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Chattanooga Memorial Park Cemetery

When I arrived at White Oak Cemetery, in Chattanooga TN I was surprised at how large the actually burial grounds are. After driving  my car up large hills and through many winding passages, I came to Garden F. This is where the legend was born. Across from this arch is the oldest burial ground on the property. I glanced over at what I assumed were gravestones of Civil War soldiers. The stones decaying and mossy and thunder was rolling over head, as a Summer time storm was passing through the valley. The cemetery has its own historical significance, as this is where Shermans Hideout was during the Civil War. General William T. Sherman along with 4 Federal Divisions hid out here before the attack against Missionary Ridge. I walked on a path toward the arch, behind me a beautiful view of the ridge where the Union and Confederate soldiers fought their bloody battle.

What I first noticed unusual about this arch, was that it has inscribed upon on it, F and A.M . I have learned that this stands for Free and Accepted Mason. Masons have a very long standing history for the secrecy of their part in society. Cemetery grounds keepers and the owner are baffled at the mystery of who had placed the arch here. There are no records of it whatsoever. This arch is haunted by a very dark shadow spirit. There have been so many accounts and witnesses that there is hardly any speculation. A team of paranormal investigators visited the area to gain any evidence, but so far, the most odd evidence has been a white mist crossing the arch as the camera recorded it one night.

One of the most bizarre stories, was from a grounds security guard of more than twenty years. He was doing his rounds one night, when he heard something scratching and moving around in the crisp leaves on the ground. He went into the darkness and shown his light toward it. His eyes were as big as saucers when he spotted the source of the noise. Standing there with a savage look blood thirsty look was as he claims a humonoid which stood at three feet tall. It was rolling in the branches staring at the guard. The guards heart was pumping hard as a jack hammer, he ran as fast as he could to the information building, slamming the door behind him, not to come out until the sun had risen in the morning. There have been dark shadows that have reportedly followed groundskeepers and visitors from time to time or strange noises heard over in that particular garden where the arch is the gateway.

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The Jesus in the Woods

I had heard of this place from a friend of mine. He said it used to be a kind of right of passage for teenagers in able to be in a popular clique, if you were brave enough to go there in the dark, that is. I did not go there in the dark, but it was very spooky none the less. The place is out in the back country near Ooltewah and Collegedale on Pattentown Road. If you didn't know the exact address and spot you were looking for, it would be very easy to pass it, and in fact I did a couple of times. There is so much overgrowth of trees and weeds there, it isn't a cemetery anymore, the forest has conquered over the plots and there is almost no trace left of them! The local news have in recent years wrote a few articles about this place. The family members of those buried there are furious with the cemetery's lack of upkeep. The problem is, nobody knows who owns the place. No one can get in any contact with anybody about it. So it continues to be a 'lost' graveyard.

When I did finally park my car into a space on the side of the road, I got out to walk on a path that looked more like a dear trail. For a long time I didn't see anything, until I nearly tripped on what I thought was a tree stump. I looked back from where I was, and I saw shining from the sun, white marble in the ground with a name in black inscribed upon it. As I walked further on this trail, I noticed more and more of these stones in the ground, under tall grass and flowers growing out of them. I kept walking, not sure if I was at the right place to see the statue, but then turned a corner of tall thicket, and before my eyes, was the giant statue of Jesus, in the woods. It scared me half to death! I didn't realize it was so large, and in the middle of the woods like that, it gave off the most eerie vibe! I no longer felt comfortable there, and walked back to my car in a very fast pace. I did stay long enough to click some pictures, but I left right after. I think the spirits of the cemetery are very angry with the way their resting place has been forgotten and abandoned. If you do go there in search of, please be respectful.

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Abandoned Church of Serpent Handling

Take a drive into the outskirts of Chattanooga, TN into a small farming community of old called Birchwood. I grew up near this place, after it had been made into a suburban rural area, but here and there is scattered places of the past long forgotten. This abandoned church as you see on the sign is called, The Dolly Pond Church In Jesus Name, With Signs Following. It seems like kind of a long name for a small church like this, but the signs following are the bigger picture of what was practiced inside. The practices of the members of this church were serpent handlers. More accurately, Rattlesnake handlers. They believed that their faith in God and Jesus was so powerful that they would hold dangerously poisoning snakes with their bare hands as a testament that faith in God would always protect you. Everything else you see here is a mystery to me as much as it is to you. I do not know how long this church has been there for, but I do know that as you can see, there is an outhouse located in the back, now overgrown with vines and trees

The strange cult-like people that used this church locked their secrets away inside this place, but can only be peeked at through a few windows. Inside I saw an old organ, some posters with what looked like Bible scripture painted on it, and furnishings such as chairs turned over on its sides. Why hasn't this place been torn down? What happened here to have it be abandoned abruptly to leave all of the remnants of this church locked up within those wooden walls. There is not a way inside, except if you break a window, but I don't think I would like to get caught breaking this church's window. Let the ghosts stay locked behind that door. 

