Posted in photos, Purdy, TN, tagged 10, 8, about, after, All, almost, am, an, and, Anyone, Anyway, are, arresting, asked, be, because, been, breathe, called, cemeteries, Cemetery, deal, didn't, doing, don't, drinking, enjoy, even, explain, for, from, Go, grateful, had, hard, He, Here, him, his, Hope, I, if, in, interesting, It, jail, knew, landed, left, Let, letting, looked, made, main, me, mean, midnight, mind, minutes, most, must, my, neighbors, new, nuts, of, officer, or, paper, past, people, photographs, pics, pictures, place, police, Purdy, puzzled, quiet, real, reason, so, sure, take, taking, talking, that, the, them, There, think, this, to, told, trip, try, us, very, visit, visiting, want, warn, was, We, were, what, who, why, wishes, with, work, would, years, You on May 10, 2008|
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In all my years of visiting cemeteries, this was the most…interesting trip. I must warn anyone who wishes to visit Purdy Cemetery: Be very quiet. I mean don’t even breathe hard. The neighbors called the police and we had to try to explain what we were doing there. I told the officer that I was taking photographs of the cemetery (past midnight, mind you) and he looked very puzzled and asked, “Why?” I knew if I told him the real reason why I was taking photographs he would think I was nuts or had been drinking, so I told him I had been told it was an interesting place to take pictures. After about 10 minutes of talking to him, he let us go and made sure we left the cemetery. His main reason for letting us go was because he didn’t want to deal with all the paper work of arresting 8 people. Anyway, I am very grateful he let us go and here are the pictures that almost landed me in jail. I hope you enjoy them!
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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 Purdy, TN, tagged and, been, better, Cemetery, feeling, find, folks, get, getting, has, He, him, hospitalized, husband, I, in, is, more, my, not, out, photographs, postponed, Purdy, really, recordings, return, Some, Sorry, supposed, sure, take, the, TN, to, today, trip, Unfortunately, until, was, We, were, what, When, wrong, yesterday on May 3, 2008|
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I was supposed to return to Purdy Cemetery in Purdy, TN today to take more photographs and get some recordings. Unfortunately, my husband was hospitalized yesterday and we’re not really sure when he is getting out. The trip has been postponed until we find out what is wrong and get him to feeling better. Sorry, folks.
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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 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 