Eastern Tennessee has many ghostly legends. I have written many of them through the years. If you have followed The Lantern and our website, there’s a good chance you have read them, as we grew from serving just the Carolinas to include eastern Georgia, Tennessee, and southern Virginia.
1: The Bell Witch:
Some legends are in a league of their own, and the Bell Witch is one of them. Perhaps this tale would even be on my Mount Rushmore, but I will save that for another day.
In the early 1800s, John Bell moved from North Carolina to Tennessee with his wife, Lucy, settling on a farm in Red River, now known as Adams. Over the next few years, the family welcomed three children and expanded the farm to 328 acres.
In 1817, Bell was walking through his field with a gun in hand when he noticed a strange creature with the body of a dog and the head of a rabbit. He fired at the beast, which abruptly disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Later that evening, the Bell family began hearing noises outside of their log cabin, with the supernatural activity escalating over the next several weeks. Bell was alarmed, but when the spirit started attacking family members, like pinching and slapping his wife and kicking and pulling the hair of other family members, John Bell confided in a neighbor, who in turn told several more neighbors of the strange happenings.
When the neighbors began investigating, the vengeful spirit became vocal and identified itself as the witch of Kate Batts, a neighbor whom Bell had angered by purchasing slaves for his farm.
The spirit began quoting scripture, singing hymns, and talking to Bell every day. Finally, in December 1820, Bell died of a mysterious illness. Even in death, the Bell Witch continued to torment the family during the funeral by laughing, cursing, and singing.
In 1821, the Bell Witch told Lucy Bell that she would return in seven years, and she delivered on her promise. The witch returned in 1827 and had a long conversation with John Bell Jr on several topics. The entity reportedly stayed for three weeks, bidding the younger Bell a farewell, but vowed to return in 107 years.
Today, the legend lives on over 200 years later, near the Kentucky state line in Adams, Tennessee.
2: The Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary:
In the hills of eastern Tennessee, near Knoxville, in Petros, lies one of the most notorious and haunted structures around these parts. The Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary once housed some of the most violent criminals in the country. It also served as a coal mine for decades after the Civil War, which led to mining companies operating these sites like a mill village that we often think of today. The poor workers ran up outlandish amounts of debt trying to survive. They were responsible for their rent, clothing, and other goods from onsite stores at inflated rates, with very little money left after working long hours in extreme conditions. The miners in this area often held strikes in hopes of driving prices down, and it worked for a while until cheaper convict labor arrived, replacing them.
In 1891, the feud came to a head during the Coal Creek War, when miners attacked, burning the prison, resulting in numerous deaths on both sides of the skirmishes.
The former maximum-security prison, built from wood, opened in 1896. Many have referred to this place of gloom and doom as the End of the Line and the Gates to Hell. Sadly, it was the end for many locked inside or forced to do hard times while working in the death traps.
In the earliest days of the prison, inmates faced violence, deadly mining accidents, and several diseases, hitting the black prisoners the worst. The inmates were beaten with leather straps for underproducing while working in the mines, and many met their demise as a result of the health conditions they faced.
Finally, in 1931, a new prison was constructed, and in 1957, a new cell block at the prison opened on top of the old death house that continued to house the most violent inmates. Through the years, many incidents occurred, like in 1982 when seven white inmates held security guards at knifepoint, took their firearms, and shot some of their rivals through locked cells, killing two.
Today, the old prison of death and disease, which closed in 2009, is open for tours. People have reported hearing footsteps, growling, and even being touched while inside.
3: The Headless Train Conductor:
Although not technically considered part of eastern Tennessee, I still included it.
One of the more popular legends, shared over several years, claims a young man met his demise by a train in Chapel Hill, Tennessee, in northeastern Marshall County. The man was reportedly hit and killed along the tracks while carrying his lantern. Today, the ghost light glows for onlookers.
Several variations of the tale exist behind the Chapel Ghost Light. Another story says the tracks are home to a headless conductor, or brakeman, who uses the light to guide his way.
Another legend says the ghost light is from a passenger who took the train daily and died while on board, leading him to spend the afterlife forever trapped.
Regardless of the story, several people claim to have captured the light in photographs. Chapel Hill, Tennessee, has been named one of the top haunted destinations in the country.
If you visit, you may see the light and meet the headless specter in person.
4: Lucy Still Walks in the Afterlife:
Gatlinburg, Tennessee, is a popular tourist destination for those seeking to explore the mountains. The city also has a dark side, with many ghost stories in almost every building and on every street corner you go to.
One of the more popular is the spooky story of Lucy, who is said to haunt the Roaring Forks Motor Trail.
The legend dates back to 1908 when a man encountered a young woman on horseback while riding the trail. Lucy was barefoot and walking. The young lad, Foster, fell in love and took Lucy to her cabin.
The following day, Foster went to find her parents to ask for their permission to marry her. When he arrived, her parents informed the man that she had perished in a cabin fire the year before.
Her apparition appears in the early morning fog as it sets on the horizon and at night.
5: The Ghostly Man of Netherland Inn Road:
On November 19, 1923, Albert “Hugh” Hamblen learned that his son was involved in a tragic car accident in Kingsport, Tennessee. The elder Hamblen rushed to his side after hearing the news. Two of the boys were pronounced dead at the scene, but Hamblen’s son survived the ordeal. The following day, Hugh learned that the other boys who were in the vehicle had also succumbed to their injuries from the wreck.
Hugh decided to leave the hospital, still distraught over the accident, in hopes of rest. At the insistence of other family members, Hugh left at first light to make the journey.
The Holston River area can be unforgiving, where dense fog typically gathers. As Hugh was crossing the road to retrieve his vehicle, a young female driver barreled into the man, sending him down a steep embankment into the afterlife.
Several people, over a hundred separate accounts, have stated that a middle-aged man wearing a dark fedora and trench coat continues to step in front of oncoming traffic, frantically waving his arms. When the drivers plow through the man, his lifeless body is nowhere to be found.
Furthermore, when reports were phoned to local authorities regarding the appearance of the man involved, no one fitting the man’s description was ever reported missing.
Hugh Hamblen died on November 20, 1923.
Written By: John G. Clark Jr.