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Salem Baptist Church 1835-1942

I have found very little information about the history of Salem Baptist Church, except for what is said on the marker. This site where the Church once stood was wilderness Indian Territory, and their history proceeds the European colonization of the area. The native Americans, ancestors to the Cherokee who walked the Trail of Tears once called this their home. Do the spirits mourn their children here? Hopeless souls that cry out WHY, in anguish over their tribes loss? 

The site has a very serene landscape, but has seen death and struggle that echoes from the conflict of brotherhood in this nation's Civil War. Salem Baptist Church was used as a hospital during the Civil War, and the soldiers that passed away there are forgotten from a time we have put behind us. Do the soldiers haunt this area? The field, the hills, and the trees might whisper tales if you listen.  It is unknown to me why this church no longer stands. If I find out any information, I will update this. Centuries of history claims this site, of dark despair & healing, of holy sacramental worship, and of native tribal mysteries. Look for yourself, in light or night ~  

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Cofer Cemetery

Nestled on the top of a hill which was once known as Potter's Field located in Chattanooga, TN is this small cemetery with an unusual past. The cemetery was officially opened in the year 1933 as Hamilton County Memorial Park later to be dedicated to Ruth Cofer in 1974 and renamed Cofer Cemetery. At first glance, it seems like most older cemeteries from the last two centuries, with old and weather worn gravestones. One thing sets them apart tho, and that is that the graves located nearer to the entrance of the cemetery have no names inscribed on the stone. Chiseled into the cement stone, is a single numerical digit. The area out there with the very small, numbered-only stones are the children victims of an early 1900's plague that swept the city.  Some of these stones have become removed (presumably due to vandalism) over the years, and someone has lined all the loose ones on the ground into the shape of a cross (as shown in one of the photos below). It really disturbs me that the children who suffered from the outbreak of tuberculosis were put into a mass grave without the dignity of a name they deserved. As a cemetery for the indigent, 212 recorded burials include past prisoners of Silver Dale. Others buried here from the early 1900's were patients of Pine Breeze Sanitarium, who were found of unsound mind, and were labeled in the day as lunatics. One of the most bizarre histories of this cemetery dates back to May 5, 1911 when a grand jury visited as then known Potters Field only to discover exposed graves and bones lying around on ground  surface. This is indeed a place of buried mysteries, secrets, and an eerie history.  

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Pine Breeze Sanitorium

Is as dark as place was its self!  Located off Memorial Drive, this once impressive fortress is to be no more,but the souls of those once housed there still remain. The legend is that when the facility closed the doors, there was no place to send the more disturbed of the patients . Pine Breeze not only took in TB patients, but those with mental disturbances as well. They were left there, chained (as was practice in the times before mental illnesses were truly recognized)to die. Many claimed when visiting the sight before it was demolished, to see the shackles visible through the lower level windows. Bloody claw marks etched into the brick of the cells bore further testament to the treatment of those once housed there. An overwhelming feeling of sadness visits itself upon many who come to see the ghosts of Pine Breeze Orbs and other unexplainable photo phenomena have occurred at this site. But if you wish to see what's left, you better hurry! Construction of new town homes is set to begin any time. 

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Wilcox Tunnel Spirit

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Cameron Chills

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Citico Mound

Citico Mound was one of the most interesting places excavated by Mr. Moore. More than a hundred burials were located. The mound was originally 110 by 145 feet in size and it was more than 15 feet high. Just south of it may be seen the place where the dirt was patiently excavated by the Indians with wooden or flint spaces and stone hoes and carried in baskets to the top. The mound was built upon the remains of an older settlement. Fifteen feet below the original top surface of the mound is a bed of ashes and camp débris four feet thick, and a recent excavation unvovered a set of post holes on which rested a dwelling before the mound was built. Almost all the burials uncovered by Mr. Moore were in a lower mound nearer the Tennessee River, now on the west side of Riverside Drive. Many shell gorgets, earrings, bone instruments, flint knives, arrow and spearheads and stone celts were here. Numbers of pipes representing birds and a child's rattle of tortoise shell, with pebbles inside, were other items of interest. Mr. Moore comments on the number of shell gorgets found in the graves of children. Some articles of copper and an iron celt, of Spanish make, were probably secured from De Soto. In 1914 the greater portion of Citico Mound was leveled to make Riverside Drive. During the course of the work, C. K. Peacock saved from the steam shovel a beautiful piece of pottery, painted red in Mexican design. It is a handsome four-cornered bowl which would do credit to the makers of Rookwaood or other modern pottery. W. E. Myer, of Carthage, Tenn., secured a copper ornament in the shape of a crown. H. F. Wenning also secured valuable specimens. It is unfortunate that a monument as interesting as Citico Mound should have been sacrificed to the building of a road. The mounds should be preserved whenever possbile. When entered for scientific purposes and research, they should be resotred to their original shape.

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Quarry Golf Course

UPDATE - The Quarry Golf Course is closed.

