Hurst’s bedroom. When the owner peeled away the old wallpaper, they found a multitude of signatures and dates on the wood underneath. The large one is R. T. M. Bell in June 1888. If you have any information on who this person could be, email tnhauntings@writersbeacon.com.
This is the well inside the old well house in the backyard.
This is another picture of the side of the house.
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Posted in Purdy, TN, tagged &, a, adding, after, also, and, are, ask, at, attempt, attempting, back, be, because, been, but, by, Cemetery, cool, couple, curious, damage, do, done, enough, find, for, fortunate, girlfriend, Go, great, had, hard, has, have, his, home, house, Hurst, I, if, It, jail, like, lovely, lucky, making, many, me, meet, new, not, of, old, on, over, owner, people, pictures, post, probably, property, Purdy, really, restore, returned, saddens, say, seeing, several, share, shot, so, Some, start, Super, take, taken, that, the, them, There, they, this, through, time, TN, to, tomorrow, tons, tour, trespass, trespassing, unbelievable, until, vandals, very, was, We, weekend, will, with, won't, would, You, youngsters on May 18, 2008|
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I returned to Purdy, TN over the weekend and was fortunate enough to meet the owner of the Hurst House and his girlfriend. They are a super cool couple and we had a great time with them. I have tons of pictures to share but I probably won’t post them until tomorrow because there are so many.
I would also like to say this: After seeing the damage that has been done to this house by curious youngsters, it really saddens me. Because of this damage, if you attempt to trespass on this property you will be shot at. Several people have been taken to jail for trespassing. If you are lucky enough to find the owner at the property, ask for a tour but do not trespass on this property. They are attempting to restore this lovely home and vandals are making it very hard to do.
Back to the pictures…
I have some unbelievable pictures but it will take me some time to go through them. I will start adding them tomorrow.
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Posted in Purdy, TN, tagged a, also, and, Anyone, are, area, asked, attend, be, before, believes, blog, buried, but, by, can't, Cemetery, Cemtery, children, colonel, conceived, D., day, decsendants, descendant, descendants, dream, family, Fielding, Fielding's, generations, going, had, haunting, having, He, her, his, home, house, Hurst, Hurst's, HurstNation.com, I, if, in, is, It, Kevin, leave, likely, located, Mansion, many, may, McCann's, Melocky, met, more, Mrs., of, old, on, one, opinion, or, over, personal, Purdy, read, relative, remember, reunions, saddened, says, several, show, sites, slaves, spirit, stated, states, still, than, that, the, There, these, this, those, through, TN, to, told, us, very, was, We, weekend, went, were, where, why, wife, with, would on May 13, 2008|
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Over the weekend, I met a relative of Colonel Fielding Hurst. He went with us to Purdy Cemetery and was going to show us where the Old Purdy Cemetery was located before we were asked to leave.
This descendant states that in his personal opinion, if anyone were to be haunting Hurst Mansion it would more than likely be Colonel Fielding’s wife, Melocky Hurst. He says that it was told through the generations of his family that Mrs. Hurst was very saddened by having to leave her dream home and this is why he believes her spirit may still be there.
I was also told that many of the Hursts buried in this area are children that Colonel Hurst conceived with his slaves. He stated that the descendants of these children attend the family reunions to this day. I had read that he had children with several of his slaves. I can’t remember if I read it on Kevin D. McCann’s blog or on HurstNation.com, but it was one of those sites.
Anyone with interesting information on the Hurst Family, please email tnhauntings@writersbeacon.com.
