10 of the Most Evil Places to Visit in Tennessee
When Dolly Parton sang about her Tennessee Mountain home, she said life is as peaceful as a baby’s sigh. However, that serenity is limited to a few places. Once you have visited some of the places within this Southern state, you will understand that evil exists. Ghosts have even been captured on camera, screams heard, and strange occurrences happened in some areas. If nothing scares you, then this list of the most evil places to visit in Tennessee will help you compile your travel bucket list.
10. The Orpheum Theatre
According to HauntedHouses.com, seven ghosts have made this theater their home. Among them is Mary, a 12-year-old girl who died in an accident in front of the Grand Opera House. The spirit remained even when the Orpheum replaced the old theater. She even has a favorite seat, C5. There have been other reports of weird incidences, such as highly-trained police dogs refusing to enter the building, perhaps sensing spirits.
9. Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail
Nature lovers will love this 6-mile long trail. Well, that is until they come across the ghost of a barefooted woman. According to Great Smoky National Park Trips, a man named Foster came across a woman walking barefoot in the forest on a cold winter night. Foster offered the woman, Lucy, a ride back to her home. He fell in love with her and returned to Lucy’s home to ask for her hand in marriage, but she had passed away two weeks earlier when the family cabin burned down. Visitors claim they have seen Lucy wandering along the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.
8. Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary
The prison was built in the 1920s and was popularly known as “End of the Line.” It was a maximum-security facility that was home to the criminals who committed heinous acts. All were sentenced to 200 years or more. Some died of natural causes, while others were killed by their fellow inmates. It is believed their spirits roam the building to this day, and you can feel a shove, touch, or scratch when you visit.
7. Tennessee State Prison
This maximum-security facility that once housed the most dangerous criminals opened its doors in 1831 and was shut down in 1992 due to overcrowding. In 1863, it became a military prison leading to overcrowding thus did not separate women from men. Inmates were supposed to stay silent at all times with their heads bowed and working 16 hours a day. It is believed the spirits of guilty murderers and psychopaths and those wrongly convicted are still here. Therefore, visitors report hearing screams, maybe as ghosts relive their final moments during electrocution.
6. Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park
According to Tennessee Haunted Houses, this park covers 13,000 acres and is along the Mississippi River. While the scenery is beautiful to admire during the day, nighttime will send chills down your spine. It is rumored that Pigman roams the park at night. He is the ghost of a man who worked in an explosives plant but was disfigured in an accident. He wears the face of a pig hence the nickname, and usually goes out looking for his next victim.
5. Drummond Bridge
Drummond Bridge has been in existence since the 19th century when it helped transport coal in Eastern Tennessee in the mid-1800s and mid-1900s. However, do not let the abandoned railroad fool you into thinking nothing much happens here. Rumors have it that at night, the ghost of Richard Drummond waits until nightfall to seek revenge by attacking anyone who uses that bridge. Drummond was sentenced to death after being accused of killing a man. He was, therefore, hung and died a slow death. People believe his ghost wants to avenge his wrongful death since Drummond was sentenced without a trial.
4. Shiloh National Military Park
The park covers 4,200 acres that preserve the battlefield of the battle of Shiloh. The two-day battle occurred on April 6 and 7, 1862, and resulted in almost 24,000 casualties. The spirits of those who died still linger in the park, reliving the battle. Therefore, visitors can hear gunshots, voices, footsteps, and drumming. The Bloody Pond reportedly turns red at different times during the year; the soldiers cleaned their wounds in the pond.
3. Wheatlands Plantation
The plantation has been referred to as blood-soaked due to the many deaths that occurred on it. According to Nashville Ghosts, around 28 Cherokee lost their lives in the Battle of Boyd’s Creek and are buried in a mass grave. The land also has a slave gravesite and blood-stained floorboards in the parlor. Visitors claim to have heard the yelling of a man being murdered, and spirits of young children play hide and seek with those who spot them. At the gravesite, you can hear voices.
2. Bell Witch Cave
The cave is located in Adams and runs 490 feet long. The story of its haunting dates back to 1817. John Bell, the property owner began experiencing paranormal activities after being on the farm for 13 years. The family would hear animals roaming the property, choking sounds, and chains being dragged. The ghost responsible later came to identify herself as Kate Batts. Batts tormented the Bell family; John would feel a stick stuck in his throat while his daughter Betsy was pinched and scratched. Eventually, the ghost poisoned John. Many weird things continue to occur in the cave, but if you are not afraid, you can tour it for $18.
1. Sensabaugh Tunnel
As Dangerous Roads disclose, Sensabaugh Tunnel is an evil place that the locals fear because car engines die, demonic apparitions appear, and shrieks of women and babies cries are heard. There are different variations of the story behind the haunting of the tunnel. One of them is about Sensabaugh, who went crazy one day and killed his family before committing suicide. Some say that if you drive in the tunnel and turn off the engine, it will not turn back on, and you will hear Sensabaugh’s footsteps as he approaches and the cry of a baby. It is, therefore, no wonder that it is among the most haunted tunnels on earth.
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