In Chattanooga, Tenn., reports of a mysterious green light circulate near the Quarry Golf Course. One story tells of a group of friends, talking on a quarry cliff around midnight, who spotted the light about a half mile away. The light came closer and closer, growing larger as it came, until it was right behind the group and larger than a person. One man was so terrified he nearly fell off the cliff. The group retreated and never returned, but the stories remain.

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Col. William Clift

The Chattanooga area is rich in history. And wherever there is history, there are ghosts. One of the region’s most flamboyant ghosts is Soddy-Daisy’s Col. William Clift. The first account of Clift’s apparition occurred in 1898, just before the Spanish-American War broke out. An elderly man trudging the back roads of Soddy-Daisy claimed the colonel rose from his grave in Mount Bethel Presbyterian Cemetery, accompanied by the sounds of taps and muffled drums.

Just before the outbreak of other wars, the same events unfolded at the graveyard, according to witnesses of the day. Folks surmised that the colonel was warning of danger to America. His place in history suggests that their story is based on some truth. The man was a zealous patriot. Anyone who knew the colonel during life might well imagine that even death could not silence him. Described as Hamilton County’s first millionaire, in peacetime this influential slaveholder directed his passion toward taming thousands of acres of land he had amassed throughout Hamilton County. But when the Southern states seceded in 1861, Clift was devastated that the differences in values and opinions were literally tearing the once United States apart.  Clift’s stand on the War Between the States was firm-he risked all to follow his heart. At the age of 67, he joined the Army as a Northern officer, determined to preserve the nation intact. Described by historians Govan and Livingood as a man “who never failed to give assistance to the Union cause,” his fervor for the Constitution led him to fight against many of his neighbors and even members of his own family.

Clift became a man possessed. Although most men in Chattanooga were Confederate sympathizers, many in Hamilton County supported the Union. “People began coming to his farm,” Sale Creek historian Curtis Coulter said. “He gave them refuge, and there eventually got to be so many that he brought them up to Coulterville.” Clift gathered the force of 300 to 500 Federal sympathizers into what he called the Seventh Federal Regiment and set up for their instruction and drilling at the Cumberland Presbyterian Church campground in Sale Creek. Clift had commanded the County’s Seventh Regiment Tennessee Volunteer Militia before hostilities broke out between the states, but most of his men were green. Nonetheless, he didn’t wait for the action to officially arrive in the Chattanooga area. Without aid from other Unionists, Clift’s men initiated local skirmishes and amateurish sorties against Confederate strongholds. His incredible tenacity earned him a reputation as a hothead and a zealot.

For their major defense, Clift relied on a homemade cannon refashioned from a black gum log fitted with the flue from his riverboat. “The blacksmith put strapping around it,” then mounted it on an ox cart; “they fired it one day and blew it all to pieces,” scaring his own men more than the enemy, according to Coulter. Clift had amassed enough men and caused enough trouble that, finally, Coulter said, “The Meigs and Rhea militias decided they were going to come down and, along with the Hamilton County militia, set them adrift. They squared off.” They postured and crowed, but no real damage was done. They decided to talk instead. “They met September 1861 and signed what was called the Treaty of Smith’s Crossroads,” Coulter said. “They said any fighting they did would not change the outcome of the war and would only kill local people. So they just agreed to disagree and disbanded.” By November, the situation heated up again, “so the Sixth Alabama Infantry came up by riverboat, and they put them out,” Coulter said. “They marched in and arrested everybody they came to, to keep them from running and telling Clift and his men.”

At the same time, the Meigs and Rhea militias marched down again from the North. “Before they would’ve done battle, Clift’s men all met, and they voted to disband-they just decided they weren’t going to fight,” Coulter said. Knowing he was beaten-for the moment-Clift fled into the mountains. Many of his men escaped to join Yankee troops in the North.  But, Coulter said, the Sixth Alabama Infantry fired on the camp, not knowing that Clift’s men had cleared out. “Some of the Rhea County people were in the camp, so I guess in the yelling back and forth, they finally decided they were shooting on their own people,” Coulter said. Clift eventually reached Kentucky, where he received a commission to the Union’s Seventh East Tennessee Regiment. However, he would not withdraw his forces as ordered in one battle and was arrested.

It was said that Clift did not know the meaning of retreat-or defeat-and it was rumored that President Abraham Lincoln himself had him quietly reassigned. The colonel’s strong will and fearlessness could not keep his family together during the war. Two of his sons chose to join the Confederate Army, as did three sons-in-law. During the 1863 Battle of Chattanooga, Southern troops captured Clift carrying secret documents to Gen. Ambrose Burnside in Knoxville. His own son, Capt. Moses Clift, brought him in. Two other sons, whether on their own accord or because of their father’s ardent persuasion, signed up with the Union. This outspoken opponent of secession lived to see his beloved country torn apart then finally made whole again. After the war, Clift labored to restore national unity and reached out to the defeated Confederates. His tombstone says he died in 1886, at the age of 91. But if accounts of his ghost and phantom legion of both blue and gray are true, his fierce patriotism lives on. 