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Posted in Bolivar, TN, tagged 1980's, a, accessed, add, Administration, ago, All, also, and, another, Anyone, are, around, as, at, attempt, aunt, aunts, awake, awhile, be, because, become, beneath, blog, Bolivar, building, buildings, but, by, camera, cameras, can, captured, care, caught, Clement, condemned, could, decades, did, died, Dietary, disappeared, do, doesn't, don't, down, easily, employees, enter, entire, entrance, entry, even, ever, everywhere, exist, extent, far, figured, First, flying, for, friend, friends, from, fullest, gain, going, grounds, Guard, guards, had, Hall, hangers, happens, has, haunted, have, Health, him, himself, his, Honestly, hung, I, if, illegal, in, information, Institute, internet, is, isn't, It, kept, kill, know, land, large, law, leads, Let, lightening, lives, locals, longer, looking, lost, Luton, main, majority, man, manage, many, mate, matter, maze, me, men, Mental, mirrors, mother, murder, my, nearby, no, None, not, now, occasionally, of, on, once, one, only, or, other, Others, out, patients, people, person, places, populated, property, prosecuted, read, really, rear, reason, recent, remain, removed, retired, revolved, room, rumor, said, say, searching, Secondly, security, see, seen, several, simply, since, snoring, so, sock, Some, spot, spotted, Springs, squirrels, state, stated, still, strangled, struck, supposed, swinging, swirled, that, the, their, them, There, these, they, things, this, three, Timber, TN, to, top, trespass, tube, tunnels, two, Uncle, uncles, unit, units, untrue, use, very, via, view, was, way, well, went, were, Western, what, When, where, while, who, will, wings, with, WMHI, work, worked, works, would, years, You on May 8, 2008|
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I have had several people land on my blog while searching for Western Mental Health Institute so I figured I would add some information.
The grounds of WMHI were once populated by flying squirrels but they have disappeared in recent years. The main entrance leads to the Administration building. This building once had two large wings. They were condemned and removed in the 1980’s. Some of the locals said the wings were haunted but it really doesn’t matter since they no longer exist.
Some of the things I have read on the internet are simply untrue. One person stated that when lightening struck nearby you could see a man who hung himself swinging from the top of the Administration building. None of the employees, security guards or locals have ever seen this. It was also said that there were places in Luton Hall where there are no cameras and the patients use this spot to kill other patients. My mother works in Luton Hall now and did many years ago as well. First of all, there are cameras everywhere. Secondly, this unit is all men. The majority of these men will remain there for their entire lives. They have had patients murder other patients but they really don’t care if they are caught or not. Honestly, what are they going to do to them? Many years ago, one of the men strangled his room mate with a tube sock because his snoring kept him awake. It happens.
One rumor that swirled around at WMHI for awhile revolved around the tunnels beneath the buildings. It was said that patients had become lost in the maze of tunnels and died down there. Some have even went so far as to say that the tunnels are haunted by these patients who are still looking for a way out.
Let me say this now: It is illegal to trespass on state property. All employees have hangers on their rear view mirrors so anyone who isn’t supposed to be there is spotted very easily. Even if you did manage to gain illegal entry to the grounds, the tunnels can only be accessed via the units. If you attempt to enter a unit, you will be captured on camera and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. DO NOT trespass!
The reason I know all of this is because my mother, three aunts, two uncles, and several friends work or have worked at WMHI. Several of them have retired from there and others have worked there for several decades. My mother has worked in Luton Hall, the Clement Building and occasionally works the Timber Springs Unit. My aunt and uncle worked in Dietary. One uncle is a Security Guard. Two aunts worked in the Administration Building. One friend is a Security Guard, another retired from Dietary.
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Posted in Bolivar, TN, tagged 13, 64, a, about, above, again, ago, almost, and, apparition, at, back, be, been, before, believed, black, Bolivar, but, by, can, chains, children, common, continues, dealership, decades, do, drive, driving, Feel, footsteps, for, Ford, free, ghost, happened, has, haunts, have, Health, hear, her, Highway, home, house, I, in, Institute, is, It, just, legend, lived, local, located, look, lucy, many, may, me, Mental, Mercury, murdered, never, next, night, nights, not, Notice, now, occasional, occasionally, occupied, of, off, on, owned, past, Please, porch, privately, property, rattling, reach, really, right, said, saw, say, says, School, several, she, someone, standing, story, students, Super, taught, teacher, that, the, then, There, think, this, TN, to, told, trespass, true, two, upstairs, Wal-mart, was, Western, When, white, who, window, years, You on May 1, 2008|
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This house is located on Highway 64, past the Super Wal-mart and Western Mental Health Institute. It is right off the highway right before you reach the Bolivar Ford and Mercury dealership.
The house is privately owned and I think it may be occupied. Do not trespass on this property.
This two story white house was said to have been occupied by Lucy Black many years ago. Local legend says she was a school teacher who taught children in her home. This was common back years ago. The legend continues to say that she murdered several of her students upstairs and now her ghost haunts the home, occasionally standing in the upstairs window. It has been told to me by someone who lived in the home almost two decades ago that you can hear footsteps upstairs at night and the occasional rattling of chains.
