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 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 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 Purdy, TN, tagged a, able, about, also, am, and, any, Anyone, are, as, back, be, because, best, Bethel, bring, Cemetery, Church, crowd, date, day, do, dust, email, everyone, for, Forks, Forty, has, have, his, history, holds, Hopefully, I, identifying, if, in, interested, interesting, is, keep, Liberty, like, long, majority, more, my, not, of, off, on, or, photographs, plan, Please, Purdy, rain, returning, Rickey, road, second, sharing, since, Smith, soon, Springs, stirring, story, taking, tales, telling, thank, the, There, this, time, TN, tnhauntings@writersbeacon.com, to, trip, trying, Unknown, up, visit, visitors, weekend, what, will, wish, would on May 9, 2008|
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Since the majority of my visitors are interested in Purdy Cemetery I am trying my best to keep everyone up to date. I will be returning this weekend as long as the rain holds off. I am not telling what day or time I plan to visit Purdy because I will be taking more photographs and I do not wish to have a crowd stirring up dust.
I would also like to thank Rickey Smith for sharing his Purdy Cemetery story and identifying the unknown church and cemetery in Bethel Springs, TN. Hopefully I will be able to visit there soon and bring back photographs.
The Unknown Church and Cemetery is Liberty Church in Bethel Springs on Forty Forks Road. If anyone has any interesting history or tales about this church, 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 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 Bolivar, TN, photos, tagged 1854, 1862, a, across, alleged, allowed, also, and, Ann, at, be, beautiful, bedroom, beside, Bolivar, Built, buried, by, can, Cemetery, chair, Civil, cross, daughter, daughter's, day, days, death, district, downtown, due, During, each, easily, Ezekiel, few, from, grave, had, has, haunted, have, her, his, historical, history, home, in, inconsolable, is, It, James, K., legend, Lines, local, located, McNeal, McNeal House, Mrs., near, Nest, not, occasionally, of, on, only, original, out, owner, pass, passing, place, Polk, Priscilla, property, quite, reach, relative, rich, right, road, rocking, same, say, says, second, see, she, side, signs, simply, Some, Sonic, special, spirit, stand, stare, staring, stop, story, teens, that, the, this, through, to, Tom's, turning, Uncle, Union, very, visit, visited, War, was, west, When, where, which, who, window, within, would, Wren's, You on April 26, 2008|
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Built in 1862, this home is beautiful AND it has a very rich history.
Photograph by Barbara Chambers-Hensley of http://www.barbarasgraphicdesign.com/
This home is located within the historical district in downtown Bolivar. You can reach it quite easily by turning beside Sonic and passing through a few stop signs.
McNeal Place was built due to the death of the only daughter of the original owner, Ezekiel K. Polk (a relative of James K. Polk). Mrs. (Ann) Polk was inconsolable at the death of Priscilla, who was in her teens in 1854. Polk built the home on the west side of his property near Polk Cemetery where Priscilla was buried. Ann visited the grave each day. During the Civil War she had to have a special pass to cross the Union Lines.
The local legend says that on the days when Mrs. Polk was not allowed to visit the cemetery, she would stand in the second story bedroom window and stare out at Polk Cemetery. Some say you can occasionally see her spirit in that same window simply staring across at her daughter’s grave.
Even though I have never seen the ghost of Mrs. Polk, I still enjoy visiting this neighborhood. There are many other historic homes nearby, including one that is documented as being haunted. (The Wren’s Nest, Uncle Dave’s rocking chair) It is also right across the road from Polk Cemetery which is alleged to be haunted.
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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 