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Gordon Lee House

James Gordon and his two brothers came to Chickamauga, then known as Crawfish Springs, from Gwinnett County in 1836.  In 1840, James began construction of this home (employing slave labor and using bricks made on site) to serve as the centerpiece of his 2500-acre plantation. The site was of local importance, as the Cherokee Courthouse was located on the grounds prior to displacement. [It was originally executed in the Greek Revival style; the addition of the massive portico and entablature in a 1900 remodel gave it its present Neoclassical appearance]. Gordon’s son Clark was elected commanding officer of Company D, First Georgia Volunteer Infantry, organized in 1862. During the Battle of Chickamauga the home served as temporary headquarters of Union Major General William Rosecrans, Army of the Cumberland (16-19 September 1863). It also served as a field hospital (18-20 September 1863) under the command of Medical Surgeon R. G. Bogue, treating both Union and Confederate casualties. In 1889, 14,000 veterans of the battle held a reunion on the grounds known as the Blue-Gray Barbeque. The idea to establish the Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park had its origins at the barbeque, significantly the first Civil War park in the United States to be protected through preservation. Upon the death of James and Sarah Gordon, the home passed to their daughter, Elizabeth, and her husband, James Lee. The next owner was their son, Gordon Lee, a United States Congressman (1904-1927), and his wife, Olive. Lee stipulated in his will that if no family member took on the property for twenty years that it would become the property of the City of Chickamauga and this happened in 1947.  It was sold to Dr. Frank Green in 1974. Dr. Green restored the house and grounds with great attention to historical accuracy. In 2007 it was purchased by the City of Chickamauga, which now operates a museum on the site.

During the Civil War, this mansion was used as a Union Headquarters before the Battle of Chickamauga. During the battle the mansion became a hospital. Many soldiers had carved their names and messages to their loved ones on the walls of this mansion, and many of them later died here from battle wounds. The floors were badly blood stained from countless soldiers treated there that they later had to be covered by rugs. Sadness and despair echo in the mansions walls and there have been several EVP's captured there, as well as disembodied voices heard by many.  A troubling history of slavery is traced throughout the homestead. It is recorded that in 1860, there were about 47 slaves living and working on the property. There were five quarter houses that the slaves lived in, but only one stands today. The other four have been torn down. The one remaining is a cold reminder of our nations dark past.  As far as ghost sightings go, the Lee's had a German Shepherd dog, and many claim to have seen the ghost dog in and around the grounds. Many have also claimed to have seen Cherokee Indian looking mist figures in and around the property of Craw Fish Springs in front of the Gordon Lee Mansion, which was home of the Cherokee before the Trail of Tears. 

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Chetoogeta Tunnel

Tunnel Hill, Georgia seems to pique the interest of many visitors to the state of Georgia. Not only does this particular tunnel have a fascinating and rich history, it also is deemed one of the most haunted tunnels in the country. How did this railroad tunnel, which once flourished with passing trains and traveling passengers become haunted? Here’s a story that you won’t likely forget anytime soon.

No longer in use as a railroad tunnel, now the long stretch of underground land is filled with corroded stone and enlightening stories. But many people don’t know the tales that made this tunnel exactly what it is today—which is potentially haunted and quite scary to visit.

Chetoogeta Mountain was one of the few North Georgia mountains that stood in the way of connecting Atlanta and Chattanooga via a railroad system. Plans for the tunnel began in the late 1830s, but a due to a great panic construction was delayed for almost a decade. The railroad was intended to provide passenger and freight services, carrying the freight, and letting the passengers walk, over the mountain. The tunnel itself, measured 1,477 feet long and was considered an engineering wonder of its time.

There are actually two tunnels in Tunnel Hill. The “new” tunnel was started in 1926 and completed in 1928 and is 1,527 feet long. The first tunnel mentioned above was part of the construction of the Western & Atlantic Railroad and was deemed the first major railroad tunnel in the South.

The second tunnel was built around 1926 and stretched about 1,557 feet long. It is still in use today by CSX Transportation. But the old tunnel, Chetoogeta Tunnel as it is appropriately known, is truly the one with stories. Ghost stories to be precise….

The old tunnel was soon forgotten about and quickly became overgrown with Japanese arrowroot until 1992, when preservationists lobbied to save it. Now, it is a ghost hunter’s paradise, with many people visiting the tunnel in hopes to get a glimpse of a haunted spirit roaming. But where exactly did these ghosts come from?

The area surrounding the tunnel was known as a prominent site for Civil War battles—and the tunnel itself has seen a lot of tragedy. Witnesses have described apparitions of soldiers, lantern lights, and phantom campfires, plus blood-curdling screams and even at times, the smell of rotting flesh.

