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 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 Bolivar, TN, tagged 1936, 75, 86, a, absolutely, after, age, agrees, All, also, an, and, Anyone, apparition, as, at, back, be, been, benevolent, Bolivar, breeze, by, Cake, can, chair, Dave, day, death, died, district, documented, downtown, even, ever, everyone, favorite, for, forth, found, frightened, gently, get, ghost, ghostly, had, has, have, He, heard, him, his, historical, history, home, house, if, in, is, It, known, library, lived, locals, located, look, loved, man, McNeal, middle, might, miss, most, Mr. Parran, near, night, no, of, often, old, on, one, Others, Parran, Parran's, pass, passing, peacefully, people, porch, rock, rocker, rocking, rummaging, said, section, seeing, seen, simple, sit, sits, so, Some, sometimes, spirit, still, story, sure, talking, that, the, There, they, they'd, thing, this, through, TN, to, undertaker, was, Wedding, welcome, When, who, will, would, years, You on April 29, 2008|
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This story is documented and can be found in the History section of the library located in Bolivar, TN.
Dave Parran was a simple man who lived in a house known to locals as the “Wedding Cake House” in Bolivar, TN. He was an undertaker who would often sit on his rocker all day, talking to anyone who would pass by. Parran died in 1936, at the age of 86. He had lived in his house for 75 years, and absolutely loved his home. After his death, most of the locals said the thing they’d miss most was passing by his house and seeing him rock.
Dave Parran’s old rocker still sits on the porch of the Wedding Cake House. Sometimes, it will gently rock back and forth, even when there is no breeze. Some people have also seen Dave Parran’s apparition, rocking peacefully in his favorite chair. Others have said they heard Mr. Parran rummaging through his house in the middle of the night.
No one has ever been frightened by the ghost, and everyone agrees that this is a benevolent spirit. So if you pass by the Wedding Cake House, be sure and look at the rocker. You might get a ghostly welcome.
This house is located in the Historical District in downtown Bolivar near the McNeal House.
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Posted in Medina, TN, photos, tagged $5, 1931, a, able, All, and, anything, are, be, because, been, borrowed, by, can, Cemetery, claims, complete, covered, died, different, do, Doll, don't, Dorothy, everyday, far, few, from, gained, GhostVillage.com, girl, grave, graves, great, Harvey, has, have, heard, Hill, Hope, house, I, in, Inside, interest, interesting, is, It, it's, large, little, Marie, Medina, much, never, of, old, one, or, ordinary, own, person, person's, picture, place, playing, real, reason, reflection, saw, say, see, so, Some, something, sometimes, spot, still, that, the, think, this, through, time, TN, to, took, toys, two, visit, visited, was, When, who, why, window, windows, with, year, You on April 28, 2008|
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I think the reason why this place has gained so much interest is because one of the graves is far from ordinary. I have been to this place a time or two and it is something interesting to see.
In Hope Hill Cemetery is the grave of a 5 year old girl, Dorothy Marie Harvey, who died in 1931. It is covered by a large doll house that is complete with real windows. Inside it are a few toys and some say you can sometimes see the little girl inside the house playing.
This picture was borrowed from GhostVillage.com:
The person who took the picture claims to be able to see the little girl through the window. All I see is the person’s own reflection. Do you see anything different?
When I visited this cemetery I never saw or heard anything. It is still a great spot to visit because it’s something you don’t see everyday.
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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 