I never really believed the story to be true, but about 13 years ago I saw her ghost in the window above the porch. I just happened to notice her when I was driving past the house. The apparition was there for the next several nights and then I never saw her again. Feel free to drive by and look for her but please do not trespass on the property.
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Posted in Jackson, TN, tagged a, ago, and, Anyone, anything, appear, are, at, be, been, believe, beside, Bridge, but, car, claimed, do, do not, else, email, flash, followed, get, ghoststories@writersbeacon.com, Go, had, happened, Harts, has, haunted, haunting, have, heard, High, honk, horn, I, if, in, Jackson, killed, know, legend, lights, local, location, miles, mist, never, nor, not, of, on, onto, or, Others, people, place, Please, proof, reach, really, road, said, say, says, School, seen, several, side, Some, someone, South, start, supposed, that, the, their, them, There, they, this, times, TN, to, trouble, turn, until, was, what, white, will, would, years, You, your on April 30, 2008|
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To get to the bridge, turn beside South Side High School in Jackson, TN onto Harts Bridge Road. Go several miles until you reach the bridge.
I have been to this bridge several times years ago. I do not know what really happened there, but local legend says someone was killed on this bridge and you honk your horn and flash your lights and they are supposed to appear. Some people have said their car would not start and others have claimed a white mist followed them.
I will say that I have never seen or heard anything, nor have I had car trouble at this place. I do not believe this bridge to be haunted. If anyone else has proof of a haunting at this location, please email ghoststories@writersbeacon.com.
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Posted in Mason, TN, photos, tagged 1847, 1912, a, also, and, Andrew's, are, as, aware, be, been, behind, bleeds, broke, building, buried, burned, but, by, care, caretaker, Cemetery, Church, cult, daytime, died, distressed, During, earlier, Episcopal, eyes, for, founded, from, graves, gravestone, gravestones, had, has, haunted, have, heard, hearing, I, in, installed, is, It, keep, legend, lights, local, located, many, Mary, Mason, most, neck, noises, not, of, old, once, only, over, people, Perhaps, place, reported, return, said, Saint, Satanic, says, seeing, serves, small, Some, statue, stories, strange, taken, that, the, their, There, they, this, time, TN, to, trespassing, Trinity, trip, two, vandalism, vandalized, Virgin, was, which, who, will, wires, woman, years on April 30, 2008|
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Old Trinity Episcopal Church is located in Mason, TN. It was founded in 1847 in the place of Saint Andrew’s Church, which had burned two years earlier.
For many years, the church was not taken care of and the church and cemetery was vandalized by a small Satanic cult. They broke most of the gravestones, and vandalized the church building.
Behind the church there is a statue of the Virgin Mary which serves as a gravestone for a woman who died in 1912. It is said that this statue bleeds from the eyes and neck.
There are also stories that the church and the cemetery are haunted. People have reported seeing strange lights and hearing noises. Local legend says that the people buried in the cemetery are distressed over the vandalism of their graves.
I have only been to this cemetery once and it was during the daytime. Perhaps I will return some time, but be aware — I have heard that the caretaker has installed trip wires to keep people from trespassing.
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Posted in Uncategorized, tagged a, about, address, All, and, any, Anyone, as, associated, be, blog, but, don't, email, ghoststories@writersbeacon.com, has, haunting, hauntings, have, I, if, in, include, information, It, legends, like, local, make, myself, of, on, or, other, photograph, pictures, Please, plenty, post, posted, reported, same, see, share, stories, such, sure, taken, Tennessee, the, them, this, to, want, was, where, who, worry, would, You on April 29, 2008|
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Anyone who has information about a haunting in Tennessee and would like to see it posted on this blog, please email it to ghoststories@writersbeacon.com.
If you have pictures you would like to share, email them to the same address. Be sure to include information about the photograph such as where it was taken and any associated stories or local legends.
Don’t worry. I have plenty of other stories to post myself but I want to make sure I include all of the reported hauntings in Tennessee.