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Old South Pittsburgh Hospital

The Old South Pittsburg Hospital is considered by many to be one of the most haunted locations in Tennessee. If you are interested in experiencing a haunted hospital firsthand or would like to indulge in overnight ghost hunting, this is the place to be. This particular structure is located at what many refer to as the foothills of the South Pittsburg Mountain in the State of Tennessee. In the year of 1959, four medical professionals founded the facility and named it the “South Pittsburg Municipal Hospital”or “SPMH” for short. It consisted of a total of 68,000 sq ft and was designed to meet the medical care needs of the growing community. Many physical additions were constructed throughout the next several decades to the haunted hospital. Many lawsuits, wrongful deaths, child abuse deaths, and many tragic deaths due to fatal illnesses occurred. Unfortunately, due to a new hospital being built the long serving nonprofit hospital quietly closed its doors. Old South Pittsburg Hospital was closed in the year of 1998. Since then, it has been dubbed as one of the most haunted places in Tennessee. In order to truly appreciate the paranormal activity associated with this haunted hospital, it is first important to learn a little information pertaining to the history of the land where the facility currently stands. Two of the most distinctive geological characteristics about the property is that there is a natural based spring that runs underneath the hospital and runs into a still existent well from a former plantation. It also flows directly into the Northwest region of the Tennessee River. It is because of this natural spring that many individuals throughout history were attracted to the area. The second is that the hospital today sits on solid Limestone that the natural spring runs underneath. It is believed that the well that has running water acts like a natural battery in combination with the Limestone to these spirits, and gives them energy to manifest and interact with investigators.

In 1920’s there was a large plantation that existed on the property. Unfortunately, there was a large fire and the entire plantation burned to the ground. Sadly, 7 children lost their lives in this fire. In its earliest days, the City of South Pittsburg was referred to as “Pittsburg Landing”. During the Civil War a ferry landing located approximately one eighth of a mile from the hospital’s grounds transported soldiers from the North and the South to the region so that they could make their way to the popular battlefield known as the “Chickamauga”. It is also where the battle of Shiloh occurred. It has been said that this was the bloodiest battles in the Civil War up until that date. Back in the year of 1778, a Cherokee tribe identified as the “Chiaha” used the land where the haunted hospital now stands for living and engaging in day to day activities that enhanced their survival. Examples of these activities included growing extravagant orchards, hunting for various types of animals native to the region and fishing. During the Civil War era, the tribe permitted the soldiers from the North to use a section of land that is now under the Old South Pittsburg Hospital to store various supplies such as artillery and encampments. They found safety against the foothills behind the Hospital. Unfortunately, the Confederate soldiers eventually invaded the region during the Civil War and launched assaults on the Union Soldiers. As a result, many Union members, individuals of the tribe and even Indians in the Cherokee Tribe died and the Confederate Soldiers emerged victorious. Many believe that these deaths contribute to the land’s reputation as being one of the most haunted places in Tennessee.

By the end of the hot summer of 1863, the Union Soldiers successfully reclaimed the land until the end of the Civil War. Despite this, many individuals residing in the community experienced numerous hardships because of the fact that many soldiers took the livestock that they raised, the foods that they stored, items that could be used for first aid purposes and other types of necessities. It was then that the residents realized that they could experience a high level of fortune by selling the various types of minerals native to the region as well as the limestone heavily present in the geography of the area. Not too long after experiencing success in this endeavor, the St. Louis – Nashville railway came to the region and offered more opportunities for the region. The town was finally founded in 1873, and the name was changed to South Pittsburg. South Pittsburg Hospital opened its doors in 1959, and quietly closed in 1998 making way to a larger facility in Jasper, TN. The hospital has 3 floors and many wings. Many say it had a very dark history and disturbing history. Some believe the spirits of many generations still walk the hallways looking for someone or something from the past. Many of these lost souls are intelligent spirits and will interact with visitors often.

Throughout the history of the hospital, many have reported various types of paranormal activity. Many believe that the hauntings could be a direct result of the colorful past related to the land that the hospital sits on. Others believe the activity stems from theinjuries, illnesses and deaths that occurred while the Old South Pittsburg Hospital serviced the community. Regardless of what has resulted in the paranormal activity, one thing is certain, this hospital is considered to be one of the most haunted places in Tennessee. Many paranormal investigators have conducted overnight ghost hunting tours and have acquired evidence that indicates that something unusual is occurring in and around the structure. This evidence as well as the stories from locals, Nurses, Doctors, and past employees and patients that all point to the fact that this haunted hospital has many stories it wants to share. The following highlights some of the stories surrounding the Old South Pittsburg Hospital: Early in the 1920’s there was a tragic fire to a plantation that once stood here on the property. During the chaos in the night, 7 children lost their lives to fire. This may explain the large amount of children encountered here. Do they know what happened? Employees that worked at this hospital when it was in full operation share stories of many unusual events that occurred during their shifts. It was not at all uncommon for these employees to observe various inanimate objects such as medicine carts, hospital beds, wheelchairs and other items seemingly moving on their own. Individuals on overnight ghost hunting adventures have also observed this phenomenon.

