These 11 Haunted Cemeteries In Tennessee Are Not For the Faint of Heart
There’s something about a cemetery that makes our blood run cold. Maybe it’s the eerie rows of tombstones, softly smiling angels and strange inscriptions on the tombs. The hushed atmosphere, the pungent ache of loss. It’s a strange thing, to wander through a land of the lost.
We’ve found 11 cemeteries in Tennessee that offer something a little bit different than the common strange bit: they’re haunted. Care to tiptoe through the tombstones?
*Note: Some cemeteries are not as well-known, so photographs do not necessarily reflect said cemetery. If you have photographs of these haunted places, please submit them!*
The cemetery is haunted by a dark figure, one that's sometimes referred to as the "Black Aggie." It's been seen wandering through the tombstones, forever searching for something we'll never know.
Supposedly, an 8-foot creature that splices the body of a human and goat into one terrifying being haunts the grounds. There have been multiple accounts of sightings, and everyone says the same thing: there's a pentagram carved into its forehead.
A wealthy family once lived on the lake, right across from the cemetery. After the wife became ill and wheelchair bound, her husband fell in love with another woman. On a dreary night, he pushed her, heartlessly, into the lake to drown. She is said to still haunt the edge of the water, leaving wheelchair tracks in her wake.
The largest Confederate cemetery in the south, located on the property of the Carnton Plantation, it is haunted by the generals who lost their lives on the site and all the men who fell. The plantation house is also said to be haunted by a serving maid who now forever sweeps through the kitchen.
There is a house located behind the cemetery that was once owned by a slave holder. Supposedly, one of the slaves impregnated the owner's daughter, and was subsequently put to death. He is said to haunt the grounds to this day, searching for the child he never knew.
6. Fort Donelson National Battlefield Cemetery - Dover
The grounds are haunted by a Civil War infantryman named Reuben Hammond. He is said to believe, even in the afterlife, that his duty is to look after his fallen friends. Reuben is said to be a benevolent ghost, however, consistently conversing with ghost hunters in the area.
The Pegram Family Cemetery was razed in 1970 by developers - but not well. When the river rose five years later, the coffin of Ms. Carrie, Pegram's first postmistress, rose from her resting place and plopped itself in the front yard of a local home. Creepy...
The grounds were established in the 1850s, and the cemetery is said to be haunted by a spirit that has the head of a dog, a lion-sized body and eyes that shine deep crimson. It tends to enjoy chasing terrified folks from the cemetery, so visit your loved ones at your own risk.
The creepy thing about Elmwood Cemetery is that most of the folks who lost their lives to the Yellow Fever epidemic are buried there. Over 5,000 Tennesseans died in the outbreak, and some are said to wander the grounds in their forever fevered state.
An abandoned church is surrounded by the cemetery, and many report a ghostly figure playing the old piano in the church. Some have even reported the piano playing itself in the deep dark of night.
This is probably the creepiest cemetery in the state, if we do say so ourselves. Three women were accused of witchcraft and run out of town by a lynch mob, who caught up with them at the now-site of the cemetery. They were hung, burned, and buried in the same place - and the tree still stands.
Still have a thirst for the eeriness? Check out this video…
Meghan Kraft loves to travel the world, but she makes her home right here in Nashville, Tennessee. She holds a degree in English, and has worked in the digital marketing realm with companies such as Apartments.com, USA Today and HarperCollins Publishing.