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Posted in Purdy, TN, tagged $5, 000, 1800's, 1993, 6th, 70's, a, after, also, always, an, and, another, are, area, Army, as, Aside, at, back, bad, be, became, bedroom, been, before, believe, blood, bottom, buried, burnt, but, by, can, car, carriage, case, Cavalry, cemeteries, Cemetery, circle, Civil, closer, colonel, compared, could, county, course, dating, dawn, decide, did, die, died, discouraged, discuss, do, Dodds, down, drawn, During, early, enemies, entire, excluding, existing, extorting, face, fascinating, Fielding, five, for, forced, friends, from, ghostly, Gilead, going, grave, has, have, have a, He, hear, heard, highly, him, his, history, home, horse, house, However, http://www.hurstnation.com, Hurst, Hurst Mansion, Hurst Nation, Hurst's, I, if, image, images, in, interested, interesting, is, It, itself, Jackson, joined, land, last, left, legend, legends, life, local, look, makes, man, Mansion, many, McNairy, Melocky, minutes, Mount, moved, much, murdered, my, name, neighbors, never, not, note, numerous, of, oldest, on, once, one, only, or, Others, over, overlooked, own, owned, owner's, park, parts, people, phenomena, photographs, photos, pictures, place, places, Please, possibly, post, posted, prankster, prominent, property, provide, purchased, Purdy, read, really, reappear, recently, referred, repeats, resemblance, respect, respectful, roadway, same, say, says, scream, seat, see, seen, sell, several, share, shot, side, since, slaves, so, soldiers, Some, sometimes, soon, spot, stair, stall, start, starter, still, stories, strongly, structure, surrounding, sympathizer, take, taking, taking a, Tennessee, that, the, them, There, these, they, this, times, TN, to, town, trespassing, true, truly, Union, University, unlikely, until, update, updates, upstairs, vandalized, vehicle, very, visit, visiting, visits, War, was, We, When, which, who, wife, will, windows, wishes, with, woods, years, You, your, yourself on April 26, 2008|
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This is another place I have been to numerous times. The history of these places is truly fascinating so I will share the true stories before I discuss the local legends.
Purdy was once the county seat of McNairy County and home to Purdy University. The area surrounding Purdy Cemetery and Hurst Mansion was once referred to as “Hurst Nation”. A prominent man by the name of Fielding Hurst owned Hurst Mansion and much of the land surrounding it.
During the Civil War, Hurst became a Union sympathizer and joined the Union Army as colonel of the 6th Tennessee Cavalry. He murdered many of his neighbors and burnt town the entire town of Purdy, excluding only his own home. Of course, this makes Hurst Mansion the oldest existing structure in the town. He also burnt down parts of Jackson, TN after extorting over $5,000 from them.
In the last years of his life, Hurst was forced to sell his home and he and his wife, Melocky, moved to the Mount Gilead area. It was there that he died (in his 70’s) and is buried in Mount Gilead Cemetery. His grave has been vandalized several times.
The Hurst Mansion was purchased by the Dodds, who owned the home until 1993. This home is posted and trespassing is strongly discouraged. Please be respectful.
Local legend says that you can hear soldiers and slaves in Purdy Cemetery. Some people say they have seen a horse drawn carriage. Others say that if you park on the left side of the circle your car will not start until dawn.
After many visits, I can only say this: I have never heard soldiers or slaves. We did hear a scream from the woods which could very possibly have been a local prankster. We did have a vehicle stall for five minutes on the left side of the circle but I believe it was a starter going bad. Aside from that, it is still interesting to visit as it is one of the oldest cemeteries in Tennessee dating back to the early 1800’s. I will be visiting Purdy Cemetery very soon as it has been years since my last visit and many of my friends are interested in going. I will provide an update after my visit.
Hurst Mansion was always a place we overlooked, really. It was not until recently that I read the history of this house. Local legend says one of Hurst’s many enemies shot at him from the bottom of the stair case and he died in his bedroom. (Hurst DID NOT die in this house. He died in Mount Gilead.) They say sometimes the blood spot will reappear and you can hear him scream. This is highly unlikely since he did not die there. However, I have seen several photographs of Hurst House with a ghostly face in one of the upstairs windows. When I compared the image to photos of Hurst, you can see a resemblance. (You can see these images for yourself on http://www.hurstnation.com.)
I will be taking a closer look at Hurst Mansion and taking my own photographs to see if this phenomena repeats itself. Please note: I will NOT be trespassing on the property. I will take my photos from the roadway. If you decide to visit, please respect the owner’s wishes and do the same.
I will post pictures and updates after my visit.
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Tennessee Hauntings 