Nurses once employed by the Old South Pittsburg Hospital claim that they have observed dark, shadow figures in the corridors and rooms of the structure late at night when patients shouldn’t be roaming the halls. Many of these visions were enhanced by seemingly disembodied voices. Many felt that these figures were intruders that meant harm against the hospital or patients. However, upon investigation by hospital security, it was discovered that there was no living presence in the regions where the apparent shadows were observed. On the third floor of this haunted hospital, many have reported the fact they have seen a shadow figure of a man approximately seven feet in height that they believe to be one of the past surgeons that practiced in the medical facility. It is common for these reports to come with witness statements claiming that this spirit tells the living to get out and/or leave the premises. Many spirits that seem to be intelligent hauntings have informed several of the living that this spirit does not want them associating with the living. While no one has experienced any type of injury associated with this spirit, they have felt his presence in an overwhelming manner and claim that it appears as if he is hiding something. By participating in overnight ghost hunting, you too may be able to experience this presence. Many that have experienced this presence agree this is one of the main reasons they consider it to be one of the most haunted places in Tennessee. There is a female spirit that apparently is in the basement region of the Old South Pittsburg Hospital that many appropriately refer to as the “Naughty Nurse”. This female seems to touch individuals in places that are deemed private and also whispers sweet nothings in the ears of those that visit the basement. In addition to this female, a spirit that looks as though he was a doctor in life has been spotted. Some have experienced a protective soul that was a janitor named James, that died in the 60’s. He was from Louisiana, and of Cajun decent. Some have heard him pacing or whistling. Last but not least a child may be seen or heard in the basement region of the haunted hospital as well.

The second floor is the largest in the building. Back in the day, it housed everything from an Emergency room, old nursery, general admission, and the geriatrics, and the Morgue. It is a very active floor, and many photos and videos have been captured of a shadow person coming out of the walls, walking down the hallways, and lurking around corners. There has been reports of a child playing hide and seek, and calling out. This child believed to be a young girl that died of a head injury has been captured on a Thermal Flir behind a water cooler. She seems to be very playful in nature, and is not aware she has passed. She seems to like to play tricks on those that aren’t noticing what is around them. She has been captured on Flir playing “Hide and Seek” at the water cooler. Sounds of moving furniture, banging, and a woman screaming. It seems as though there is a woman in pain on this floor and has screamed many times. You are able to hear this with your own ears, and has been captured on EVP’s. There are 2 Nurses that actually died in the hospital from heart attacks and are believed to still be tending to patients. The third floor of this haunted hospital seems to have quite a few ghosts as well. One of the most popular is a toddler that appears to be either two to three years of age that is active and seems to enjoy playing or urging the living to play with him. Many individuals have stated that he requests to be held. He is fondly referred to as “Buddy”. In addition to this, a apparition of an elderly woman is often observed. Many also claim that they have heard a female nurse on this floor as well walking and talking to someone that we can’t see. And last but definitely not least….. There is a large shadow figure that lurks around the corners, has been captured on film during the daytime hours, and has been caught many times on evps telling you to “get out!” Many doors open and close when requested to do so. There are 2 elderly ladies that were in the Detox/Psych evaluation wing during the 80’s. One is a sweet and gentle lady. Her name is Nellie. She is particularly fond of younger males. When she was a patient, only the younger orderlies could get her to cooperate with the Nurses and Doctors that provided her care. The other less social woman is Irene. She is of a more salty nature, and does ask people to leave the room. She has been recorded saying swear words to investigators. She does not welcome investigators, and would prefer to be left alone. If you would like to experience one of the most haunted locations in Tennessee, you should visit the Old South Pittsburg Hospital. One of the easiest ways to do so is by participating in an overnight ghost hunting adventure. By staying at this haunted hospital, you may have the pleasure of capturing evidence that suggests that there is life after death. There are many intriguing stories surrounding the Old South Pittsburg Hospital and several tales that make this one of the most haunted places in Tennessee.

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Hales Bar & Marina

The Tennessee River Gorge was once one of the major impediments to year round navigation on the Tennessee River. There were not only unpredictable water levels but the gorge was also filled with many water hazards that were called names such as “The Suck”, “The Skillet”, and “The Pan”. The most notorious whirlpool was “The Suck” and it is said that Native Americans who lived on the land could see the souls of their ancestors being sucked into the massive pool. It was said that anyone who got close enough to the whirlpool would get sucked in by their ancestors.   In 1898, several Chattanooga business interests formed the Tennessee River Improvement Association to lobby for efforts to extend year round navigation to Chattanooga. Around 1900, Major Dan C. Kingman of the  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined that a dam near the southwestern end of the gorge would eliminate the water hazards and rapid downstream currents. An engineer from Chattanooga by the name of Josephus Conn Guild offered to raise funds and build the dam in exchange for the rights to the dam’s electrical output. He received authorization from Congress in 1904 and in 1905 he organized the Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company, later known as TEPCO.   The construction of the dam started in 1905 by the initial contractor, William J. Oliver & Company. Two self contained communities, Guild (now known as Haletown) and Ladds were built nearby to house the thousands of workers that were needed to build the dam. The Dam was being built on what was once  Cherokee territory. During the illegal Treaty of Sycamore Shoals on March 17, 1775 War Chief Dragging Canoe cursed the land, vowing that is was “dark and bloody” land and would be unproductive and uninhabitable for anyone that attempted to settle there. The Cherokees also believed the water where the dam was built was sacred.   The dam was originally scheduled to be completed in 1909 however they faced numerous difficulties including a weak limestone foundation which plagued the damn for the next 40 years. By 1910 only the lock and powerhouse had been completed. After engineers began using pressure grouting and concrete caisson they started making more progress. On November 1, 1913 the dam was complete and went into operation. It was 113 feet high, 2,315 feet long and its spillway had a combined discharge capacity of 224,000 cubic feet per second. At that time it was one of the first major multipurpose dams and one of the first major dams to be built across a navigable channel in the United States. The dam was estimated to cost only $2 million but by the end it was nearly $10 million, which equals $237 million in today’s value.

Soon after the dam’s completion, leaks began to appear almost immediately. They had chosen the location of the dam because the river was narrow but unknown to them at the time the ground beneath the river is limestone. Portions of the limestone continually collapsed and resettled causing cracks to form in the dam walls. Over the years engineers attempted to minimize the leakage by pumping in whatever they could to stop the leaks. They created the “rag gang”, which was a group of men tasked with stopping the leaks. Supposedly, they used whatever they could find to fill the cracks including asphalt, hay bales, mattresses, blankets and even a truckload of corsets. Their fixes were only temporary because by 1931 a study showed the damn continued to leak at a rate of 1,000 cubic foot per second.   The passing of the TVA Act in 1933 created the Tennessee Valley Authority and gave it control of flood control and improvement initiatives in the Tennessee Valley. By this time, Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power had merged with several other companies to form the Tennessee Electric Power Company, or TEPCO. The new company was a fierce opponent of the TVA and was headed by Guild's son, Jo Conn Guild. TEPCO challenged the constitutionality of the TVA Act in federal court and in 1939 the U.S. Supreme Court handed down their decision in favor of the TVA. A few months later TEPCO was forced to sell most of their assets including Hales Bar Dam to the TVA for $78 million. TVA immediately began foundation improvements on the dam to stop the leaks and by 1943 they had succeeded. In the late 1950s boils began to appear in the water below the dam and an investigation showed the dam was once again leaking over 2,000 cubic feet per second. Dye traces in 1960 suggested that many of the leaks were interconnected and there was an increasing chance that the entire dam could fail. In 1963, it was determined that continuing to expand the Hales Bar lock would be too expensive and rather than continuing to spend money to fix leaks a decision was made to build a new dam six miles downstream. The new dam was authorized in 1963 and construction began on April 1, 1964. The new construction required the purchase of 8,300 acres of land and the relocation of 82 families along with 8 miles of roads. The new dam was complete in 1967 and opened on December 14, 1967. The cost to build the new dam was $73 million and it was named The Nickajack Dam for a Cherokee Indian village that was once located just upstream from the dam. The new reservoir flooded the old village and Nickajack Cave for which the village was named for. Operations at Hales Bar were halted the very next day on December 15, 1967. Two of the Hales Bar’s generators and parts of the switchyard were installed at Nickajack and by September 1968, Hales Bar Dam had been dismantled enough that it no longer threatened navigation on the new Nickajack Lake.

[haunted-chattanooga-blog]

Chattanooga Choo-Choo

Terminal Station in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is a former railroad station, once owned and operated by the Southern Railway, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The station was opened in 1909 and was the latest and largest station in Chattanooga's history. The original Chattanooga Union Station, built in 1858, (demolished in 1973) was outgrown by the rapid expansion in the railroad network serving Chattanooga. A second station, built in 1882, was outgrown in only six years. In 1888, an old freight depot was converted to a passenger facility, while three other depots handled commercial and industrial traffic.[2] The Beaux-Arts-style station designed by Donn Barberwas one of the grandest buildings in Chattanooga, featuring an arched main entrance that is claimed to be the largest unsupported brick arch in the world. The building also has an 82-foot (25 m) high ceiling dome with a skylight in the center section. Lighting was provided by large brass chandeliers.[2] The 1941 Glenn Miller song "Chattanooga Choo Choo" told the story of a train trip from Track 29 at Pennsylvania Station in New York City through Baltimore, North and South Carolina, and terminating at Terminal Station. American railroad passenger traffic declined in the 1950s and 1960s, and the last passenger train to serve the station, the Birmingham Special, left Terminal Station in 1970. In 1972, local businessmen bought the building, renamed it the Chattanooga Choo Choo after the song, and began rehabilitating the building. Today,[when?] the 24-acre (97,000 m2) complex is a convention center, hotel and resort with restaurants and shops. Hotel guests can stay in half of a restored passenger railway car. Dining at the complex includes the Gardens restaurant in the Terminal Station itself (enclosed passenger loading platform), The Station House (which is housed in a former baggage storage, but on original building plans is designated as "Mail Sorting Facility") and the "Dinner in the Diner" which is the complex's fine dining venue, housed in a restored 1938 Class A dining car. Some parts of the complex are connected by a heritage streetcar line, operated by a 1924-built ex-New Orleans Perley Thomas trolley car.

From 1909 to 1970, all trains heading to the American South passed through Chattanoog's famous terminal, and today the Chattanooga Choo Choo is home to the world's largest model train display. But might it be home to something else as well--something more ... ghostly? With 1,000 freight cars, 80 passenger cars and 3,000 feet of track, the Chattanooga Choo Choo is something that shouldn't be missed. For its history and also for the numerous ghosts that visitors have spotted over the years. Who is haunted the Chattanooga Choo Choo?

[haunted-chattanooga-blog]

Underground Chattanooga

Underground Chattanooga is a below-ground area of Chattanooga, Tennessee that resulted from citizen efforts to prevent floods in the aftermath of the flood of 1867. It was rediscovered by Jeff Brown in the 1970s.

During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Chattanooga experienced bouts of systematic flooding roughly every decade.[2]The impact of flooding was severe; it affected many of Chattanooga's manufacturers as well as the merchants in the area. Building damage was frequent as well as the interruption of daily life. Chattanooga's commerce was constantly affected by the flooding,[3] After years of suffering through flooding, in March 1867 Chattanooga experienced a record flood following four days of heavy rainfall. The river had risen 53 feet (16 m), which was 15.5 feet higher than a flood twenty years earlier.[4] The rain lasted for four days, bringing the water level in the Tennessee River 28 feet above flood range. The bridge across the river was destroyed, as were many buildings. There was a considerable loss of life and looting took place. Upwards of 4,000 homeless in Chattanooga were ferried out of the flooding city to areas of higher ground.[1] During a 64-year span ranging from 1875 to 1938, the Tennessee River had risen above its flood range more than 70 times.

The concept of adding levees were briefly discussed among the residents of Chattanooga. However, the waterfront areas were deemed too valuable as a commercial resource to use for the construction of a levee.[3] After the bouts of flooding, a local newspaper article was released that stated the city's leaders planned on raised the grade of the streets of Chattanooga so that they would no longer flood.[1] The people of Chattanooga began to raise the level of a few of the city's streets by 3 to 15 feet. Around 40 blocks of downtown Chattanooga was raised. Market and Broad Streets were completely filled, as well as portions of Cherry and Chestnut Streets.[5] The method in which the city was raised is disputed, because there is no historical documentation.[6] It was speculated that what was used in the raising was dirt from higher level areas of the town. Later, available records and soil boring showed that a variety of different materials such as foundry waste and sawmill scraps had been used in raising the city's streets.[1] In 1933 the Tennessee Valley Authority in conjunction with Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal helped pass the Tennessee Valley Authority Act (1933)[7] which prompted the construction of the Chickamauga Dam.[8]After the dam was built in 1933, it helped to regulate the water levels of the Tennessee River near Chattanooga, preventing downtown from flooding.

Archaeologist and University of Tennessee-Chattanooga professor Jeff Brown started noticing small clues to the underground world while walking around downtown Chattanooga. He learned from utility workers of doorways leading to nowhere and underground tunnels and rooms. Entire basements of buildings were once first floors, including some obvious storefronts complete with windows. None were marked on maps and no one could tell him why these features were there. He discovered that much of the city had been backfilled, by six feet at 9th Street and up to 20 feet at other places, but very little documentation of this process existed.

Because of lack of historical documentation backing up the raising of the city's streets, some suggest that it is just a legend. Some suggest that it was a common practice for the basements in buildings downtown to have stairs leading down from the street. These walk-downs, some complete with handrails leading down towards a basement entrance, existed in downtown Chattanooga at the time.[3] The basements had windows to provide light as well as ventilation There has been some photo documentation of structures over a span of thirty years that show little or no change. An explanation for the archways in some buildings could be explained by being used as support for the building. Some suggest that the only evidence is that of a normal growing city infrastructure and, no monumental effort to raise the city's streets. After 1925, the use of commercial basements began to fade. Over time parts of the city began to be filled in that fell below grade.

Even if a vast underground network of tunnels doesn’t exist underneath Chattanooga, the terrifying stories told about them remain. The idea of a city underneath a city is the basis for countless horror stories, but what if it were true? Many people think that frequent floods forced Chattanooga business owners to lift up the streets around their buildings at the turn of the 20th century. In doing so, they buried an entire street level of Chattanooga. Hundreds have reported seeing ghostly figures and sinister apparitions in these basement levels. A portion of alleged Underground Chattanooga can be viewed when on a ghost tour. Many photos-including this ghostly apparition-have been taken at this same spot. More telling, in my opinion, are the anecdotal accounts from business owners downtown. Creepy tunnels, basement noises, squatter camps and more are all part of the Underground Chattanooga legend.